Gaston County, NC Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

Swimming pools sit inside Sec. 9, the UDO's Accessory Structures chapter, as their own listed category under subsection D. That placement matters because it pulls pools into the chapter's general permit gate at Sec. 7, which states flatly that no accessory structure may be constructed or placed on a lot before the county issues a zoning permit and a building permit for the principal use or structure on that same lot. In practice, that means a homeowner cannot pull a pool permit ahead of, or instead of, the permits for the house itself; the dwelling's zoning and building permits have to already be on file first.

Once the principal structure's permits are in hand, the owner applies separately for the pool's own zoning and building permit package, which then triggers the placement and barrier standards in Sec. D (front-yard prohibition, side-yard setback to the water's edge, and the required enclosure). com.