Apple Valley, MN Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

Section 155.352(D) of the Apple Valley Code of Ordinances is the permit rule: no person shall construct, install or locate a swimming pool without first obtaining a swimming pool permit from the city. The verbs matter. Installing or locating a pool is covered along with constructing one, so bringing in a prefabricated in-ground shell or setting up a permanent aboveground pool triggers the same requirement as digging a new pool. Storable swimming or wading pools are not required to obtain a pool permit, but they must be disassembled and stored between the dates November 1 and April 1 of each year under subsection (E).

The applicant submits whatever information the Building Inspector deems necessary, so the city, not a fixed checklist in the code, decides what the application must contain. An application for a Natural Resources Management Permit must also be submitted if required under the Natural Resources Management regulations in the Code.

Drainage review is built into the process. Under subsection (C), swimming pools that raise the existing elevation more than eight inches are reviewed by the City Engineer, who has the right to refuse the permit if, in his opinion, adjoining properties will be adversely affected because of alteration of drainage patterns. The Engineer's refusal power makes drainage a ground for denying the permit outright.

The permit sits alongside the design rules in the same section. The barrier plans need Building Inspector approval before installation under (A)(9), and subsection (B) requires pools to be set back a minimum of five feet from any side or rear lot line, measured from the nearest edge of the slope around the pool or perimeter walk. Pools cannot be located in an easement of record, and are not permitted in the front yard or in the side yard between the street right-of-way line and the minimum required building setback line.