Bloomington, IN Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

The Unified Development Ordinance (Title 20) lists Swimming Pool as an accessory use in Table 03-1 (Allowed Use Table), available across every zoning district in the City of Bloomington, with the use-specific standard at Section 20.03.030(g)(9) controlling how and where one can be built. Subsection (A) states plainly that a swimming pool is subject to three layers of regulation at once: the Indiana Administrative Code's Swimming Pool Code at 675 IAC 14-4.4-38, the standards of the UDO itself, and the standards of the Bloomington Municipal Code at Section 14.36.160.

Subsection (B) supplies the UDO's own contribution, a setback that applies specifically to pools and their equipment rather than the setback that applies to the primary dwelling: the pool and its equipment, including pumps, filters, and heaters, must sit no closer than thirty-five feet to the front property line and five feet from the side and rear property lines. Because a pool is an accessory structure, it also has to clear the Chapter 20.04 compliance thresholds at Table 04-1, which triggers Planning and Transportation Department review of a site plan or building permit application before construction starts.

Fencing around the pool draws its own cross-reference: Section 20.04.080(n)(1)(D) requires fences and walls used to screen a swimming pool to be at least five feet and no more than eight feet tall, a narrower height band than the general fence rule that otherwise allows anything up to eight feet behind the front building wall. Pool and fountain lighting gets a narrow exemption of its own at Section 20.04.090(b)(3)(G), excusing underwater illumination from the general lamp-type and shielding rules while still requiring compliance with the rest of the outdoor lighting section.