Bonner County, ID Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

The Bonner County Revised Code defines a structure in section 11-219 as a combination of assembled materials providing shelter, support or an extension of shelter or support, and the list of examples names pools by word. Section 11-101 then requires a building location permit from the planning department before any structure is erected, constructed, set, placed, installed, enlarged, extended, moved or converted in unincorporated Bonner County. A pool therefore starts inside the permit rule. The same definition then lists exceptions, and item J is swimming pools not exceeding 4,000 square feet of area, with the printed gallon range of 15-20,000 gallons beside it. Section 11-103 confirms that Title 11 does not apply to the structures listed as exceptions.

The exception does not cut a pool loose from zoning. The definition says the exceptions in items A through N are subject to the land use standards specified in Title 12. Only the last three items, fences not over eight feet, retaining walls not over four feet and residential propane tanks, are also released from the setback standards in title 12 chapter 4. Swimming pools are not in that group. A pool dug in unincorporated Bonner County has to sit where the zone district's land use standards allow it, and section 11-103 adds that an exception from permit requirements does not authorize any work that violates the Code or another county, state or federal law.

A pool larger than the 4,000 square foot line is not listed as an exception, so it goes through the ordinary building location permit process. Section 11-105 requires a site plan showing distances from the structure's greatest architectural projections to each property line and to environmental features such as wetlands, shorelines and slope, plus a copy of the recorded deed and diagrammatic plans. Applicants in mapped floodplains or floodways provide construction plans certified by an Idaho registered engineer or Idaho licensed architect as compliant with Title 14. The Board of County Commissioners sets fees by resolution under section 11-108. A permit lapses under section 11-122 if work is not commenced within one year of issuance. Appeals of a Planning Director decision go to the Board within thirty days under section 11-116.