Colonie, NY Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

The Town of Colonie's building-permit chapter, § 62-14A, requires a permit for essentially all construction, alteration, or demolition work covered by the Uniform Code or Energy Code, including installing equipment in a dwelling, and bars starting work without zoning approval and a permit from the Building Department Manager. Subsection B carves out specific exemptions, and § 62-14B(3) is the one that covers portable and above-ground pools: no building permit is needed to install a swimming pool at a one- or two-family dwelling, or at multiple single-family townhouses, if the pool is designed for a water depth of less than 24 inches and installed entirely above ground.

That threshold cuts the other way for fencing: § 62-14B(4) exempts fence installation generally, but specifically excludes "fences which are part of an enclosure surrounding a swimming pool," meaning pool-enclosure fencing still needs its own permit even when the pool itself does not. Any pool at a one- or two-family home that reaches 24 inches deep, or that isn't installed entirely above ground, falls outside the B(3) exemption and needs the § 62-14A permit and zoning approval like any other construction project, filed with the Building Department Manager.