Commerce City, CO Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

Commerce City folded the 2021 ISPSC into its building code by Sec. 5-41100 and rewrote several of its administrative sections at Sec. 5-41101, including Section 105.1, which requires any owner or authorized agent to apply to the code official and obtain a permit before constructing, enlarging, altering, repairing, moving or demolishing a pool or spa, or before installing, altering or replacing any regulated system connected to one. The exemption list in Sec. 5-8 of the general building code, which the ISPSC amendment expressly cross-references, only excuses one category of pool from that requirement: prefabricated pools accessory to single-family and duplex uses (Groups R-3 and R-5) that are less than twenty-four inches deep, hold no more than five thousand gallons and sit entirely above ground, the classic small above-ground kiddie or soft-side pool.

Anything larger, in-ground, or built for a multifamily or commercial property still needs a permit and construction documents under Sections 106.1 through 106.3 of the ISPSC amendment, including engineering calculations sealed by a registered design professional when the building official determines the pool's components need that level of detail. Notably, Sec. 5-8(d) and (e) also make clear that while ordinary residential fences up to six feet and walls up to six feet are exempt from a building permit, that exemption does not apply once the fence or wall is used as a swimming pool barrier, meaning pool fencing itself triggers separate permit review even when a plain yard fence of the same height would not.

The code official can suspend or revoke an issued pool permit under Section 105.4.5 if it was issued on inaccurate information or in violation of any city ordinance.