Everett, MA Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

Chapter 4 of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Everett, Massachusetts, enacted by the Everett City Council, puts the building permit fee schedule in Section 4-1. Item 10 of the Building Department Fee Schedule is titled Swimming Pools and sets the fee at $15.00 per $1,000 of estimated cost, with a minimum fee of $40.00. The estimate is the applicant's own number at filing, but the ordinance does not leave it unchecked. Under subsection (b), the Inspector of Buildings can require cost computations verified by a registered architect or registered professional engineer, or by another person satisfactory to the inspector, whenever an estimate is disputed. That decision is at the inspector's sole discretion.

Payment comes before the permit. Section 4-1(a) provides that no permit is issued by the Inspector of Buildings until the required fee has been paid to the city collector, the building department or another authorized city agency. The same section refers to Section 118 of the Massachusetts State Building Code as the state-level companion to that rule, and the full fee schedules are kept on file in the City Clerk's office.

Timing matters in Everett. Subsection (c)(3) states that the fee for issuing a building permit will be double the established amounts if construction has started prior to the issuance of a building permit. The schedule repeats the point at item 13, Work started without permit, where the charge is printed as double the permit fee as a fine, plus the permit fee. Item 14 adds a re-inspection fee of $40.00 per inspection. Anyone digging or setting a pool in Everett should therefore hold the permit before the excavation starts.

The schedule is a fee rule, not a design standard. Fencing and gate rules for pools sit separately in Section 4-2, and plumbing, gas and electrical work on a pool are permitted by the Plumbing Division and the Inspector of Wires under their own sections.