Fitchburg, WI Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

Fitchburg, Wisconsin, in Dane County, requires a building permit before anyone builds a pool, under Chapter 35 of the City Code, Buildings and Building Regulations, Division 13, Swimming Pools. Sec. 35-355 states no person may construct, install, enlarge or alter any swimming pool without first getting a permit from the building inspector, covering everything from a new inground pool to enlarging an existing one. The application has to be filed on the building inspector's form and come with plans drawn to scale showing five things: the pool's proposed location on the lot and its distance to lot lines and existing structures, the location of any septic tank, drain field, sewer or water lines nearby, the pool's dimensions and proposed water depth, the type, height and location of the fence that will surround it, and any overhead wiring near the proposed pool.

That last item matters because an aboveground pool ladder or a diving board built too close to a power line is a real electrocution hazard, and the building inspector reviews the plan for it before signing off. Sec. 35-356 folds setback compliance into the same permit review: pool setbacks to property lines have to comply with Sec. 22-56(h), the dimensional standard in Chapter 22, Fitchburg's base zoning ordinance, rather than a distance set separately in the pool chapter. Because the fencing plan is part of the permit submission itself, the building inspector checks the Sec.

35-357 barrier requirement, the Sec. 22-56(h) setback and the septic and utility layout together in one application before any concrete gets poured or any aboveground pool kit goes up.