Franklin County, KY Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

Pool permitting runs through the Franklin County Fiscal Court's fee schedules in Chapter 150. For a residential in-ground swimming pool, § 150.02(D) prints the fee as $0.15 psf with a minimum fee of $125. Commercial in-ground pools are priced Per KBC Fee Schedule, meaning the Kentucky Building Code fee schedule. Section 150.02(B) requires a building permit and inspection under the Kentucky Building Code, the Kentucky Residential Code and Ch. 155 for structures outside the City of Frankfort, and § 150.02(C) assigns the inspecting to a qualified county Building Inspector.

Zoning review is a separate step. Section 150.03(A) sets fees for reviews by the office of Planning, Zoning and Building Code Enforcement and adds them to the appropriate building permit fee. The zoning review table lists Swimming pools (above ground only) at $25. Filing an application after commencing construction can result in additional fees (§ 150.03(B)), and all fees collected become county property (§ 150.03(C)).

Safety barriers are in the accessory use table of § 155.217, note (3). Permanently installed above ground pools equal to or greater than 30 inches deep must have safety barriers constructed simultaneously with the pool. The barrier can be a wall or fence at least 48 inches in height around the pool or the property, with self-latching gates whose release mechanism is on the pool side. Where the pool wall acts as the barrier and access is by ladder or steps, the ladder or steps must be capable of being secured, locked or removed, or be surrounded by a barrier wall or fence. The table also lists a Swimming pool row under agriculture residence with its own entries, so the setback columns of that table apply to location.