James City County, VA Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

Sec. 23-4 designates all of James City County, not just waterfront parcels, as a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area, so the CBPA rules in Chapter 23 reach a pool built anywhere in the county, not only near a shoreline. Sec. 23-3 classifies an in-ground pool as an 'accessory use' alongside patios, terraces, tennis courts and synthetic turf, specifically because these are impermeable landings that block infiltration to groundwater, and it requires any modification or expansion of an accessory use, which includes enlarging or altering an existing pool, to go through a formal exception process rather than routine permitting.

Because a pool is impervious cover, it also counts toward the 60 percent impervious-cover ceiling that Sec. 23-9(b)(1)b sets for every lot in the CBPA, a limit that can only be exceeded by demonstrating equivalent water-quality performance to the manager's satisfaction. If building or expanding the pool disturbs more than 2,500 square feet of land, Sec. 23-10 requires a full plan of development review, including an environmental inventory and clearing plan, before any building permit for the pool can be issued. Exception requests for accessory-use changes go to the manager rather than the Chesapeake Bay Board, and Sec.

23-16 requires the manager to act on a complete application within 35 calendar days or the request is deemed approved. A granted exception lapses after 12 months if the manager finds no substantial work has started. Violating any of these CBPA provisions, including building or expanding a pool without the required exception or plan of development, exposes the property owner to the civil penalties in Sec. 23-18.