Kalamazoo, MI Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

Kalamazoo City Code § 34-3 requires a permit from the Building Section before anyone builds, operates, maintains or uses a swimming pool, defined at § 34-2 as any artificially constructed structure capable of holding water for swimming, wading or bathing at a depth of three feet or more. The permit application must include a plat plan, pool dimensions, the location and type of waste disposal system, structural calculations and details, and fence and gate details, per § 34-3(A)(1) through (5). The permit fee is set by resolution of the City Commission, and electrical, plumbing or other permit fees the City otherwise imposes apply on top of the pool permit fee, per § 34-3(B).

Section 34-4 bars any use of a permitted pool until the Department of Buildings completes a final inspection and approves it. Section 34-5 sets siting limits tied to the permit: no pool edge can sit closer than 25 feet to a public street or eight feet to a lot line, though the Building Board of Appeals can grant a variance where the building code's variance criteria are met. Section 34-6 requires all electrical wiring on the premises to conform to the electrical code, and § 34-1 makes the whole chapter give way to state pool regulations wherever those are more restrictive.

Enforcement of the permit and construction provisions falls to the Building Section of the Department of Public Services under § 34-12, while the Health Department separately inspects for sanitation at least once a year; the two departments must consult each other under § 34-12(B).