Mount Vernon, NY Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

Section 267-14.C(1) caps an above-ground pool at 48 inches, measured from mean ground level at the pool's base to the rim, and requires evergreen landscaping around the exposed sides that is at least as tall as the exposed portion of the pool, plus a fence at least six feet high. An in-ground pool, or one built flush with an on-ground deck, needs that same six-foot fence under § 267-14.C(2), plus a four-foot evergreen screen outside the fence line dense enough to block the view of the pool from neighboring properties and the street.

Every pool, in-ground or above-ground, has to sit at least five feet from every lot line and can never go in a front yard, under § 267-14.C(4). Pool lighting is restricted too: fixtures have to be aimed to eliminate direct rays and minimize reflected glare onto neighboring streets and properties under § 267-14.C(3). The pool fence itself has to run no more than 20 feet out from the edge of the pool under § 267-14.C(8), and the filter pump and its electrical switch have to be secured somewhere the noise will not carry past the property line and outside any required yard, per § 267-14.C(9).

Use is restricted to the occupants of the premises and their nonpaying guests under § 267-14.C(5). If a lake or pond that otherwise meets the swimming-pool definition already went through site plan or special permit review, § 267-14.C(10) says that review counts and a separate pool permit is not required.