Pawtucket, RI Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

Section 410-58, the Zoning Code's swimming pool requirements, opens by stating that private residential pools are permitted in every residential district, but only subject to the rest of the section's conditions. Subsection C is the permit gate: 'No swimming pools or appurtenances thereto shall be constructed, installed, enlarged or altered until a building permit has been obtained from the Director,' and before the Director will issue that permit, the applicant must first secure approval from every other City and state authority with jurisdiction over the pool and file certified copies of those approvals as supporting data.

The application must include plans accurately showing the pool's dimensions and construction, along with those of any appurtenances such as pumps, filters and water disinfection equipment. Those appurtenances matter because Subsection A requires the pool and everything attached to it to sit at least six feet from the side and rear lot lines, and bars pools from front yards entirely. Subsection B sets as-of-right sizes tied to lot area for owners who want to skip a variance: a 15-foot round or 12-by-24-foot oval pool on a lot under 4,450 square feet, an 18-foot round or 15-by-24-foot oval pool between 4,450 and 4,800 square feet, a 21-foot round or 15-by-30-foot oval pool between 4,800 and 5,000 square feet, and any size pool once the lot reaches 5,000 square feet.

A pool larger than its lot's as-of-right size still needs dimensional relief from the Zoning Board of Review before the Director can issue the Section 410-58C building permit.