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

Town Code § 376-64 sets Ramapo's pool safety rule inside the Zoning Law's bulk and yard standards for one- and two-family districts. Any in-ground swimming pool must be encompassed within a permanent protective fence around the entire perimeter, and the fence has to be structurally sound and durable, at least 48 inches high, with no more than three inches between the pickets, planks or chain-link openings. The gate needs a self-latching device mounted at the top of the fence, and it must stay closed except when someone is actually entering or leaving the pool area.

Aboveground pools get an exemption from that fencing mandate. Under Subsection B, an aboveground pool does not need to be fenced at all provided it is built so that, when no responsible adult is supervising, the steps or ladder can be removed or raised so a child cannot climb up and fall in. That is the operative distinction for portable and above-ground pools in Ramapo: the fence requirement turns on whether access can otherwise be blocked.

Neither pool type gets a pass on inspection. Subsection C requires that all fences and other safeguards under this section be approved in writing by the Building Inspector of the Town of Ramapo before the pool is considered compliant. In practice that means submitting the fence design, or the removable-ladder detail for an aboveground pool, to the Building Department for sign-off. The section sets no minimum or maximum pool size threshold; the fencing and approval duties apply to any in-ground pool and any aboveground pool alike, distinguished only by the two compliance paths above.