San Clemente, CA Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

San Clemente defines a 'swimming pool' broadly at amended CBC Section 202 (Municipal Code Section 15.08.025): any structure for swimming, recreational bathing or wading holding water over 18 inches deep, covering in-ground, above-ground and on-ground pools, hot tubs, spas and fixed wading pools. That definition matters because the City's building-permit exemption list at amended Section 105.2 only excuses prefabricated pools accessory to a single-family (Group R-3) home that are under 18 inches deep, hold no more than 5,000 gallons, and sit entirely above ground; anything deeper, larger, in-ground, or attached to a spa system needs a full building permit.

Once a permit is required for a new pool or spa, or for remodeling an existing one at a private single-family home, amended Section 3109 (Municipal Code Section 15.08.070, adopting the state Swimming Pool Safety Act at Health and Safety Code Sections 115921 through 115928) layers on drowning-prevention requirements as a condition of that permit. The property must have an enclosure, defined as a fence, wall or other barrier isolating the pool from the home and from adjacent properties and public ways, that meets the spacing standards at Section 115923: no more than 4 inches between vertical members and at least 45 inches between horizontal members, with decorative embellishments capped at a three-quarter inch projection or a 60-degree slope to prevent a climbable surface. Beyond the enclosure, the permit requires one additional drowning-prevention safety feature from a list of state-specified options, or two additional features if the house itself forms part of the enclosure. Pool equipment such as filters, heaters and pumps must also be enclosed and soundproofed, per Section 115928(d), consistent with the noise standards in Chapter 8.48 of the Municipal Code.