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

Town Code Chapter 252 makes it unlawful under § 252-1 to construct, install, enlarge or maintain any outdoor swimming pool except in compliance with the chapter and the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code in its entirety. Section 252-3 requires a separate permit from the Chief Building Inspector for each pool before any erection, construction, enlargement, alteration, removal or improvement work begins; ordinary, non-structural repairs are exempt from that permit. The chapter's definition in § 252-2 sweeps broadly: a "swimming pool" is any receptacle or artificial pool capable of holding water more than 24 inches deep at any point, expressly including in-ground, above-ground and on-ground pools as well as hot tubs and spas installed indoors or outdoors, so a shallow kiddie pool under 24 inches falls outside the permit trigger while most above-ground and portable pools do not.

Before a permit issues, § 252-5 requires drawings and plans showing lot lines, pool location, fence construction, water supply, drainage and disposal systems, and § 252-4 requires pool walls and floors to be built of an impervious material strong enough to form a tight tank. Section 252-9 folds pool siting into the Zoning Ordinance's accessory-building rules, though it specifically excludes the pool's footprint from the calculation of lot coverage used for other structures. Section 252-6 requires all pool water, whether from overflow or draining, to be disposed of on the owner's own land rather than onto a neighbor's property or into an abutting street.