Iredell County, NC Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

3, the general plan-and-permit process chapter of the Land Development Code, opens the door for pool owners by exempting single family dwellings, residential accessory buildings, and residential swimming pools from the site plan requirement that otherwise applies prior to the issuance of any permits or the approval of any proposed development in the county; those uses are permitted by right and do not require site plan approval, which means a homeowner does not submit engineering drawings to the Zoning Administrator for board or staff review the way a commercial project would.

That exemption is only from the site plan step, though, not from the standards themselves: Performance Requirement R22 in Chapter 3 still requires a residential accessory pool to meet the minimum exterior setback requirements for accessory buildings and structures of the district in which it is located, the same setback used for a shed or detached garage in that zoning district. R22 also imposes a safety standard independent of setbacks: the pool must be protected by a fence or equal enclosure at least four feet high with a self-closing, self-latching gate fitted with hardware for permanent locking, unless the pool is an above-ground model at least four feet tall with its ladder removable or gated when not in use.

None of this replaces the standard building permit process; the North Carolina State Building Code adopted at Sec. 4-57 and the general permit trigger at Sec. 4-106 still apply to the excavation, decking, and any electrical or plumbing work tied to the pool, so the homeowner works with the Iredell County inspection division on that permit even though no separate zoning site plan is required.