Tamarac, FL Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

Tamarac regulates swimming pools under City Code Chapter 5, Article VII, which applies to any "body of water in an artificial or semiartificial receptacle or other container...used or intended to be used for public, semipublic or private swimming," as defined in Sec. 5-146. Before any construction work begins, Sec. 5-147 requires the owner to secure a permit from the city's building department for the pool itself, and the section is explicit that "no swimming pool permit shall be issued unless simultaneously therewith a permit is secured for the erection of the required safety barrier." Plans submitted with the application must show compliance with the article's terms and conditions, including the Florida Building Code and Broward County Amendments referenced in Sec.

5-146. If the property already has a qualifying enclosure, the safety-barrier permit can be waived, but only if a building inspector physically inspects the existing barrier and finds it satisfactory; a bare assertion by the owner is not enough. Separately, Sec. 5-150 requires a $200 cash bond before any pool permit issues, covering cleanup of construction water pumped from the excavation, and the city engineer must certify the cleanup before a certificate of occupancy is issued for the pool. Pool placement is further limited by Sec.

5-149's setback rules: screened, roofless pools and decks may sit in a side or rear setback no closer than five feet to a property line, while any pool with a structural roof or walls must meet the same setbacks as the main house and cannot encroach into a required setback at all. An owner denied a pool permit may seek a variance from the board of adjustment for a $150 fee on a showing of undue hardship.