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

Chapter 31AA governs residential pool design citywide. 10 AA requires structural plans and calculations to be signed by a Registered Civil Engineer or Architect licensed in California for any pool where the maximum depth exceeds three feet, tying the design step directly to the building permit application. 3 AA lets the city issue a permit for a "floating" type pool only if five conditions are met: a complete soils investigation by a qualified soils engineer establishing design conditions for a stable pool; a structural design by a Registered Civil Engineer incorporating those recommendations and approved by the Building Official; a design that assumes vertical support only from soil below a line sloped at 44 degrees from the pool bottom; pool walls designed with no assumed support from surrounding soil; and a backwash pit kept out of the fill material entirely.

9 AA adds that any construction changes must be approved in writing by the design engineer or architect before the Building Official reviews them, keeping the Building Official in the approval loop through completion. These design and permit conditions sit alongside the chapter's other numeric standards, including diving board depth minimums, deck slope and reinforcement specifications, and hydrostatic uplift protection for pools built where groundwater pushes against the shell, all of which the Building and Safety Division checks as part of the same plan-check and permit process that applies to any other structure under the city's adopted 2025 California Building Code.