Florida Statute 515.27 (the Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act) lets Fort Myers homeowners satisfy pool safety through any ONE of five options: (1) a barrier meeting FS 515.29; (2) an approved ASTM F1346-91 safety pool cover; (3) exit alarms on every door and window that opens to the pool from the home (minimum 85 dBA at 10 feet); (4) self-closing, self-latching devices on those doors with the release at least 54 inches above the floor; or (5) a swimming pool alarm meeting ASTM F2208. Anti-entrapment drain covers (ANSI/APSP-16, VGB Act) and NEC Article 680 bonding are also required. Failure is a second-degree misdemeanor.
Florida Statute 515.27(1) requires every new residential pool to be equipped with at least one of five enumerated safety features and that the pool be inspected for that feature before the certificate of completion is issued: (a) a barrier complying with FS 515.29; (b) an approved safety pool cover meeting ASTM F1346-91; (c) all doors and windows providing direct access from the home to the pool equipped with an exit alarm that has a minimum sound pressure rating of 85 dBA at 10 feet; (d) all such doors equipped with a self-closing, self-latching device with the release no lower than 54 inches above the floor; or (e) a swimming pool alarm that meets and is independently certified to ASTM F2208 (surface motion, pressure, sonar, laser, or infrared). Fort Myers also enforces FBC Building 424.2.6.1 (ANSI/NSPI 3, 4, 5, 6 and ANSI/APSP 7 conformance standards) and FBC 424.2.6.6 (entrapment-protection for suction outlets per ANSI/APSP 7 - VGB Act of 2008 compliance). Electrical bonding and GFCI protection are required under 2020 NEC Article 680 (adopted with the 8th Edition FBC). Glass within 60 inches of the water's edge and 60 inches of the pool-deck walking surface must be tempered. Final inspections (305-Electric Final, 699-Pool Final) must pass before filling. The penalty for failing to equip a pool with one of the five safety features is a second-degree misdemeanor under FS 515.27(2), waivable if the owner remedies the deficiency and completes a drowning-prevention education program within 45 days.
Filling or operating a pool without one of the five FS 515.27 safety features, disabling exit alarms or self-latching devices, or removing ANSI/APSP-16-compliant drain covers is a second-degree misdemeanor under FS 515.27(2). Public pools are separately regulated by Lee County Department of Health under FAC Chapter 64E-9 and may face additional enforcement.
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