Hackensack, NJ Swimming Pools & Spas: Safety Rules (2026)

Hackensack pool barriers must comply with two parallel requirements: the New Jersey Swimming Pool Subcode at N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.10A, which adopts the 2018 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC) with state amendments and is enforced by the Hackensack Construction Official under the Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23), and Hackensack Code Chapter 100, Article III (Property Maintenance Code, adopted July 8, 2008, Ordinance 21-2008, amended through June 1, 2016), which imposes ongoing maintenance obligations. Under ISPSC Section 305 as amended by N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.10A and mirrored in Chapter 100, Article III, every private swimming pool, hot tub, and spa containing water more than 24 inches in depth must be completely surrounded by a permanent fence, wall, or building wall barrier at least 48 inches in height above finished ground level, measured on the side of the barrier facing away from the pool. Openings in the barrier may not allow passage of a 4-inch sphere; for masonry or solid barriers the maximum opening is 1.75 inches. Where the top of the pool structure itself serves as the barrier (above-ground pools), additional ladder removal or self-closing ladder requirements apply. Gates and doors must be self-closing and self-latching; where the latch is less than 54 inches above the bottom of the gate, the release mechanism must be located on the pool side of the gate at least 3 inches below the top of the gate, and gates must open outward away from the pool. Self-closing, self-latching gates must be maintained so the gate positively closes and latches when released from an open position of six inches from the gatepost. Where a wall of a dwelling forms part of the barrier, doors with direct access from the dwelling to the pool must be equipped with an alarm complying with UL 2017 (sounding for at least 30 seconds within 7 seconds of opening, audible throughout the dwelling, with an automatic reset and a deactivation switch at least 54 inches above the threshold), or the pool must have a powered safety cover meeting ASTM F1346, or self-closing/self-latching devices on the doors. Spas and hot tubs equipped with an ASTM F1346 safety cover are exempt from the perimeter barrier requirement. No existing pool enclosure may be removed, replaced, or altered in a manner that reduces its effectiveness as a safety barrier under Hackensack Code Chapter 100. A construction permit is required to install or reconstruct a pool, fence, or barrier under N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.14, and zoning approval from the Hackensack Building, Housing and Land Use Department is required for placement and setbacks (general residential fence height in Hackensack is otherwise capped at four feet, but the 48-inch pool barrier requirement is the controlling minimum). Pools must also comply with Chapter 100 sanitation maintenance, electrical bonding under the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70 Article 680), and anti-entrapment standards under the federal Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act for any drain covers in residential pools.