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Bylaw No. 7981
The Private Swimming Pools Bylaw, 2000
Codified to Bylaw No. 10142
(December 17, 2025)
BYLAW NO. 7981
The Private Swimming Pools Bylaw, 2000
The Council of The City of Saskatoon enacts:
Short Title
1.
This Bylaw may be cited as The Private Swimming Pools Bylaw, 2000.
Purpose
2.
The purpose of this Bylaw is:
(a)
to control and regulate the construction, erection, maintenance,
repair and demolition of private swimming pools; and
(b)
to specify, regulate and enforce the use of safety measures in
connection with private swimming pools.
Definitions
3.
In this Bylaw,
(a)
"climbable member" means any part of a fence which is capable
of being used as a foothold for a person and includes a horizontal
or diagonal member, but does not include chain link fencing having
a wire core of not less than 11 gauge and mesh size of not more
than 50 millimetres;
(b)
"horizontal structural member" means a main part of a fence to
which other parts are attached and which runs horizontally;
(c)
"municipal inspector" means an employee or agent of the City
appointed by the Director of Building Standards or the Fire Chief to
act as a municipal inspector for the purposes of this Bylaw;
(d)
"occupant" includes a person residing at a property upon which a
private swimming pool is situated or a person entitled to the
property's possession if there is no person residing there and a
leaseholder;
Page 2
(e)
"owner" means a person who has any right, title, estate or interest
in a property upon which a private swimming pool is situated;
(f)
"private swimming pool" means an artificially created basin, lined
with concrete, fibreglass, vinyl or similar material, intended to
contain water for the use of persons for swimming, diving, wading
or other similar activities, which is at least 600 millimetres in depth,
and includes pools situated on top of the ground and hot tubs;
(g)
"public" means all persons other than the owner or occupant;
(h)
"vertical member" means a vertical part of a fence to which other
parts are attached.
Application
4.
Except as otherwise provided, this Bylaw applies to all private swimming pools,
including those in existence prior to the passage of this Bylaw.
Permit
5.
(1)
A person must obtain a swimming pool construction permit from the City
prior to the construction, erection or demolition of a private swimming pool.
(2)
In order to obtain a swimming pool construction permit, a person must file
an application in the prescribed form in writing with the City which includes
a site plan and pool specifications and pay the applicable fee.
(3)
The applicable fee shall be calculated on the basis of the current fee per
$1,000.00 of construction value set out in Schedule "A" as applied to the
estimate of construction value of the proposed swimming pool.
(4)
For the purposes of subsection (3), the estimate of construction value
shall be the tender price quoted for construction of the private swimming
pool or a reasonable estimate for construction of the private swimming
pool as submitted by the applicant for a swimming pool construction
permit, and acceptable to the City.
(5)
Notwithstanding subsection (3), the minimum swimming pool construction
permit fee shall be the minimum permit fee set out in Schedule "A".
(6)
If a municipal inspector has been requested to perform an inspection or
follow-up inspection and finds that the work is incomplete, does not
comply with any applicable legislation or is otherwise unready for
inspection, a follow-up inspection is required.
Page 3
(7)
The re-inspection fee set out in Schedule "A" must be paid in advance of
any follow-up inspection required pursuant to subsection (6).
Enclosure
6.
(1)
Every private swimming pool must be enclosed in accordance with this
section.
(2)
The enclosure must be built prior to the swimming pool being filled with
water.
(3)
The enclosure must be properly maintained to comply with this Bylaw at
all times.
(4)
The enclosure must be constructed so as to minimize the risk of
unauthorized entry into the pool area by a member of the public by
crawling under, climbing over, or climbing through. The enclosure must
meet the following minimum standards:
(a)
the enclosure must have a minimum height of 1.5 metres measured
on the exterior, or non-pool, side from the top of the enclosure to
the nearest platform, deck or grade;
(b)
where an enclosure is a chain link fence, the mesh size must not
exceed 50 millimetres and the wire core must not be less than 11
gauge;
(c)
where an enclosure fence is constructed of any material other than
chain link:
(i)
horizontal structural members or other climbable members
located on or accessible from the outside or non-pool side of
the fence must be placed so that there is one continuous
vertical separation of a minimum of 1,100 millimetres
maintained between such members, as illustrated in
Schedule "B", along any portion of the fence which is
accessible to the public; and
(ii)
there is no prescribed minimum separation required between
horizontal structural members or other climbable members
located on the inside or pool side of the fence;
(d)
the gap or space between grade and the bottom of the enclosure
must not exceed 100 millimetres;
Page 4
(e)
maximum permissible gaps or openings between vertical members
of an enclosure are as follows:
(i)
gaps or openings of up to 100 millimetres are permitted
between vertical members of an enclosure fence if one
continuous vertical separation of a minimum of 1,100
millimetres is maintained between horizontal structural
members or other climbable members along the entirety of
the fence, as illustrated in Schedule "B";
(ii)
gaps or openings of up to 20 millimetres are permitted if
horizontal structural members or other climbable members
are located less than 1,100 millimetres apart along any
portion of the enclosure; and
(iii)
notwithstanding subclauses 6(4)(e)(i) and (ii), there is no
prescribed limit to the size of gaps or openings in that portion
of the enclosure having an elevation of greater than 1.5
metres above grade.
Gates and Self-Closing Devices
7.
(1)
A gate which forms part of an enclosure must comply with the following:
(a)
a gate must comply with the requirements for fences in section 6(4)
of this Bylaw;
(b)
all gates must be installed to swing outward in the direction away
from the swimming pool;
(c)
all gates must be equipped with a self-closing device designed to
return the gate to the closed position after each use, a self-latching
device designed to hold the gate in the closed position after each
use, and a locking device;
(d)
the self-closing device, the self-latching device and the locking
device must be maintained in working order at all times; and
(e)
all gates must be anchored to fixed posts or secure structures on
both the hinge and latch sides.
(2)
The requirement in section 7(1)(b) does not apply to swimming pools
constructed before the passage of this Bylaw.
Page 5
Securing of Swimming Pool
8.
When a swimming pool is not attended by the owner or occupant, gates, doors
and other entrances to the swimming pool area must be locked.
Hot Tubs
9.
In the case of a private swimming pool which is a hot tub the requirements of
sections 5, 6, 7 and 8 of this Bylaw do not apply if all of the following provisions
are complied with:
(a)
the hot tub does not exceed 2.4 metres across the widest portion of
the water surface;
(b)
the hot tub has a cover with the strength to support the weight of an
adult walking across the top;
(c)
the hot tub has a lockable device to prevent access to the water by
unauthorized persons; and
(d)
the cover is maintained in place and locked at all times when the
hot tub is unsupervised.
Walkway
10.
(1)
Within the enclosure, a swimming pool must have a properly maintained
access walkway around the swimming pool with a minimum width of 750
millimetres.
(1.1) The walkway required pursuant to subsection (1) must be placed so that it
is no more than 1,200 millimetres below the top rim of an above-ground
swimming pool.
(2)
The requirement found in subsections 10(1) and (1.1) does not apply to
swimming pools constructed before June 7, 1971.
Safety Devices
11.
The owner or occupant must have the following equipment present at the
swimming pool at all times:
(a)
a reaching pole of sufficient length to reach mid-pool;
Page 6
(b)
a first aid kit; and
(c)
a buoy and rope of sufficient length to reach across the swimming
pool.
Drainage System
12.
(1)
A swimming pool must have a discharge system which allows the
swimming pool to drain into the sanitary sewer of the property upon which
the swimming pool is located and which complies with all relevant
legislation governing plumbing and drainage. The rate of discharge must
not exceed 90 litres a minute.
(2)
No person shall drain the water of a swimming pool into any adjacent
public or private property or any street, lane or walkway.
Inspections
12.1 (1)
The inspection of property by the City to determine whether this Bylaw is
being complied with is hereby authorized.
(2)
Inspections under this Bylaw shall be carried out in accordance with
section 324 of The Cities Act.
(3)
No person shall obstruct a municipal inspector who is authorized to
conduct an inspection under this section, or a person who is assisting a
municipal inspector.
Order to Remedy Contravention
12.2 (1)
If a municipal inspector finds that a person is contravening this Bylaw, the
municipal inspector may, by written order, require the owner or occupant
of the property to which the contravention relates to remedy the
contravention.
(2)
Orders given under this Bylaw shall comply with section 328 of The Cities
Act.
(3)
Orders given under this Bylaw shall be served in accordance with section
347 of The Cities Act.
Page 7
Registration of Notice of Order
12.3 If an order is issued pursuant to Section 12.2, the City may, in accordance with
section 328 of The Cities Act, give notice of the existence of the order by
registering an interest against the title to the land that is the subject of the order.
Appeal of Order to Remedy
12.4 (1)
A person may appeal an order made pursuant to Section 12.2 in
accordance with section 329 of The Cities Act.
(2)
An appeal pursuant to subsection (1) shall be made to the Saskatoon
Appeal Board.
(3)
The rules and procedure for an appeal pursuant to subsection (1) shall be
governed by the provisions of The Saskatoon Appeal Board Bylaw, 2024.
City Remedying Contraventions
12.5 The City may, in accordance with section 330 of The Cities Act, take whatever
actions or measures necessary to remedy a contravention of this Bylaw.
Civil Action to Recover Costs
12.6 The City may, in accordance with section 332 of The Cities Act, collect any
unpaid expenses and costs incurred in remedying a contravention of this Bylaw
by civil action for debt in a court of competent jurisdiction.
Adding Amounts to Tax Roll
12.7 The City may, in accordance with section 333 of The Cities Act, add any unpaid
expenses and costs incurred by the City in remedying a contravention of this
Bylaw to the taxes on the property on which the work was done.
Emergencies
12.8 In the event that it becomes an emergency to remedy a contravention of this
Bylaw, the City may take whatever actions or measures necessary to eliminate
the emergency in accordance with the provisions of section 331 of The Cities
Act.
Page 8
Offences and Penalties
13.
(1)
Every person who contravenes a provision of this Bylaw is guilty of an
offence and liable on summary conviction to a minimum fine of $100.00
and a maximum fine of $1,000.00.
(2)
A conviction for a contravention of any provision of this Bylaw does not
relieve the person convicted from complying with this Bylaw, and the
convicting judge or justice may, in addition to the fine imposed, order the
person to do any act or work, within a specified time, to comply with the
Bylaw.
(3)
The Court may, in default of payment of a fine imposed under this Bylaw,
order imprisonment of an individual for a term not exceeding one year.
Bylaw No. 7055 Repealed
14.
The Swimming Pool Bylaw No. 7055 is repealed.
Coming into Force
15.
This Bylaw comes into force on the day of its final passing.
Read a first time this 16th day of October, 2000.
Read a second time this 16th day of October, 2000.
Read a third time and passed this 16th day of October, 2000.
"Henry Dayday"
"Marlene Hall"
"SEAL"
Mayor
A/City Clerk
Page 9
Schedule "A"
Fees
Effective
January 1,
2026:
Effective
January 1,
2027:
Minimum Permit Fee
$167.00
$167.00
Re-Inspection Fee
$167.00
$167.00
Fee per $1,000.00 of Construction Value
$ 10.25
$ 10.00
Page 10
Schedule "B"