Ordinance - 1667ORDINANCE NO. 1667
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
WEST COVINA, CALIFORNIA, REQUIRING CERTAIN SAFETY
MEASURES FOR SWIMMING POOLS AND PROVIDING FOR THE
ENFORCEMENT THEREOF BY THE BUILDING AND SAFETY DEPARTMENT
. The City Council of the City of West Covina does ordain as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter VII of the West Covina Municipal Code is hereby
amended by adding Article XVI as follows:
Sec. 7-260. Purpose:
The purpose of this Ordinance is to establish minimum safety standards
for swimming pools by regulating and controlling the design of pool
enclosures, inspection and approval of pools and provide for draining
of pools by the City when they have been abandoned.
Sec. 7-261. Definition:
"Swimming pool" is any outside body of water created by artificial
means, which is designed or used for swimming, immersion or
therapeutic purposes, any portion of which exceeds eighteen (18)
inches in depth, including spas and portable swimming pools.
Sec. 7-262. Swimming Pools Safety Precautions:
Every person in possession of land within the City of West Covina,
either as owner, purchaser under contract, lessee, tenant, licensee or
otherwise, upon which is situated a swimming pool (other than swimming
pools excepted by the second paragraph of Sec. 264) shall at all times
maintain on the lot or premises upon which such pool is located and
completely surrounding such pool, lot or premises, a substantial,
permanent fence or other structure not less than five (5) feet six (6)
• inches in height with no opening therein, other than doors or gates,
and other than openings approved by the Building Official upon finding
that they will not materially facilitate scaling the fence or other
structure by children. Where fencing has vertical pickets, as in
wrought iron, such vertical pickets must be a maximum of four (4)
inches apart. Horizontal bars must be within four (4) inches of top
and bottom of fence with no intermediate bars allowed.
All gates or doors opening through such enclosure shall be equipped
with a self -closing and self -latching device designed to keep and
capable of keeping such door or gate securely closed at all times when
not in actual use. Such latching device must be located not less than
four (4) feet ten (10) inches above the ground; provided, however,
that the door of any dwelling occupied by human beings forming any
part of the enclosure hereinafter required need not be so equipped.
Driveway type gates shall not be permitted unless motor -driven and
approved by the Building Official. All fencing forming the pool
enclosure shall be in place and approved by the City before water is
placed in the pool.
Sec. 7-263. Swimming Pools, Emptying Upon Abandonment Or Vacation Of
Premises:
(a) No person in possession or control of any swimming pool on any
land within the City as either owner, lessee, tenant, purchaser under
contract, trustee, mortgagee or beneficiary of the land upon which
• such swimming pool is located shall abandon or vacate the premises
upon which such swimming pool is located or is accessory or
appurtenant, or cause or permit the same to be abandoned or vacated,
without first having either:
1. Emptied all water from such swimming pool and left the same
empty, or
2. Completely cover said swimming pool with a safe and adequate
pool cover or other protective device, approved in writing by the
Building Official as sufficient to protect persons, especially
children, from falling into such pool.
(b) No owner of any swimming pool on any land within the City, upon
learning that the premises upon which such swimming pool is located or
• is accessory or appurtenant, has been abandoned or vacated by the
person in possession or control of such swimming pool, shall fail,
within forty-eight (48) hours after so learning or so being advised by
the Building Official, to either:
1. Empty all water from said swimming pool and leave the same
empty until said premises are again occupied by a person in
possession and control of such swimming pool, or
2. Completely cover said swimming pool with a safe and adequate
pool cover or other protective device approved in writing by the
Building Official, as aforesaid, and keep said pool so covered
until said premises are again occupied by a person in possesion
and control of such swimming pool.
(c) "Abandon" and "abandoned", as used in this section, shall mean
the leaving of premises without actual, apparent and manifest
intention to return thereto within a reasonable and foreseeable time
unless definite provision has been made in writing prior to leaving
the premises to have them actually occupied within thirty (30) days of
such leaving by some other person who will be in possession and
control of such swimming pool.
(d) "Vacate" and "vacated", as used in this section, shall mean the
leaving of premises without the bonafide intent to return and actually
returning to said premises within a period of thirty (30) days or less
• (or such additional period not exceeding an aggregate of sixty (60)
days from date of leaving as may be granted by the Building Official
for good cause, such as extended vacation, emergency, etc.) unless
during said period of absence some other person actually occupies said
premises and is in possession and control of such swimming pool.
(e) Every person who violates or fails to comply with any of the
terms, provisions or requirements of this section shall thereby have
agreed and consented and conclusively be deemed to have agreed and
consented:
1. That the City may enter upon the premises and empty all water
from such swimming pool or cause the same to be done, and
2. To reimburse the City on demand for the actual cost of
emptying such pool or causing the same to be done, and that the
City may collect the same from any such person by civil action or
any other lawful means selected by or available to the City,
including, where applicable, the means provided by Title 5,
Division 1, Part 1, Chapter 1, Article 9 (beginning at Section
50230) of the Government Code of the State of California.
Sec. 264. Inspecting and Approval of Swimming Pools:
All plans hereafter submitted to the City for swimming pools to be
constructed shall show compliance with the requirements of Sec. 7-262,
• and final inspection and approval of all pools hereafter constructed
shall be withheld until all requirements of Sec. 7-262 shall have been
complied with.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to public swimming
pools for which a charge or admission price is required to be paid for
such use thereof; nor to swimming pools which are a part of and
located upon the same premises as a hotel, motel or apartment house,
during the time that the owner, operator or adult employee of such
owner or operator is present at and in active charge of the premises
upon which such pool is located.
SECTION 2. If any subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase,
• or portion of this Ordinance, or the application thereof to any person, is
for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of
any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the
validity of the remaining portion of the Ordinance or its application to
other persons. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted
this and each subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase or portion
thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more subsections,
subdivisions, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions of the application
thereof to any person, be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
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SECTION 3. The Mayor shall sign and City Clerk shall certify to the
passage and adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause the same to be
published in the manner prescribed by law.
PASSED AND APPROVED this 22nd day of April , 1985.
Mayor
ATTEST:
Ci y Clerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES )
CITY OF WEST COVINA )
I, HELENE M. MOONEY , City Clerk of the City of West Covina, do
hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 1667 was regularly
introduced and placed upon its first reading at a regular meeting of the
City Council on the 8th day of A ril , 1985. That thereafter said
Ordinance was duly adopted and passe at a regular meeting of the City
Council on the 22nd day of April , 1985, by the following vote, to
wit:
AYES:
Councilmembers:
NOES:
Councilmembers:
ABSENT:
Councilmembers:
ABSTAIN:
Councilmembers:
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
I e0ex.
City Attorney
Manners, Chappell, Shearer, Tennant, Bacon
None
None (
None
City "Clerk IV" ' /
• C E R T I F I C A T I O N
I, JANET BERRY, Deputy City Clerk of the City of West Covina, State
of California, do hereby certify that a true and accurate copy of
Ordinance No. �_ was published, pursuant to law, in the San
Gabriel Valley. Tribune, a newspaper of general circulation published
and circulated in the City of West Covina.
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DATED:
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Janet Berry, Deputy City Clerk
City of West Covina, California