 Brown questioned what the city regulations are and if they might
need to be modified to increase safety.
City building code enforcement officer Les Last informed the
council that there is an ordinance regulating pool safety, but that
the city had adopted the BOCA code and it also addresses that issue.
As such, when it comes to any building and code regulations,
whichever is the more restrictive is the regulation, Last said.
The present city ordinance states that there needs to be a 3-foot
fence for 3 feet of standing water.
The BOCA* code (see note below article) states that any pool with
2 feet of water needs to have a 4-foot fence.
So, according to code, if the water is 24 inches deep, there
needs to be a fence.
Some above-ground pools have ladders that fold and lock and a
railed deck that would prevent access.
Brown suggested that police could start patrolling and issuing
citations to those without a fence who have a ladder down.
Alderman Buzz Busby was skeptical whether police could enforce
having a pool unattended with the ladder down. What if someone just
ran inside for a minute and was coming right back out and left the
ladder in place? he asked.
The request to increase restrictions was reviewed by the
ordinance committee.
When the petition came before the council to vote on, ordinance
chairman Wanda Lee Rohlfs said that the committee covered the issue
in depth and it came down to two very important aspects:
- Protecting young children from accidental drowning
- Compliance with BOCA code
[to top of second column]
 |
 She said that the BOCA code is a resource from many years of
testing and research, and it takes the safety of children into
consideration. "I think we would like to stay in compliance with the
BOCA code," she said.
Prather recommended that the information be distributed to the
sellers of swimming pools so that citizens would know they do have a
responsibility.
Mayor Beth Davis said that had already been done. She also asked
Last to enforce the city's current ordinance regulations on pools.
There are many details pertaining to the construction of the
fence, such as how much space is allowed between the ground and the
start of an in-ground pool fence or between the top of an
above-ground pool and the start of the fence. It also stipulates how
big the spaces in the fence material can be, as well as how many
gates and their locations, the type of latches, and more.
The city buildings and codes office in City Hall has copies of
the regulations available for pickup. Last encourages everyone to
use common sense and do everything they can to prevent an accident.
[Jan
Youngquist]
* BOCA code: Building Officials and Code Administrators, which
published the BOCA National Building Code and other national codes,
is now the International Code Council. In 2003, more than 190 years
of combined building and fire safety code development and 30 years
of anticipation for one organization to produce codes for use across
the country and around the globe became a reality when BOCA, ICBO
and SBCCI consolidated to become the
International Code
Council.
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