Inground pools in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

The Cuyahoga River drops about 220 feet through the city in a series of falls and rapids, which is where the name and the old mill town came from. In 1985 voters approved a merger with neighboring Northampton Township, and in 1986 it became the first merger of a city and a township in Ohio. The city's land area roughly tripled. About 51,000 people live here now, according to the 2020 census.

That history shows up in the lot sizes. The city's development code defines several single-family lot types. A standard lot can be as small as 6,000 square feet and 50 feet wide. A suburban lot is a quarter acre, and the large lot type starts at an acre and a half. A pool on a 50 foot wide standard lot is a careful fit. On a large lot in the north end, the harder question is usually how far the equipment and power have to run.

The USDA soil survey tells the same two-town story. Near the gorge at the city's center we found Dekalb sandy loam on 12 to 18 percent slopes. Dekalb is a moderately deep soil weathered from sandstone, which means bedrock can be close enough to meet the excavator. Farther north the map shifts to Ellsworth and Mahoning silt loams, glacial till soils that drain slowly, and in low spots on the east side we found Olmsted loam, which the USDA rates very poorly drained.

A pool on a sloped, rocky lot often needs a retaining wall on the low side and a plan for breaking or removing rock, and we would much rather know that before we quote. A pool on the wet northern flats needs dewatering during the dig and a way to relieve groundwater pressure under the shell. We build both regularly. For decks, walls and steps, Summit County uses a 38 inch frost line, and we pour to it.

The city's General Development Code treats any pool holding more than a foot and a half of water as a structure that needs a building permit and appropriate fencing, and it cannot sit in the front yard or the street building setback. The codified ordinances say the same thing another way: no pool may be located in front of the building setback line.

We could not find a separate side or rear setback written specifically for residential pools in the city code. The city's posted setbacks for sheds and other accessory structures on lots under half an acre are 6 feet behind the rear building line of the house, 5 feet from the rear property line and 3 feet from the side, and a pool house or equipment shed will be held to those. For the pool itself, we confirm the placement with the Planning and Zoning Division during review rather than guess.

Here the code has a quirk worth knowing. Section 1333.02, the pool fence section, calls for an approved fence at least 4 feet high around the pool, around the lot or somewhere in between, never in front of the setback line, with self-locking gates. But Section 1333.01(e), in the general fence rules, says pools must be enclosed by a fence or barrier not less than 5 feet high. We build to 5 feet. A taller fence satisfies both sections, and nobody wants an inspection to hinge on which one applies.

A few more city fence rules shape the design:

• Fences need a zoning permit. The city's fence application costs $25 and asks for a plot plan and a picture or brochure of the fence.
• A fence goes either on the property line or at least 3 feet off it, with nothing in between.
• Side and rear fences can be up to 6 feet. Street-facing fences are limited to 4 feet and must be picket or ornamental.
• Chain link is allowed only in side and rear yards, and only up to 4 feet, so it cannot meet a 5 foot pool barrier on its own.
• The finished side faces the neighbor or the street.

Under Section 1333.02, the Department of Building and Zoning Inspection approves the pool fence and gate plans before installation and inspects them when they are done. Only the Board of Zoning Appeals can grant a variance from that section.

Zoning review runs through the city's Community Development Department at City Hall, 2310 Second Street. For building permits, the city contracts with the County of Summit Department of Building Standards on East Tallmadge Avenue in Akron. A 2026 pool application from the City of Green notes that the county no longer issues a separate pool permit but may require an electrical permit, so we confirm the county's current requirements when we file. If your home falls in one of the city's historic overlay districts, extra design review can apply, and we check for that before we draw the barrier.

On standard lots in the older neighborhoods, a narrower Liberty fiberglass shell usually fits best: the 9 foot wide Enrichment, or an 11 or 12 foot wide model like the Victory 11x22. Our fiberglass packages start at $68,400 installed, with Pentair equipment, LED lights and a 4 foot concrete deck included. On a sloped lot near the gorge, a retaining wall, rock work and extra grading are often part of the job, and like the 5 foot fence, spoils haul-off and the electrical run to the pad, they are priced once we see the site. If you plan to borrow, we can point you to the lenders we work with, including PoolLoan.net and HFS Financial.

On the larger northern lots, owners sometimes want a custom ICF concrete pool with a spillover spa, or a vinyl liner pool from Latham for a custom shape at a lower starting cost.

"Great company to work with very helpful with the design process I would recommend this company!" Randy W.

Cuyahoga Falls is about 12 miles from our Ravenna shop. We also build in Munroe Falls, Stow, Tallmadge, Kent and Fairlawn.