Inground pools in Jackson Township, Ohio

Jackson is a big township, about 37 square miles with 43,067 people at the 2020 census, and it takes in everything from the shopping around Belden Village Mall to the neighborhoods served by Jackson Local Schools. Parts of Massillon and North Canton and the village of Hills and Dales sit within its borders, and those have their own rules. This page is about homes under township zoning.

The township's zoning map runs from R-R rural residential through R-1 to R-6, so lot sizes vary a lot from one street to the next. That matters more for pools than people think, because the setbacks are fixed and the yard is not. A pool that fits easily on an R-R lot can be a squeeze on a smaller subdivision lot once the deck is drawn in. If your neighborhood has deed restrictions or an association, bring them to the first meeting. We can't tell you from the zoning book whether yours does, but the paperwork will.

Jackson's soils are more varied than most of the places we dig. When we sampled the USDA soil survey at points across the township, about half came back as Chili or Conotton, both well drained soils formed in gravelly glacial outwash. Some of those were mapped on 12 to 18 percent slopes, which in Jackson usually means a rolling rear yard that falls away from the house.

Other points were Canfield silt loam, which formed in till and has a dense fragipan starting 15 to 30 inches down. The USDA notes a perched water table 10 to 21 inches below the surface from November to April, sitting on top of that pan. And in the low ground along the creeks, we hit Shoals silt loam, a floodplain soil that stays wet in winter and spring.

Each of those needs a different plan. On gravel, the dig drains and the walls stand up well, but a slope can call for a retaining wall or a raised deck on the low side. On Canfield, we expect water in a spring dig and plan for pumping. On floodplain soil, we look hard at where the pool sits before we design anything. Test holes answer most of it in an afternoon.

Section 401.12 of the Jackson Township Zoning Resolution covers swimming pools. Every inground pool needs a zoning certificate and must meet the setbacks. The setback schedule in Section 401.11 allows pools, hot tubs and saunas in the rear and side yards only, at least 10 feet from the rear lot line, 10 feet from the side lot line and 25 feet from the street right of way. An uncovered deck around the pool can come to 10 feet from the side and rear lines. A plain concrete or paver patio with no roof and no footers isn't regulated and doesn't need a permit, which helps when you want more patio later.

The barrier rule for an inground pool is a wall or fence at least 4 feet high, measured from the grade around the top of the pool walls, with a gate and a locking device that latches securely. The application and site plan have to say what type of barrier you are using, and the pool can't be filled until it is complete. Fences themselves need a permit, can go up to 8 feet in back, and are limited to 4 feet within 20 feet of the front right of way.

Two exceptions are unusual. If your lot line backs onto a lake of 10 acres or more, and the water runs at least 10 feet past that entire line, you don't need a fence along that side. And on a lot of 5 acres or more, with the pool at least 200 feet from the rear and side lines, an automatic safety cover meeting ASTM F1346-91 can take the place of the fence. On a big lot, that second one can change the whole look of a project.

The zoning fee for an inground private pool is $125, and a residential fence permit is $10. The zoning certificate lapses if work hasn't started within 12 months, so we don't file until the design and schedule are settled. The township leaves construction, plumbing and electrical standards to county and state codes.

Stark County Building Inspection covers Jackson and the other unincorporated parts of the county. Its pool handout says it issues electrical and mechanical permits only, and it needs copies of your township zoning approval first, plus Stark County Health Department approval if the home is on septic. The county's inground pool fee is $200. The contractor pulls that permit and has to be registered with the county, which we are set up to do. Because Ohio's residential code no longer has its own pool section, the township's barrier rule is the one that decides your fence.

For most families here we start with a Liberty fiberglass pool. The shell sets fast, so a dig in Canfield soil isn't open long, and the finished surface holds up to Stark County winters. Our installed packages run from $68,400 for the Dignity 10 by 20 up to $103,900 for the Virtuous 16 by 40, and each includes Pentair lights, a variable-speed pump, a DE filter, a pool heater and a 4 foot concrete deck. The fence, extra patio, spoils haul-off, dewatering and the run from your panel to the equipment are priced separately. Sloped gravel lots often need a retaining wall, and bigger rolling lots are where ICF concrete pools and spillover spas make sense. Latham vinyl liner pools are another option. Financing is available through lenders such as PoolLoan.net and HFS Financial.

Jackson Township is about 24 miles from our Ravenna shop. We also build in Massillon, Canal Fulton, Green, North Canton and Canton, so we know how Stark County's split between township zoning and county permits works in practice.