Inground pools in North Royalton, Ohio

North Royalton spent its first century as a farm township, mostly dairy, and grew quickly after the Ohio Turnpike opened in 1955. It became a city in 1961 and had 31,322 people at the 2020 census, spread over about 21 square miles. The city sits high for Cuyahoga County, at about 1,198 feet, and Cleveland Metroparks' Mill Stream Run Reservation, along the East Branch of the Rocky River, reaches into the city.

The zoning code gives a good sense of the lots. In R1-A the minimum is 20,000 square feet and 100 feet wide, with a 50 foot rear yard. R1-B lots can be 15,600 square feet and 80 feet wide. The RR-2 and RR-3 districts are two and three acre rural lots. On an 80 foot wide lot, 15 feet off each side line leaves a 50 foot band for the pool and its deck, which is plenty for most shells but worth drawing before you fall for a 16 by 40.

Most of the points we sampled in the USDA soil survey across North Royalton came back as Mahoning silt loam, a somewhat poorly drained soil formed in clayey glacial till. Water moves through it slowly, and spring digs often fill from the sides. Ellsworth and Rittman soils turn up on the slopes and are better drained, though Rittman has a dense fragipan that holds a perched water table in late fall and early spring.

The one to watch is Hornell. The USDA describes it as only 20 to 40 inches of till over soft shale or siltstone bedrock, with slow permeability. Shale that shallow is still diggable, and the top weathers enough to cut, but it changes the excavation and it tends to hold water on top of it. Along the creeks we also hit Holly silt loam, a poorly drained floodplain soil the survey lists as frequently flooded. A pool does not belong on that ground, and we tell people so.

That mix is why we want test holes before the 3D design is final on any lot where the survey shows Hornell or a wet bottom. It is a morning's work and it settles the question.

Section 1270.27 of the zoning code and Chapter 1482 of the building code both cover private pools. Pulled together, an inground pool here needs:

• A place in the rear yard, not the front or side yard, for both the pool and its equipment.
• At least 15 feet from every lot line and at least 15 feet from the house. Chapter 1482 adds that no building or existing wall can be closer than 15 feet to the pool edge.
• An attached deck that meets the side and rear yard setbacks.
• A permanent pool built to the natural grade, with no part more than 1 foot above it.
• A way to drain to the storm sewer.
• In RR-2 and RR-3, a location inside the building envelope.

The 15 foot house rule catches people who want the pool right off a back patio door. A patio that bridges the gap works well here and gives you a place for chairs and a grill that is not on the pool deck.

Lighting has its own rule. Lights cannot cast direct, excessively bright rays onto neighboring lots, and under Section 1482.07 no pool floodlight can be used after 11 p.m. within 200 feet of a home. The Planning Commission can also require a compact hedge. Pool wiring follows the National Electrical Code as the city has adopted it.

Any pool more than 10 feet across or more than 36 inches deep needs a fence. Section 1270.27 sets it at 4 feet minimum and 6 feet maximum, with an effective way of denying access, such as a locked gate. Section 1482.06 fills in the details: wood or metal, members no more than 4 inches apart, no more than 3 inches from the ground to the bottom, and gates that can lock and stay locked when the pool is unattended. If your whole lot is fenced, the locked gate rule for the pool area doesn't apply, and the Building Commissioner can approve other barriers that give equal protection.

The general fence chapter adds two things we build into the plan. A back yard fence needs a gate at least 3 feet wide so safety forces can get in, and any fence taller than 42 inches needs posts set at least 36 inches below finished grade.

Every private pool needs a pool permit with a detailed site plan, and permanent pools 3 feet deep or more also need a building permit. Chapter 1482 asks for plans showing the pool's size, depth and construction, drawn to scale with the barrier, the gates and the distance to the house. The North Royalton Building Division, on Royalton Road, handles building, electrical and plumbing permits, and applications can go through the city's online permit system. Ohio's residential code dropped its own pool section, so these city chapters are the rules that apply.

For most North Royalton families, a Liberty fiberglass pool is the right fit. On wet clay the shell is set and backfilled quickly, and on an R1-B lot something like the Anthem at 14 by 30 fits with room for a deck. Packages start at $68,400 installed for the smallest shells and include Pentair LED lights, a variable-speed pump, a DE filter, a pool heater and a 4 foot concrete deck. The fence, the patio between house and pool, spoils haul-off, dewatering and the power run to the equipment are extra. We also build ICF concrete and Latham vinyl liner pools. Financing is available through lenders such as PoolLoan.net and HFS Financial.

We also build in Broadview Heights, Brecksville, Strongsville, Richfield and Brunswick, all within a short drive of North Royalton.