Inground pools in Poland, Ohio

Poland Township was first surveyed in 1796 as Town One, Range One of the Connecticut Western Reserve, and the village grew up where settlers found Yellow Creek. Today the village has the green, the town hall and the Poland Municipal Forest, about 265 acres of woods along Yellow Creek that the village created by ordinance in 1938. The township wraps around it, and the Poland Local School District serves the community. A Poland mailing address can mean either one, so we look up the parcel before anything else.

Section 7.13 of the township zoning code covers family pools, and it is stricter than most of our area:

• The pool, or the whole yard, must be surrounded by a fence at least 6 feet high, with a self-closing gate.
• The pool can only go in the rear yard.
• All of its parts, including deck areas and patios, must be at least 10 feet from every property line.
• The depth has to be clearly marked on the pool surface.
• Lights must be shaded so they point away from neighbors and the street.

Two of those shape the design more than people expect. The 6 foot fence is a big structure, and the township's zoning FAQ repeats the requirement for every pool. And because the 10 feet is measured to the edge of the deck and patio, not the water, the pool itself ends up farther from the line than in towns that measure to the pool wall. Zoning permits in the township are priced at $7 per $1,000 of improvement, with a $25 minimum.

Township minutes show the Board of Zoning Appeals has granted a variance to keep an existing 5 foot pool fence, so relief is possible. We would rather design to the rule than count on it.

Inside the village, pool fencing falls under Section 1279.04 of the village code:

• An in-ground pool must be completely enclosed by a fence, the house, or both, set at least 3 feet from the edge of the water.
• The fence and gate must be 4 to 6 feet high, and every gate must be self-closing and self-latching.
• The pool fence must be at least 3 feet from all property lines.
• The code specifies woven wire of at least 9 gauge with 2 inch mesh, or an equivalent material the zoning administrator approves. Posts must resist decay and corrosion, and for in-ground pools they are set in concrete.
• The finished side faces out.

The village's general fence rules also apply: no fence within 3 feet of a shared property line, privacy fences only in rear yards and no taller than 6 feet, and a zoning permit from the village zoning inspector for any fence. If you want something other than woven wire, we submit the fence product for approval as an equivalent early on.

Township fences must meet the Mahoning County building code, and Mahoning County Building Inspection handles building and electrical permits for township homes. Its pool appendix adds a 48 inch minimum barrier, no more than 2 inches of clearance at the bottom, openings too small for a 4 inch sphere, and gates that swing away from the pool. The county also lists a 38 inch frost depth, which sets how deep we take footings and deck edges. For a village address, we confirm with the village which building office covers the parcel before we file.

We sampled the USDA soil survey around Poland. The low ground along Yellow Creek and its terraces is mapped as Damascus loam and Sebring silt loam, both poorly drained, with water near the surface for much of the spring. Jimtown soils, somewhat poorly drained outwash, turn up too. On the rises, Bogart loam is a moderately well drained soil formed in stratified outwash, and Canfield soils appear in the built-up areas.

That split matters. A lot on a Bogart rise can dig clean. A lot near the creek flats will probably have water in the hole, and we plan for pumping and relief under the shell. We look at the lot and the soil map together before the design is final.

Fiberglass is usually our first recommendation. A Liberty shell goes in quickly, which matters on wetter creek-side lots, and depth markers are easy to add for the township rule. With the township's deck setback, a 12 by 26 Hero or a 14 by 30 Anthem suits many rear yards. For a custom shape, or insulated walls that hold heat and stretch the season, we build ICF concrete. A Latham vinyl liner pool is the budget-friendlier way to get a made-to-measure size.

The starting point is $68,400 for an installed fiberglass package. For that you get the shell set and backfilled, Pentair color LED lights, a Pentair variable-speed pump and DE filter, 4 feet of concrete deck on every side, and the equipment wired up at the pad. In Poland Township, the 6 foot fence is a larger line item than the 4 foot fences most towns allow, so we price it early. Extra patio, spoils haul-off, dewatering on the creek flats and the panel-to-pad electrical run are also separate. If you would rather spread the cost out, PoolLoan.net and HFS Financial are two of the lenders we work with.

Most of the calendar risk here is up front. The township zoning permit and the county building permit are separate filings, and a village parcel adds the fence material approval. We send them together as soon as the 3D design is signed. If a lot cannot meet the 10 foot deck setback, a variance means a Board of Zoning Appeals hearing, which is why we try a smaller deck or a different shell first. Creek-side lots may also wait out a wet April before we dig.

Poland is about 34 miles from our Ravenna shop. We also build in Boardman, Canfield, Salem and Warren, so the eastern side of Mahoning County is well within our regular range.