Inground pools in Uniontown, Ohio

Uniontown was platted in 1816 and named for two stagecoach lines that met near the original town site. It stayed a small crossroads for most of its history and never became a village or city, so it has no zoning code or building department of its own. The census counted 7,173 people in the Uniontown area in 2020, up from about 2,800 in 2000. Most of that growth is newer subdivisions, and those are the yards we usually get called to.

For a pool, the address on your mail does not settle much. What counts is the jurisdiction your parcel sits in. On the Stark County side, zoning belongs to Lake Township, and most families there are in the Lake Local Schools district. North of the county line you are in the City of Green, and Green's zoning division handles the pool. The tax bill or the county auditor's parcel map settles it in about a minute, and we check it before we draw anything, because the setbacks differ by 5 feet on every side.

We pulled USDA soil survey data for several points around Uniontown. Most came back as Chili silt loam or Oshtemo sandy loam. Both are well drained soils that formed in glacial outwash, the sand and gravel that meltwater left behind. The Chili description notes a large amount of quartz gravel in the parent material. On the southwest side we also found Canfield silt loam, a till soil with a dense fragipan and a perched water table that can sit 10 to 21 inches down from November through April.

Sandy ground changes how we dig. Water drains away instead of pooling in the hole, so pumping is usually a smaller job than on clay. The tradeoff is that sand and gravel will not hold a steep wall. We lay the excavation back or dig it wider so the sides do not slough in while the crew works, and that means more backfill around the shell. On a Canfield lot the plan looks more like a clay site: expect water in a spring dig and plan for pressure relief under the pool.

Most Uniontown projects are fiberglass. A Liberty Composites shell sets in one piece, the finish is smooth and nonporous, and the install moves quickly, which suits the subdivision lots here where the backyard is also the kids' yard. Our published fiberglass packages run from $68,400 installed for a Dignity 10x20 or Enrichment 9x17 up to $103,900 for a Virtuous 16x40. A Hero 12x26 is $74,900.

Each package includes Pentair LED color-changing lights, a Pentair variable-speed pump and DE filter, a pool heater, a 4 foot concrete wrap deck, a cleaning kit, starter chemicals, the installation itself and electrical hook-up at the equipment. The things that change from yard to yard are separate: the barrier fence, decking beyond the 4 foot wrap, hauling the spoils, dewatering and the electrical run from your panel to the equipment pad. On sandy lots the spoil is easier to move than sticky clay, and we price the haul-off to what your yard actually produces. Financing is available through the lenders we work with if you would rather not pay cash.

If you want a shape no mold makes, we build ICF concrete pools and Latham vinyl liner pools as well.

On the Stark County side, the Lake Township Zoning Resolution treats a pool as an accessory structure. Every inground pool needs a zoning certificate, and the township's pool form has to go in with the zoning application. Here is what Section 405 and Table 405B require:

• The pool, hot tub or spa must be at least 10 feet from the side and rear lot lines.
• Accessory structures other than fences are not allowed in the front yard.
• The pool must be entirely surrounded by a wall or fence at least 48 inches high, and gates or doors leading to it must be self-closing and self-latching.
• The pool cannot be filled until the permanent fence and gate are finished, unless a temporary fence that meets the same standard is put up. The temporary fence can stay for up to 60 days.
• Chlorinated water has to be disposed of in line with the NPDES rules in effect in the township.

Two more points matter for planning. Table 405A limits the total lot coverage of accessory structures in residential districts, starting at 1,200 square feet on lots up to one acre. Since the resolution counts a pool as an accessory structure, a pool plus an existing shed or detached garage can get close to that number, and we ask the zoning office how they will count it before we settle on a size. The temporary fence option also helps with fiberglass. The shell is filled with water while it is backfilled, and the 60 day allowance lets that happen while the permanent fence goes in.

Building and electrical work in the unincorporated townships goes through the Stark County Building Inspection Department on Whipple Avenue in Canton. The county lists township zoning and sewer or septic approval among the approvals it needs before it issues a building permit, so the Lake Township certificate comes first.

On the City of Green side the rules are tighter. Green's pool permit application puts pools in the rear yard, at least 15 feet from the side and rear property lines, and every element counts toward that setback, including the deck. A pool with 1.5 feet of water or more needs a fence or wall at least 4 feet high, and the fence needs its own permit through a Certificate of Use application. Green also caps the total of accessory uses based on your lot size and the footprint of the house, and asks for an accessory use calculation worksheet with the application. On a septic lot you need an evaluation from the Summit County health district.

For building and electrical, Green's 2026 application says Summit County Building Standards no longer issues a pool permit, though an electrical permit may be needed. We confirm that with the county on each job.

Dry sand digs fast, and a fiberglass install on a well drained lot is about as smooth as our work gets. The slow part is usually paperwork. The zoning certificate and fence rules come first, then the county. We submit a site plan with the pool, deck, fence and equipment pad drawn to scale and measured to the lot lines, which heads off most requests for revisions. On the Canfield ground in the southwest part of town, wet spring weather can push the dig back a few days. We would rather wait than set a shell in a flooded hole.

Uniontown is roughly 15 miles from our Ravenna shop, an easy run down the highway for site visits and inspections. We also work in Green, Hartville, Akron, Tallmadge and Canal Fulton, so if you are on the edge of Uniontown, it is the same crew either way.