[Ord. 278, 5/12/1969, § 1]
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following words shall,
for the purpose of this Part, have the meanings herein indicated:
An enclosure; such enclosure shall be four feet in height,
constructed of masonry, wood or metal, with apertures not larger than
three inches, and shall be equipped with a self-closing gate which
is self-latching on the inside and of such design that children of
less than four feet in height will be substantially deterred from
passing through, crawling under or climbing over the enclosure.
Any natural person, copartnership, association, firm or corporation.
Any body of water, tank, receptacle or structure, whether
artificial or portable, fashioned of stone, concrete, cement, cinder
block, earth, glass fiber, rigid plastic, tile or other material,
permanently affixed on or into the ground, having at any point a possible
depth of three feet or greater, used or intended to be used for swimming
or bathing solely by the owner, his family and guests of the household;
and constructed, installed, established or maintained outside any
building as an accessory use to a residence or any building. Portable
wading pools under three feet in depth are excluded herefrom.
A property which is permanently abandoned and unoccupied
by the owner, lessee or occupant.
[Ord. 278, 5/12/1969, § 2]
It shall be unlawful for any person to construct, install, establish or maintain, or alter, remodel or reconstruct a private swimming pool, as herein defined, without having obtained a permit therefor in the manner defined in § 23-103. However, no permit shall be required for a portable, collapsible wading pool less than three feet in depth.
[Ord. 278, 5/12/1969, § 3; as amended by Ord. 379,
2/17/1986]
Application for a permit shall be submitted to the Building
Inspector, together with a plot plan showing the area and depth of
the proposed construction, the location of the pool on the lot, the
location of the building on the lot, the fence existing and planned,
and the height and aperture dimensions thereof. Applications shall
be made on forms to be supplied by the Building Inspector upon the
payment of a permit fee, as established by resolution of Borough Council.
Said permit fees shall not be refundable in the event a permit is
refused or not proceeded with. Upon approval of the application and
accompanying plans by the Building Inspector, one set so marked will
be returned to the applicant and must be kept on the site with the
permit and be available at all times to the Building Inspector or
other officers of the Borough. No change in the same shall be made
without prior notification to, and approval by, the Building Inspector.
[Ord. 278, 5/12/1969, § 4]
The Building Inspector shall make such determination of the
plans submitted to assure compliance with all the requirements of
this Part, the Building Code and the Zoning Ordinance. After investigation,
and upon such advice and assistance from the Borough Engineer and
other Borough officers as the Building Inspector may deem necessary,
the Borough Secretary shall issue the permit.
[Ord. 278, 5/12/1969, § 5; as amended by Ord. 285,
7/13/1970]
Any private swimming pool, including such structures as locker
rooms, bathhouses, cabanas, shower rooms, toilets and other physical
facilities or equipment incidental to the operation of any private
swimming pool, is to be considered an accessory building as a unit
and shall conform to the requirements of the Borough Building Code
and Zoning Chapter as to the construction and location on the lot
or parcel of ground, except for such changed requirements as are made
by this Part. No private swimming pool shall be permitted which will
reduce the open, unoccupied area of the lot to less than 50% of the
total lot area. No pool shall be located less than 25 feet from the
front property line nor less than three feet from any other property
line.
[Ord. 278, 5/12/1969, § 6]
All private swimming pools shall be drained and maintained free
of water during any period that a property is vacant.
[Added by Ord. 568, 5/19/2014]
1.Â
The Borough of East Lansdowne hereby finds that unmaintained private
swimming pools are a danger to the public health, safety and welfare
and present an unreasonable risk of drowning, harboring mosquitoes
and facilitating the spread of West Nile Virus and other diseases.
2.Â
From and after the passage of this section, it shall be unlawful
for any person, firm or corporation to fail to open or drain a private
swimming pool by June 15 of each year in any district of the Borough.
3.Â
Any person having a private swimming pool must take all necessary
steps to open the swimming pool in a clean and sanitary condition
and in good repair by June 15 of each year. At all times when a swimming
pool is open for use, the water shall be treated, with either insecticide
and/or circulation pumps, in such a manner as to prevent the breeding
of mosquitoes.
4.Â
In the alternative, if the property owner is not able or interested
in opening a private swimming pool in a clean and sanitary condition
and in good repair, such swimming pool must be drained and maintained
free of standing water at all times.
[Ord. 278, 5/12/1969, § 7]
Every private swimming pool shall be completely surrounded by
a fence, the gate of which shall be kept closed at all times when
the pool is not in use.
[Ord. 278, 5/12/1969, § 8]
All private swimming pools shall be provided with means for
diversion of all water by disposal other than entrance into any sanitary
sewer system of the Borough or onto the surface of the lot or any
adjoining lot.
[Ord. 278, 5/12/1969, § 9]
Every private swimming pool constructed, installed, established
or maintained or to be constructed, installed, established or maintained
in the Borough of East Lansdowne shall at all times comply with the
requirements of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources.
Any nuisance or hazard to health which may exist or develop in or
in consequence of or in connection with any such private swimming
pool shall be abated and removed by the owner, lessee or occupant
of the premises on which said pool is located within 10 days of receipt
of notice from the Building Inspector or the East Lansdowne Board
of Health.
[Ord. 278, 5/12/1969, § 10]
1.Â
If any private swimming pool in existence on the effective date of this Part (5/12/1969) shall be enclosed with a fence which is less than the prescribed height of four feet and if such fence substantially complies with all other standards prescribed by this Part, then any such fence may continue to be maintained at its existing height, but any replacement of such fence subsequent to the effective date of this Part shall be in full compliance with § 23-101 hereof.
2.Â
The Borough Council, upon receipt of an application in writing from the owner of any private swimming pool, may relieve such owner from the necessity of complying with the fence requirements of § 23-107 if it shall find, after investigation and/or such hearing as it shall deem appropriate, that access to such pool from adjoining properties and from public highways is substantially deterred by distance, existing natural barriers, or by any other obstructions or conditions which, while not constituting a literal compliance with the terms of the Part, do effectuate the spirit and purpose of the Part. The action of the Borough Council in approving any such application shall be evidenced by an order of the Borough Council in writing signed by the President and attested by the Secretary.
[Ord. 278, 5/12/1969, § 10]
Whenever the owner of any private swimming pool about to be
or in the course of being erected or altered, or whenever the owner
of a private swimming pool in existence on the effective date of this
Part, takes exception to the decision of the Building Inspector in
refusing to approve the issuance of a permit, or to his decision as
to the compliance with the provisions of this Part, such owner or
his duly authorized attorney may, within 20 days after such decision,
take an appeal therefrom to the Zoning Hearing Board. Such appeal
shall be in writing, shall state the decision of the Building Inspector,
and the reasons for the exception taken thereto, shall be verified
by affidavit and shall be filed with the Borough Secretary. The person
appealing shall have the right to appear and be heard, if he states
his desire to do so in his written appeal. A prompt determination
of such appeal shall be made by the Zoning Hearing Board and shall
be duly recorded, and the appealing owner shall be notified of such
decision in writing.
[Ord. 278, 5/12/1969, § 11; as amended by Ord.
416, 4/22/1991]
Any owner or other person who shall maintain, construct or alter
any private swimming pool without the permit required by this Part
first having been obtained, or who shall fail to comply with any of
the requirements of the permit or of this Part, or who shall fail
to comply with any regulation, order or direction of the Building
Inspector, or who shall in any way violate any of the provisions of
this Part, shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine
of not less than $10 and not more than $600 plus costs, and in default
of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 30
days. Every day that a violation of this Part continues shall constitute
a separate offense.
