Swimming pools might not be allowed in front yards without a fence if a proposal before the East Lansing City Council comes to fruition, a policy that potentially could impact students who want to have some fun in the water.
The council introduced an ordinance at its Tuesday meeting that would not allow pools with a depth of more than 2 feet in residential front and side yards unless they are enclosed by a fence that is at least 4 feet high.
City Manager George Lahanas said the ordinance was introduced as an effort to improve safety.
“It has this dangerous element,” he said. “If people leave a pool in their front yard and it’s not fenced in, someone could come in there, play with it, drown. Anything can happen to a pool that’s open like that.”
Although Lahanas said there haven’t been any reported incidents of drowning or other injuries as a result of pools being in front yards, the safety concern still exists. He said pools also can be an eyesore in the front yard and cause issues with water runoff.
East Lansing Mayor Nathan Triplett said the issue came to the council’s attention during the city’s code review. He said the pools have concerned East Lansing police for at least a few years.
“When you have pools that aren’t fenced in any way, shape or form in the front yard, you have easy access from the sidewalk,” Triplett said. “I think the department’s concern is that it provides an opportunity for mischief.”
In addition to pools being a safety concern for children, Triplett said the police department is worried someone who is intoxicated might walk by an open pool in the front yard and act inappropriately.
He said the police department is looking to combat the issue before it becomes a problem.
“(The police department) tries to keep an eye on this issue when the pools crop up during the warmer months,” he said. “Although no one has drowned, I think it’s something they see on their regular rounds. … It’s certainly not trying to prevent people from having a pool that is safely enclosed on their property, just rather to have public access opportunities reduced.”
Triplett added that the issue is not ‘kiddie’ pools, but larger pools that aren’t enclosed.
“The concern is less about the small, inflatable … pools, but more the above-ground pools that are comparable in size to in-ground pools,” he said. “The definition in the ordinance would capture some of the smaller pools but what we’re trying to get at are these larger pools.”
The council moved to place the proposed ordinance on its consent agenda for further ?discussion at its upcoming meeting.
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