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Zoning board debates pool, fence definitions

By Adam Testa, The Southern

Sunday, September 16, 2007 1:06 AM CDT

MURPHYSBORO - Debate over a proposed amendment to the city's swimming pool ordinance became a battle of semantics Thursday.

The Zoning Board of Appeals discussed changing the language of the ordinance from requiring all above ground pools with "rigid edges" to have a four-foot fence around them to requiring all pools with two-or-more feet of water to meet the requirement.

"Times have changed and we have to try to keep up to date with that," said Code Enforcement Officer Eric Kennedy. New types of pools, such as inflatable ones, are available and not covered by the "rigid edges" ordinance.

Police Chief Jeff Bock questioned the definition of the word "pool." He asked the board if any container filled with two or more feet of water would be required to have a fence around it and if the ordinance would apply to pools that are only set up during the summer months.

"The pool is seasonal. If I take it down every winter, I have a fence sitting there," he said. Bock added that if he took the fence down at the end of the season with the pool, he would have to pay for a fencing permit to put it back up every year.

In addition to debate over the word pool, the board also debated the applicable meaning of "fence." The ordinance mandates the fence have a child-proof gate with a self-locking mechanism but offers no specifics to the type of material used in fence construction.

Board members discussed the possibility of people using snow fencing equipped with a gate to surround their pool. The fencing would meet the gating requirement but may not adequately protect children, which is one of the primary reasons for the ordinance. Board member Russ Wright raised the point of using a split-rail fence like that surrounding the Gen. John A. Logan Museum.

If the ordinance were amended and fences of these constructions were found to be in compliance, the city would not have any legal liability in the event of an accident but it would bear a great deal of moral liability, said Mayor Ron Williams.

The board decided to send the ordinance to the city attorneys to be redrafted with clear definitions of the words "pool," "fence," "wall," "temporary" and "permanent."

"The fact we can't sit here and define fence tells me this needs to be edited," Wright said.

adam.testa@thesouthern.com

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