SEA ISLE CITY – Reacting to the recent increase of requests to build swimming pools to accessorize new, upscale home construction in Sea Isle, City Council introduced an ordinance, at its May 7 meeting, that will modify pool setbacks from adjacent property lines at either the side or rear.
The aim of the ordinance is to decrease the minimum allowable setback from the current requirement of 5 feet to 3 feet.
Many requests to build a new pool have required Planning and Zoning Board variances to the current setback regulations to comply, given that space for such construction is at a premium.
The municipality’s Planning Board requested that the council modify the setback to 2.5 feet, but Council President Jack Gibson noted at the meeting that he and his colleagues felt that “2.5 feet was getting pretty close to adjacent property lines” and thus decided on the 3-foot setback.
The new measure, if adopted at the upcoming council meeting June 14, will alleviate the greenlighting of pool construction projects, thus affecting numerous property owners.
Setbacks for above-ground pools remain at 5 feet since, as Gibson remarked, “Above-ground pools are higher up and thus more easily disturb the privacy of adjacent homes.”
