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LeeC1 (Virginia)
Posts: 5
Posted:
Hello,

When our townhome community first opened the pool (private, not open to the public) some 16 years ago, no lifeguard was required. At some point, maybe at the property management company direction, we were told that the city rules required a full time lifeguard.

Does anyone know if this is a Virginia public safety rule that applies to all pools; does it have to do with size of the pool? is it governed by city/county.

My reason for asking is that becuase we have been told that days/hours of the pool were going to be shortened this summer due to the cost of having a pool company maintain the pool and cost of lifeguards. The pool usually opens on Memorial Day for the 3-day weekend, then only opens at 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm Tues - Fri until school is out middle of June, open Sat & Sun from 12:00 to 8:00 and closed on Mondays for cleaning (doesn't always happen and if it does, takes less than 30 minutes). Once school is out,hours are 12:00 to 8:00 Tues thru Sun. The lifeguard takes a 15 minute break every hour where everyone must get out of the pool (adults cannot swim laps) Having the pool closed until school gets out seems not to take into account that there are owners who don't have kids, college kids already out of school, owners who want to use the pool who are off work, retired etc. that could be using the pool especially if no lifeguard is required. Pool closes officially for the season the Tues after Labor Day.

We used to have adult swim two nights a week, but had to stop--seems that is a violation because of discrimination against children.

We have pool passes, children under 14 must be supervisored by adult, no kids between 14 - 17 can sponsor anyone into the pool.

Any guidance, help, direction etc. will be appreciated. We really don't want the days/hours to be cut as this has been an amenity that has benefitted and been enjoyed by many homeowners over the years.

Thanks in advance for your help.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059
Posted:
Lee,

Every County and city can have regulations on pools in addition to those laws/codes at the State level. Since your MC specified it was a city regulation you may need to perform a search for your city ordinances about swimming pools or simply ask the MC for the name/number of the document.

If you're in Loudoun County, here is an article on that topic:

Lifeguard Law Ended at Small Pools from the Washington Post.

Here is Loudoun Counties' code on swimming pools: Chapter 838, Swimming Pool and Water Recreation Facilities

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By LeeC1 on 04/24/2014 1:14 AM

We really don't want the days/hours to be cut as this has been an amenity that has benefitted and been enjoyed by many homeowners over the years.

You can always ask the Board to increase the amount of assessments to pay a lifeguard to be on the premisses longer. That might not address the issue for this year, but it could for next year.

You might try soliciting those who use the pool on a regular basis to give additional money to hire a lifeguard for additional hours then what the Association can currently afford (remember to get Board permission to do this).

DavidW5 (North Carolina)
Posts: 565
Posted:
Lee,

Another thing to check on before doing anything: your insurance coverage. We are in Prince William County. Our insurance broker told us that, even if the county allowed it, the insurance company would not provide liability coverage if the pool was not staffed with a qualified lifeguard.

Dave
SG3 (Pennsylvania)
Posts: 63
Posted:
"We used to have adult swim two nights a week, but had to stop--seems that is a violation because of discrimination against children. "

Omg, people need to stop.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059
Posted:
SG,

I'm not sure what people you are saying to stop. It's obvious that you have never served on an Associations Board of Directors or have done the research regarding this area.

Many Associations used to have similar rules at their pools. Then somebody challenged the rule and a judge ruled.
See:

Llanos v. Coehlo
United States v. Plaza Mobile Estates
Landesman v. The Keys Condominium Owners Assn

The basis for these rulings was Federal law. Specifically The Fair Housing Act which specifies: Sec. 804. [42 U.S.C. 3604] Discrimination in sale or rental of housing and other prohibited practices. it shall be unlawful-- (b) To discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection therewith, because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin.

In fact, per davis-stirlings site, a non profit group started researching Associations documents to see if they had rules that discriminated against children. That site recommends "Associations should review their rules & regulations and immediately remove any discriminatory language"

There have been many articles written on the subject. See the following for a few examples:

Is Adult Swim Legal? Condo & HOA Smart
HOA Pool Rule Prejudice RealtyTimes 2008
HOAs and Condos Protecting Children or Violating Federal Fair Housing Act? Law Firm Web Site, 2014
Q&A: Adults-Only Pool? NJ Cooperator. 2007

SG,

In another thread in this forum, you posted that the original poster should get clarifications from the source and "Not wanna be lawyers playing word games on the internet." I suspect that you were referring to individuals like myself who are willing to do the research to try and answer questions posed.

You are certainly free to think of me as you wish. I can assure you that I have no desire to be an attorney. I do have a desire to do my volunteer duties (serving on my Board) to the best of my ability and to take the time needed to do that.

My work experiences has aided me in understanding governmental rules and regs. My work experiences have instilled in me the desire to trust but verify what others tell me. That desire has helped me hone my research skills. The help I received on this site when I had my issue with my Association has encouraged me to help others, if I can, who may be having issues with their Association. The help I can best provide is offering opinions and provide links to the basis of those opinions so the OP an other readers can independently verify the opinions I provided. If they read the same material and come to the same conclusion I did, great. If they come to a different conclusion, better. With different opinions based on the same material everyone can learn something as the opinions are debated. Even if individuals don't change their opinions in the debate, hopefully they learn that looking at the same thing from different perspectives that you can reach different conclusions and, possibly, each conclusion could be correct.

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