Committee votes to send replacement aquatic‑health ordinance to Board; staff to advertise Nov. 12 public hearing

The Transportation and Land Use Committee on Sept. 17 voted to recommend that the Board of Supervisors adopt a rewritten aquatic‑health ordinance to replace Loudoun County's Chapter 8‑38 governing public pools and water recreation facilities, and directed staff to advertise a Board public hearing for Nov. 12, 2025.

Why it matters: the rewrite removes construction standards from the county health ordinance (building construction will remain under the building code), aligns operational standards with national model codes, clarifies lifeguard and signage requirements, permits individual bodies of water instead of entire facilities, and standardizes permit duration and fee structures for regulated pools.

George Khan and Dr. Goodfriend presented the proposed rewrite and said the update was designed to modernize language, tighten lifeguard and safety equipment specifications, standardize testing and reporting, and allow digital recordkeeping for chemical testing and operator logs. Khan said the change's primary intent is to make health department oversight focus on safety and operations while construction standards remain with the Building and Development department.

The draft ordinance would:

- Remove 41 pages of construction requirements from the public‑health ordinance and rely on the building code for construction standards. - Permit and regulate individual bodies of water, allowing the health department to close a single noncompliant pool at a multi‑pool facility instead of closing the entire complex. - Require pool operators to carry a photo identification card tied to their certification and require contact information for splash pads lacking on‑site management. - Align chemical testing requirements with the model aquatic code (focus on chlorine, bromine and pH) and simplify other testing obligations. - Introduce a schedule of civil penalties, plan‑review/reinspection fees and standardized permit durations.

Staff said current Loudoun fees are $220 for seasonal pools and $330 for year‑round pools; the draft establishes a single permit duration and proposes revised fees and standardized plan‑review and reinspection charges. Staff provided a comparison showing Loudoun's existing fees are lower than many neighboring jurisdictions.

Khan reported the county currently permits about 470 bodies of water, of which 373 are seasonal and 99 are year‑round. He said most permitted pools receive an average of three scheduled inspections per year and that new plan‑review and reinspection fees are intended to reflect inspection burden.

Supervisor Kershner asked about outreach and whether private residential pools were affected; staff confirmed the ordinance does not apply to private residential pools and said county stakeholders and pool operators were aware of the update. Chair Randall moved the Committee recommendation and Chair Randall seconded; the Committee voted "all ayes" and the motion passed.

Next steps: the Committee directed staff to advertise a public hearing for Nov. 12, 2025; staff will present the draft ordinance to the Board of Supervisors at that public hearing and continue outreach to pool operators and stakeholder organizations ahead of the Board date.