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Do HOA Rules Affect Pool Removal in Tucson?

Posted
Updated
ByAaron Baker

Often, yes. The HOA does not issue the demolition permit. The city, town or county does. But many HOAs require architectural review before exterior work, set rules for what the yard can look like afterward, control access across common areas, and limit work hours, noise and dust. Read your CC&Rs and get HOA approval in writing before work starts, so the HOA approval and the permit describe the same job.

Architectural review

Many HOAs send exterior changes through an architectural review committee, and removing a pool usually counts. The committee typically wants to know what is coming out, how, and what goes in its place. A submittal often includes:

  • A site plan showing the pool, the spa and the area that will change
  • A description of the removal, partial or full
  • What replaces the pool: turf, pavers, gravel, plants or a structure
  • The schedule and the contractor’s name and license number

We give you the site plan and the scope from our quote, which covers most of what a committee asks for. Some committees meet on a set schedule, so find out when yours meets and plan the start date around it.

What goes in after the pool

HOA rules usually care more about the finished yard than the removal. Check your CC&Rs and design guidelines for:

  • Approved plant lists and gravel colors
  • Rules on artificial turf
  • What can be seen from the street or from a neighbor’s yard
  • Any structure you plan to add, such as a ramada, casita or garage

If you plan to build on the spot, the HOA approval for the structure is separate from the pool removal. The removal itself also changes: a structure needs the whole shell out and engineered, tested fill, which we scope before we start.

Access across common areas

If the only way to get equipment to the pool crosses a common area, a greenbelt or an HOA-owned wall, the HOA has to approve it. Get that approval in writing. It should say what route is used, what gets protected, and what gets restored afterward. Some HOAs ask for more from the contractor before they approve access. Ask your management company what it needs, and we will provide our license information and the schedule.

Dust, noise and work hours

Breaking concrete is loud, and trucks delivering fill make dust and traffic. Many HOAs limit construction to certain hours or days. Tell us the rules at the site visit and we schedule the loud days inside them.

Fill deliveries leave dirt and debris in the street. Every Omni quote includes cleanup of the street and driveway after deliveries, so the mess does not become the HOA’s next letter.

The HOA does not replace the permit

HOA approval and a demolition permit are two separate things, and you need both. The City of Tucson requires a permit to demolish, fill in or otherwise remove an existing pool or spa, and Pima County, Oro Valley, Marana and Sahuarita each issue a demolition permit. An HOA approval without a permit leaves the removal unrecorded, which becomes a problem when you sell. A permit without HOA approval can leave you in a dispute with the association over the finished yard.

Omni prepares the site plan, files the permit application, pays the fee and schedules the inspections. The detail for each jurisdiction is in our article on pool demolition permits in Pima County, and our pool removal page covers the removal methods and pricing.

Get a written quote for your HOA submittal

Call (520) 222-8503 or send us your address and a photo of the pool. To see what your pool costs you each year, use the TerraSpec, the pool removal cost calculator.

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