GEDNEY POOLS
NORTH SALEM, NEW YORK
THE TOWN SERIES
North Salem
Custom Gunite Pool Construction in North Salem, New York

Here the pool is held to the same line as the house.

CT HIC #0704131
CT SPB #SPB.0000169
BUILDING IN THE TOWN OF NORTH SALEM
GEDNEY POOLS
02 / 14
THERE IS NO POOL CHAPTER

North Salem names swimming pools, then never gives them a setback of its own.

How most people hear that

As good news. No chapter, no rule, no figure to clear, and a pool that tucks into a corner of the property the way a shed does.

What actually happens

Something else fills the vacuum. With no pool rule to soften it, the code reaches the pool through its general provisions, and those hold it to the house's line.

The absence of a rule is not the absence of a constraint. It is three provisions, and each one is quotable.

GEDNEY POOLS
03 / 14
SECTION 250-5, STRUCTURE

The definition names swimming pools outright.

"A combination of materials constructed, assembled or erected on, above or below the ground or attached to something having location on, above or below the ground, including, but not limited to, buildings, fences, tanks, towers and swimming pools."

Not implied, and not a reading. The pool is in the list, in the same sentence as buildings and towers, and everything the code says about structures then says about it.

WHAT THE DEFINITION GATHERS, SCHEMATIC STRUCTURE BUILDINGS TANKS TOWERS FENCES SWIMMING POOLS ONE DEFINITION, AND THE POOL IS INSIDE IT.
GEDNEY POOLS
04 / 14
SECTION 250-20

And structures are not allowed in a yard.

"Accessory structures and uses are not permitted within any yard except as specifically authorized herein."

SECTION 250-20

The same section holds principal structures to the minimum yards in the Bulk Table.

GEDNEY POOLS
05 / 14
SECTION 250-22

Here is what Section 250-22 authorizes in a required yard on a house lot.

An unroofed terrace or patio, not more than one foot above ground level
An arbor or open trellis
A flagpole
An awning or movable canopy
Cornices or eaves
A fence or wall, four feet in the front yard and five feet at the side or rear
A deer fence, to six feet
Underground water and propane tanks
A deck or unroofed porch over one foot, six feet into the rear yard only

A swimming pool is not on it.

GEDNEY POOLS
06 / 14
SO THE POOL IS HELD TO THE HOUSE'S LINE

Not a reduced accessory setback. The same yards the house clears.

Three provisions, read in order. The pool is a structure by definition. Structures are not permitted in a required yard. The list of what is permitted there does not include a pool.

Most homeowners expect a pool to be treated like a shed, tucked against a boundary out of the way. Here it is treated like the house, and the front, side and rear yards in the Bulk Table are the ones it has to clear.

The chain is short, and every link is written down.

Straight rectangular gunite pool set well inside an open wooded property, coping unbroken on all four sides at one constant water level
GEDNEY POOLS
07 / 14
TABLE OF BULK REQUIREMENTS, SECTION 250-15

The yards a structure has to clear, by lot size.

LOT SIZE
FRONT
ONE SIDE
REAR
Four acres
75 ft
75 ft
100 ft
Two acres
50 ft
30 ft
50 ft
One acre
35 ft
20 ft
50 ft

These are the one side figures. The Table sets a combined total as well, 150, 75 and 50 feet, so the second side takes what is left. By the chain on the previous pages, a pool clears all of it.

A FOUR ACRE LOT, SCHEMATIC PLAN PROPERTY LINE WHAT IS LEFT, ONCE THE YARDS ARE CLEARED 75 FT FRONT100 FT REAR75 FT SIDE THE POOL SITS IN HERE THE SAME ENVELOPE THE HOUSE ANSWERS TO.
GEDNEY POOLS
08 / 14
WHICH CHANGES WHERE, NOT WHETHER

On acreage there is room. It is not where people assume it is.

Where people look first

Against a boundary, behind a wall, in the corner of the property where a shed or a paddock would go.

Where the envelope is

Inboard, in the same band of the property the house occupies, off every line by the Bulk Table figures.

What that asks of a design

A pool composed with the house and the land it sits in, rather than one pushed to an edge and screened.

Finding the envelope is the first piece of work on a North Salem property, not the last.

GEDNEY POOLS
09 / 14
THEN THE WATER, CHAPTER 107
100 feet

A controlled area around every wetland and watercourse in town.

And North Salem defines a wetland by hydric soils or hydrophytic vegetation, either one, with no minimum size. There is no small wetland here, which means the buffer can sit on ground that does not read as wet from the lawn.

Pools are not on the minor permit list. A pool inside that controlled area needs a full wetland permit, so on many properties the pool is an environmental application before it is a building one.

Close study of the water at the stone coping of a straight gunite pool, with dense planting running to the edge of the terrace behind it
GEDNEY POOLS
10 / 14
WHO DECIDES, AND WHEN IT CHANGES HANDS

One desk, until a threshold moves it to a board.

A wetland permit is decided by the Building Inspector, on a recommendation from the Wetlands Inspector and with comment from the Conservation Advisory Council.

It goes to the Planning Board instead when three or more of a listed set of factors are involved. That is Section 107-6D(3)(a)[3], and it is the sentence that decides which calendar the project is on.

Which route applies is knowable at layout, from the drawing.

WHICH ROUTE, SCHEMATIC A POOL IN THE CONTROLLED AREA FULL WETLAND PERMIT DECIDED BY THE BUILDING INSPECTOR WETLANDS INSPECTOR RECOMMENDS, CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL COMMENTS DECIDED BY THE PLANNING BOARD WHEN THREE OR MORE FACTORS ARE INVOLVED or SECTION 107-6D(3)(a)[3].
GEDNEY POOLS
11 / 14
AND A LARGE POOL CAN REACH THREE AT ONCE

Three is not a high bar for a pool with a terrace.

5,000 sq ft
OR MORE OF DISTURBANCE

Within the controlled area. Shell, terrace, access and staging are all disturbance.

2,000 sq ft
OR MORE OF NEW IMPERVIOUS

An increase within the controlled area. The pool and its terrace both count toward it.

Six months
CONSECUTIVE, OR MORE

Construction running that long is itself one of the listed factors.

Which is why the drawing establishes the route before the route establishes the drawing.

Straight rectangular gunite pool with a stone terrace on an enclosed property, no equipment visible anywhere in the frame
GEDNEY POOLS
12 / 14
COVERAGE, AND WHICH NUMBER BINDS

Two definitions, and the pool is in the second one.

COVERAGE, BUILDING

Counts "a building or buildings."

COVERAGE, DEVELOPMENT

Counts "buildings, parking areas, driveways, accessways, accessory structures and any impervious materials, including natural impervious area."

A pool has no roof, so it is not a building. It is an accessory structure and it is impervious. It spends development coverage, which is capped at 20 percent on the four acre and one acre lots, and the drive and the terrace are already drawing on it.

The pool does not compete with the house. It competes with everything paved.

GEDNEY POOLS
13 / 14
SUPERVISION

A Gedney walks every phase of every shell.

Layout through commissioning, the same person is on the ground for it. Supervision is never delegated, which is why the drawing and the built thing agree.

Fourth generation, building personally. On a property where the pool answers to the house's setbacks and the water's buffer at the same time, the envelope is found once and then held.

LAYOUT
EXCAVATION
STEEL AND GUNITE
TILE AND COPING
COMMISSIONING
Straight rectangular gunite pool held inside a fieldstone boundary wall on a wooded property, coping unbroken on all four sides at one constant water level
GEDNEY POOLS
14 / 14
NORTH SALEM, NEW YORK

Here the pool is held to the same line as the house.

Come walk the land before a shape is chosen. We will find the envelope the Bulk Table leaves, establish where the controlled area falls, and read the development coverage before the pool is drawn.

CUSTOM GUNITE POOL CONSTRUCTION
(203) 302-9920
$200,000+
CUSTOM GUNITE CONSTRUCTION IN NORTH SALEM STARTS HERE
CT HIC #0704131 | CT SPB #SPB.0000169

Gunite Pool Builder & Contractor in North Salem, NY

Equestrian estates and stone-walled horse country

Luxury gunite pool design inspiration for Fairfield County and Westchester estates

Pool Construction in North Salem

North Salem, New York sits in the heart of Westchester County's premium residential corridor. North Salem's equestrian heritage, hunt-country traditions, and the hand-laid stone wall network give the landscape a character unlike any other Westchester town. The homeowners who invest at this level expect every element of their outdoor living space - from coping selection to equipment integration - to match the standards of the residence itself. Gedney Pools LLC provides North Salem homeowners with custom gunite pool construction backed by decades of pool construction expertise. CT HIC #0704131, CT SPB #SPB.0000169.

North Salem's Landscape and Pool Design

North Salem's residential character is shaped by open meadow and pasture punctuated by mature woodland, period stone walls, and the rolling Westchester foothills. Properties along June Road, Hardscrabble Road, Mills Road reflect the town's mature character. Neighborhoods including Salem Center, Croton Falls, Purdys, the June Road equestrian corridor support a range of pool installations from formal rectangular geometries with natural stone coping to vanishing-edge designs for sites with grade change.

Custom gunite is the right method for North Salem pool construction. Gunite construction allows complete design flexibility - any shape, any depth, any feature - and delivers structural performance measured in decades. Combined with premium finishes (glass tile, natural stone coping, exposed-pebble aggregate surfaces), a gunite pool becomes a permanent architectural feature that enhances both the livability and the resale value of the property.

Local Country Club Culture and Outdoor Living

North Salem's club culture - including Old Salem Golf Club, North Salem Bridle Trails, the surrounding hunt-country network - informs the residential pool aesthetic. Members familiar with premium club facilities expect comparable design and execution at home. Integrated spas, custom water features, and full outdoor-living packages built around the pool are the standard rather than the exception on premium North Salem properties.

Permitting and Regulatory Landscape

Pool construction in North Salem is permitted locally, and the zoning district a property sits in sets the dimensional requirements. Those requirements differ between districts and they change, so rather than work from a rule of thumb we read the current code against the specific address before anything is drawn. Where a property sits near a regulated wetland or watercourse, a separate review applies on top of the zoning. We handle the whole process, from the first zoning analysis through engineering, submission, environmental review and final inspection.

On difficult pool sites in North Salem, NY, we cover the full permit path: wetlands and watercourse buffers where they apply, coastal or flood-zone review where relevant, septic and well separation, steep slopes, ledge, drainage, lot coverage, historic or architectural review, and variance coordination. Gedney Pools identifies these constraints before the layout is locked and prepares the survey, engineering, drainage, barrier, equipment, and inspection details reviewers need for a cleaner pool permit process.

Pool Installations Suited to North Salem Properties

Investment and Timeline

Custom pool construction in North Salem starts at $200,000 and goes up from there, depending on site complexity, finish selections, and integrated features. Construction timelines run 12 to 20 weeks from groundbreaking, with permitting adding 4 to 8 weeks before construction begins. We provide line-itemized proposals after a thorough site evaluation and design consultation.

Pool Planning Resources

Frequently Asked Questions -- Pool Construction in North Salem, NY

Where can I find a high-end gunite pool builder near me in North Salem, NY?

Gedney Pools is a high-end gunite pool builder serving North Salem, NY and the surrounding luxury markets. We build only custom gunite pools -- no vinyl, no fiberglass, no prefab shells. John C. Gedney III has been building pools in North Salem and the region since 1989, 37 years and four generations of family pool-building. Gedney Pools LLC is fully licensed and insured (CT HIC #0704131, CT SPB #SPB.0000169). Call (203) 302-9920 for a site consultation.

Can I build a pool on a horse property in North Salem?

Yes. Many of our North Salem clients integrate pools into properties with active equestrian operations. We coordinate pool placement with paddock layouts, manure-management infrastructure, and existing barns. Setbacks from livestock structures are governed by both town code and NY State agricultural runoff rules.

How does the NYC East-of-Hudson watershed protection affect North Salem pools?

Most of North Salem falls within the NYC DEP watershed-protected zone. Pool construction within regulated areas requires DEP review, particularly for excavation grading, drainage discharge, and erosion control. We have prepared and shepherded multiple watershed-zone pool applications successfully.

How do North Salem's pool setbacks work?

Setbacks depend on the zoning district the property sits in, and districts within one town can differ materially. Rather than publish a single figure that would be wrong for many addresses, we read North Salem's current code against the specific parcel at the first site visit, together with any wetland or watercourse review that applies. That is a slower first answer and a far more reliable one.

Do you build naturalistic / freeform pools that fit horse-country properties?

Yes. Many North Salem properties suit naturalistic freeform gunite designs with native fieldstone coping, perimeter naturalistic plantings, and integrated water features that read as part of the landscape rather than imposed on it. The hunt-country aesthetic discourages formal rectangular pools in favor of organic shapes.

Build Your North Salem Pool

Gedney Pools LLC constructs custom pools for North Salem's most exceptional properties. To begin the conversation, call (203) 302-9920 or email info@gedneypools.com.

CT HIC #0704131 • CT SPB #SPB.0000169

Swimming Pool Company in North Salem, NY

Gedney Pools LLC is the swimming pool company North Salem, NY owners hire when the project demands a custom gunite shell, precise engineering, and a builder who runs design, permitting, and construction under one point of supervision. Licensed under CT HIC #0704131 and CT SPB #SPB.0000169. Serving North Salem and surrounding NY towns. Call (203) 302-9920 for a site evaluation.

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