Pool Fill Was Bargain But Also Quite Risky
Regarding Field’s “Speaking Out,” in Los Angeles, as of the last few years, the city required that the entire pool structure be removed and when the hole was back filled, it required a soil engineer to certify the compaction to 90% or more.
This report is then submitted to the city, so in the future if the property is sold there is no restriction on building over the former pool area.
The backfill in an old pool structure is called a non-structural fill. If this happened in the city of Los Angeles, the owner would be required to file a form with the county recorder’s office, which would go against the property. If the property is sold it would come out that there is a non-buildable area on that property. Anyone wanting to build in the area would have to excavate all the soils in the pool structure and remove the pool structure and start back-filling with a soil engineer.
I believe this could reduce the value of the property. In the long run Field will probably pay, one way or the other.
ARCHIE KAPP, President, Atlas Swimming Pool Co., Los Angeles
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