CPSA Newsletter - August 2022

In This Newsletter:

CPSA Staffing Changes

CPSA and PHTA are saying farewell to Mike Lasher, who has served as CPSA Director since December 2020. We thank him for all of his hard work and wish him the best on his next endeavor!

Seth Ewing, PHTA Senior Director of Member Programs and Services, will serve as the main CPSA contact while we work to fill the CPSA Director position.

Upcoming Webinar: Keeping California's Swimming Pools Safe With the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code

Tuesday, Aug 23
1-2 pm PT

Register Here

With the development of the 2022 California Residential Codes (CRC) Appendix AX, some might believe that all aspects of residential swimming pool and spa construction are covered. In fact, Appendix AX fails to recognize key design, construction and inspection requirements for residential pools and spas. The design and layout of swimming pools and spas can have a significant impact on your health and safety.

It is important for communities to utilize codes that cover all aspects of residential pool and spa construction including key design and inspection requirements. These requirements are paramount in ensuring the safety, structural integrity and sustainability of residential pools and spas.

This webinar, co-sponsored by the International Code Council and the Pool and Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA), will help you understand the importance of adopting modern swimming pool and spa codes, such as the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa code (ISPSC), and help Californians ensure their pools are both safe and enjoyable for many years to come.

In this webinar we will:

Review a copy of the 2022 California Residential Codes (CRC), Appendix AX
Discuss why it is important for California to adopt an updated code
Present an overview of the residential provisions in the 2021 ISPSC
Provide a sample of a draft ordinance for adoption

Register Here

Watch the June CPSA Town Hall

If you missed the CPSA Town Hall on June 23, you can watch the full recording now! We discussed what CPSA is doing to represent our members; drought facts and information about pools, spas, and hot tubs; resources for our industry and consumers; and what you can do to help at a grassroots level.

CPSA Requests the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) to Sponsor Legislation

The California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) recently conducted a stakeholders' meeting to solicit industry input on a variety of regulatory topics. One such topic was proposals for legislation to be sponsored by the CSLB for the next Legislative session.

CPSA Chairman Scott Cohen and lobbyist John Norwood participated in the meeting and suggested a pool-industry-specific proposal for consideration by the agency to repeal two sections of the Business and Professions Code that apply to C-53 license holders and most often result in placing pool builders in an untenable position.

Business & Professions Codes Section 7167 and 7168 apply only to persons or entities that construct swimming pools in California and are an anomaly in that they do not play any part in the regulation or discipline of swimming pool contractors by the board. Instead, these sections place a target on the backs of pool builder by trial lawyers. CPSA is not aware of the circumstances at the time these sections were added to the code in the 1970s, but apparently, there was a heightened issue relative to the construction of swimming pools. That is not the situation today, as complaints to the CSLB involving swimming pool contractors or pool construction issues are very low as compared to other CSLB licensees.

As far as CPSA knows, there are no other provisions relating to contractors awarding legal fees to the prevailing party in a legal dispute regarding construction. In addition, no other states render a construction contract void and unenforceable due to what could be a clerical error. Lastly, these two provisions of the B&P Code serve to mask from the CSLB those residential swimming pool contractors that might be considered bad actors because these provisions of the code are enforced in civil litigation, most often with a confidentially clause.

CPSA argued that a better and more timely approach to disputes between residential swimming pool contractors and homeowners would be a complaint to the CSLB followed by peer review and possibly arbitration, before such claims proceed to litigation. Access to the courts to resolve disputes takes years, especially with COVID, and in the meantime, both the contractor and the homeowner suffer with adverse consequences.

In summary, CPSA believes that consumers are not being well served by these code sections; pool builders are being discriminated against in a manner that can be unfair and substantially increases the cost of liability insurance; and the fact that these disputes are pushed into the civil courts takes regulatory authority away from the CSLB.

CPSA's proposal for legislation now proceeds to the Board of Director of the CSLB for discussion and a decision on the issue, which is not expected until the fall.

CPSA Invited to State Drought Briefing

CPSA was one of a select group of trade associations and companies recently invited by the State Chamber of Commerce to a Drought Briefing provided by the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency. Lobbyist John Norwood and Chairman Scott Cohen attended via Zoom for CPSA.

Wade Crowfoot, Secretary, thanked all those in attendance. He stressed the state was in a severe drought, now three years in the making. He indicated that with the COVID emergency, it is more difficult to gain the public's attention relative to the drought and the need for water conservation.

Secretary Crowfoot requested that those trade associations and large companies attending help to get out the message to their employees and customers relative to the importance of water conservation. He stressed that we can get through this summer if we just stop watering commercial turf, by which he meant medium strips and grass around commercial buildings--non-essential and non-functional turf. The Secretary also indicated that the state was not intending to interfere with commerce with any drought restrictions.

CPSA Chairman Scott Cohn indicated that commerce was being interfered with in the pool and spa industry by local restrictions on pool permits or the use of public water to fill new pools. Secretary Crowfoot was clear that swimming pools were not the issue with the drought and any restrictions on filling new pools were not coming from the state or the State Water Board.

CPSA lobbyist John Norwood followed up the briefing with a letter to Secretary Crowfoot requesting assistance. He suggested that the State Water Board ask all cities and water districts in the state to adopt the ANSI-13 water conservation standard in lieu of any other water use restrictions on filling new or remodeled swimming pools or pool permit limitations.

Hopefully, as California gets deeper into the drought causing cities and water districts to implement the latter stages of their Urban Water Management Plans and Water Shortage contingency Plans, CPSA will have an ally in the Governor’s office we can solicit for assistance with these entities.

Pool Permits Being Issued Again

In late April, Supervisors for the County of Ventura voted to instate a moratorium on filling new swimming pools where a permit was issued after May 31. On the other hand, the Board agreed with CPSA that the over 200 pools permitted prior to the meeting should not be prohibited from using public water to fill them, once constructed.

Unfortunately, this is one of those situations where if we had been successful in getting pool builders to attend the Board of Supervisors meeting in April, the board would have probably voted against the restriction on filling new pools and spas.

Since that vote, CPSA has been in the process of asking the Board of Supervisors to reconsider the ban on filling new pools. CPSA organized a meeting with one of the Ventura County Supervisors and several local pool builders to discuss the issue and request reconsideration. That Supervisor and his office were very sympathetic to the request for reconsideration once the facts about water use by swimming pools were explained. Outreach is ongoing to a couple other board members in order to have sufficient support to request a vote on reconsideration, not likely to occur before September which is when the Supervisors meet again after their summer recess.

In the meantime, building officials in Ventura County stopped issuing new permits for swimming pools and spas. CPSA objected, noting that the Board of Supervisors only voted not to fill new pools permitted after May 31, and never voted to authorize the building office to stop issuing new pool permits. CPSA had a call with local building officials to discuss, and they agreed that the board had never voted to stop issuing new permits. Although it has been slow to be implemented, we believe Ventura County is now again issuing new permits for pools and the board will hear a motion for reconsideration of their ban on filling new pools in September.

Drought in the News

The Southwest is bone dry. Now, a key water source is at risk.
Politico
Great Salt Lake drops below historic low level
The Hill
Forming a Unified Front Against Drought by CPSA Chairman Scott Cohen
Pool and Spa News
They sounded alarms about a coming Colorado River crisis. But warnings went unheeded
Los Angeles Times
How the Pool Industry Is Part of the Drought Solution
Pool Magazine

CPSA Member Benefit: PSP/Deck Expo Exhibitor and Attendee Rates

Are you planning to be an exhibitor at the International Pool | Spa | Patio Expo (PSP/Deck Expo) in November? CPSA and PHTA members receive a 15% discount on booth space. Contact the PHTA Member Services Team at memberservices@phta.org for your membership number prior to reserving space to apply your member discount.

Are you planning to attend PSP/Deck Expo in Las Vegas? CPSA and PHTA members also get discounts on conference registration and pre-conference education sessions. Register today at poolspapatio.com.

Upcoming Events

Webinar: Keeping California’s Swimming Pools Safe With the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code
August 23
1-2 pm PT

C260: GENESIS® CONSTRUCTION SCHOOL: Vinyl Liner/Fiberglass Pools
September 15-17
New Brunswick, NJ

Advanced Builders Workshop
September 19-22
3-7 pm PT
Virtual

AQUA Live
October 5-7
Charlotte, NC

World Aquatic Health Conference (WAHC)
October 12-14
Houston, TX

Equip Exposition
October 18-21
Louisville, KY

International Pool | Spa | Patio Expo
November 12-17
Las Vegas, NV

Take Advantage of Being a CPSA + PHTA Member

Did you know that CPSA membership gives you full access to all PHTA member benefits? PHTA offers business resources, exclusive deals, visibility, education and information, and much more! Log in today to start taking advantage of these resources. Not a member? Join today!

Donate to the Defense Fund

Donate to the Defense Fund today. A small voluntary contribution from you to the CPSA/PHTA Defense Fund can help us defeat big issues. This fund helps PHTA respond to legislative, regulatory, or legal initiatives like the drought in California, that threaten the future of our industry…and your business.

About the CPSA Monthly Newsletter

CPSA publishes its newsletter monthly for the benefit of our valued members. Learn more about CPSA, PHTA, the benefits of membership, and how you can continue to access the latest news and information relevant to the pool, spa, and hot tub industry.

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