Backyard Swim Lessons Used To Be Against City Code. This Fort Worth Instructor Fought For Change

Arlington TX

28 March, 2022

6:12 PM

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By Rachel Behrndt, Fort Worth Report March 27, 2022 By building a pool in the backyard of her Fort Worth home, water safety instructor Kelsey Strieby thought she was positioning herself to take on more clients and stop searching for new locations to host swim lessons. That was until she found out the pool she built to take her business to the next level was a violation of a city ordinance, and she was at risk of being shut down. Two weeks into using her newly built pool for lessons, a Fort Worth code compliance officer arrived and told her to shut her business down or risk a $2,500 fine. "I looked at him through huge tears and I was like, 'You've got to be kidding me,'" Strieby said. Before building the pool, Strieby reached out to Fort Worth's zoning and planning department who assured her she would be able to operate a business out of her pool, she said. It wasn't until Strieby's neighbor complained about the lessons that the city looked at the ordinance again and realized it did not allow residents to operate a business in their pool, or outside their house and accessory dwellings, including a shed or carriage house. To read the full article, click here. Fort Worth Report is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that produces factual, in-depth journalism about city and county government, schools, healthcare, business, and arts and culture in Tarrant County. Always free to read; subscribe to newsletters, read coverage or support our newsroom at fortworthreport.org.