El Dorado County · Sierra foothill

Pool removal in Cameron Park, CA.

Cameron Park has no city government of its own — it’s unincorporated El Dorado County, and the county’s Planning and Building Dept, Building Division is the permitting authority for any demolition here, pool removal included. That’s the same desk that covers El Dorado Hills and Shingle Springs, so the permit process itself isn’t unique to Cameron Park.

The same backyard after removal, backfilled and finished to a clean compacted final grade.

Plate 01—Final Grade

Do you need a permit to remove a pool in Cameron Park, CA?

Short answer

Cameron Park is unincorporated, so El Dorado County Planning and Building Dept, Building Division issues the demolition permit for pool removal — 530-621-5315, not a city hall. Parts of the community also fall under Cameron Park Community Services District architectural controls, which can add a separate review step alongside the county permit.

What is worth knowing locally is the Cameron Park Community Services District, which maintains architectural controls across parts of the community. That review sits alongside the county building permit rather than replacing it, and it more often touches what gets built or placed in the yard afterward — a new patio, a fence line, a structure — than the below-grade demolition itself. Still, it’s a second desk worth checking early rather than assuming the county permit is the only box to check. Like the rest of the county’s foothill communities, expect shallower soils over weathered granite and a lot that isn’t uniformly flat. Conditions vary lot to lot, and rock below the shell can change the job.

Jurisdiction

Who issues a pool demolition permit in Cameron Park, CA?

There is no City of Cameron Park. Cameron Park is an unincorporated community, which means it has no city council, no city building department and no permit counter of its own. A pool demolition here is permitted by El Dorado County Planning and Building Department, Building Division.

This trips people up constantly, and it costs real time — calls to a city that does not exist, and search results confidently naming one. If your mailing address says Cameron Park, your building department is El Dorado County.

El Dorado County does not publish a handout specific to swimming pool demolition. That is not a problem with your project — it means the scope is set against the general demolition permit and what the building official asks for on your lot, rather than against a printed checklist. Two jurisdictions in our service area do publish one, and we say which on the permits page.

Guys’ Note

Two permitting desks here, not one — the county issues the demolition permit, the CSD may weigh in on what goes in after.

On File

Cameron Park at a glance

Jurisdiction type
Unincorporated community of El Dorado County
County
El Dorado County
Permit counter
530-621-5315
Air district
El Dorado County Air Quality Management District
Pool-specific guidance
None published — general demolition permit applies
Ground
Sierra foothill
This is a starting point, not a determination. Requirements vary by property, and which option is permitted on your lot is decided by the building department — not by us. Reviewed August 22, 2026; we re-check these every six months.

Source: El Dorado County Planning and Building Department, Building Division (opens in a new tab)El Dorado County Air Quality Management District, Air Quality Management District (opens in a new tab)Verified August 22, 2026. Permit requirements change — confirm with the department before relying on this for your property.

Local Overlays

What else applies here.

A demolition permit is rarely the only rule touching a backyard project. These are the ones published for Cameron Park that genuinely affect how a pool removal runs.

Septic and well setbacks

Unincorporated El Dorado County parcels commonly run on septic and, further out, private wells, both administered by county Environmental Management. That matters for a pool removal in two practical ways: a leach field is not something to drive a loaded truck across, and fill and drainage design has to account for what is already in the ground nearby.

Source: El Dorado County Environmental Management, Environmental Management — septic and well programs (opens in a new tab)Verified August 22, 2026. Permit requirements change — confirm with the department before relying on this for your property.

Community Services District design review

The Cameron Park Community Services District maintains architectural controls in parts of the community, which can add a review step alongside the county building permit. It rarely touches a below-grade demolition, but it can touch what you build or place afterwards — worth knowing before the yard is finished, not after.

Source: El Dorado County Planning and Building Department, Building Division (opens in a new tab)Verified August 22, 2026. Permit requirements change — confirm with the department before relying on this for your property.

Site Conditions

The ground, the gate and the truck.

Sierra foothill ground

This is Sierra Nevada foothill ground — shallower soils over weathered granite, and slopes that rarely give you a flat place to stage. Two consequences for a pool removal: rock can change the equipment and the schedule once you are below the shell, and grading has to be designed for a lot that already sheds water somewhere, so the finished surface drains the way the lot always did rather than sending it at a structure. Conditions vary parcel to parcel.

Access and equipment

Cameron Park lots vary more than people expect — some sit on generous, gently sloped parcels, others are tucked behind narrower access with a tighter gate run. We walk the actual route from street to pool before sizing equipment rather than assuming either extreme, checking gate widths, any fencing the excavator has to clear, and where a haul truck can realistically stage. If Community Services District architectural review is going to touch anything visible from the street — new hardscape, a fence, a structure going in later — that’s worth raising during the same walk-through, since it’s a separate process from the county demolition permit and easy to miss if nobody flags it up front.

Hauling and disposal

Pool shells generate concrete, gunite and rebar in volume, and California’s CALGreen code sets a 65% diversion baseline for construction and demolition debris statewide, which applies to a Cameron Park removal the same as anywhere else in the county. El Dorado County falls under the El Dorado County Air Quality Management District for dust and debris-related air quality matters on a demolition site. As with any excavation in California, Government Code Section 4216 requires an 811 utility notification first, with a two-working-day wait before digging is legal — that clock is separate from and unaffected by the county’s building permit timeline.

Next step

Get a site walk booked in Cameron Park.

Send the address and the basics. We confirm the department that serves the property, walk the site, and put the scope in writing before anything moves.

Two Ways To Do It

Partial fill-in or full removal.

The mechanics are the same everywhere. What changes in Cameron Park is the department reviewing it and what they want to see — which is why this decision is worth making before anyone files anything.

Partial fill-in compared with full removal — Cameron Park, CA
CriterionPartial fill-inFull removal
What comes outThe upper portion of the shell — typically the walls and bond beam.The entire shell, hauled off the property.
DrainageOpenings are cut through the remaining base so water passes rather than collecting.No shell remains, so there is no bowl to drain.
FillApproved fill placed and compacted in lifts over the remaining base.The open excavation backfilled and compacted in lifts.
Future structuresGenerally not intended to carry a structure. Concrete stays in the ground.Generally the option when a structure may go on the footprint later.
Disclosure on saleBuried concrete is a known condition a seller generally discloses.Fewer questions, because nothing was left behind.
Access and cost pressureLess material to move, so tight access hurts less.More material out and more fill in, so access matters more.

How the project runs

Five stages. One written plan.

  1. 1

    Plan

    Walk the site, confirm the removal goal, access and visible constraints.

  2. 2

    Permit

    Prepare and coordinate paperwork with the department serving the property.

  3. 3

    Remove

    Demolish the shell to the approved scope and haul debris away.

  4. 4

    Backfill & Compact

    Place approved fill in lifts according to the project requirements.

  5. 5

    Grade & Document

    Finish the surface to the agreed grade and close out available project records.

Asked In Cameron Park

Pool removal in Cameron Park — common questions.

  • No. Cameron Park is unincorporated El Dorado County, so there’s no city building department. The county’s Planning and Building Dept, Building Division issues the demolition permit at 530-621-5315 — the same office that covers El Dorado Hills and Shingle Springs. There’s a second, separate desk worth knowing about locally: the Community Services District.

Next Door

Nearby areas we cover.

Jurisdiction lines around Cameron Park do not follow the way the area actually reads on the ground. If your property sits near one of these, it is worth confirming which department your address falls under before anyone files anything.

Next step

Still deciding what to do with the Cameron Park backyard?

Send the address and the basics. The site walk confirms access, shell type and what the department serving the property needs to see.

Read Next

Get On The Schedule

Start with a site walk in Cameron Park.

We look at access, utilities, slope, depth and what is actually in the ground, then tell you which option fits what you are planning and put the scope in writing. No number gets quoted from a map.

If your property sits near a jurisdiction line, say so — settling which department covers your address is the first thing worth getting right, and it is free to check.

No obligation, no pressure

Request a site estimate.

Start with the property and what you want the ground to do afterwards. We will follow up to arrange the site walk and confirm the scope.

We use your details to prepare an estimate and get back to you. No obligation, and we do not sell your information.