Royal Pools by Adams designs and builds custom inground swimming pools throughout Sharon Heights, Menlo Park’s hillside neighborhood along the I-280 corridor. We are a Diamond Certified pool construction company based about 40 minutes down the Peninsula on Camden Avenue in San Jose, and we have been building Bay Area pools since 1969. Our five-step program takes your project from first sketch to first swim.
Sharon Heights began as the country estate of Frederick Sharon and was subdivided in the early 1960s around the golf and country club that opened in 1962, which is why the neighborhood reads as one composed piece: midcentury homes on landscaped slopes with views toward the bay. The city knows exactly what that terrain demands, and so do we. Menlo Park requires a soil investigation and report for every pool in its foothills area, and grading and drainage plans for every project in the Sharon Heights neighborhood specifically, with post-development runoff capped at pre-development levels. That is not red tape to us; it is our native process. Every Royal Pools hillside build starts with the geotechnical work, then the retaining and drainage engineering, then the design that earns the view. The city’s pool rules also set clear setbacks, no closer than 5 feet to any rear or side lot line, and its Heritage Tree Ordinance protects mature native oaks, so we plan digs around protected canopies. One more local distinction: your fill water comes from Menlo Park Municipal Water’s Upper Zone, the city-run system supplied by the San Francisco regional network, a different utility from the Cal Water territory downhill.
Every photo below is from a real Royal Pools by Adams project. See more in our project gallery.
Royal Pools by Adams is part of the Adams Pool Group, a family-run organization that has been building and finishing pools since 1953. Every 28 Palms project is backed by the same leadership team that oversees every Royal pool in the Bay Area.
Owner & CEO, Adams Pool Group
General Manager, Royal Pools by Adams
We build throughout the neighborhood and its enclaves:
The 78-home pocket at Sand Hill and Alpine roads, where we coordinate any ground-lease requirements as part of the approval process.
The 90-home community within walking distance of Sharon Park and the shopping center, where HOA review runs alongside the city permit.
The townhome community near the neighborhood’s core, where compact designs and spas fit the yards.
The creekside enclave south across Alpine Road, which is unincorporated San Mateo County, so its permits run through the county rather than the city. We confirm jurisdiction from your address and handle either path.
Our citywide Menlo Park page.
Yes. Sharon Heights is City of Menlo Park jurisdiction, and pool permits run through the Community Development Department’s Building Division at 701 Laurel St (650-330-6600), with plans submitted digitally through the city’s Accela Citizen Access portal. We manage the full submittal and inspections.
Because the city wrote the rule for this exact neighborhood: Menlo Park requires a soil investigation and report for all pools in the foothills area, and grading and drainage plans for every project in Sharon Heights, with runoff to the storm drain capped at pre-development levels. Our engineering-first hillside process was built for requirements like these.
Yes, that is the neighborhood’s signature build. The early-1960s subdivision put homes on real slopes with bay views, so our designs lead with geotechnical findings, terraced decks, retaining structures, and drainage that satisfies the city’s grading standards, then the view does the rest.
Per the city’s swimming pool requirements: not in the required front setback, no closer than 5 feet to any rear or side lot line, and no closer than 10 feet to the street-side line on a corner lot. We design to your lot’s exact zoning envelope from the first sketch.
Possibly, and we plan for it. Menlo Park’s Heritage Tree Ordinance protects native oaks from 10 inches in trunk diameter and most other species from 15 inches, and any work within the tree protection zone requires a city-approved tree protection plan before permits issue. We site the pool and route the excavation around protected canopies.
Menlo Park Municipal Water’s Upper Zone, the city-run utility serving the Sharon Heights area with supply purchased from the San Francisco regional system. Neighbors downhill in Downtown and West Menlo Park are on Cal Water’s Bear Gulch district instead, so this neighborhood genuinely has its own water system.
Prefer to plan your project in person? Our San Jose showroom at 2258 Camden Ave is about 40 minutes from Sharon Heights: take I-280 South to Highway 85 South and exit at Camden Avenue. Get directions from Sharon Heights →
Part of Our Menlo Park Service Area
Start with a free design consultation at your home or in our San Jose showroom.
Royal Pools by Adams | 2258 Camden Ave, San Jose, CA 95124 | (408) 371-8000 | Mon-Fri 8am-4pm | CSLB #278052
