Mesa, AZ Development Impact Fees (2026)
Normalized development impact fees, water & sewer connection (tap/SDC) fees, and mitigation fees for Mesa, Arizona — per dwelling unit, by category, with links to every official source.
What a single-family home pays in Mesa
$10,241 total per unit across 4 fee categories.
- Water connection (tap / SDC)$7,719
- Sewer connection (tap / SDC)$1,809
- Police$402
- General government / capital$311
At $10,241, Mesa is below the Arizona tracked median of $17,781 — relatively affordable to build in.
Full fee schedule — single-family
Impact / development fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Police Public Safety Development Impact Fee (police + fire combined) — Mesa City Code Title 5, Ch. 17, Table 1 'Public Safety' category (police + fire combined). Last amended Ord. 5932 eff. 2/24/2025. Flat per dwelling, not tiered by home size. Same $402 applies to a manufactured home on a platted lot. | per dwelling unit | $402 | City of Mesa (hosted on Municode Library) Feb 24, 2025High |
General government / capital Solid Waste Residential Development Fee (single-residence) — Mesa City Code 5-13-2 one-time fee to defray cost of providing solid waste service to new residential development. Per Citywide Schedule of Fees & Charges (updated July 2025). Applies to both attached & detached single residences. | per dwelling unit | $311 | City of Mesa, Office of Management & Budget Jul 1, 2025High |
Water & sewer connection fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water Capacity Fee (3/4 inch meter) — Mesa City Code 8-10-13, Ord. 5970 (adopted 12/1/2025, effective 30 days later). Base residential 3/4" meter = full Water amount. PHASE-IN: 50% ($3,859.50) for permit applications complete through 6/30/2026; 100% from 7/1/2026. AWWA incremental-cost method. Corroborated by Mesa Tribune reporting (source 3). | per meter | $7,719 | City of Mesa Dec 31, 2025High |
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) Wastewater Capacity Fee (3/4 inch meter) — Mesa City Code 8-10-13, Ord. 5970. Additive to the water capacity fee. Base residential 3/4" meter = full amount. 50% phase-in ($904.50) through 6/30/2026, 100% from 7/1/2026. New water meters for irrigation only are exempt from the wastewater capacity fee. | per meter | $1,809 | City of Mesa Dec 31, 2025High |
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water Capacity Fee (1 inch meter - typical for fire-sprinklered homes) — VARIANT (excluded to avoid double-counting with the 3/4" primary). Because Arizona requires fire sprinklers in new homes, the typical NEW single-family meter is now 1". Water $12,864 + wastewater $3,015 = $15,880 total. 50% phase-in for 1" meters through 6/30/2026, 100% from 7/1/2026. Source: Ord. 5970 Table 1. alternative · not added to total | per meter | $12,864 | City of Mesa Dec 31, 2025High |
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) Wastewater Capacity Fee (1 inch meter - typical for fire-sprinklered homes) — VARIANT (excluded; pairs with the 1" water row above). Wastewater portion for a 1" meter. Source: Ord. 5970 Table 1. alternative · not added to total | per meter | $3,015 | City of Mesa Dec 31, 2025High |
Full fee schedule — multifamily
Impact / development fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Public safety Public Safety Development Impact Fee - multifamily / attached — Applies to both single-residence attached and multi-residence (per dwelling unit). Mesa City Code Ch. 17 Table 1, Public Safety category. | per dwelling unit | $388 | City of Mesa (hosted on Municode Library) Feb 24, 2025High |
General government / capital Solid Waste Residential Development Fee (multi-family) — Mesa City Code 5-13-2. $62/dwelling for multi-family (2+ units/building), excluding apartments of 5 or more units. Same $62 applies to manufactured home / RV. | per dwelling unit | $62 | City of Mesa, Office of Management & Budget Jul 1, 2025High |
Coverage & caveats
Mesa imposes two distinct growth charges on new residential development plus a solid-waste startup fee. (1) DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEE (Mesa City Code Title 5, Ch. 17; A.R.S. 9-463.05): As of the current code (Table 1, last amended by Ord. 5932 eff. 2/24/2025) the ONLY remaining impact-fee category is "Public Safety" (police+fire combined): $402/dwelling single-residence detached & manufactured-home-on-platted-lot, $388/dwelling single-residence attached & multi-residence, $84/pad manufactured-home/RV, $159/room hotel, $0.318/sq ft non-residential. CATEGORIES THAT NO LONGER EXIST: Mesa's former Water, Wastewater, Parks, Library, Fire (standalone), and Stormwater Drainage impact fees were SB1525 "continuation" fees pledged to pre-2012 debt and have sunset — they are not in the current Table 1 and are NOT charged (Ch. 17 sec. 5-17-3(B) provides each category auto-ceases once its pledged debt is repaid). So there is NO separate parks, library, drainage, general/capital, open-space, affordable-housing, or mitigation impact fee. (2) WATER & WASTEWATER CAPACITY FEE (Mesa City Code 8-10-13, adopted by Ord. 5970 on 12/1/2025, effective 30 days later ~12/31/2025, authorized by A.R.S. 9-511/9-511.01 — this is the replacement for the old water/wastewater impact fees): charged by water meter size on building permits filed on/after the effective date. Base residential 3/4" meter = $7,719 water + $1,809 wastewater = $9,528 total. NOTE PHASE-IN: for 3/4" and 1" meters, fees are 50% for complete permit applications filed through 6/30/2026, then 100% from 7/1/2026 (all other meter sizes pay 100% immediately). Practical caveat: because Arizona requires fire sprinklers in new homes, the typical NEW single-family meter is now 1" (water $12,864 + wastewater $3,015 = $15,880), not 3/4" — included as an excluded variant row. (3) SOLID WASTE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT FEE (Mesa City Code 5-13-2; Citywide Schedule of Fees & Charges, updated July 2025): $311/dwelling single-residence (attached & detached), $62/dwelling multi-family (2+ units/bldg, excl. apartments of 5+ units), $62 manufactured home/RV. NO SCHOOL IMPACT FEE EXISTS — Arizona does not authorize school impact/construction fees; A.R.S. 9-500.18 prohibits cities from charging school districts (and AZ school districts cannot levy impact fees on homebuilders). Single service area citywide (Ch. 17 sec. 5-17-1(K)). Confidence: impact fee and capacity fee tables are HIGH (primary adopted ordinance text); capacity-fee figures independently corroborated by Mesa Tribune/Yahoo reporting.
Primary single-family rows use the representative ~2,000-2,500 sq ft detached home. Public Safety impact fee is NOT tiered by home size (flat per dwelling). Capacity fee is tiered by water METER size — 3/4" used as primary per instruction; 1" shown as excludeFromTotal variant (and is the realistic meter for fire-sprinklered new homes). Capacity-fee 50% phase-in (through 6/30/2026) figures are noted but the FULL (100%) amount is used for the primary totals since 100% applies from 7/1/2026 onward. Multifamily capacity fee depends on per-unit meter configuration (often master-metered with larger meters); 3/4"/unit not directly published, so multifamily capacity fee is omitted rather than guessed. Estimated all-in for a new detached single-family home at 3/4" meter (full rates): $402 (public safety) + $9,528 (water+wastewater capacity) + $311 (solid waste) = $10,241; at the realistic 1" meter the capacity portion rises to $15,880.
Sources
4 official sources · 8 high-confidence figures.
- 1Mesa City Code, Title 5, Chapter 17 - Development Impact Fees (Table 1 - Mesa Development Impact Fees)City of Mesa (hosted on Municode Library) · ordinance · effective Feb 24, 2025 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 2Ordinance No. 5970 - Adopting Mesa City Code Title 8, Ch. 10, Sec. 13 'Capacity Fee' (Table 1 - Water and Wastewater Capacity Fees)City of Mesa · ordinance · effective Dec 31, 2025 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 3City of Mesa Citywide Schedule of Fees and Charges (Solid Waste Residential Development Fee; Impact Fees reference)City of Mesa, Office of Management & Budget · fee schedule · effective Dec 9, 2025 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 4Developers could soon pay for Mesa's water infrastructure (corroborates capacity fee amounts & phase-in)Mesa Tribune / Yahoo News · news article · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
Mesa impact fees — FAQ
- How much are development impact fees in Mesa, AZ for a single-family home?
- As of 2026-06-16, total development fees for a single-family detached home in Mesa are about $10,241 per unit — roughly $713 in impact/development fees plus $9,528 in water/sewer connection fees. Figures are normalized from official sources; verify with the jurisdiction before relying on them.
- What are the impact fees per multifamily unit in Mesa, AZ?
- Total development fees for a multifamily unit in Mesa are about $450 per unit as of 2026-06-16.
- Are impact fees in Mesa the same as building permit fees?
- No. Impact fees (and water/sewer connection fees) fund off-site capital — roads, parks, schools, utilities — and are charged per new dwelling unit. Building permit and plan-review fees are separate and are not included here.
- How often do Mesa's impact fees change?
- Most jurisdictions adopt fees by ordinance and escalate them annually (often by a construction cost index), with occasional mid-year updates. Always confirm the current adopted schedule with the jurisdiction. ImpactFeeAtlas last verified Mesa on 2026-06-16.