Brighton, CO vs Commerce City, CO: Development Impact Fees Compared (2026)
A single-family home pays about $40,634 in Brighton vs $21,686 in Commerce City — Brighton is $18,948 (87%) higher. Every figure below is normalized per dwelling unit by category, with links to each jurisdiction’s official sources.
City
Brighton, CO
$40,634
Total per single-family home
impact + connection fees
$15,036
Impact / development fees
roads, parks, schools…
$25,598
Water & sewer connection
tap / capacity / SDC
—
Per multifamily unit
total fees / unit
Impact / development fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Parks & recreation Community Park Impact Fee — Additive with Neighborhood Park fee. 'Residential Housing' = building with one or more dwelling units each with its own meter (includes single-family detached). Verified verbatim in Attachment 14. | per dwelling unit | $2,063 | City of Brighton, Colorado Jan 1, 2026High |
Parks & recreation Neighborhood Park Impact Fee — Additive with Community Park fee (separate line item). Combined park impact fees = $4,126/unit. Verified verbatim in Attachment 14. | per dwelling unit | $2,063 | City of Brighton, Colorado Jan 1, 2026High |
Transportation / roads Transportation and Multimodal Impact Fee — Verified verbatim in Attachment 14. | per dwelling unit | $3,638 | City of Brighton, Colorado Jan 1, 2026High |
General government / capital General Services Impact Fee — General government/capital facilities impact fee (folds in police/library/etc. impacts). Verified verbatim in Attachment 14. | per dwelling unit | $1,096 | City of Brighton, Colorado Jan 1, 2026High |
Drainage / stormwater Storm Drainage Impact Fee — Applies outside the South Beebe Draw Metropolitan District; properties inside that district pay the district's own drainage fee instead. Verified verbatim in Attachment 14. | per dwelling unit | $5,488 | City of Brighton, Colorado Jan 1, 2026High |
Fire / EMS Greater Brighton Fire Protection District Emergency Services Impact Fee - Single Family — SEPARATE DISTRICT: Greater Brighton Fire Protection District impact fee, assessed/collected by the City via intergovernmental agreement and remitted to the District. Schedule effective Jan 1, 2018 (per Sept 2017 nexus study); a builder in Brighton pays this. Listed on the City's Adopted Fee Regulations page. Verified verbatim in IGA Attachment 1. | per dwelling unit | $688 | Greater Brighton Fire Protection District / City of Brighton Jan 1, 2018Highdated 2018 |
Water & sewer connection fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water Impact Fee (0.75" tap, water rights dedicated to City) — Plant-investment-style water tap/impact fee for standard 0.75" residential meter, base scenario where developer DEDICATES water rights to the City. Source states 'Water dedication will be required for all development unless a previous agreement is on file' — dedication is the standard/default. Larger meter sizes priced higher (1"=$30,671, 2"=$98,148). Verified verbatim in Attachment 14. | per meter | $18,403 | City of Brighton, Colorado Jan 1, 2026High |
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water Impact Fee (0.75" tap, fee-in-lieu of water rights dedication) — Alternative pathway (lower tap fee) used only when an exception/agreement allows cash fee-in-lieu of dedicating water rights. Mutually exclusive with the $18,403 dedicated-rights tap fee; if used, a large per-unit 'Fee-in-Lieu of Water Dedication' ($41,189/unit at 0-3 units/acre) ALSO applies on top. Verified verbatim in Attachment 14. alternative · not added to total | per meter | $15,227 | City of Brighton, Colorado Jan 1, 2026High |
Water connection (tap / SDC) Fee-in-Lieu of Water Dedication (detached residential, 0-3 units/acre) — Charged IN ADDITION to the fee-in-lieu tap fee, but ONLY when developer does not dedicate physical water rights and an agreement allows cash. Tiered by density (>3-4: $39,901; >4-5: $33,466; ... >11/acre: $25,743). Excluded because the standard/base scenario is water-rights dedication. Per-acre-foot basis is $64,357. Verified verbatim in Attachment 14. alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $41,189 | City of Brighton, Colorado Jan 1, 2026High |
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) Metro Water Recovery (MWR) Wastewater Impact Fee - Single-family — SEPARATE DISTRICT: Metro Water Recovery regional wastewater treatment connection fee, collected by City of Brighton on behalf of MWR. Applies to developments served by MWR (the primary/default Brighton wastewater service). Mutually exclusive with the Town of Lochbuie wastewater fee for parcels served by Lochbuie instead. Verified verbatim in Attachment 14. | per dwelling unit | $6,070 | City of Brighton, Colorado Jan 1, 2026High |
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) Town of Lochbuie Wastewater Impact Fee (0.75" tap) — SEPARATE DISTRICT alternative: applies only to Brighton parcels whose wastewater is served by the Town of Lochbuie instead of MWR. Mutually exclusive with the MWR fee; excluded since MWR is the default. Verified verbatim in Attachment 14. alternative · not added to total | per meter | $4,975 | City of Brighton, Colorado Jan 1, 2026High |
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) City of Brighton Wastewater Connection Fee (0.75" tap) — City's own local wastewater (collection system) connection fee, additive to and separate from the regional MWR/Lochbuie treatment fee. Standard 0.75" residential tap. Verified verbatim in Attachment 14. | per meter | $837 | City of Brighton, Colorado Jan 1, 2026High |
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water Meter Fee (0.75") — Physical water meter purchase fee for standard residential 0.75" meter, in addition to the water impact/tap fee. Borderline (a meter-purchase charge rather than a pure impact fee) but a mandatory per-unit capital connection cost listed in Attachment 14; retained. Verified verbatim. | per meter | $288 | City of Brighton, Colorado Jan 1, 2026High |
City
Commerce City, CO
$21,686
Total per single-family home
impact + connection fees
$18,903
Impact / development fees
roads, parks, schools…
$2,783
Water & sewer connection
tap / capacity / SDC
$12,233
Per multifamily unit
total fees / unit
Impact / development fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Transportation / roads Road Impact Fee (Northern Range service area) — Northern Range service area (Commerce City's northern growth corridor where the vast majority of new single-family subdivisions are built) — representative PRIMARY road fee. Core City alternative is a separate row marked excludeFromTotal. Verified verbatim from extractable PDF text. | per dwelling unit | $4,842 | City of Commerce City, CO (Finance Department) Nov 20, 2025High |
Transportation / roads Road Impact Fee (Core City service area) — alternative — MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE alternative to the Northern Range road fee. Core City is the older southern part of the city; applies instead of (not in addition to) Northern Range. Core City MF low-rise $1,543, mid-rise $1,187 (verified). Verified verbatim. alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $2,670 | City of Commerce City, CO (Finance Department) Nov 20, 2025High |
Parks & recreation Park Facilities Impact Fee (a.k.a. Public Park Development Fee) — Same fee as the 'Public Park Development Fee' shown as $7,502 (SF) in the planning Facts-to-Know sheet (source 1) — reported once to avoid double counting. Directory table is an embedded image; amount verified by OCR-reading the rendered page and cross-confirmed against the FTK text ($7,502). In addition, developers must dedicate 3% of usable land area as private park land (no fee-in-lieu). | per dwelling unit | $7,502 | City of Commerce City, CO (Finance Department) Nov 20, 2025High |
General government / capital General Government Facilities Impact Fee — Per dwelling unit. Multifamily $538. Directory table is an embedded image; amount verified by OCR-reading the rendered page. | per dwelling unit | $707 | City of Commerce City, CO (Finance Department) Nov 20, 2025High |
General government / capital Public Works Facilities Impact Fee — Per dwelling unit. Multifamily $465. Directory table is an embedded image; amount verified by OCR-reading the rendered page. | per dwelling unit | $612 | City of Commerce City, CO (Finance Department) Nov 20, 2025High |
Police Police Facilities Impact Fee — Per dwelling unit. Multifamily $1,651. Directory table is an embedded image; amount verified by OCR-reading the rendered page. | per dwelling unit | $2,175 | City of Commerce City, CO (Finance Department) Nov 20, 2025High |
Drainage / stormwater Drainage Impact Fee (First Creek basin) — per sq ft impervious — Charged per SQ FT of NEW impervious area, not per dwelling unit — total depends on lot/impervious area. First Creek basin shown as representative ($1.55/sf); the four other basins are mutually-exclusive alternatives. excludeFromTotal set to TRUE on verification: this fee is per_sqft and cannot be summed into a per-dwelling-unit representative total (additive on top of per-DU fees once impervious area is known). Commercial in C-1/C-2/C-3 pays half. Verified verbatim from extractable PDF text. alternative · not added to total | per sq ft | $1.55 | City of Commerce City, CO (Finance Department) Nov 20, 2025High |
Drainage / stormwater Drainage Impact Fee — Irondale Gulch basin (alternative) — Alternative drainage basin rate (per sq ft impervious). Mutually exclusive with First Creek. Verified verbatim. alternative · not added to total | per sq ft | $1.25 | City of Commerce City, CO (Finance Department) Nov 20, 2025High |
Drainage / stormwater Drainage Impact Fee — Second Creek basin (alternative) — Alternative drainage basin rate. Henderson Creek $0.70 and Third Creek $0.21 also apply only in their respective basins. Verified verbatim. alternative · not added to total | per sq ft | $0.74 | City of Commerce City, CO (Finance Department) Nov 20, 2025High |
Schools School Land Dedication Fee-in-Lieu — Colorado has no general school impact fee; Article IX requires school LAND dedication or this cash fee-in-lieu. Based on $106,150/acre land value set by the school districts. Other tiers: SF Attached/Duplex $772.77, Townhome/Condo $643.27, Apartment $413.99, Mobile Home $1,040.38 (all verified verbatim). Figures from Dec-2023 Facts-to-Know sheet (may be updated as land value changes) — hence medium confidence. | per dwelling unit | $1,645 | City of Commerce City, CO (Community Development / Planning) Nov 1, 2021Mediumdated 2021 |
Fire / EMS Fire & Emergency Services Impact Fee (South Adams County Fire Protection District — separate district, collected on Commerce City permits) — SEPARATE DISTRICT fee (SACFD) collected by builders on Commerce City development/building applications submitted after 5/20/2025. As of the 6/16/2026 verification date the 1/1/2026 tier ($1,420 SF) is in effect (primary). Exemptions: replacement structures, qualified low-income housing, urban renewal areas. Verified verbatim. | per dwelling unit | $1,420 | South Adams County Fire Department (Fire Protection District) Jan 1, 2026High |
Fire / EMS Fire & Emergency Services Impact Fee (SACFD) — pre-1/1/2026 SF tier — Superseded tier (in effect 5/21/2025 through 12/31/2025) — excluded because the 1/1/2026 tier ($1,420) is current as of the verification date. Verified verbatim. alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $1,100 | South Adams County Fire Department (Fire Protection District) May 21, 2025High |
Water & sewer connection fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water Acquisition Fee (city — water rights for parks, NOT a water tap fee) — City fee assessed on ALL new structures at building permit; funds water rights to irrigate city parks/facilities — does NOT cover the home's own water tap (that is SACWSD). Latest verbatim published figure is the 2025 value $2,782.79; the Dec-2023 FTK source publishes only through 2025. Escalates 10% each Jan 1, so 2026 ≈ $3,061.07 (calculated, no verbatim 2026 publication located) — hence medium confidence for the current 2026 year. Verified verbatim. | per dwelling unit | $2,783 | City of Commerce City, CO (Community Development / Planning) Jan 1, 2025Medium |
What drives the difference
Brighton’s $40,634 per single-family home is $18,948 (87%) above Commerce City’s $21,686. The largest single difference is in water connection (tap / sdc): Brighton charges about $18,691 there versus $2,783 in Commerce City — a $15,908 swing that accounts for much of the overall gap. The two also differ in how much falls on water and sewer connection charges: $25,598 in Brighton versus $2,783 in Commerce City.
Keep comparing
Brighton vs Commerce City impact fees — FAQ
- Which has higher impact fees, Brighton or Commerce City?
- Brighton, CO is higher. A single-family home pays about $40,634 per unit in Brighton versus $21,686 in Commerce City, CO — $18,948 (87%) more, as of 2026.
- How much more does it cost to build a home in Brighton than in Commerce City?
- About $18,948 more per single-family home — $40,634 in Brighton, CO versus $21,686 in Commerce City, CO, a difference of 87% in total development impact and connection fees.
- What's the difference between impact fees in Brighton and Commerce City for a single-family home?
- Brighton, CO charges about $40,634 per single-family home ($15,036 impact + $25,598 water/sewer connection), while Commerce City, CO charges about $21,686 ($18,903 impact + $2,783 connection). Figures are normalized from official sources for 2026.