Celina, TX vs Kirkland, WA: Development Impact Fees Compared (2026)

Roadway Impact Fee — Roadway impact fee per Texas LGC Ch. 395. VERIFIED 2026-06-17: Estimator Worksheet row 15 (Single-Family Detached Housing, 4.6 veh-mi, $3,043.48/veh-mi) and row 32 ROADWAY IMPACT FEE COST: 14000. The estimator's per-service-area collection-rate table (LUE Table 2025 Study, cells T5:U11) confirms $3,043.48/veh-mi is the UNIFORM adopted collection rate for Service Areas 1, 2, 3, 4, AND 5, so the 'SA1-5' grouping is correct; 4.60 x $3,043.48 = $14,000.008 (rounddown 14,000). Jan 2025 RIF Study (Kimley-Horn) confirms 4.60 veh-mi/SFD and lists the higher MAXIMUM assessable fee ($18,359 SA1 to $18,382 SA5; max per-veh-mi $3,048-$3,996); the city collects at the reduced $3,043.48 rate. The collection rate and $14,000 figure are NOT in the RIF study itself — they come from the adopted estimator. Applies to plats dated on/after 3/12/2025.

Roadway Impact Fee (Service Area 6) — Mutually-exclusive service-area variant. VERIFIED 2026-06-17: Estimator LUE Table 2025 Study cell U10 confirms SA6 collection rate $1,934.78/veh-mi. 4.6 x $1,934.78 = $8,899.99 (rounds to ~$8,900). Correctly excluded; Service Areas 1-5 row ($14,000) is the representative primary. RIF max assessable for SA6 is $8,906/SF home.

Roadway Impact Fee (Service Area 7) — Mutually-exclusive service-area variant. VERIFIED 2026-06-17: Estimator LUE Table 2025 Study cell U11 confirms SA7 collection rate $1,565.22/veh-mi. 4.6 x $1,565.22 = $7,200.01 (rounddown 7,200). Correctly excluded; Service Areas 1-5 row is the representative primary. RIF study max assessable for SA7 is $7,277/SF home.

Park Improvement Fee (Single-Family) — Park improvement fee on new 1 & 2 family dwellings. VERIFIED 2026-06-17 verbatim in Master Fee Chart Nov 2025 residential building permit section (Park Improvement $1,500 per unit). NOTE: Texas LGC Ch. 395 does NOT authorize park impact fees; this is a parkland-dedication/development exaction levied under the city's subdivision/zoning authority, not a Ch. 395 impact fee. Builder pays it regardless.

Outdoor Warning Device Fee (Single-Family) — Outdoor warning (storm-siren) device fee charged per new single-family dwelling at building permit. VERIFIED 2026-06-17 verbatim in Master Fee Chart Nov 2025 (Outdoor Warning Device $40 per unit (SF); $14/unit for multi-family). Permit-time exaction, not a Ch. 395 impact fee.

Civil/Site Development Permit Fee (Residential, per lot) — Site development (civil) permit fee billed per residential lot at the subdivision/civil stage, typically paid by the developer rather than per home permit. VERIFIED 2026-06-17 verbatim in Master Fee Chart Nov 2025 Site Development Fees (Civil Permit) section (Civil Permit Fee - Residential $601 (per lot)). Correctly excluded from the per-dwelling-unit impact-fee total to avoid mixing process fees with capacity fees.

Water Impact Fee — Water impact fee per Texas LGC Ch. 395, for the standard 1-inch residential meter (1.0 service unit). VERIFIED 2026-06-17: confirmed verbatim in the 2025 Impact Fee Estimator 'Water-Sewer 2025' tab (Single-Family, 1", Displacement, SUE 1, Water Impact Fee 6815) and main Worksheet row 38. Independently corroborated by July 2025 W&W Impact Fee Report (Freese & Nichols) Tables ES-2 and 4-4: Maximum Water Impact Fee per SU $13,631, 50% credit, Maximum Allowable Water Impact Fee = $6,815. Replaced the 2021 rate of $4,400 (1-inch).

Water Impact Fee (3/4" meter variant) — Mutually-exclusive meter-size variant. VERIFIED 2026-06-17: 'Water-Sewer 2025' tab shows Single-Family 3/4" Displacement SUE 0.625 Water Impact Fee 4259 (= 6815 x 0.625 = 4259.4). City standardized residential to 1-inch meters, so the 1-inch row is the representative primary; this 3/4-inch row is correctly excluded from the total. (Note: W&W report Table 4-1 displays 3/4" SUE as 0.6 rounded, but the operative adopted estimator uses 0.625.)

Wastewater (Sewer) Impact Fee — Wastewater impact fee per Texas LGC Ch. 395, standard 1-inch residential meter (1.0 service unit). VERIFIED 2026-06-17: confirmed in the 2025 Impact Fee Estimator 'Water-Sewer 2025' tab (sewer column = 10233; row total 17048 = 6815 + 10233) and Worksheet row 38. Corroborated by W&W Impact Fee Report Tables ES-3 and 4-5: Maximum Wastewater Impact Fee per SU $20,467, 50% credit, Maximum Allowable Wastewater Impact Fee = $10,233. (The W&W report's narrative ES paragraph contains a typo '$10,496' but all controlling tables state $10,233.) Replaced the 2021 rate of $5,200 (1-inch).

Wastewater (Sewer) Impact Fee (3/4" meter variant) — Mutually-exclusive meter-size variant (0.625 SU). VERIFIED 2026-06-17: 'Water-Sewer 2025' tab shows 6395 (= 10233 x 0.625 = 6395.6). Correctly excluded; the 1-inch standard meter row is the representative primary.

Water Connection / Access (Tap) Fee - 1" — Water tap/connection ('access') fee for a 1-inch service (standard residential), separate from and additive to the water impact fee. VERIFIED 2026-06-17 verbatim in Master Fee Chart Nov 2025 (Water/Wastewater Connection Fees, Water: 1" Access $2,175). A separate boring fee of $1,200 may apply. This is the physical tap installation charge, not the Ch. 395 capacity/impact fee.

Water Meter Fee - 1" — Water meter fee for the 1-inch minimum residential meter. VERIFIED 2026-06-17 verbatim in Master Fee Chart Nov 2025 (Meter Fees: 1" $480 (minimum meter size); 3/4" $415 existing meters only). Additive to tap and impact fees.

Sewer Connection (Tap) Fee - 4" — Sewer tap/connection fee for a standard residential 4-inch service lateral, separate from and additive to the wastewater impact fee. VERIFIED 2026-06-17 verbatim in Master Fee Chart Nov 2025 (Sewer: 4" Tap $1,500; Boring Fee $1,000). A separate sewer boring fee of $1,000 may apply.

Transportation Impact Fee — Kirkland charges the transportation impact fee at $4.39/sq ft (2025) for Residential Non-Stacked, raised 2.7% CPI-W to ~$4.51/sf for Jan-Jun 2026, capped at a per-dwelling-unit max of $8,115.35. The max is reached at ~1,800 sq ft, so essentially every detached single-family home pays the $8,115.35 cap. Figure is the Jan-Jun 2026 maximum from the official fee-change notice. KMC Ch. 27.04, Ord. O-4904. VERIFIED via Jina proxy of source 1 and an independent search snippet.

Park Impact Fee — Charged at $5.04/sq ft (2025) Residential Non-Stacked, +2.7% CPI-W for Jan-Jun 2026, capped at per-dwelling-unit max of $9,316.94. Max reached at ~1,800 sq ft, so a typical detached single-family home pays the $9,316.94 cap. KMC Ch. 27.06, Ord. O-4901. VERIFIED via Jina proxy of source 1 and an independent search snippet.

Fire Impact Fee — Fire impact fee is per sq ft of conditioned floor area: $0.73/sf (2025), +2.7% CPI-W = ~$0.7497/sf for Jan-Jun 2026. Unlike park/transportation, the fire cap ($2,399.07 in 2026) is NOT reached until ~3,200 sq ft, so a representative ~2,500 sq ft home pays ~$1,874 (2,500 x $0.7497 = $1,874.27). Amount shown is COMPUTED for a 2,500 sq ft home; actual fee scales with home size up to the $2,399.07 max. KMC Ch. 27.10, Ord. O-4901. Per-sf rate and max VERIFIED in source 0 (Jina proxy); confidence downgraded high->medium because the exact dollar is a derived computation at an assumed home size, not a published figure.

Fire Impact Fee (maximum cap, large home) — Maximum per-dwelling-unit fire impact fee (Jan-Jun 2026), reached at ~3,200+ sq ft of conditioned floor area. Excluded from total as an alternative tier to the per-sqft primary row above. VERIFIED verbatim in source 1 (Jina proxy).

School Impact Fee (Lake Washington SD No. 414) — Flat fee per detached single-family unit, set by Lake Washington School District No. 414 and collected by the City of Kirkland under RCW 82.02 / KMC Ch. 27.08 (Ord. O-4910 for 2026). 2025 was $5,972; Jan 2026 is $7,277. A separate $142 school impact fee administrative fee is also charged per the July-Dec 2025 schedule. VERIFIED verbatim in source 1 (Jina proxy) and corroborated by LWSD Impact Fees FAQ (SF $7,277 effective 1/1/2026).

School Impact Fee admin fee — Administrative fee charged in addition to the school impact fee. Value shown is from the 2025 schedule ($142); the 2026 admin amount may differ slightly with CPI but was not separately published in the Jan 2026 notice. Excluded from total to avoid double counting; add to school fee for an all-in figure. VERIFIED verbatim in source 0 (Jina proxy).

Surface Water Capital Facility Charge (SWCFC), one new detached dwelling — Kirkland stormwater/surface water capital facility charge for one new detached dwelling on a single lot (Jan 2026). For other development types the charge = (impervious sq ft added / 2,600), rounded down, x $1,598. Alteration/expansion of an existing single dwelling on a single lot is exempt. VERIFIED verbatim by direct pdftotext of source 2.

Water Capital Facility Charge (WCFC), 5/8" x 3/4" meter — City of Kirkland Water Capital Facility Charge for a new connection at the base residential 5/8"x3/4" meter (Jan 2026). This is the city portion. The additive Cascade Water Alliance RCFC ($8,852) is a separate row; combined total for a 3/4" connection is $13,724. VERIFIED verbatim by direct pdftotext of source 2.

Cascade Water Alliance Regional Capital Facility Charge (RCFC), 3/4" meter — Cascade Water Alliance regional wholesale capacity charge collected by Kirkland on all new water connections, ADDITIVE to the city WCFC (correctly NOT excluded; applies to the same connection alongside WCFC). 2026 = $8,852 for a 3/4" meter (Cascade Board Resolution 2024-13). No vesting; rate due is the rate in place at time of payment. Levied by a separate regional entity (Cascade Water Alliance) but mandatory for Kirkland builders. VERIFIED verbatim in source 1 (Jina proxy) and cross-checked against source 2 total ($13,724).

Water meter installation (drop-in), 5/8" x 3/4" — One-time water meter drop-in (installation) fee for the base residential meter (Jan 2026). Separate from and additive to the WCFC/RCFC capacity charges. VERIFIED verbatim by direct pdftotext of source 2.

Sewer Capital Facility Charge (SCFC), single-family — City of Kirkland Sewer Capital Facility Charge for a single-family residential connection (Jan 2026). Multi-unit: 2-unit $8,301; 3-unit $12,451; 4-unit $16,602; 5+ units $3,228/unit. Does NOT include the separate King County sewer treatment capacity charge (see coverage notes). VERIFIED verbatim by direct pdftotext of source 2.

King County Sewer Treatment Capacity Charge (monthly, separate district) — SEPARATE regional charge by King County Wastewater Treatment Division, billed in addition to Kirkland's SCFC on all newly connected sewer customers. NOT a one-time lump sum: $77.99/RCE/MONTH, billed quarterly for 15 years. A medium single-family house (1,500-2,999 sq ft) = 1.0 RCE = $77.99/month (~$936/yr; ~$14,038 nominal over 15 years before any early-payoff/interest discount). Excluded from the one-time SDC total because it is a financed monthly charge, not a connection lump sum. A builder/buyer should budget for it separately. VERIFIED verbatim via WebFetch of source 5 (billed quarterly for 15 years).