Lee County, FL Development Impact Fees (2026)
Normalized development impact fees, water & sewer connection (tap/SDC) fees, and mitigation fees for Lee County, Florida — per dwelling unit, by category, with links to every official source.
What a single-family home pays in Lee County
$14,854 total per unit across 6 fee categories.
- Transportation / roads$5,248
- Schools$2,879
- Sewer connection (tap / SDC)$2,660
- Water connection (tap / SDC)$2,440
- Fire / EMS$821
- Parks & recreation$806
At $14,854, Lee County is below the Florida tracked median of $32,270 — relatively affordable to build in.
Full fee schedule — single-family
Impact / development fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Transportation / roads Road Impact Fee (collected at 52.5%) — Actual amount collected = 52.5% of the $9,996 adopted base fee. Per schedule note: 'Road, Park, and School Impact Fees collected at 52.5% of adopted Base Fee.' Not tiered by home size. VERIFIED against source PDF. | per dwelling unit | $5,248 | Lee County Department of Community Development Jun 4, 2018Highdated 2018 |
Transportation / roads Road Impact Fee — full adopted Base Fee (100%) — Full 100% adopted base fee; only 52.5% ($5,248) is actually collected. Excluded from total to avoid double counting. VERIFIED. alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $9,996 | Lee County Department of Community Development Jun 4, 2018Highdated 2018 |
Schools School Impact Fee (collected at 52.5%) — Actual collected = 52.5% of $5,484 base. Florida permits school impact fees; Lee County levies one. VERIFIED. | per dwelling unit | $2,879 | Lee County Department of Community Development Jun 4, 2018Highdated 2018 |
Schools School Impact Fee — full adopted Base Fee (100%) — Full 100% base fee; only 52.5% collected. Excluded to avoid double counting. VERIFIED. alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $5,484 | Lee County Department of Community Development Jun 4, 2018Highdated 2018 |
Parks & recreation Park Impact Fee — Total (Community + Regional, collected at 52.5%) — Total park fee = Community Park ($464 collected) + Regional Park ($342 collected). Actual collected = 52.5% of $1,535 base. VERIFIED. | per dwelling unit | $806 | Lee County Department of Community Development Jun 4, 2018Highdated 2018 |
Parks & recreation Park Impact Fee — Total full adopted Base Fee (100%) — Full 100% combined community+regional park base fee; only 52.5% ($806) collected. Excluded to avoid double counting. VERIFIED. alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $1,535 | Lee County Department of Community Development Jun 4, 2018Highdated 2018 |
Fire / EMS Fire Impact Fee (maximum — varies by district) — Maximum fire impact fee; actual fee depends on the specific independent fire-protection district. Schedule states 'FIRE/EMS-maximum fees shown below, see detailed fire impact fee schedule by district'. Not subject to the 52.5% collection discount. VERIFIED. | per dwelling unit | $766 | Lee County Department of Community Development Jun 4, 2018Mediumdated 2018 |
Fire / EMS EMS Impact Fee — Separate EMS impact fee, additive to fire fee. Combined Fire/EMS max for SF = $821 (confirmed in schedule). VERIFIED. | per dwelling unit | $55 | Lee County Department of Community Development Jun 4, 2018Highdated 2018 |
Water & sewer connection fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water System Connection (Capacity) Fee — Single-Family (1.0 ERU) — Lee County Utilities (LCU) water connection capacity fee. 1 ERU = 250 gpd = one single-family dwelling. Applies only where LCU is the serving utility; Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs Utilities, FGUA, etc. have separate fees. VERIFIED in External Fee Manual EX 13-2. | per dwelling unit | $2,440 | Lee County Board of County Commissioners Aug 14, 2007Highdated 2007 |
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) Sewer System Connection (Capacity) Fee — Single-Family (1.0 ERU) — Lee County Utilities sewer connection capacity fee. Applies only where LCU is the serving wastewater utility. VERIFIED in External Fee Manual EX 13-12. | per dwelling unit | $2,660 | Lee County Board of County Commissioners Aug 14, 2007Highdated 2007 |
Full fee schedule — multifamily
Impact / development fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Transportation / roads Road Impact Fee (collected at 52.5%) — Multifamily Low-Rise — Low-rise (1-2 stories) representative multifamily; mid-rise $3,024 and high-rise $2,468 also exist (collected). Actual collected = 52.5% of $7,750 base. VERIFIED. | per dwelling unit | $4,069 | Lee County Department of Community Development Jun 4, 2018Highdated 2018 |
Schools School Impact Fee (collected at 52.5%) — Multifamily — Actual collected = 52.5% of $2,123 base. VERIFIED. | per dwelling unit | $1,115 | Lee County Department of Community Development Jun 4, 2018Highdated 2018 |
Parks & recreation Park Impact Fee — Total (collected at 52.5%) — Multifamily — Total park fee (community $351 + regional $259 collected). Actual collected = 52.5% of $1,162 base. VERIFIED. | per dwelling unit | $610 | Lee County Department of Community Development Jun 4, 2018Highdated 2018 |
Fire / EMS Fire Impact Fee (maximum) — Multifamily — Maximum fire fee; varies by district. EMS multifamily fee is an additional $42/unit (confirmed). VERIFIED. | per dwelling unit | $582 | Lee County Department of Community Development Jun 4, 2018Mediumdated 2018 |
Water & sewer connection fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water System Connection (Capacity) Fee — Multifamily (0.80 ERU/unit) — LCU water connection capacity fee per multifamily dwelling unit (0.80 ERU). VERIFIED — source PDF literally shows '$ 1, 952.00'. | per dwelling unit | $1,952 | Lee County Board of County Commissioners Aug 14, 2007Highdated 2007 |
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) Sewer System Connection (Capacity) Fee — Multifamily (0.80 ERU/unit) — LCU sewer connection capacity fee per multifamily dwelling unit (0.80 ERU). VERIFIED. | per dwelling unit | $2,128 | Lee County Board of County Commissioners Aug 14, 2007Highdated 2007 |
Coverage & caveats
All figures are from official Lee County, FL sources. Lee County levies countywide impact fees for ROADS, SCHOOLS, PARKS (community + regional), and FIRE/EMS, plus separate water & sewer CONNECTION (capacity) fees through Lee County Utilities (LCU). IMPORTANT COLLECTION-RATE CONTEXT: Road, Park, and School impact fees are collected at only 52.5% of the adopted Base Fee (per the official schedule note). The PRIMARY single-family/multifamily rows below report the ACTUAL amount a builder pays (the 52.5% collected rate); the full 100% Base Fee is included as additional excludeFromTotal rows for transparency. Fire and EMS fees are NOT discounted — the schedule shows the MAXIMUM fee; the actual fire fee varies by the specific fire-protection district (the county lists max fees and directs to a detailed fire impact fee schedule by district). A 3% administrative fee is collected on ALL impact fee assessments (applied on top of the impact-fee total). FREEZE CAVEAT: The impact fee schedule is dated 5/18/2023 with base fees adopted 3/6/2018 (effective 6/4/2018). 2023 Florida legislation (post-Hurricane Ian) prohibits local governments within 100 miles of Ian's landfall — which includes Lee County — from increasing impact fees through at least October 2026, so the 2018 base fees and 52.5% collection rate remain CURRENT as of 6/16/2026. WATER/SEWER: Connection (capacity) fees are per the May 2026 External Fees & Charges Manual; one ERU = 250 gpd = one single-family dwelling. Single-family = 1.0 ERU; multifamily = 0.80 ERU/unit. These connection fees apply ONLY to properties served by Lee County Utilities — large parts of the county are served by other utilities (e.g., City of Cape Coral, City of Fort Myers, Bonita Springs Utilities, FGUA) with their own fees; a builder must confirm the serving utility. CATEGORIES THAT DO NOT EXIST as separate Lee County impact fees: no separate police/law-enforcement impact fee, no library impact fee, no general/capital impact fee, no drainage/stormwater impact fee, no open-space impact fee, no affordable-housing impact fee, and no general mitigation fee in the countywide impact fee schedule. Florida DOES permit school impact fees and Lee County levies one (unlike some states). Mobile-home, senior/ACLF, hotel and all commercial categories exist in the schedule but are omitted here per residential focus. Road impact fees are NOT tiered by home size in Lee County (single rate per dwelling unit), so no size-tier rows were needed. VERIFY: confirmed 17 of 17 rows; dropped 0. All 9 impact-fee rows (source 0) and all 4 connection-fee rows (source 1) matched the source PDFs exactly, including the literal spacing "$ 1, 952.00" in the multifamily water row. The 8/14/07 (Resolution 07-08-70) approval date for the water connection fees confirms the 2007-08-14 effectiveDate. excludeFromTotal corrections: none needed — the 3 full-base-fee rows (Road $9,996, School $5,484, Park $1,535) are correctly flagged excludeFromTotal=true against their 52.5%-collected counterparts; the representative LCU-served single-family scenario does not double-count. Fire-fee confidence retained at medium (district-dependent maximum). Population figure (822,453) is plausible for Lee County and is not a fee value; retained as provided (Census did not respond for an exact re-check).
For a typical single-family detached home served by Lee County Utilities, the actual impact + connection fees a builder pays are approximately: Roads $5,248 + Schools $2,879 + Parks $806 + Fire (max) $766 + EMS $55 = $9,754 in impact fees, plus a 3% admin fee (~$293), plus water connection $2,440 + sewer connection $2,660 = roughly $15,147 total. Fire fee is the published maximum and varies by district. Base (100%) fees are shown as excludeFromTotal rows to avoid double-counting with the 52.5% collected rows.
Sources
4 official sources · 14 high-confidence figures.
- 1Lee County Impact Fee Schedule (Roads, Schools, Parks, Fire/EMS)Lee County Department of Community Development · fee schedule · effective Jun 4, 2018 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 2Lee County External Fees and Charges Manual (May 2026) — Water/Sewer Connection Capacity Fees EX 13-2 & EX 13-12Lee County Board of County Commissioners · fee schedule · effective May 1, 2026 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 3Lee County Community Development Fees (impact fee schedule landing page)Lee County Department of Community Development · municipal webpage · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 4Lee County Impact Fees — collection rate history and 2018 base fee adoptionThe Legal Scoop on Southwest Florida Real Estate · news article · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
Lee County impact fees — FAQ
- How much are development impact fees in Lee County, FL for a single-family home?
- As of 2026-06-16, total development fees for a single-family detached home in Lee County are about $14,854 per unit — roughly $9,754 in impact/development fees plus $5,100 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 Lee County, FL?
- Total development fees for a multifamily unit in Lee County are about $10,456 per unit as of 2026-06-16.
- Are impact fees in Lee County 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 Lee County'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 Lee County on 2026-06-16.