Sarasota County, FL Development Impact Fees (2026)

What a single-family home pays in Sarasota County

$21,888 total per unit across 10 fee categories. Fees charged per square foot assume a 2,500 sq ft home.

At $21,888, Sarasota County is below the Florida tracked median of $29,203 — relatively affordable to build in.

Full fee schedule — single-family

Full fee schedule — multifamily

Coverage & caveats

Sarasota County (unincorporated) charges three families of growth fees on new residential construction: (1) seven "impact fees" — Parks, Library, Fire, EMS, Law Enforcement, Justice Facilities, and General Government — under the 2016 Impact Fee Schedule (Effective 2016-Nov-14), still the current adopted schedule for these six county-service categories; (2) an Educational System (school) impact fee under Ordinance 2022-047 (adopted 2022-Nov-16), phased up over four years; and (3) a Mobility Fee (the county's replacement for a road/transportation impact fee since 2016) under the 2026 Mobility Fee Schedule (Effective 2026-02-01). Separately, the county utility charges water and wastewater (sewer) CAPACITY fees per Equivalent Dwelling Unit (1 single-family home = 1 EDU), increased Effective 2025-03-01. KEY STRUCTURE NOTES: - IMPACT FEES (2016 schedule) are TIERED by single-family living-area square footage (5 tiers). The representative single-family row uses the 2,000-2,499 sf tier. The seven categories TOTAL $5,767 for a 2,000-2,499 sf single-family home per the official schedule (Parks $2,719 + Library $683 + Fire $281 + EMS $171 + Law $281 + Justice $1,009 + Gen Gov't $623 = $5,767, exactly the printed Total column). - EDUCATIONAL fee is FLAT per dwelling unit (not size-tiered) and is phased in by Ordinance 2022-047. The current rate, "After January 1, 2026," is single-family $3,048 and multifamily $774 (read directly from the official scanned ordinance schedule). Earlier steps: after 01/2025 SF $2,794 / MF $710. - MOBILITY FEE is charged PER SQUARE FOOT of residential living area, with THREE mutually-exclusive geographic service areas. The official 2026 schedule (Effective 02/01/2026) sets Residential (max 3,500 sf): Urban Infill $1.068/sf, West of I-75 $1.737/sf, East of I-75 $2.388/sf (Mixed-Use $0.801/$1.302/$1.791; Affordable West of I-75 $0.868/sf). West of I-75 is the primary representative zone. A 2.25% Administrative Service Charge is added at CO. - WATER and SEWER capacity fees are per EDU; a single-family home = 1 EDU, so both apply additively ($4,250 water + $4,480 sewer = $8,730). WHAT DOES NOT EXIST / CAVEATS: - No separate county "drainage/stormwater," "open space," "affordable housing," or distinct "police" impact fee (Law Enforcement IS the police-equivalent). Affordable/workforce units may receive impact-fee waivers/reductions (Ord. 2022-071) and may be exempt from the educational fee. - This record covers UNINCORPORATED Sarasota County; the City of Sarasota, Venice, North Port, and Longboat Key levy separate schedules (not included). VERIFY: confirmed 24 of 25 rows; corrected 2 amounts (Educational SF $2,794->$3,048 and Educational MF $645->$774, both upgraded to HIGH after reading the official Ordinance 2022-047 scanned schedule directly: "After January 1, 2026: Single-family $3,048.00 per Dwelling Unit; Multifamily $774.00 per Dwelling Unit" — the researcher's $2,794/$645 were stale phase-in/older steps). All seven 2016 impact-fee rows (SF) and seven (MF) confirmed exactly against the rendered official 2016 schedule, including the Fire and EMS columns that the JMI table omits. All four mobility per-sqft rates confirmed verbatim from the official 2026 PDF (1.068 / 1.737 / 2.388 / 0.868). Water $4,250 + sewer $4,480 per EDU confirmed (Sarasota News Leader + county). Re-pointed both educational rows to sourceIndex 3 (Ordinance 2022-047), the primary source actually read. excludeFromTotal corrections: none needed — all mutually-exclusive variants (Urban Infill/East-of-I-75 mobility, the computed per-DU mobility equivalent, MF mobility, and MF water) were already correctly flagged excludeFromTotal=true; the representative single-family per-DU/per-meter total (impact $5,767 + educational $3,048 + water $4,250 + sewer $4,480) carries no double-counting, with the per_sqft mobility primary kept on a separate unit basis.

All residential fees expressed per dwelling unit except the mobility fee, which the county prices per square foot of living area. Impact-fee figures are from the 2016 Impact Fee Schedule (still current for the seven county-service categories), read directly from the rendered official county PDF and cross-checked against the James Madison Institute April 2025 profile. Educational figures are from Ordinance 2022-047 (the official scanned schedule was read page-by-page: current "After January 1, 2026" step is SF $3,048 / MF $774). Mobility figures are from the official 2026 Mobility Fee Schedule (Effective 02/01/2026). Capacity figures are from the county utility resolution as reported by Sarasota News Leader. Single-family primary impact rows use the 2,000-2,499 sf tier; multifamily primary uses the 1,250+ sf tier.

Sources

7 official sources · 23 high-confidence figures.

Sarasota County impact fees — FAQ

How much are development impact fees in Sarasota County, FL for a single-family home?

As of 2026-06-17, total development fees for a single-family detached home in Sarasota County are about $21,888 per unit — roughly $13,158 in impact/development fees plus $8,730 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 Sarasota County, FL?

Total development fees for a multifamily unit in Sarasota County are about $5,451 per unit as of 2026-06-17.

Are impact fees in Sarasota 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 Sarasota 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 Sarasota County on 2026-06-17.