Spokane, WA Development Impact Fees (2026)
Normalized development impact fees, water & sewer connection (tap/SDC) fees, and mitigation fees for Spokane, Washington — per dwelling unit, by category, with links to every official source.
What a single-family home pays in Spokane
$13,063 total per unit across 3 fee categories.
- Sewer connection (tap / SDC)$7,100
- Water connection (tap / SDC)$5,049
- Transportation / roads$914
Spokane’s $13,063 is close to the Washington tracked median of $13,063.
Full fee schedule — single-family
Impact / development fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Transportation / roads Transportation Impact Fee — Northwest District (representative) — 2026 Northwest District Transportation Impact Fee Schedule, effective 1/1/2026 (base rate $831/PM trip). PRIMARY representative SFD row. Spokane charges transportation impact fees by one of 7 geographic service-area districts; the Northwest district is used as a representative established residential area. ITE Land Use Code 210. | per dwelling unit | $914 | City of Spokane Jan 1, 2026High |
Transportation / roads Transportation Impact Fee — Downtown District (SFD) — 2026 Downtown District (base rate $227/PM trip). Mutually-exclusive district variant — excluded from total. Lowest of the 7 districts. MF 1-2 level $135.45; MF 3-10/ADU $103.58. alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $250 | City of Spokane Jan 1, 2026High |
Transportation / roads Transportation Impact Fee — Northeast District (SFD) — 2026 Northeast District (base rate $694/PM trip). Mutually-exclusive district variant — excluded from total. MF 1-2 level $414.11; MF 3-10/ADU $316.67. alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $763 | City of Spokane Jan 1, 2026High |
Transportation / roads Transportation Impact Fee — South District (SFD) — 2026 South District (base rate $2,813/PM trip). Mutually-exclusive district variant — excluded from total. MF 1-2 level $1,678.52; MF 3-10/ADU $1,283.57. alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $3,094 | City of Spokane Jan 1, 2026High |
Transportation / roads Transportation Impact Fee — West Plains District (SFD) — 2026 West Plains District (base rate $4,048/PM trip). Mutually-exclusive district variant — excluded from total. MF 1-2 level $2,415.44; MF 3-10/ADU $1,847.10. alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $4,452 | City of Spokane Jan 1, 2026High |
Transportation / roads Transportation Impact Fee — Latah/Hangman District (SFD) — 2026 Latah District (base rate $7,159/PM trip). Mutually-exclusive district variant — excluded from total. Highest of the 7 districts. MF 1-2 level $4,271.78; MF 3-10/ADU $3,266.65. alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $7,873 | City of Spokane Jan 1, 2026High |
Water & sewer connection fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water General Facilities Charge (GFC) — 3/4" meter, City-Wide, 2026 — One-time water connection/capacity charge (GFC) under SMC 13.04.2044, City-Wide Calculated Charge by water meter size. 3/4" is the standard single-family meter (PRIMARY). Columns are 2025 ($3,582, in effect) and 2026 ($5,049, published next-step rate). Confirmed by Spokesman-Review 12/2/2024: 'the cost is estimated to be $5,049 in water fees ... in 2026.' Applies to single-family and multifamily per meter size. ENR-indexed annually. ADU near-center waiver expired 12/31/2024. | per meter | $5,049 | City of Spokane Jan 1, 2026High |
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water GFC — 5/8" meter (smaller residential variant), 2026 — Smaller 5/8" meter alternative to the primary 3/4" residential meter — excluded from total to avoid double-counting (mutually exclusive by meter size). 2025 $1,683 / 2026 $3,366. alternative · not added to total | per meter | $3,366 | City of Spokane Jan 1, 2026High |
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) Wastewater General Facilities Charge (GFC) — 3/4" meter, City-Wide, 2026 — One-time sewer connection/capacity charge (GFC) under SMC 13.03.0734, City-Wide Calculated Charge, based on the water meter size serving the premises. 3/4" is the standard single-family meter (PRIMARY). Columns are 2025 ($5,611, in effect) and 2026 ($7,100, published next-step rate). Confirmed by Spokesman-Review 12/2/2024: '... and $7,100 in [sewer fees in 2026].' Applies to single-family and multifamily per meter size. ENR-indexed annually. | per meter | $7,100 | City of Spokane Jan 1, 2026High |
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) Wastewater GFC — 5/8" meter (smaller residential variant), 2026 — Smaller 5/8" meter alternative to the primary 3/4" residential meter — excluded from total (mutually exclusive by meter size). 2025 $2,367 / 2026 $4,733. alternative · not added to total | per meter | $4,733 | City of Spokane Jan 1, 2026High |
Full fee schedule — multifamily
Impact / development fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Transportation / roads Transportation Impact Fee — Northwest District (multifamily 1-2 level) — 2026 Northwest District schedule, ITE 220 (Multi-Family 1-2 level). Representative multifamily rate. Multi-Family 3-10 level (ITE 221) is $379.19 in this district. | per dwelling unit | $496 | City of Spokane Jan 1, 2026High |
Coverage & caveats
CITY OF SPOKANE, WA — residential developer/builder one-time fees. WHAT EXISTS: (1) Transportation impact fees under RCW 82.02 / SMC Chapter 17D.075, charged per dwelling unit and varying dramatically by one of 7 geographic service-area districts (Downtown, Northwest, Northeast, South, West Plains, Latah/Hangman) — the district is set by parcel location; impact fees collected in a district must be spent there (per the City's Impact Fee FAQ). Rates effective 1/1/2026 (Appendix A, ORD C36514 schedule, ENR-indexed, capped at +5%/yr). I included ALL 7 districts' Single Family Detached, plus Northwest-district multifamily and ADU; the Northwest district SFD/MF/ADU rows are the PRIMARY (representative established residential area), and every other district's SFD row is marked excludeFromTotal (mutually exclusive by location). (2) Water & Wastewater General Facilities Charges (GFCs) — one-time connection/capacity charges under SMC 13.04.2044 (water) and 13.03.0734 (wastewater), single citywide schedule priced by water meter size; base 3/4" residential meter used as primary. ORD C36461 (adopted 11/20/2023, eff. 1/1/2025) originally created a Lower/Upper water zone structure, but the current adopted SMC schedule (captured Dec 2025) uses a single City-Wide Calculated Charge. 2025 rates are in effect; the 2026 column is published in the SMC as the next-step rate (Spokesman-Review 12/2/2024 confirms 2026 = $5,049 water + $7,100 sewer for a 3/4"/comparable connection: 'The final major increase in costs will come in 2026'). I used the 2026 3/4" amounts as primary and noted 2025 amounts. WHAT DOES NOT EXIST in the City of Spokane: NO park impact fee, NO school impact fee (Washington allows them but the City of Spokane has NOT adopted one / has no interlocal collection agreement with Spokane Public Schools — SPS funds capital via bonds/levies; the 'Prop 1' parks/schools items in search are levies/bonds, not impact fees), NO fire impact fee, NO police impact fee, NO library/open-space/affordable-housing impact fee, NO standalone stormwater/drainage CONNECTION or capacity fee (stormwater is a recurring monthly utility rate, not a one-time development charge). SMC 17D.075 is the ONLY GMA impact-fee chapter and it is transportation-only. NOTABLE WAIVERS/EXEMPTIONS (not modeled as separate rows): transportation impact fees get a 10% reduction in center/corridor zones (SMC 17D.075.070) plus a low-income-housing exemption; water/sewer GFCs are waived for permanent affordable housing (SMC 8.15.020) and were waived for ADUs near centers/corridors only through 12/31/2024 (that ADU GFC waiver has EXPIRED, so ADUs now pay the standard meter-size-based GFC). ACCESS CAVEAT: my.spokanecity.org and static.spokanecity.org are behind Imperva/Incapsula bot protection that returned 403 to curl, WebFetch, and headless browsers (all routed through a blocked proxy IP); figures were obtained from Internet Archive Wayback Machine captures of the official SMC fee-schedule pages (Dec 2025 / Aug 2025) and the official 2026 impact-fee rate PDF (archived), then corroborated against the Spokesman-Review. Confidence high for transportation (exact official PDF) and high for the GFC 2025/2026 schedule (official SMC text + news corroboration).
A typical single-family detached home in an established mid-tier Spokane residential area (Northwest district) connecting with a base 3/4" water meter would pay, in 2026: transportation impact fee $913.93 + water GFC $5,049 + wastewater GFC $7,100 = ~$13,063 in one-time impact/connection fees (excluding building-permit and plan-review fees, which are separate). Transportation impact fees vary enormously by district (SFD ranges $249.65 Downtown to $7,873.47 Latah/Hangman) — the actual amount depends entirely on parcel location. GFCs are additive to the transportation impact fee and are based on water meter size (3/4" is the standard single-family meter; 5/8" is a smaller alternative shown as an excluded variant). 2025 GFC amounts (in effect at time of capture) were water 3/4" $3,582 and sewer 3/4" $5,611; the 2026 step-up amounts ($5,049 / $7,100) are the published next-year rates per the SMC schedule and Spokesman-Review.
Sources
8 official sources · 12 high-confidence figures.
- 1Spokane Municipal Code 17D.075.180 — Appendix A: Transportation Impact Fee Schedule (ORD C36514; 2026 rate schedule effective 1/1/2026)City of Spokane · ordinance · effective Jan 1, 2026 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 2Appendix A — 2026 Transportation Impact Fee Rate Schedules, Effective January 1, 2026 (all 7 service-area districts)City of Spokane · fee schedule · effective Jan 1, 2026 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 3Spokane Municipal Code 13.04.2044 — Attachment B: Water General Facilities Charge Schedule (2025 & 2026 ENR-adjusted, City-Wide; ORD C36461)City of Spokane · ordinance · effective Jan 1, 2025 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 4Spokane Municipal Code 13.03.0734 — Attachment B: Wastewater General Facilities Charge Schedule (2025 & 2026 ENR-adjusted, City-Wide; ORD C36461)City of Spokane · ordinance · effective Jan 1, 2025 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 5ADOPTED General Facilities Charge Fees Ordinance and Fee Schedule — ORD C36461, Nov. 20, 2023 (base water/wastewater GFC rates, ENR annual indexing, ADU & affordable-housing waivers)City of Spokane · ordinance · effective Jan 1, 2025 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 6Transportation Impact Fees Frequently Asked QuestionsCity of Spokane · government report · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 7Spokane's building fees jump again next year as city tries to make growth pay for itself (confirms 2026 GFC = $5,049 water + $7,100 sewer)The Spokesman-Review · news article · effective Jan 1, 2026 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 8Spokane Municipal Code 17D.075.040 — Assessment of Impact Fees (confirms transportation-only scope, ENR 5-yr rolling-average annual increase)City of Spokane · ordinance · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
Spokane impact fees — FAQ
- How much are development impact fees in Spokane, WA for a single-family home?
- As of 2026-06-16, total development fees for a single-family detached home in Spokane are about $13,063 per unit — roughly $914 in impact/development fees plus $12,149 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 Spokane, WA?
- Total development fees for a multifamily unit in Spokane are about $496 per unit as of 2026-06-16.
- Are impact fees in Spokane 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 Spokane'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 Spokane on 2026-06-16.