Tacoma, WA Development Impact Fees (2026)

RESIDENTIAL development fees for the City of Tacoma (incorporated city limits), Pierce County, WA. Tacoma is a relatively NEW entrant to impact/SDC fees - several charges took effect or were adopted in 2025-2026, so figures are current. WHAT EXISTS (city-levied): 1) TRANSPORTATION IMPACT FEE - NEW, adopted by Ordinance 29082 adding Tacoma Municipal Code (TMC) Chapter 10.31 ("Transportation Impact Fees"), effective June 1, 2026 (ordinance title and effective date confirmed via Legistar legislation text). The fee = (district cost-per-PM-peak-trip) x (net new PM peak person trips per unit) + 3% admin. There are SIX geographic districts with very different per-trip eligible costs (Rate Study Table 5): North Tacoma $5,132, South Tacoma $5,056, Southeast Tacoma $5,201, Downtown/Dome/Hilltop $4,548, Tideflats $3,295, Northeast Tacoma $741 (citywide average $4,743). [VERIFY NOTE: the researcher's original narrative listed slightly different per-trip rates - $5,286/$5,208/$5,357/$4,685/$3,394/$764, avg $4,885 - which do NOT match the source; corrected here to the actual Table 5 values. The per-dwelling-unit fees in Table 7, which are the reported amounts, all match exactly.] PRIMARY single-family row = NORTH TACOMA ($6,920); all five other districts are excludeFromTotal variants. Single Family detached ITE 210 = 1.35 net new PM peak person trips/unit. Reductions (Table 6): 50% for ADUs (based on principal unit), 50% for MFTE multifamily near high-frequency transit, up to 80% for qualifying low-income housing & early-learning facilities; full exemption for development generating no new trips. 2) WATER SDC - EXISTING since 1997 under TMC 12.10.310 (RCW 35.92.025), collected by Tacoma Water / TPU. A one-time charge due at meter purchase based on customer class + meter size. Ordinance 29091 revised the SDC and PHASES IT IN over 5 years beginning Feb 1, 2026, reaching the full study target Jan 1, 2030. CURRENT residential figures (VERIFIED in the codified table attached to Ord 29091): 5/8" = $1,204, 3/4" = $1,793 (2030 targets $2,785 and $4,114). New SF homes require a 1-inch service + 3/4-inch meter, but where combination domestic/fire sprinkler service is documented, the 5/8" SDC ($1,204) applies. Multifamily per-unit water SDC = units x 44% of the 5/8" residential SDC (ordinance amended the prior 60% factor to 44%). 3) WASTEWATER SDC - NEW, Ordinance 29084, effective July 1, 2026. Typical single-family home with 5/8" meter = $3,339 (verified verbatim). Replaces the old Connection Charge-in-Lieu-of-Assessment program. 50% reduction for septic-to-sewer first-time connections (Septic Amnesty, subject to funding). 4) STORMWATER / SURFACE-WATER SDC - NEW, Ordinance 29085, effective July 1, 2026, = $0.53 per square foot of net increased impervious surface (verified verbatim). NOT a flat per-dwelling-unit figure; reported as per_sqft and excluded from the per-unit total.

Water connection/meter installation

In addition to the water SDC, Tacoma Water charges a meter-set fee (TMC 12.10.250: 5/8" meter $400/meter, 3/4" meter $450/meter "plus the SDC", verified verbatim) plus the actual service-line material/labor cost quoted per project. WHAT DOES NOT EXIST in the City of Tacoma (do NOT assume regional norms apply): - NO city PARK / open-space impact fee. (Pierce County charges a park impact fee that applies in UNINCORPORATED Pierce County, NOT inside Tacoma city limits. Metro Parks / Parks Tacoma does not levy a GMA impact fee.) - NO SCHOOL impact fee. School impact fees are permitted under RCW 82.02 and common elsewhere in WA, but Tacoma Public Schools / the City of Tacoma do NOT currently impose or collect one. (The Rate Study fee-stacking comparison shows School/Parks bars apply to comparison jurisdictions, not Tacoma.) - NO FIRE impact fee (studied historically but not adopted). - NO POLICE, library, affordable-housing, or general/capital impact fee.

Caveats

Transportation impact fee and wastewater/stormwater SDCs are brand-new (effective dates summer 2026, i.e., now or imminent as of the 2026-06-16 verification date). Water SDC is mid-phase-in; the 2026 figures step up annually through 2030. All per-unit transportation figures include the 3% admin fee.

Verify

confirmed 15 of 15 rows; dropped 0. All 15 fee amounts matched their cited sources (Rate Study Table 7 downloaded and parsed by exact column position; water SDC $1,204/$1,793 confirmed in the codified table attached to Ord 29091 on Legistar; wastewater $3,339, stormwater $0.53/sqft, and the $400 meter-set fee confirmed verbatim; ordinances 29082 and 29091 confirmed via Legistar legislation text). excludeFromTotal corrections: none needed - all flags were already correct (3/4" water SDC, MF221/MF222 building-type variants, five SF district variants, and per-sqft stormwater all correctly excluded; meter-set fee correctly additive). LABEL corrections: two excluded SF district-variant rows had swapped district names - $7,013 is Southeast Tacoma (not Downtown/Dome/Hilltop) and $6,134 is Downtown/Dome/Hilltop (not Southeast); amounts were correct, labels/notes fixed. Also corrected the per-trip eligible-cost figures in narrative notes to the actual Rate Study Table 5 values, and corrected the water meter-set fee sourceIndex from 8 to 7 (the TMC Title 12 PDF; the linked Title 12 PDF is an older version still containing the $400 meter-set line but not the new SDC schedule - the new SDC was verified from the Ord 29091 attachment instead).