Vancouver, WA Development Impact Fees (2026)
Normalized development impact fees, water & sewer connection (tap/SDC) fees, and mitigation fees for Vancouver, Washington — per dwelling unit, by category, with links to every official source.
What a single-family home pays in Vancouver
$24,224 total per unit across 5 fee categories.
- Water connection (tap / SDC)$8,794
- Parks & recreation$6,130
- Sewer connection (tap / SDC)$3,768
- Schools$2,786
- Transportation / roads$2,746
Vancouver’s $24,224 is about 1.9× the Washington tracked median of $13,063 — among the higher-cost places to build in the state.
Full fee schedule — single-family
Impact / development fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Transportation / roads Traffic Impact Fee (TIF) - Cascade District — Vancouver's transportation/road impact fee. The city is split into THREE mutually-exclusive TIF districts (Cascade, Columbia, Pacific); a builder pays only the one for their parcel. Cascade chosen as the representative primary (it is the median rate and is the district used in the city's own single-family example). Per the TIF FAQ the fee is computed as ADT x cost/trip x 0.85, e.g. single-family detached in Cascade = 10 ADT x $338/trip x 0.85 = $2,873 (2025 study figures); the city's adopted 2026 published single-family rate is $2,745.50. Fees adjust annually by the ENR Construction Cost Index. Per Columbian (8/19/2025) the city allows deferral of TIF for multifamily to boost housing, but the fee amount is unchanged. | per dwelling unit | $2,746 | City of Vancouver, WA Jan 1, 2026High |
Transportation / roads Traffic Impact Fee (TIF) - Columbia District — Mutually-exclusive alternative TIF district (Columbia). Excluded from total to avoid double-counting with the Cascade primary; applies only to parcels in the Columbia district. alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $2,006 | City of Vancouver, WA Jan 1, 2026High |
Transportation / roads Traffic Impact Fee (TIF) - Pacific District — Mutually-exclusive alternative TIF district (Pacific, the highest-cost district). Excluded from total; applies only to parcels in the Pacific district. alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $3,570 | City of Vancouver, WA Jan 1, 2026High |
Parks & recreation Park Impact Fee (Districts A, B, C) — Single uniform park impact fee across all three park districts (A, B, C) for single-family/duplex, so no exclusion needed. Per Columbian (8/19/2025) the city allows deferral of park impact fees for multifamily, but the fee amount is unchanged. | per dwelling unit | $6,130 | City of Vancouver, WA Jan 1, 2026High |
Schools School Impact Fee - Vancouver Public Schools — School impact fee set by the school district and COLLECTED BY THE CITY at building permit. The fee depends on which district the parcel is in (mutually exclusive). Vancouver Public Schools used as the representative primary since it and Evergreen are the two main districts serving the city. Single-family/duplex = $2,786; multifamily = $2,486. | per dwelling unit | $2,786 | City of Vancouver, WA Jan 1, 2026High |
Schools School Impact Fee - Camas School District — Camas School District ($6,650 SF and MF) applies only to the small sliver of the city within that district. Mutually exclusive; excluded from total. alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $6,650 | City of Vancouver, WA Jan 1, 2026High |
Schools School Impact Fee - Battle Ground School District — Battle Ground School District ($10,760 SF / $3,845 MF) applies only to the small portion of the city within that district. Mutually exclusive; excluded from total. alternative · not added to total | per dwelling unit | $10,760 | City of Vancouver, WA Jan 1, 2026High |
Water & sewer connection fees
| Fee (local term) | Basis | Amount | Source · effective |
|---|---|---|---|
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water System Development Charge (SDC) - 5/8" x 3/4" meter — Water connection capacity charge (SDC). 5/8"x3/4" meter is the typical/base residential size (primary). Larger meters scale up (1" = $9,459.89, 1.5" = $18,919.77, 2" = $30,271.64). A $135 water meter application fee also applies (additive, small). Per VMC 14.04.235. | per meter | $3,784 | City of Vancouver, WA Jan 1, 2026High |
Sewer connection (tap / SDC) Sewer System Development Charge (SDC) — Sewer connection capacity charge (SDC), base residential. Combined with water SDC, the 5/8"x3/4" meter total (incl. $135 water + $25 sewer application fees) is $7,712.38. A $25 sewer application fee applies (additive, small). Per VMC 14.04.235. Sewer SDC may be paid via a 10-year installment contract per VMC 14.04.240. | per dwelling unit | $3,768 | City of Vancouver, WA Jan 1, 2026High |
Water connection (tap / SDC) Water Meter & Service Installation - 5/8" x 3/4" — Physical water meter and service line installation charge for a new 5/8"x3/4" residential connection. This is ADDITIVE to (separate from) the water SDC above. Larger sizes: 1" = $5,065, 1.5" = $8,630, 2" meter & service = $8,640. | per meter | $5,010 | City of Vancouver, WA Jan 1, 2026High |
Coverage & caveats
FOUND (all from City of Vancouver official Building Permit Fees schedule, effective 1/1/2026, high confidence): (1) Traffic/transportation impact fee (TIF), single-family by district — Cascade $2,745.50, Columbia $2,006, Pacific $3,570 (mutually exclusive; pick the one for the parcel). (2) Park impact fee, uniform across Districts A/B/C — SF/duplex $6,130, MF $4,480 per unit. (3) School impact fee — set by the school district, COLLECTED BY THE CITY: Vancouver PS $2,786 SF / $2,486 MF; Evergreen PS $0/$0 (per its revised Capital Facilities Plan); Camas SD $6,650; Battle Ground SD $10,760 SF / $3,845 MF (the latter two cover only small slivers of the city). The applicable school fee depends on which district the parcel falls in. (4) Water SDC $3,783.95 and Sewer SDC $3,768.42 (5/8\"x3/4\" base residential meter; scales with meter size), plus a separate additive water meter & service installation charge ($5,010 for 5/8\"x3/4\") and small application fees ($135 water, $25 sewer). DOES NOT EXIST / NOT COLLECTED by the City of Vancouver: NO fire impact fee, NO police/public-safety impact fee, NO stormwater/drainage impact fee, NO library, open-space, affordable-housing, or general/capital impact fee, and NO mitigation fee on the schedule — the city's Impact Fees tab lists only School, Traffic, and Park. (Note: Washington law DOES authorize fire impact fees, but Vancouver does not levy one.) CAVEATS: (a) ADU rates are not separately published on the fee schedule; impact fees for ADUs are computed under the same per-dwelling-unit / trip-generation methodology. (b) TIF is technically calculated as ADT x cost-per-trip x 0.85 (2025 study cost/trip: Columbia $247, Cascade $338, Pacific $439; SF detached = ~10 ADT); the city's published 2026 single-family rates are used here. (c) In Aug 2025 the City Council authorized DEFERRAL of park and traffic impact fees for multifamily projects to encourage housing — this defers timing of payment, not the amount. (d) Parcels needing a Clark County right-of-way permit for a new service pay additional county ROW fees ($200 + per-foot charges, per Clark County 13.12A.030). (e) The vancouver.municipal.codes site is behind Cloudflare bot protection (could not be fetched directly), but the city's own fee-schedule webpage provided all verbatim figures.
All figures are from the City of Vancouver's official Building Permit Fees page, impact fee and water/sewer tabs, EFFECTIVE 1/1/2026. Impact fees are governed by Chapter 20.915 VMC; SDCs by Chapter 14.04 VMC. Fees adjust annually (TIF by ENR Construction Cost Index for Seattle). For a representative single-family detached home, the additive city-collected total (Cascade TIF + Park + Vancouver SD school + water SDC + sewer SDC + water meter/service install) ≈ $2,745.50 + $6,130 + $2,786 + $3,783.95 + $3,768.42 + $5,010 = $24,223.87, plus small application/state fees. Note the actual total varies substantially by TIF district and by school district.
Sources
5 official sources · 13 high-confidence figures.
- 1Building Permit Fees - Impact Fees, Water and Sewer Charges (Effective 1/1/2026)City of Vancouver, WA · fee schedule · effective Jan 1, 2026 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 2Traffic Impact Fee Program Technical Document (Updated January 2025)City of Vancouver, WA Public Works · fee study · effective Jan 1, 2025 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 3Transportation Impact Fees (TIF) Frequently Asked Questions (2025)City of Vancouver, WA Public Works · government report · effective Jan 1, 2025 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 4Traffic Impact Fees - City of Vancouver, WACity of Vancouver, WA Public Works · municipal webpage · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
- 5Vancouver council votes to defer park and traffic impact fees to boost multifamily housing numbersThe Columbian · news article · effective Aug 19, 2025 · retrieved Jun 16, 2026
Vancouver impact fees — FAQ
- How much are development impact fees in Vancouver, WA for a single-family home?
- As of 2026-06-16, total development fees for a single-family detached home in Vancouver are about $24,224 per unit — roughly $11,662 in impact/development fees plus $12,562 in water/sewer connection fees. Figures are normalized from official sources; verify with the jurisdiction before relying on them.
- Are impact fees in Vancouver 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 Vancouver'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 Vancouver on 2026-06-16.