Bethlehem, PA Accessory Structures: ADU Impact Fees (2026)

Pennsylvania's impact fee framework is among the most restrictive in the United States. The PA MPC was amended by Act 209 of 1990 to add Article V-A authorizing transportation impact fees only; no other type of impact fee is authorized for residential construction. To impose a transportation impact fee, a municipality must (1) appoint an impact fee advisory committee under 53 P.S. §10504-A, (2) adopt a Land Use Assumptions Report identifying a 10-year horizon, (3) prepare a Roadway Sufficiency Analysis identifying needed off-site improvements, (4) establish impact fee districts, (5) adopt the fee ordinance after public hearing, and (6) collect fees only for transportation improvements within the relevant district. Water and sewer connection fees (tap-in fees) are authorized separately under the Municipality Authorities Act (53 Pa.C.S. §§5601 et seq.) and the PA Public Utility Code — in Bethlehem, water service is provided by the Bethlehem Authority and sanitary sewer by the City of Bethlehem (with regional treatment relationships in the Lehigh Valley). School districts under the Public School Code (24 P.S. §§1-101 et seq.) cannot impose impact fees on residential construction. Recreation fees-in-lieu under 53 P.S. §10503(11) require an adopted recreation plan and ordinance, and typically apply only to subdivisions and land developments rather than infill ADUs. Net result for a Bethlehem ADU applicant: zoning permit fee, building permit fee, water/sewer tap-in if separate service is established, and possibly a small recreation fee — confirm the current fee schedule with the Bethlehem Department of Community and Economic Development.