Cape Coral, FL Accessory Structures: ADU Impact Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing sections
- §§ 2-24.8, 2-24.9, 2-24.15, 2-24.16
- ADU status
- Counts as its own dwelling unit
- 2026 combined fee (small unit)
- About $2,611.87 per ADU
- 2029 combined fee (small unit)
- About $3,473.71 per ADU
- When due
- Before building permit issuance
- Adjustment authority
- Development Services Director / City Council
- Refund interest
- None paid on refunds
Summary
Cape Coral counts a permitted, approved accessory dwelling unit as its own "residential dwelling unit" for impact fee purposes. That triggers the city's full public safety impact fee (fire and rescue, police, ALS) plus the recreational facilities impact fee before a building permit is issued, adding roughly $2,612 per new ADU in 2026 dollars.
RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNITS. Includes each single-family dwelling, including any permitted and approved accessory dwelling units, and each unit of apartment, duplex or multiple dwelling structure designed as a separate habitation for one or more persons, whether temporarily or permanently utilized or designed or intended to be utilized for human habitation. ... Any person who, after the effective date of this division, seeks to develop land by applying for issuance of a building permit for a residential dwelling unit or non-residential use, as defined by this division, shall be required to pay public safety impact fees prior to the issuance of a building permit, or any other development permit for the construction or substantial reconstruction of any structure to be used for a residential dwelling unit or non-residential use.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 38).
Full Breakdown
15 repeats that same language for the recreational facilities impact fee division. 16(a) separately requires the recreational facilities impact fee before permit issuance. 87. 71 combined by the 2029 schedule. 16(d), based on "clear and convincing evidence" the standard rate does not fit the property. 9(c)-(d) allows donating real property, vehicles, or capital improvements for public safety fee credit, subject to a City Manager-ordered appraisal. 16(f)(3) exempts "the construction of accessory buildings or structures that will not produce additional residential dwelling units," which confirms the flip side: an accessory structure that IS converted into or built as a habitable ADU falls outside that exemption and owes the fee. 17 only if the permit expires or is canceled before construction starts, and the city pays no interest on any refund.
Violations & Fines
The city will not issue a building permit for the ADU until all three public safety impact fees and the recreational facilities impact fee are paid in full, per § 2-24.9(a) and § 2-24.16(a). If a structure is later moved to a new site, § 2-24.9(h) requires the fees to be paid again at the new location unless the fee payer proves the fee was already paid or the new use replaces an equivalent one, and that burden of proof rests entirely on the fee payer. Refund requests under § 2-24.10 are only granted if construction never started and the permit lapsed or was canceled, and the city pays zero interest on any refunded amount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does adding an ADU in Cape Coral trigger impact fees?
How much does an ADU impact fee cost in Cape Coral?
Can the ADU impact fee be reduced or paid in kind?
Is an accessory structure ever exempt from the fee?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Cape Coral
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Cape Coral to another location·View the Florida accessory structures overview
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