Cathedral City, CA Accessory Structures: ADU Impact Fees (2026)

Section 9.114.030(F) of the Cathedral City Municipal Code sets the impact fee rule for accessory dwelling units in Cathedral City, Riverside County, California. The city shall not impose any impact fee upon the development of an accessory dwelling unit less than seven hundred fifty square feet. Any impact fees charged for an accessory dwelling unit of seven hundred fifty square feet or more shall be charged proportionately in relation to the square footage of the primary dwelling unit. The code ties the fee to the size of the primary dwelling, so the larger ADU is measured against the main house rather than charged a flat amount. The dollar amounts themselves are not printed in this section.

The same section sets the permit framework around that rule. Under subsection A, ADUs are permitted through issuance of a building permit, no ADU can be constructed without first applying for and obtaining one from the city, and the application must be accompanied by the appropriate fee established by resolution of the city council. Under subsection B, the building official acts on the application ministerially, without discretionary review or a public hearing, within sixty days of receipt of a completed application when an existing single-family or multiple-family dwelling is on the lot. If the applicant requests a delay, the sixty-day period is tolled for the length of the delay.

Subsection D bars the city from requiring correction of any nonconforming zoning condition as a condition of approval, and subsection E makes a permit null and void twelve months after issuance unless the authorized construction work has commenced or an extension has been granted through the building department under Health and Safety Code Section 18938.6. Section 9.114.020 defines an ADU as an attached or detached unit of no less than one hundred fifty square feet with complete independent living facilities, and a junior ADU as no more than five hundred square feet.