Flint, MI Accessory Structures: ADU Impact Fees (2026)

Michigan's impact fee landscape is among the most restrictive in the United States. The Michigan Constitution's Headlee Amendment (Const. 1963, art. IX, sec. 31) bars local units of government from imposing new taxes or increasing existing taxes without voter approval. The Michigan Supreme Court in Bolt v. City of Lansing, 459 Mich. 152 (1998), set out a three-part test distinguishing a permissible regulatory fee from an impermissible disguised tax: (1) the fee must serve a regulatory rather than revenue-generating purpose; (2) it must be proportionate to the necessary costs of the service; and (3) it must be voluntary, in the sense that the payor has the ability to refuse or limit use of the service. Several Michigan court of appeals decisions (Graham v. Township of Kochville; Wheeler v. Charter Township of Shelby) have struck down fees that crossed the Bolt line. Michigan has no general impact fee enabling statute comparable to other states. Water and sewer connection fees (tap-in fees) are authorized separately under MCL 141.121 et seq. (Revenue Bond Act) and the Home Rule City Act, and survive Bolt where they recover identifiable infrastructure costs. School districts under the Revised School Code (MCL 380.1 et seq.) cannot impose impact fees on residential construction. Net result for a Flint ADU applicant: zoning compliance fee, building permit fee, water/sewer tap-in if separate service, and no general transportation, school, or recreation impact fee.