Grand Rapids, MI Accessory Structures: ADU Impact Fees (2026)

Michigan law on development impact fees is shaped primarily by Bolt v. City of Lansing, 459 Mich. 152 (1998), in which the Michigan Supreme Court struck down Lansing's stormwater service charge as an unconstitutional tax rather than a valid user fee. The Bolt three-part test requires that a charge (1) serve a regulatory rather than revenue-generating purpose, (2) be proportional to the necessary costs of the service, and (3) be voluntary in that the user can refuse the service. Because the Michigan Legislature has not adopted a development impact fee enabling statute analogous to California's Mitigation Fee Act or Washington's Growth Management Act fee provisions, very few Michigan municipalities have implemented impact fees, and Grand Rapids is not among them. ADU construction costs in Grand Rapids therefore consist of: (1) a zoning compliance review fee through Planning (a few hundred dollars depending on scope); (2) building permit fees calculated on construction valuation under the 2015 Michigan Residential Code (Michigan Construction Code Act, PA 230 of 1972, MCL 125.1501 et seq.); (3) plan review fees typically calculated as a percentage of the building permit; (4) Environmental Services Department water and sewer tap fees if a new service is installed (sharing the existing tap with the principal dwelling avoids new connection charges); (5) Kent County Register of Deeds recording fees if any easements or deed restrictions are recorded. Schools in Grand Rapids Public Schools and surrounding districts are funded through the Michigan State School Aid Fund (Proposal A of 1994) and local property tax mill rates — Michigan does not authorize school impact fees, and the State School Aid Fund equalizes per-pupil funding statewide. New construction contributes through ongoing property taxes after the assessed value increases.