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Pierce County, WA Accessory Structures: ADU Impact Fees (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

ADU fee cap
50% of principal unit's impact fee
Governing section
PCC 4A.40.030
Applies to
Traffic, parks, and school impact fees
Enforcing department
Planning and Public Works
Latest fee update
Effective 2/1/2026, Ord. 2025-516s

Summary

Pierce County caps traffic impact fees on accessory dwelling units at half the rate charged for the primary house. Under PCC 4A.40.030, an ADU built in unincorporated Pierce County cannot be billed more than 50 percent of the traffic impact fee assessed for the principal single-family dwelling on the same lot.

These county ordinances apply to unincorporated areas of Pierce County. Incorporated cities within the county may have their own rules that take precedence over county-level regulations.

(3)Impact fees for the construction of ADUs may not exceed 50 percent of the impact fees that would be charged for the construction of the principal unit.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2026-515, and legislation passed through May 26, 2026).

Full Breakdown

The county's Title 4A impact fee schedule sets traffic impact fees by land use code, with detached single-family homes billed under LUC 210 and ADUs carrying their own line item on the same Table 4-2 schedule. 030, Impact Fee Schedule, states plainly that fees for ADU construction may not exceed half of what the principal unit pays, a discount applied automatically at building permit issuance by the Planning and Public Works Department rather than through a separate application. 30 (School Impact Fees) apply the same 50 percent ADU reduction principle to their own schedules, so a homeowner adding a detached or attached ADU sees the discount carried across every applicable impact fee category, not just traffic.

Rates are indexed to the Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation manual and updated administratively by the County Council; the current schedule reflects the update effective February 1, 2026 under Ord. 2025-516s. Applicants pay these fees at the time of building permit issuance for the new ADU, and the county calculates the discount off whatever base rate applies to the Transportation Service Area (TSA) where the parcel sits, since Pierce County charges different per-trip rates across its TSAs.

Violations & Fines

There is no separate penalty structure for the ADU fee reduction itself; it is applied by Planning and Public Works staff when calculating the impact fee due before a building permit is issued. A permit applicant who believes the fee was miscalculated, including a failure to apply the 50 percent ADU reduction, can pursue an appeal or payment-under-protest under PCC 4A.10.120, the general Title 4A appeals section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does an ADU pay a full traffic impact fee in Pierce County?
No. PCC 4A.40.030 footnote 3 caps ADU traffic impact fees at 50 percent of whatever fee the principal dwelling on the lot is charged, so the ADU fee is always half the primary house's rate under the current TSA schedule.
Does the ADU discount apply to park and school impact fees too?
Yes. Title 4A applies the same 50 percent reduction principle to accessory dwelling units across its impact fee chapters, including parks (Chapter 4A.20) and school impact fees (Chapter 4A.30), not just the traffic fee schedule in 4A.40.
Who calculates the ADU impact fee discount?
Pierce County Planning and Public Works applies the reduced rate automatically when it calculates the impact fees due at building permit issuance; there is no separate application the ADU owner must file to claim the discount.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Pierce County

All Pierce County rules

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