Loveland, CO Accessory Structures: ADU Impact Fees (2026)

The City of Loveland funds growth-related infrastructure, streets, parks, and other capital facilities through capital expansion fees imposed on new development under UDC § 18.16.04.02. Every additional residential dwelling unit listed in Table 18.02.03.02 normally triggers these fees. UDC § 18.16.04.03 (Exemptions) carves out specific exceptions, and subsection C addresses accessory dwelling units directly: an ADU of 900 square feet or less in gross floor area, the standard maximum size set in UDC § 18.04.07.01.D.1, owes no capital expansion fee at all. That exemption was adopted by Ord.

6445 § 3 on 12/15/2020, effective 12/29/2020, and remains in the current code alongside a separate exemption for construction within Historic Downtown Loveland under § 18.16.04.03.B. The exemption is not unlimited. UDC § 18.04.07.01.E allows ADUs on Large Suburban, Estate, and Large Estate lots to exceed the 900-square-foot cap, up to 50 percent of the principal dwelling's total floor area, but subsection E.4 states plainly that capital expansion fees "shall be charged in accordance with Division 18.16.04, Capital Expansion Fees" once an ADU grows past the standard threshold.

So the fee break tracks the 900-square-foot line, not ADU status generally. Fee amounts themselves are set by City Council resolution at intervals of no more than five years under § 18.16.04.02.C.2, and are adjusted every January 1 using the Engineering News-Record Denver-area construction cost index, with street capital fees pegged instead to the Colorado Department of Transportation's construction cost index. Homeowners building a detached or attached ADU under 900 square feet should confirm the exemption applies at building permit application, since the City Manager's office administers fee assessment through the permit process referenced in § 18.16.04.04.C.