Oakland, CA Accessory Structures: ADU Impact Fees (2026)

Chapter 15.72 of the Oakland Municipal Code imposes an Affordable Housing Impact Fee on most residential Development Projects, calculated as Fees Per Square Foot multiplied by Additional Residential Square Footage under § 15.72.050(A), with the rate set by zone in the Master Fee Schedule and adjusted every July 1st for construction-cost inflation under § 15.72.050(B). Section 15.72.040(C) carves out six categories of projects that owe nothing under the chapter, and the first listed is Accessory Dwelling Units: '1. Accessory Dwelling Units or ADUs, as defined in Section 17.09.040 of the Oakland Planning Code.' The same subsection also exempts Vehicular Residential Facilities, Affordable Housing units, Missing Middle housing of two to four units outside Planned Unit Development review, One-Family Dwellings of 1,750 square feet or less outside PUD review, and projects proceeding under state law SB 684 (Government Code §§ 65852.28 and 66499.41).

Because ADUs fall outside the fee altogether, a homeowner adding a detached or attached ADU does not need to calculate a fee zone, does not owe the one-installment payment otherwise due under § 15.72.070 before a certificate of occupancy issues, and has no reason to file the appeal process in § 15.72.080, which is reserved for applicants contesting fees that do apply to their project. The exemption traces to Ordinance No. 13365 (adopted May 3, 2016), which created the chapter, and has carried forward through the most recent amendment, Ordinance No.

13853 (July 15, 2025). Applicants building a mixed project, for example a duplex plus an ADU, still owe the fee on the duplex portion; only the square footage attributable to the ADU itself is excused, since the exemption in § 15.72.040(C)(1) attaches to the ADU as a Development Project type, not to the parcel as a whole.