Pismo Beach, CA Accessory Structures: ADU Impact Fees (2026)

Three provisions in the Pismo Beach Municipal Code speak to ADU impact fees, and the printed text does not reconcile them.

Zoning chapters. Section 17.117.050(E) of the 1983 Zoning Ordinance says that before a building permit issues for an ADU or JADU the applicant pays all applicable fees. No impact fees are imposed on an ADU or JADU less than 750 square feet. For an ADU of 750 square feet or more, impact fees are charged proportionately in relation to the square footage of the primary unit. For this purpose impact fee includes fees defined in Government Code Section 66000(b) and fees specified in Government Code Section 66477, and it does not include utility connection fees or capacity charges, so those charges are outside the 750 square foot rule. The 1998 Zoning Code prints the same rules at § 17.38.155(E)(3).

Title 15. Chapter 15.10 imposes development impact fees for general government and police, fire, park and recreation, water, wastewater, and traffic and circulation facilities (§ 15.10.050). Section 15.10.030 counts an accessory dwelling unit as one-half of a dwelling unit when an impact fee is established, yet § 15.10.090(D) exempts development, modification or expansion of an accessory dwelling unit, as defined in the Zoning Code, from the fees of that chapter. Amounts are set by council resolution (§ 15.10.060) and paid when the building permit is issued (§ 15.10.070).

The code does not say how the half-unit count, the exemption and the 750 square foot line fit together, so a builder should ask the Community Development Department which fees apply to the specific unit. A protest of any imposed fee must be served in writing on the city council no later than ninety days after imposition, and the council hears it within sixty days of filing (§ 15.10.080).

Pismo Beach uses two adopted zoning codes. The city's Zoning and Land Use page states that properties inside the Coastal Zone are regulated by the 1983 Zoning Code, and properties outside the Coastal Zone are regulated by the 1998 Zoning Code.