Rancho Cordova, CA Accessory Structures: ADU Impact Fees (2026)

85 of the Rancho Cordova Municipal Code sets the Sacramento Countywide Measure A transportation development impact fee that applies to new construction and additions citywide. 080 lists exemptions from that fee, and subsection (A) exempts "accessory dwelling units less than 750 square feet" outright: no fee is owed no matter how the ADU is financed or occupied. Once an ADU crosses the 750-square-foot line, it loses the exemption but is not billed at the full new-unit rate charged to a primary residence. 135(A), added by a 2024 ordinance amendment, sets the calculation: the fee is the ratio of the ADU's floor area to the primary unit's floor area, multiplied by the fee that would apply to the primary unit if it were being newly built.

So a 900-square-foot ADU built alongside a 1,800-square-foot primary home pays half of what a new 1,800-square-foot house would owe under the fee schedule, not the full rate and not a flat per-unit charge. 090, using the applicant's submitted plans and square footage figures. 100, at issuance of the building permit, temporary certificate of occupancy, certificate of occupancy, or final inspection, whichever applies to the specific ADU permit. 120. Property owners building an ADU under 750 square feet should confirm the exemption is applied at permit issuance rather than paid and later refunded, since the ordinance places the exemption determination at the same point the fee would otherwise be assessed.