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

Article V of Chapter 9 imposes development impact fees under Sec. 9-41 for park, street tree, storm sewer trunk line, and sanitary sewer trunk line facilities on buildings that add enclosed square footage, with fee levels indexed annually to the Engineering News Record Construction Cost Index under Sec. 9-42. Sec. 9-44 carves out several exemptions and credits from those fees, and subsection (d) specifically exempts accessory dwelling units as defined in Chapter 37 (Zoning) of the Salinas City Code from development impact fees for a period of five years from the effective date of the exempting revision.

Other Sec. 9-44 exemptions apply alongside the ADU carve-out: additions to a single-family dwelling that do not change its character as a single-family home are exempt under subsection (a); reconstruction on a parcel within five years of a demolition is credited to the extent of the square footage and bedrooms removed under subsection (b); and each governmentally assisted low-income housing unit may receive a partial exemption determined by the city council under subsection (h). Under Sec. 9-48, fees for residential projects, including portions of a mixed-use building, are otherwise due and payable at issuance of the certificate of occupancy, and no certificate of occupancy issues until fees are paid; the ADU exemption removes that payment obligation entirely for the five-year window.

Because ADUs still require a building permit under Article I of Chapter 9, the exemption applies only to the Article V impact fee layer, not to standard building, electrical, or plumbing permit review.