Scranton, PA Accessory Structures: ADU Impact Fees (2026)

Pennsylvania's impact fee framework is among the most restrictive in the United States. The PA MPC was amended by Act 209 of 1990 to add Article V-A authorizing transportation impact fees; no other type of impact fee is authorized. To impose a transportation impact fee, a municipality must (1) appoint an impact fee advisory committee under 53 P.S. §10504-A, (2) adopt a Land Use Assumptions Report identifying a 10-year horizon, (3) prepare a Roadway Sufficiency Analysis identifying off-site improvements, (4) establish impact fee districts, (5) adopt the fee ordinance after public hearing, and (6) collect fees only for transportation improvements within the relevant district. Scranton is a built-out urban core where most infrastructure is in place; the city has not enacted a 53 P.S. §10502-A transportation impact fee. Water and sewer connection fees (tap-in fees) are authorized separately under the Municipality Authorities Act (53 Pa.C.S. §§5601 et seq.) and the PA Public Utility Code, and may apply when a new dwelling unit is added — Pennsylvania American Water (water and wastewater, following its 2016 acquisition of the former Scranton Sewer Authority assets) administers these. School districts under the Public School Code (24 P.S. §§1-101 et seq.) cannot impose impact fees on residential construction. Recreation fees-in-lieu under 53 P.S. §10503(11) require a recreation plan and ordinance and typically apply only to subdivisions, not infill ADUs. Net result for a Scranton ADU applicant: zoning permit fee, building permit fee, water/sewer tap-in if separate service, and possibly a small recreation fee — no transportation impact fee.