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Fort Collins, Colorado - City Development Fees

Fort Collins | City | Northern Colorado (Larimer County) | Fort Collins, CO MSA

Fort Collins is a home-rule city in Larimer County and the largest city in Northern Colorado. Development fees are administered by the City of Fort Collins through its Development Review process (planning application and building permit fees), its Capital Expansion Fee program (growth-related impact fees), and Fort Collins Utilities (water, wastewater, and stormwater development fees). Colorado authorizes local development impact fees under C.R.S. Section 29-20-104.5, and Fort Collins levies Capital Expansion Fees (CEFs) that are codified in Municipal Code Ch. 7.5 Art. II and effective January 1, 2026. This page presents the impact (Capital Expansion), development review and building permit, and utility plant investment fees captured from the official City of Fort Collins Fee Schedules page. Note that not all properties within the City receive water and wastewater service from Fort Collins Utilities (service depends on the water service area), and Poudre Fire Authority levies separate fees that are outside the scope of the City fee families below. Verify current amounts with the City of Fort Collins before relying on them.

On this page
  1. Fee summary
  2. Capital Expansion Fees (impact fees)
  3. Development review and building permit fees
  4. Water, wastewater, and stormwater tap fees
  5. Coverage notes
  6. Fee authorities
  7. Sources

Fee Summary

Fee Type Status Top-Line Figure Effective Date
Impact Fees (Capital Expansion Fees, codified Municipal Code Ch. 7.5 Art. II) Confirmed Single-family detached by sq ft: Transportation CEF $3,442 to $10,445; Neighborhood Parkland $3,699 to $5,872; Community Parkland $2,525 to $3,940; plus Police, Fire, Government Facilities, and Capital Equipment CEFs; Larimer County Regional TCEF $268 to $698 per dwelling 2026-01-01
Development Review and Building Permit Fees (Planning, Engineering, Zoning Services) Confirmed Project Development Plan $27,675; Final Development Plan $21,575; Rezoning $4,800; Annexation $5,825; PUD $54,475; building permits by occupancy ($0.35 to $0.65/sq ft), split 35% plan check + 65% permit 2024-01-01
Utility Tap Fees (Water/Wastewater/Stormwater PIF, WSR, meter) Confirmed Water PIF single-family $914 + $0.494/sq ft of lot (3/4"); WSR $63,800/acre-foot; Wastewater PIF $4,476/single-family unit; Stormwater PIF $12,012/gross acre (nonresidential); Water Meter Fee $428.84 to $3,989.26 by size Not printed on schedule
Special District Fees (Metro Districts / CRS Title 32) Not administered Colorado metro districts are independent CRS Title 32 entities with their own landowner mill-levy assessments; the City of Fort Collins does not administer a city special-district development fee -
Proffers Not applicable Colorado jurisdictions do not use Virginia-style cash proffers -

Capital Expansion Fees (Impact Fees)

Colorado authorizes local development impact fees under C.R.S. Section 29-20-104.5. Source: City of Fort Collins Fee Schedules - Capital Expansion Fees, effective January 1, 2026, captured from the official City Fee Schedules page and corroborated by the codified Municipal Code Ch. 7.5 Art. II (Sec. 7.5-28 through 7.5-32). Capital Expansion Fees are tiered by dwelling type and finished square footage for residential development, and assessed per 1,000 square feet by land use for nonresidential development. Fees are reviewed and inflation-adjusted annually.

Single-Family Detached CEFs (per unit, by finished sq ft)

Capital Expansion Fee Up to 900 901-1,300 1,301-1,800 1,801-2,400 2,401-3,000 3,001-3,600 3,601+
Community Parkland (Sec. 7.5-28)$2,525$2,744$3,061$3,342$3,590$3,782$3,940
Neighborhood Parkland (Ch. 7.5 Art. II)$3,699$4,314$4,776$5,075$5,521$5,714$5,872
Police (Sec. 7.5-29)$496$581$642$683$743$769$790
Fire Protection (Sec. 7.5-30)$817$964$1,064$1,130$1,230$1,271$1,304
Government Facilities (Sec. 7.5-31)$868$1,028$1,137$1,204$1,313$1,354$1,388
Capital Equipment (Sec. 7.5-31.5)$177$210$232$246$267$276$283
Transportation / TCEF (Sec. 7.5-32)$3,442$5,727$7,344$8,660$9,560$10,044$10,445

Single-Family Attached CEFs (per unit, by finished sq ft)

Capital Expansion Fee Up to 900 901-1,300 1,301-1,800 1,801-2,400 2,401-3,000 3,001-3,600 3,601+
Community Parkland (Sec. 7.5-28)$2,001$2,308$2,754$3,150$3,499$3,770$3,992
Neighborhood Parkland (Ch. 7.5 Art. II)$3,174$3,878$4,469$4,883$5,431$5,703$5,924
Transportation / TCEF (Sec. 7.5-32)$2,976$4,771$6,086$7,260$8,244$8,813$9,136

The Police, Fire Protection, Government Facilities, and Capital Equipment CEFs are published for single-family detached, multifamily/ADU, and nonresidential land uses; the official schedule captured this pass presents single-family attached amounts only for the Community Parkland, Neighborhood Parkland, and Transportation CEFs shown above.

Multifamily / ADU CEFs (per unit, by finished sq ft)

Capital Expansion Fee Up to 750 751-1,300 1,301+
Community Parkland (Sec. 7.5-28)$1,611$2,249$2,494
Neighborhood Parkland (Ch. 7.5 Art. II)$2,783$3,819$4,208
Police (Sec. 7.5-29)$375$516$567
Fire Protection (Sec. 7.5-30)$625$860$945
Government Facilities (Sec. 7.5-31)$671$921$1,014
Capital Equipment (Sec. 7.5-31.5)$137$188$207
Transportation / TCEF (Sec. 7.5-32)$2,023$3,188$3,995

Nonresidential CEFs (per 1,000 sq ft by land use)

Capital Expansion Fee Retail / Commercial Office & Other Services Industrial
Police (Sec. 7.5-29)$628$435$158
Fire Protection (Sec. 7.5-30)$1,034$729$259
Government Facilities (Sec. 7.5-31)$1,382$756$358
Capital Equipment (Sec. 7.5-31.5)$281$154$73
Transportation / TCEF (Sec. 7.5-32)$11,068$7,558$3,205

The Community Parkland and Neighborhood Parkland CEFs apply to residential development only and are not assessed on nonresidential land uses.

Larimer County Regional Transportation CEF (collected by the City on behalf of Larimer County)

The City collects a separate Larimer County Regional Transportation Capital Expansion Fee on the County's behalf. Detail source: 2026 Larimer County Transportation Capital Expansion Fees.

CategoryAmount
Residential per dwelling - up to 900 sq ft$268
Residential per dwelling - 901-1,300 sq ft$376
Residential per dwelling - 1,301-1,800 sq ft$457
Residential per dwelling - 1,801-2,400 sq ft$535
Residential per dwelling - 2,401-3,000 sq ft$600
Residential per dwelling - 3,001-3,600 sq ft$653
Residential per dwelling - 3,601+ sq ft$698
Nonresidential - Commercial (per 1,000 sq ft)$702
Nonresidential - Office & other services (per 1,000 sq ft)$414
Nonresidential - Industrial (per 1,000 sq ft)$165

Development Review and Building Permit Fees

Source: City of Fort Collins Fee Schedules - Development Review Fees, effective January 1, 2024, captured from the official City Fee Schedules page. Development Review Fees cover all departments involved in review (Planning, Engineering, Utilities, Forestry/Parks, and administrative support). Poudre Fire Authority fees are additional and administered separately. Building Permit Fees for new construction are computed as total square footage multiplied by an occupancy rate, split Plan Check 35 percent at application plus Building Permit 65 percent at issuance.

Planning Services (Development Review Fees)

Application TypeFee
Annexation (ANX)$5,825
Rezoning (REZ)$4,800
Plan Amendment$11,150
Text Amendments$3,200
Planned Unit Development (PUD)$54,475
Overall Development Plan (ODP)$11,775
Project Development Plan (PDP)$27,675
Final Development Plan (FDP)$21,575
Basic Development Review (BDR)$16,900
Site Plan Advisory Review (SPAR)No fee
Major Amendment (MJA)$18,975
Minor Amendment (MA)$1,500
Minor Subdivision$2,300
Infrastructure Project$13,625
Modification of Standards$1,675
Additional Rounds of Review$3,000
Preliminary Design Review (PDR)$1,000
Conceptual Design Review (CDR)No fee
Appeal of Administrative Decision$100
Limited-Scope Development Project$6,925
Limited Scope Minor Amendment$500
1041 Pre-Application for FONSI Determination$25,000
1041 Full Permit$55,000

Engineering Services

Application TypeFee
Development Construction Permit (DCP)$2,425
Easement / Right-of-Way Dedication$725
Easement Vacation$1,300
Right-of-Way Vacation$2,050

Zoning Services

Application TypeFee
Off-Site Construction Staging$475
Variance$300
Short Term Rental Denial Appeal$100
Zoning Verification Letter$100

Building Permit Fee - New Construction (rate per sq ft by occupancy)

New construction building permit fees are total square feet multiplied by the rate below, split Plan Check 35 percent (at application) plus Building Permit 65 percent (at issuance).

OccupancyRate per sq ft
A - Assembly$0.40
B - Business$0.50
E - Education$0.50
F - Factory$0.35
I - Institutional$0.50
M - Mercantile$0.40
R-1 - Hotel$0.35
R-2 - Apartment$0.35
R-3 - Single-family detached / duplex$0.65
R-4 - Assisted living$0.55
S - Storage$0.40
U - Utility$0.40
H - High hazard$0.60

Authority: City of Fort Collins Development Review (planning application and building permit fees).

Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater Tap Fees

Source: City of Fort Collins Fee Schedules - Utilities Fees, captured from the official City Fee Schedules page and corroborated by the codified City Code (Water PIF Sec. 26-120; Water Supply Requirement Sec. 26-149; Stormwater PIF Sec. 26-512). Fort Collins Utilities administers the water, wastewater, and stormwater development fees below. Honest gap: no explicit effective date is printed on the utility schedule; the amounts reflect the current published schedule and are periodically adjusted (see Coverage Notes). Not all properties within the City receive water and wastewater service from Fort Collins Utilities - service depends on the water service area.

Water Meter Fee (one-time, by meter size)

Meter SizeFee
3/4 inch$428.84
1 inch$539.79
1.5 inch$1,928.46
2 inch$2,166.51
3 inch$2,465.39
4 inch$3,989.26
Over 4 inch (installation)$214.04

Domestic and irrigation meter cost; meter credits apply when changing size (for example, a 3/4-inch credit of $308.75). Meters larger than 4 inches are purchased from the current vendor.

Water Supply Requirement (WSR) - City Code Sec. 26-149

$63,800 per acre-foot or $0.196 per gallon. This is the development fee for the water needed to serve new development or non-residential redevelopment requiring a larger tap. City Certificates / Josh Ames Certificates are accepted at a water supply factor of 1.92. Paid at building permit issuance.

Water Plant Investment Fee (PIF) - City Code Sec. 26-120

User ClassFee
Single-family, 3/4-inch tap$914 + $0.494 per sq ft of lot area
Single-family, 1-inch tap$1,548 + $0.494 per sq ft of lot area
Duplex$690 per dwelling unit + $0.365 per sq ft of lot
Multifamily (3+ units)$690 per dwelling unit (separate irrigation tap unless under 30,000 gallons: + $0.365 per sq ft of lot)
Nonresidential - 3/4 inch$5,367
Nonresidential - 1 inch$13,454
Nonresidential - 1.5 inch$24,794
Nonresidential - 2 inch$48,727
Nonresidential - 3 and 4 inchPeak day demand x $6.54 per gallon
Irrigation - 3/4 inch$17,397
Irrigation - 1 inch$39,754
Irrigation - 1.5 inch$98,872
Irrigation - 2 inch$151,109
Irrigation - 3 and 4 inchPeak day demand x $6.54 per gallon

Stormwater PIF - City Code Sec. 26-512

Development TypeFee
ResidentialGross sq ft x $0.276 per sq ft x runoff coefficient (applies when development creates more than 350 sq ft of impervious surface)
Nonresidential$12,012 per gross acre

Wastewater PIF

User ClassFee
Single-family$4,476 per dwelling unit
Duplex$3,230 per unit ($6,460 per duplex)
Multifamily (3+ units)$3,230 per dwelling unit
Nonresidential - 3/4 inch$9,612
Nonresidential - 1 inch$21,433
Nonresidential - 1.5 inch$40,334
Nonresidential - 2 inch$83,685
Nonresidential - 3 and 4 inchBased on peak day demand and effluent quality (contact Utilities Rates and Fees)

High-strength discharges may incur surcharges. Authority: Fort Collins Utilities (water, wastewater, and stormwater development fees).

Coverage Notes - What This Page Does Not Cover

Per ZoneFee's Partial-Verified Publication Standard, the items below were not closed on this page with a fee amount traceable to a dated or byte-stable official source document. They are disclosed here rather than estimated, paraphrased from a non-official source, or omitted silently. These items remain under limited-coverage review until these gaps are closed.

Utility fee effective date

No explicit effective date is printed on the Fort Collins Utilities fee schedule (Water/Wastewater/Stormwater PIF, WSR, and Water Meter Fee). The amounts on this page reflect the current published schedule and are periodically adjusted; the effective date is left unstated rather than inferred. A build-time spot-check of the current utility PIF amounts against the live Fee Schedules page is recommended before relying on these figures.

Source hash

The official City of Fort Collins Fee Schedules page is a JavaScript-rendered HTML page (Granicus OpenCities), not a byte-stable PDF, so no SHA-256 content hash was computed for it this pass. The Capital Expansion Fees are corroborated by the codified Municipal Code Ch. 7.5 Art. II, and the Utilities PIF/WSR fees by City Code Sec. 26-120 / 26-149 / 26-512 (linked in Sources). On-page effective dates were captured (Capital Expansion Fees January 1, 2026; Development Review Fees January 1, 2024).

Poudre Fire Authority fees

Poudre Fire Authority levies its own fees, which are additional to the City fee families above and administered by PFA on a separate schedule. Those fees are outside the scope of this page.

Special District Fees (Metro Districts / CRS Title 32)

Colorado metropolitan districts (Title 32 special districts) are separate quasi-governmental entities that levy landowner mill-levy assessments and district-specific fees; they are not administered by the City of Fort Collins and are not a City development fee. The City's own growth-related developer charges are the Capital Expansion Fees and the Utilities Plant Investment Fees, both documented above. The official Fee Schedules page contains no city-administered special-district fee table. Closed-search outcome: this fee family is not administered by this jurisdiction.

Proffers

Colorado jurisdictions do not use cash proffers (a Virginia conditional-zoning mechanism under Virginia Code Sections 15.2-2303 and 15.2-2303.4 with no Colorado counterpart). Fort Collins recovers growth-related capital costs through Capital Expansion Fees (the impact fees family above), not proffers. Closed-search outcome: this fee family does not apply to this jurisdiction.

Fee Authorities

Authority Fee Types Official Website
City of Fort Collins - Development Review Planning application and development review fees, building permit fees, and Capital Expansion Fees (impact fees) fortcollins.gov
Fort Collins Utilities Water Meter Fee, Water Supply Requirement (WSR), Water Plant Investment Fee, Stormwater PIF, and Wastewater PIF fortcollins.gov

Sources

Document Agency Accessed
Fee Schedules (Development Review Fees, Utilities Fees, Capital Expansion Fees) City of Fort Collins (fortcollins.gov / Granicus OpenCities) 2026-07-06
Municipal Code Ch. 7.5 Art. II - Capital Expansion Fees (codified; Sec. 7.5-28 through 7.5-32) Municode (official codifier for City of Fort Collins) 2026-07-06
Municipal Code Ch. 26 - Utilities (Water PIF Sec. 26-120; WSR Sec. 26-149; Stormwater PIF Sec. 26-512) Municode (official codifier for City of Fort Collins) 2026-07-06
2026 Larimer County Transportation Capital Expansion Fees City of Fort Collins (collected on behalf of Larimer County) 2026-07-06

Last verified by ZoneFee: 2026-07-06. Fee schedules are subject to change. Verify current rates directly with the City of Fort Collins (Development Review) and Fort Collins Utilities before relying on this data for any financial decision.

This page reflects fee data sourced from the City of Fort Collins Fee Schedules page (Development Review Fees effective January 1, 2024; Capital Expansion Fees effective January 1, 2026), corroborated by the codified Municipal Code Ch. 7.5 Art. II and City Code Sec. 26-120 / 26-149 / 26-512. ZoneFee does not guarantee that fee amounts are current at the time you read this page. Fee schedules change. The Fort Collins Utilities fee schedule carries no printed effective date, so the utility PIF, WSR, and meter amounts are disclosed as reflecting the current published schedule pending a build-time spot-check; the official Fee Schedules page is JavaScript-rendered HTML with no byte-stable hash. Poudre Fire Authority fees are additional and administered separately. Colorado jurisdictions do not use Virginia-style cash proffers, and Colorado metro districts (CRS Title 32) are independent entities whose mill-levy assessments are not city-administered fees. Verify all current rates directly with the City of Fort Collins and Fort Collins Utilities before relying on this data for land acquisition, project budgeting, or any financial decision. This page is for research and due-diligence reference only - it is not legal or financial advice.