Fayetteville, North Carolina - City Development Fees
City of Fayetteville | Cumberland County (county seat) | Sandhills / Fort Liberty region | I-95 corridor
Fayetteville is the county seat of Cumberland County and the regional center of southeastern North Carolina, adjacent to Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg) on the I-95 corridor. The City of Fayetteville administers land-use entitlement and development-review fees through its Development Services department (Planning & Zoning / Permitting & Inspections) under the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). Water and wastewater service is provided by the Fayetteville Public Works Commission (PWC), a separately governed municipal utility, so water and sewer tap fees and North Carolina System Development Fees are set and published by PWC rather than in the City's fee schedule. North Carolina does not authorize local impact fees (the System Development Fee replaces them) or Virginia-style cash proffers. All City amounts below are drawn from the City of Fayetteville consolidated Fee Schedule (Attachment A, all departments), the schedule the City's Development Services page links as current (FY2025, effective July 1, 2024). Verify current amounts with the City of Fayetteville before relying on them.
Fee Summary
| Fee Type | Status | Top-Line Figure | Effective Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoning and Development Review Fees (Development Services - Planning & Zoning) | Confirmed | Rezoning $1,000; Special Use Permit $1,000; Board of Adjustment Hearing $1,000; Zoning Code Text Amendment $1,000; Development Agreement (UDO) $2,500; Site Plan Review $500 base + $20 per unit or per 1,000 sq ft; Subdivision Reviews $400 + $20/lot | 2024-07-01 (FY2025 schedule) |
| Utility Tap Fees (water and sewer) | Not administered by the City | Water and sewer service is provided by the Fayetteville Public Works Commission (PWC), a separately governed municipal utility; PWC sets and publishes water/sewer tap fees and NCGS 162A System Development Fees. The City's consolidated fee schedule carries no utility connection line | - |
| Impact Fees | Not administered | North Carolina municipalities lack general development-impact-fee authority; after Quality Built Homes v. Town of Carthage (2016), NCGS Chapter 162A, Article 8 replaced water and sewer impact fees with meter-based System Development Fees (administered here by PWC). The City levies no transportation, parks, or school impact fee | - |
| Special District Fees | Not administered | North Carolina municipal service districts (NCGS 160A, Article 23) are funded by a district property-tax levy, not a developer application fee; the City publishes no special-district developer fee | - |
| Proffers | Not applicable | North Carolina does not use Virginia-style cash proffers; NC conditional zoning is governed by NCGS 160D-703 | - |
Zoning and Development Review Fees
Source: City of Fayetteville consolidated Fee Schedule (Attachment A, all departments), Development Services - Planning & Zoning Permits and Fees section (pp. 8-9), FY2025 schedule effective July 1, 2024. These land-use entitlement and development-review fees are set by City Council under the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). Individual line items carry an "Established or Last Changed" year on the City schedule; most current entitlement fees were last set in 2024.
Entitlements and hearings
| Application Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Rezoning | $1,000.00 |
| Special Use Permit | $1,000.00 |
| Board of Adjustment Hearing Fee | $1,000.00 |
| Zoning Code Text Amendment | $1,000.00 |
| Development Agreement (UDO) | $2,500.00 |
| Neighborhood Compatibility - Adaptive Reuse | $1,000.00 |
| Appeal - to Commission | $500.00 |
| Appeal - to City Council | $300.00 |
| Administrative Adjustment | $100.00 per standard |
| Vested Rights Certificate | $100.00 |
| Certificate of Appropriateness (Historic Resources Commission) | Minor Work $100.00 / Major Work $200.00 |
Site plan and subdivision review
| Application Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Site Plan Review - Non-Residential | $500.00 + $20.00 per 1,000 sq. ft. of building |
| Site Plan Review - Residential | $500.00 + $20.00 per unit or lot |
| Subdivision Reviews | $400.00 + $20.00 per lot |
| Final Plats | $50.00 |
| Expedited Review of Subdivision or Site Plans | $1,500.00 per hour |
| Subdivision Waiver | $700.00 |
Signage, environmental, and miscellaneous
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Sign Placement Permit | $100.00 |
| Sign Face Change | $50.00 |
| Alternative Signage Plan Review | $500.00 |
| Clear Cutting Permit (without site or subdivision plan review) | $50.00 first 3 acres + $15.00 each additional acre |
| Payment in Lieu of Park Land | $15,833.86 per acre |
| Watershed Protection Inspection - Low Density Development Permit | $35.00 per project |
| Watershed Protection Inspection - High Density Development Permits | $140.00 to $450.00 by acreage / district |
| Planning and Zoning Re-Inspection Fee | $75.00 |
| Zoning Inspection for Small Structures | $50.00 |
| Zoning Permits (downtown core - pushcarts / outdoor dining / sidewalk entertainment / delivery services) | $60.00 per year each |
Fee authority: City of Fayetteville Development Services (Planning & Zoning / Permitting & Inspections). All amounts are from the Development Services - Planning & Zoning Permits and Fees section of the consolidated City Fee Schedule.
Coverage Notes - What This Page Does Not Cover
Per ZoneFee's Partial-Verified Publication Standard, the items below were either closed by official-source review as not administered by the City, or point to the separate authority that administers them rather than being estimated or omitted silently. These items remain under limited-coverage review until these gaps are closed.
Water and Sewer Tap Fees (Fayetteville PWC)
Water and wastewater service in Fayetteville is provided by the Fayetteville Public Works Commission (PWC), a separately governed municipal utility (faypwc.com). PWC, not the City fee schedule, sets and publishes water and sewer tap fees and North Carolina System Development Fees under NCGS Chapter 162A, Article 8. The City's consolidated 28-page fee schedule carries no water/sewer tap, connection, availability, or System Development Fee line. A future ZoneFee pass may capture PWC's developer / connection fee schedule as its own authority record. Closed-search outcome: utility tap fees are not administered by the City at the fee-schedule level.
Impact Fees
North Carolina municipalities lack general development-impact-fee authority. After Quality Built Homes v. Town of Carthage (368 N.C. 909, 2016) struck municipal water and sewer impact fees, the General Assembly enacted the System Development Fee statute (NCGS 162A-200 et seq., S.L. 2017-138) as the exclusive water and sewer growth-cost mechanism, administered here by PWC. Fayetteville levies no transportation, recreation, parks, or school impact fee, and the consolidated City Fee Schedule contains no impact-fee line, the same statewide framework that governs other North Carolina cities such as Charlotte. Closed-search outcome: this fee family is not administered by this jurisdiction.
Special District Fees
North Carolina municipal service districts (NCGS Chapter 160A, Article 23) are property-tax overlay districts established by council resolution and funded by a district tax levy, not a developer application fee, and the Colorado Title 32 metropolitan-district model does not exist in North Carolina. No special-district developer fee appears in the consolidated City Fee Schedule. Closed-search outcome: this fee family is not administered by this jurisdiction.
Proffers
North Carolina does not use Virginia-style cash proffers. Cash proffers are a Virginia and Maryland conditional-zoning instrument (Virginia Code Section 15.2-2303.4) with no North Carolina counterpart; NC conditional zoning is governed by NCGS Section 160D-703 and does not support that kind of monetary exaction. Closed-search outcome: this fee family does not apply to this jurisdiction.
Fee Authorities
| Authority | Fee Types | Official Website |
|---|---|---|
| City of Fayetteville - Development Services (Planning & Zoning / Permitting & Inspections) | Rezoning, special use permit, board of adjustment, text amendment, development agreement, site plan review, subdivision review, signage, vested rights, and related land-development review fees | fayettevillenc.gov |
| Fayetteville Public Works Commission (PWC) | Water and sewer tap (connection) fees and North Carolina System Development Fees (NCGS 162A); administered separately from the City fee schedule | faypwc.com |
Sources
| Document | Agency | Accessed |
|---|---|---|
| City of Fayetteville consolidated Fee Schedule (Attachment A, all departments; Development Services - Planning & Zoning Permits and Fees on pp. 8-9, 28 pp) | City of Fayetteville Development Services | 2026-08-04 |
Last verified by ZoneFee: 2026-08-04. Fee schedules are subject to change. Verify current rates directly with the City of Fayetteville Development Services, or with the Fayetteville Public Works Commission for water and sewer fees, before relying on this data for any financial decision.
This page reflects fee data sourced from the City of Fayetteville consolidated Fee Schedule (Attachment A, all departments), the FY2025 schedule effective July 1, 2024 that the City's Development Services page links as current, as of the last-verified date above. ZoneFee does not guarantee that fee amounts are current at the time you read this page. Fee schedules change. Water and sewer tap fees and North Carolina System Development Fees are administered by the Fayetteville Public Works Commission, a separate utility, and are not covered on this page. North Carolina charges no local impact fee and no Virginia-style cash proffer, and the City publishes no per-application special-district fee. Verify all current rates directly with the City of Fayetteville 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.