Monroe, North Carolina - City Development Fees
City of Monroe | Union County (county seat) | Charlotte metro southeast | US-74 corridor
Monroe is the county seat of Union County, southeast of Charlotte on the US-74 corridor in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro. The dominant development charge in Monroe is the water and sewer System Development Fee. Monroe owns and operates its own water and wastewater systems, so it levies these System Development Fees directly under NCGS Chapter 162A, Article 8, along with the physical water and sewer tap (connection) fees, rather than through a county or regional authority. The City also administers a schedule of rezoning, Conditional District, Planned Development, subdivision, zoning-permit, and engineering review fees through its Planning & Development and Engineering & Public Works functions. North Carolina does not authorize local impact fees (the System Development Fee replaces them) or Virginia-style cash proffers. All amounts below are drawn from the City of Monroe 2026-2027 Fee Schedule (Chapters XII, XIV, and VII), adopted May 12, 2026. Note the two effective dates: the System Development Fees are effective January 1, 2025, while the connection-fee and zoning schedules are effective July 1, 2026. Verify current amounts with the City of Monroe before relying on them.
On this page
Fee Summary
| Fee Type | Status | Top-Line Figure | Effective Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utility Tap Fees (City of Monroe NCGS 162A System Development Fees + connection fees, by meter size) | Confirmed | Standard 3/4-inch connection $7,615 combined System Development Fee (water $2,547 + sewer $5,068); scales by meter size to $84,892 water / $168,916 sewer at 6-inch; plus 3/4-inch complete water tap $2,175 and 4-inch sewer tap $1,801 (outside city limits 200%) | 2025-01-01 (SDF); 2026-07-01 (connection fees) |
| Zoning, Subdivision, and Development Review Fees | Confirmed | General Rezoning $500; Conditional District Rezoning $1,000; Planned Development Master Plan (PUD & PCD) $1,750; Special Use Permit $400; Variance $350; Major Preliminary Plat $300 + $50/lot (up to 50 lots); plus zoning-permit and engineering review fees | 2026-07-01 (adopted May 12, 2026) |
| Impact Fees | Not administered | North Carolina repealed local impact-fee authority; S.L. 2017-138 replaced water and sewer impact fees with the meter-based System Development Fees shown above (NCGS Ch. 162A Art. 8), captured under utility tap fees; growth capacity is also recovered through a stormwater Capital Cost Fee of $3,000/acre (capped at $20,000) | - |
| Special District Fees | Not administered | North Carolina municipal service districts (NCGS 160A Art. 23) are funded by a district property-tax levy, not a developer application fee; Monroe is a full-service own-utility city and 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 | - |
Water and Sewer System Development Fees
Source: City of Monroe 2026-2027 Fee Schedule, Chapter XIV Water & Sewer. This is the highest-value block on the page for a developer. Monroe owns and operates its water and wastewater systems, so it recovers water and sewer capacity through North Carolina General Statutes Section 162A-200 System Development Fees charged by meter size, not through an impact fee, and it also charges the physical connection (tap) fees directly. Water and sewer are charged separately, and the System Development Fees are due in addition to the connection fees. System Development Fees are effective January 1, 2025; connection (tap) fees are effective July 1, 2026. Connections outside city limits are charged at 200% of the inside-city amounts.
System Development Fees by meter size (effective January 1, 2025; water and sewer charged separately)
| Meter Size | Water SDF | Wastewater SDF | Combined SDF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/4 inch | $2,547.00 | $5,068.00 | $7,615.00 |
| 1 inch | $4,253.00 | $8,464.00 | $12,717.00 |
| 1 1/2 inch | $8,482.00 | $16,876.00 | $25,358.00 |
| 2 inch | $13,576.00 | $27,012.00 | $40,588.00 |
| 6 inch | $84,892.00 | $168,916.00 | $253,808.00 |
A standard single-family connection uses a 3/4-inch meter: water $2,547 plus sewer $5,068, a combined $7,615 System Development Fee, due in addition to the tap fees below. The Equivalent Residential Unit basis is 368 gallons per day for water and 245 gallons per day for sewer, with AWWA meter equivalency for larger meters. The combined column is the arithmetic sum of the per-column Water and Wastewater System Development Fees.
Water and sewer connection (tap) fees - inside city, effective July 1, 2026
| Service | Complete Tap & Service | Meter-Only Install |
|---|---|---|
| 3/4 inch water | $2,175.00 | $392.00 |
| 1 inch water | $2,888.00 | $543.00 |
| 1 1/2 inch water | Job estimate | $943.00 |
| 2 inch water | Job estimate | $1,292.00 |
| 4 inch sewer | $1,801.00 | - |
Fee authority: City of Monroe Water Resources. System Development Fees are governed by NCGS Chapter 162A, Article 8 (the Public Water and Sewer System Development Fee Act). Connections outside the city limits are charged at 200% of the inside-city amounts. Monroe also owns electric and natural-gas utilities; those rate schedules are outside ZoneFee's development-fee scope.
Zoning, Subdivision, and Development Review Fees
Source: City of Monroe 2026-2027 Fee Schedule, Chapter XII Planning and Zoning and Chapter VII Engineering and Public Works, adopted May 12, 2026, effective July 1, 2026.
Zoning and rezoning
| Application Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Zoning Map Amendment (General Rezoning) | $500.00 |
| Conditional District Rezoning (includes 3 reviews) | $1,000.00 |
| Planned Development Master Plan (PUD & PCD) | $1,750.00 |
| Conditional District / Planned Development Amendment | $1,000.00 |
| Additional review (beyond included reviews) | $150.00 |
| Minor modification | $250.00 |
| Zoning Text Amendment | $500.00 |
| Zoning Verification Letter | $75.00 |
| Annexation Application | $250.00 |
Board of Adjustment
| Application Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Special Use Permit | $400.00 |
| Variance | $350.00 ($500.00 after-the-fact) |
| Appeal | $350.00 |
| Special Meeting | $1,000.00 |
Subdivision plats
| Application Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Major Subdivision - Preliminary Plat (up to 50 lots) | $300.00 + $50.00/lot |
| Major Subdivision - Preliminary Plat (51+ lots) | $500.00 + $50.00/lot |
| Major Subdivision - Final Plat | $50.00 + $5.00/lot |
| Minor Subdivision (4 lots or fewer) | $150.00 per lot |
| Lot Line Revision / Recombination | $100.00 |
Zoning permits
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Residential new structure (with site plan) | $150.00 |
| Residential accessory structure | $75.00 |
| Residential (no site plan) | $25.00 |
| Industrial / Commercial site plan - under 1 acre | $300.00 |
| Industrial / Commercial site plan - 1 to 10 acres | $500.00 |
| Industrial / Commercial site plan - over 10 acres | $700.00 |
| Change of Use | $50.00 |
Engineering and stormwater review (Chapter VII)
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Erosion Control Permit | $500.00 first acre + per additional acre |
| Stormwater Permit (up to 3 reviews) | $2,500.00 first acre disturbed + $100.00/additional acre |
| Stormwater Capital Cost Fee | $3,000.00 per acre (capped at $20,000) |
| Permanently Close Street / Alleyway | $1,040.00 |
Fee authority: City of Monroe Planning & Development and Engineering & Public Works. The stormwater Capital Cost Fee is a stormwater capital charge, not a general impact fee.
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, or deferred to the cited source rather than estimated or omitted silently. These items remain under limited-coverage review until these gaps are closed.
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. Monroe recovers growth capacity cost through its NCGS 162A System Development Fees, captured above under utility tap fees, and through a stormwater Capital Cost Fee of $3,000 per acre (capped at $20,000) in Chapter VII; it levies no transportation, recreation, parks, or school impact fee. For background on how impact fees work in states that do authorize them, see the ZoneFee impact fees guide. Closed-search outcome: this fee family is not administered by this jurisdiction as a distinct impact fee.
Special District Fees
Monroe is a full-service, own-utility North Carolina city and publishes no per-application special-district developer fee. North Carolina municipal service districts (NCGS Chapter 160A, Article 23) are established by council resolution and funded by a district property-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 any chapter of the adopted 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 Monroe - Planning & Development and Engineering & Public Works | Rezoning, Conditional District rezoning, Planned Development master plans, text amendment, annexation, special use permit, variance, appeal, subdivision plat, zoning permit, erosion control, and stormwater review fees | monroenc.org |
| City of Monroe - Water Resources | Water and sewer System Development Fees (NCGS 162A) and water and sewer tap (connection) fees by meter size | monroenc.org |
Sources
| Document | Agency | Accessed |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-2027 Fee Schedule, Chapter XII - Planning and Zoning (rezoning, subdivision, and zoning-permit fees) | City of Monroe Planning & Development | 2026-08-01 |
| 2026-2027 Fee Schedule, Chapter XIV - Water and Sewer (System Development Fees and connection fees) | City of Monroe Water Resources | 2026-08-01 |
| 2026-2027 Fee Schedule, Chapter VII - Engineering and Public Works (erosion control, stormwater review, and stormwater capital cost fee) | City of Monroe Engineering & Public Works | 2026-08-01 |
Last verified by ZoneFee: 2026-08-01. Fee schedules are subject to change. Verify current rates directly with the City of Monroe Planning & Development, Engineering & Public Works, or Water Resources before relying on this data for any financial decision.
This page reflects fee data sourced from the City of Monroe 2026-2027 Fee Schedule (Chapters XII, XIV, and VII), adopted May 12, 2026, 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. The System Development Fees are effective January 1, 2025, and the connection-fee and zoning schedules are effective July 1, 2026; each family is presented with its own effective date. Water and sewer System Development Fees and connection fees are charged separately and vary by meter size, so the totals shown apply only to the stated meter configurations, and the standard 3/4-inch connection combines to a $7,615 System Development Fee. Connections outside the city limits are charged at 200% of the inside-city amounts. North Carolina charges no local impact fee and no Virginia-style cash proffer, and Monroe publishes no per-application special-district fee. Verify all current rates directly with the City of Monroe 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.