Orange County Updates School Impact Fee Rates

On December 1, 2020, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance updating the County’s school impact fees for residential development.

A school impact fee is a one-time capital charge levied against new development to fund school capacity consumed by new growth. School impact fees are typically assessed based on specific student generation rates ("SGR"), or students per housing unit, for each type of residential land use, including single family, townhouse, multi-family and mobile homes.

School impact fees apply to all new residential development in Orange County, even within cities. Orange County’s school impact fee schedule was last updated in 2016. 

The BCC voted to adopt the fee schedule recommended by the County’s School Impact Fee Study Advisory Committee, which originally convened in October 2018 and submitted its final recommendations in August 2020. 

The new fee schedule will be introduced in two phases, with 50% of the increase effective April 2, 2021 and the other 50% of the increase effective July 3, 2021. The new fee schedule will make the following updates to the County’s school impact fee rates:

• A significantly lower rate ($307.00/unit) for multi-family residential buildings considered “high-rise”;
• Higher rates across all other residential categories; and
• Tiered fee rates across all residential categories, as shown below.

School Impact Fee Schedule

Land Use Type	Impact Fee
Single Family Detached	$8,829.00
Single Family Detached 2,000 - 2,499 sq. ft.	$9,513.00
Single Family Detached 2,500 - 2,999 sq. ft.	$11,402.00
Single Family Detached 3,000 - 3,999 sq. ft.	$12,015.00
Single Family Detached >=4,000 sq. ft.	$9,584.00
Multi-family (High Rise)	$307.00
Multi-family (Non High Rise)	$6,751.00
Townhouse	$8,805.00

Developers looking for more information about the school impact fee rates or how to lock in current rates should contact Lowndes’ land use team.