Salt Lake City Council approves first update to utility impact fees since 1999
The council approved new water, sewer and stormwater impact fees on Oct. 6, 2026. The city's proposal roughly tripled the water fee for the smallest meter, to $5,577 from $1,871.
Continuing story: Auditing Salt Lake City
The Salt Lake City Council on Oct. 6, 2026 "accepted public comment and approved updated impact fees to support the water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure adjustments needed as Salt Lake City grows," according to the council's meeting recap. [5]
The recap says the fees had not been updated since 1999 and that, because they apply to new development, "most existing residents will not see a direct impact." [5]
What the city proposed
The Department of Public Utilities' impact fee page lists existing and proposed fees. For water, the fee for a 3/4-inch meter would rise to $5,577 from $1,871, and for a 10-inch meter to $375,328 from $125,851. [1]
The current sewer fee is $545 per residential unit. The proposal offered two options: one based on water meter size, starting at $4,300 for a 3/4-inch meter and rising to $289,235 for a 10-inch meter, and one charging $4,300 for a single-family home and $3,225 per unit for duplexes, triplexes and multifamily buildings. [1]
The stormwater fee would rise to $1,963 from $374 per quarter acre. [1]
The page says that, if approved, the fees take effect 90 days after approval. [1]
How it moved
At an Aug. 18, 2026 briefing, council members took straw polls favoring a sewer fee based on meter size and a two-year phase-in, with 70% of the full fee starting in January 2027 and the full fee taking effect July 1, 2028. No vote was taken that day. [2]
The council held public hearings on Sept. 22 at the Utah State Fairpark and on Oct. 6 at City Hall on an ordinance adopting the department's impact fee facilities plan and impact fee analysis and amending the city's fee schedule. [3][4]
The Sept. 22 agenda describes impact fees as "one-time charges on new construction that help pay for system-wide water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure upgrades." [3]
The audit
In its response to the Legislature's Sept. 15, 2026 audit of the department, the city listed impact fee increases among the steps it was taking on long-term funding and said they were to take effect in early 2027. [6]
The fee amounts in this story are the amounts the city proposed. The records reviewed confirm the council approved updated fees but do not state the final adopted amounts or effective dates.
Sources
- Salt Lake City Public Utilities · Impact fees
- Salt Lake City Council · August 18, 2026 meeting recap
- Salt Lake City Council · Sept. 22, 2026 formal meeting agenda
- Salt Lake City Council · Notice of Oct. 6, 2026 public hearing on utility impact fees
- Salt Lake City Council · October 6, 2026 meeting recap
- Office of the Legislative Auditor General · A Performance Audit of Salt Lake City Public Utilities (Sept. 15, 2026)
Reporting by The Utah Ledger from the public records above. AI-assisted, checked against those records.