Mesa water and sewer capacity fees for a commercial project: City Code 8-10-13 and 5-17-5

Section 8-10-13 is the capacity fee. The city "will assess water and wastewater capacity fees for new or upsized water connections by meter size in the amounts in Table 1." The stated purpose in (B) is that new customers "bear a proportionate share" of adding capacity to the water and wastewater systems. Two triggers decide when you pay:

• Building permit. Anyone who obtains one pays "upon requesting a connection" to the water or wastewater system (D).
• New or upsized meter. The fee is paid "before the City installs" the meter connection (E).

Table 1 (Ord. No. 5970, 12-1-25) lists water plus wastewater by meter size:

• 3/4 inch: capacity fee $7,719 water plus $1,809 wastewater, $9,528 total
• 1 inch: capacity fee $12,864 water plus $3,015 wastewater, $15,880 total
• 1 1/2 inch: capacity fee $25,729 water plus $6,030 wastewater, $31,759 total
• 2 inch: capacity fee $41,166 water plus $9,649 wastewater, $50,814 total
• 3 inch: capacity fee $82,331 water plus $19,297 wastewater, $101,629 total
• 4 inch: capacity fee $205,829 water plus $48,243 wastewater, $254,072 total
• 6 inch: capacity fee $385,929 water plus $90,456 wastewater, $476,385 total
• 8 inch: capacity fee $900,501 water plus $211,065 wastewater, $1,111,566 total
• 10 inch: capacity fee $1,415,072 water plus $331,673 wastewater, $1,746,746 total

Section 5-17-5 is a separate charge. Anyone who obtains "a building permit, a right-of-way permit, or any other permit" pays the applicable water, wastewater, park, library, fire, public safety and stormwater drainage impact fees, unless the development is exempt. A connection to the city water or wastewater system triggers the water or wastewater impact fee even when no permit is needed. Each fee is paid before or with the permit, or before the connection is finished, and the permit or connection is withheld until it is.

• Capacity fee. A one-time charge for adding demand to the water and wastewater systems, set by meter size.
• Upsized. A move to a larger meter. Under (K), the customer is assessed only "the increase fee amount" from the old size to the new one.
• Impact fee. A separate development charge under Title 5. Mesa determines each amount from its own impact fee tables and looks at the actual meter installed, using the next larger size if the exact size is not listed (5-17-5(C)).
• Existing development credit. For a remodel, change of use or change of meter on a lot with a valid certificate of occupancy, the impact fee is the new figure minus the old one. Unused credit is not refunded but "run[s] with the land."

Anyone adding a water connection or a larger meter in Mesa's service area: a new restaurant, a warehouse with a new fire and domestic split, a landscape meter for a new lot. It does not charge the wastewater portion for a meter installed only for irrigation (8-10-13(J)). A tenant swapping fixtures on an existing meter does not trigger the meter fee, though 5-17-5 can still apply to a permit.

The upsizing fee figure is our arithmetic ($15,880 minus $9,528), not a number Mesa prints.

A restaurant asks for a 2 inch meter. The plumbing designer sizes the service for the kitchen, fire and irrigation. Table 1 puts the 2 inch capacity fee at $50,814, so the owner learns the total before the meter is ordered.

A pad site upsizes. The owner had a 1 inch meter and wants 2 inches. The capacity fee is $50,814 minus $15,880, or $34,934, again our arithmetic from Table 1.

The edge case. A tenant improvement adds no meter. The permit alone can still bring impact fees under 5-17-5, and a credit for the previous use lowers them. The sections do not tell you how the two fee types add up on a specific project.

1. 1Have the designer size the meter from the fixture load, and price each candidate size from Table 1.
2. 2Ask Development Services for a written fee estimate that covers both the 8-10-13 capacity fee and the 5-17-5 impact fees for your permit.
3. 3Note the timing: capacity fee before the meter is installed, impact fees before the permit issues.
4. 4If you are upsizing, get the existing meter size documented so only the increase is billed.
5. 5Plan the service line and sewer connection with your plumber. The building sewer connection permit is a separate approval.

• "Impact fees and capacity fees are the same thing." They come from different chapters and are paid at different points.
• "Upsizing means paying the new fee in full." Only the increase is charged.
• "Irrigation meters are free." Only the wastewater portion is exempt.
• "A small tenant improvement is exempt." 5-17-5 attaches to "any other permit," so a credit for the prior use, not silence, is what lowers the bill.