Published: 7 Oct 2026 · Last verified: 7 Oct 2026 · Next review: Jan 2027 Cost figures are re-checked against permit records quarterly. Changes are logged in Corrections.
Burbank is the first city in this series to put a 750 sq ft cliff on the sewer bill — and the first to write ADU-specific fees directly into its official fee schedule. Those two bureaucratic details tell you most of what you need to know about building here.
The sewer facilities charge — $2,043 per residence — carries a footnote that reads like it was written for this series: ADUs greater than 750 square feet pay a proportional share based on an 1,800 sq ft average household. An 800 sq ft ADU clearing the cliff pays $908. Below it, $0. No other city we have published draws the state-law line on sewer. Meanwhile the fee schedule lists “Accessory Dwelling Unit” as its own line item twice — $1,728.42 for the Planning application and $273.95 for the Public Works plan check review — the first time ADU has appeared as a named fee anywhere in this series. Our six-phase total lands at $320,000, or $400 per square foot — exactly the LA County baseline, built from very different parts.
Five assumptions sit underneath that total, each marked where it appears: the school district fee rate, whether the Planning ADU fee applies to a ministerial permit, whether a detached ADU needs a separate water connection, the final adoption of the ADU ordinance update, and the parks allocation inside the community facilities fee. Construction phases 2–6 are carried from the Los Angeles County baseline; Burbank does not publish phase-level construction costs.
The short answer
| 800 sq ft detached ADU · Burbank · 2026 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total build cost (see assumptions) | $320,000 |
| Cost per square foot | $400 |
| Largest single line | Systems + interior, $147,000 |
| Building permit + plan check | $3,692 (highest in the series) |
| School district fee (single district) | $4,304 ($5.38 rate assumed) |
| DIF — transportation + community facilities, pro-rata | ~$7,078 (assumed) |
| Sewer facilities charge, pro-rata (750+ only) | $908 |
| ADU-specific schedule fees (Planning + Public Works) | ~$2,002 (assumed applicable) |
The full line-item breakdown
Six phases. The same six used on every build in this series.
| Phase | Cost | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Soft costs (design, permits, fees) | $32,000 | 10% |
| Site work + foundation | $38,000 | 12% |
| Framing + structure | $48,000 | 15% |
| Building envelope | $42,000 | 13% |
| Systems + interior | $147,000 | 46% |
| Landscaping & hardscape | $13,000 | 4% |
| Total | $320,000 | $400 / sq ft |
The fee autopsy
Every fee line we found, with exactly what it is and where it came from.
| Fee line | Amount | Source / status |
|---|---|---|
| Design & engineering | $14,000 | Series baseline, carried (BPAP plans are purchased from designers, not free) |
| Building permit (R-3 Type B) | $2,142 | $1,647.14 + 3 × $165.02 per 100 sq ft over 500 — FY 2026-27 adopted fee schedule |
| Plan check (R-3 Type B) | $1,550 | $1,193.28 + 3 × $118.77 per 100 sq ft over 500 — same schedule |
| Planning — ADU application | $1,728 | “Accessory Dwelling Unit” line item, Pre-Development Review — whether it applies to a ministerial ADU permit is unconfirmed |
| Public Works — ADU plan check review | $274 | “Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Plan Check Reviews” line item |
| School fee (Burbank USD) | $4,304 | $5.38/sq ft × 800 — Resolution 1-27 adoption unconfirmed; falls to $4,136 at the prior $5.17 rate |
| DIF — transportation + community facilities, pro-rata (example) | ~$7,078 | $15,166.33 × 800/1,800 + 5% surcharge — per the city’s published ADU DIF calculation guide |
| Sewer facilities charge, pro-rata | $908 | $2,043 × 800/1,800 — footnote (e): ADUs over 750 sq ft only |
| Water connection | $0 | Existing connection used — whether a detached ADU requires a separate connection is unconfirmed (BWP discretion) |
The sewer cliff: a series first
Every city in this series honors the 750 sq ft cliff on development impact fees — state law (Gov. Code §66311.5) leaves no choice. Burbank goes further: its sewer facilities charge carries the same line. Footnote (e) to the $2,043 single-family residential rate reads, in full: “Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) greater than 750 square feet will be assessed a proportional sewer facilities charge based on the single-family residential rate and average household size of 1,800 square feet.”
The practical effect: a 749 sq ft ADU pays $0 in sewer facilities charges; an 800 sq ft ADU pays $908. In every other city we have published, sewer is either flat, waived for ADUs sharing services, or silent on the threshold. Burbank is the only one to write the cliff into the sewer line itself — which means an 800 sq ft design here clears two cliffs at once, DIF and sewer, for a combined ~$7,986 before a single school fee is counted.
ADU, itemized: fees with the unit’s name on them
Burbank’s FY 2026-27 fee schedule names “Accessory Dwelling Unit” twice. The Planning section lists an ADU application at $1,728.42; the Public Works section lists an ADU plan check review at $273.95. No other city in this series has ADU as a named fee line — elsewhere the unit is processed under generic residential tiers and the schedule never says the word.
One caution on the $1,728: it sits under the “Pre-Development Review” category, and the ordinance language tying it to the ADU permit application (BMC 10-1-620.7) does not resolve whether a ministerial, by-right ADU permit — the kind state law guarantees — is charged the pre-development rate. We count it in the total and mark it assumed.
The most expensive permit in the series
Burbank’s building permit plus plan check, at $3,692 for our 800 sq ft example, is the highest in the series — 2.2× Anaheim’s $1,672, which bundles both into a single combined fee. The R-3 Type B wood-frame tier starts at $1,647.14 for the first 500 sq ft and adds $165.02 per additional 100; plan check adds $1,193.28 plus $118.77 per 100 over 500. There is no combined-permit discount here, and no percentage-of-permit plan check either — just two long tier tables, both fully priced.
BPAP: pre-approved, but not free
The Burbank Pre-Approved ADU Program sounds like Anaheim’s ADU Express until you read the second sentence. Designers register their plans with the city; the city publishes them in a library; homeowners buy the plans from the designer. The current library holds two designs — a 432 sq ft city-registered studio and a 360 sq ft LADBS-approved studio. Garden Grove hands out four city-produced plans free; Anaheim hands out four free with a seven-step pipeline. Burbank’s model outsources the design cost to a marketplace, which is why our $14,000 design line stays at the series baseline instead of dropping toward zero.
The 750 cliff (DIF)
Burbank’s ordinance states the rule plainly (BMC 10-1-620.3(K)(2)): no development impact fees under 750 sq ft; proportional fees above. The city’s published calculation guide pins down the method — interior livable space per SB 543, ADU square footage divided by the primary dwelling’s, house size verified against the LA County Assessor portal. On an 1,800 sq ft house, an 800 sq ft ADU pays 44.4% of the $15,166.33 combined transportation-plus-community-facilities rate, plus the 5% administration surcharge: ~$7,078. On a 1,500 sq ft house the same ADU pays ~$8,493 — the primary dwelling’s size, not the ADU’s, is the lever.
The school-fee cliff sits lower at 500 sq ft (SB 543), so the 800 sq ft example pays school fees on the full area either way.
Burbank vs. Los Angeles County
| Burbank | LA County baseline | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | $320,000 | $320,000 |
| Per sq ft | $400 | $400 |
| Building permit + plan check | $3,692 (series high) | carried |
| DIF (pro-rata example) | ~$7,078 | carried |
| Sewer facilities charge | $908 (750 cliff) | carried |
| School fee | $4,304 (single district) | $4,304 |
| ADU-named schedule fees | $2,002 | none |
| Pre-approved plans | 2, paid registry | none |
| ADU permits 2022–2024 (HCD) | 818, 14th statewide | — |
The $0 gap is a coincidence of the example math, not a finding — the five unconfirmed assumptions dominate it. The real story is the composition: the series’ only sewer cliff, its only ADU-named fees, and its most expensive permit, all netting to exactly the baseline.
A note on SB 1117
Signed September 2026, effective January 2027: for a homeowner’s first two ADUs, impact fees may apply only to square footage above 750, calculated marginally. Burbank’s ADU-to-house pro-rata DIF and its proportional sewer charge will both need rewrites — an 800 sq ft ADU would owe fees on 50 sq ft, not 800. We found no mention of SB 1117 in city materials; the January 2027 quarterly review will check for an updated ordinance.
Disclaimer
Model estimate, not a quote. Fees change; the assumptions above are the city’s to confirm — the school district resolution, the Planning ADU fee’s applicability, water connection requirements, the ordinance update’s final adoption, and the parks allocation are all marked where they appear. Always verify current fees with the City of Burbank Community Development Department before budgeting.