What would Cypress's proposed park fees cost?

If you’re considering a lot split, a second home that isn’t an ADU, or a redevelopment site in Cypress, the proposed park fees belong in your project budget. The answer starts with the project type: $23.44 per square foot for residential subdivisions, or $17.41 per square foot for other residential development. A project would pay only one.

This guide is educational, not legal or tax advice.

Are the proposed fees in effect?

No. As of October 22, 2026, the fees are proposed, not in effect.

The fees were the subject of a public hearing on the October 13, 2026 City Council agenda (item 6), with the ordinance up for first reading. As of October 22, 2026 Insider has not seen minutes confirming the vote, and the ordinance needs a later second reading.

You can check City Council agenda item 6 to identify the hearing. The full agenda packet contains the staff report, nexus study and draft ordinance.

The documents conflict on timing: if adopted, the proposed fee resolution says the fees would take effect 60 days after adoption, while the staff report and draft ordinance say January 1, 2027. Confirm the actual start date with the City. Both would be adjusted each year using a construction cost index beginning July 1, 2028.

What would change from today’s park fee?

Cypress would replace its flat subdivision fee with a square footage calculation and add a park impact fee for other residential development.

According to the City of Cypress staff report, the current Quimby Act fee is $23,421 per dwelling unit for residential subdivisions, regardless of unit size. As of the October 13, 2026 staff report, residential development without a subdivision isn’t subject to a park impact fee.

The existing Quimby Act ordinance was adopted in 1976 and last updated in 1991. The current fee rests on a nexus study completed in 2017.

The Quimby Act allows parkland dedication, a fee instead of dedication, or both for residential subdivisions. The Mitigation Fee Act allows a park development impact fee on other residential development. Assembly Bill 602 requires a nexus study before adopting or increasing an impact fee and residential fees proportional to proposed units’ square footage.

How much would a new home cost in park fees?

The proposed cost depends on habitable gross square footage and which fee applies.

The subdivision rate would be $23.44 per square foot. The new Park Development Impact Fee would be $17.41 per square foot for other qualifying residential development. Garages, storage rooms, mechanical rooms and other nonhabitable areas would be excluded.

Simple math from those rates gives you a starting point:

• For 1,000 square feet of habitable space, the subdivision fee would be $23,440.
• For 1,000 square feet under the other-development fee, the charge would be $17,410.

A new 2,000 square foot unit outside a subdivision would produce a $34,820 calculation: 2,000 times $17.41. That calculation comes before any applicable replacement credit.

The nexus study describes the fee for an average 1,450 square foot unit as approximately $34,000 in a qualifying subdivision and $25,247 for other residential development.

Which projects would fall under the impact fee?

The proposed Park Development Impact Fee applies to residential development creating one or more new dwelling units that isn’t subject to the Quimby parkland dedication or in-lieu fee requirements.

That language appears in draft section 25-86.01(a). If you’re evaluating a lot split or redevelopment, the distinction between subdivision requirements and the impact fee is a useful question for the City’s Community Development Department.

For subdivisions containing 50 parcels or fewer, draft section 25-85.06(d) says only an in-lieu payment may be required. It includes an exception for condominium, stock cooperative or community apartment projects with more than 50 units.

Say a buyer is considering a site for a new 2,000 square foot home outside a subdivision. If adopted, the proposed Park Development Impact Fee would produce a $34,820 calculation before any applicable replacement credit. The buyer would separate habitable space from garage and storage space, then ask the City’s Community Development Department whether the project falls under section 25-86.01(a). If the project replaces a lawfully established unit, the buyer would also need documentation of that unit’s lawful existence and square footage.

Buying land anywhere raises similar questions about what can be built; the Temecula land guide covers another city’s checklist. Cypress’s proposed fee terms come from its own draft ordinance.

Would ADUs or ownership conversions pay the impact fee?

Accessory dwelling units, junior accessory dwelling units and certain ownership conversions would be exempt from the proposed Park Development Impact Fee.

The draft ordinance exempts an ADU or junior ADU in section 25-86.01(b)(2). That exemption appears in the impact fee section; it doesn’t establish an answer about ADUs in subdivisions.

The same section exempts units already subject to Quimby requirements. It also exempts a conversion to condominiums or other ownership when the conversion creates no new dwelling units.

If an ADU is your project, the ADU rules guide provides related reading. For a comparison with another city’s fee discussion, see La Verne impact fees for additions and ADUs. Those are separate local rules.

Say an owner is considering an ADU and compares its treatment with a second home that is not an ADU. If adopted, the draft ordinance would exempt the ADU from the proposed Park Development Impact Fee. The second home would fall under that fee if it creates a new dwelling unit and is not subject to Quimby requirements. The owner’s comparison would turn on the project type, since the ADU exemption appears specifically in the impact fee section and does not settle treatment within a subdivision.

How would credit for an existing home work?

The draft bases requirements on the net increase in residential development when a project replaces lawfully established dwelling units.

For the Park Development Impact Fee, section 25-88 bases the credit on existing units’ square footage. The applicant must document both lawful existence and square footage.

Credit applies to units existing when the application is submitted or demolished in connection with the project. It cannot exceed the fee, transfer to another project or produce a refund.

For a teardown replacing one house with a larger house, ask the Community Development Department how sections 25-86.01(a) and 25-88 apply. The packet doesn’t settle that specific situation. Its new-dwelling-unit language also doesn’t establish whether room additions or remodels pay a fee.

What would the fee money fund?

The proposed revenue would fund eligible park improvements in the City’s Capital Improvement Program through separate restricted accounts.

The study includes 19 planned park projects with total estimated costs exceeding $50 million. It includes $2,000,000 for Baroldi Sycamore Park Expansion. The money would not fund existing deficiencies.

The City’s Baroldi Sycamore Park news page describes plans to nearly double the park’s size.

Willdan Financial Services prepared the September 2026 nexus study. At its August 25, 2026 workshop, the Council directed staff to prepare documents implementing the maximum fee supported by that study.

The short version

Your proposed park fee would depend on project type, habitable square footage and any documented replacement credit.

Start with $23.44 per square foot for subdivisions or $17.41 for other qualifying residential development. Check the impact fee’s ADU exemption, then confirm your project’s treatment with the Community Development Department. The documents conflict on when the fees would take effect if adopted: the proposed fee resolution says 60 days after adoption, while the staff report and draft ordinance say January 1, 2027. Confirm the actual start date with the City.

If you’re also weighing a sale, start with the home value tool.