You may be pricing a new home on a Ramona lot, studying a lot split, or deciding whether an ADU fits the budget. The County’s 2026 table lists a total park impact fee of 9,730 dollars for a single-family dwelling unit and 4,875 dollars for an accessory dwelling unit in Ramona. The exact treatment of your permit still needs to be confirmed with County Planning & Development Services.
This is general information and not legal advice.
Why does the County charge a park fee?
The County charges the fee so new residential development contributes to park land or park development for its new residents.
This rule comes from the San Diego County Park Land Dedication Ordinance, usually shortened to PLDO. The ordinance requires new residential development projects to dedicate park land, pay park impact fees, or both. It was originally adopted on December 19, 1972, and received a comprehensive update approved by the Board of Supervisors on July 25, 2018.
Ramona is unincorporated, so the County rule applies rather than a city’s park fee program. That distinction matters when you are estimating development costs. A fee from another community may not tell you what applies to a Ramona permit, even when the proposed homes look similar.
The PLDO concerns new dwellings. It can matter when you build a home on a lot, add an ADU, pursue a lot split, or work on another new residential project. It is not described as a fee on the sale of an existing home.
How much is the 2026 fee in Ramona?
The County’s 2026 table lists totals of 9,730 dollars for a single-family unit, 9,579 dollars for a multi-family unit, and 4,875 dollars for an ADU.
For a single-family dwelling unit, the Ramona row lists:
- Land acquisition: 647 dollars
- Park in-lieu: 647 dollars
- Park improvement: 8,891 dollars
- Administration: 191 dollars
- Total park impact fee: 9,730 dollars
The table’s footnotes say the land acquisition impact fee applies to a non-subdivision residential project and the park in-lieu impact fee to a subdivision residential project, and the County’s listed total is the figure to use when reading the table.
For a multi-family dwelling unit, the row lists a 649 dollar land acquisition component, a 649 dollar park in-lieu component, an 8,742 dollar improvement component, a 188 dollar administration component, and a total of 9,579 dollars.
What does the ADU row tell you?
The ADU row gives a 2026 Ramona total of 4,875 dollars, but it does not establish that every proposed ADU owes that amount.
Its listed components are 318 dollars for land acquisition, 318 dollars for park in-lieu, 4,461 dollars for park improvement, and 96 dollars for administration. As with the other rows, the project type determines which of the two land components applies.
The County page says PLDO fees are paid unless previously paid or exempted by the ordinance. The County page does not say whether a particular ADU qualifies for an exemption, and the ordinance text itself was not read, so ask County Planning & Development Services before treating 4,875 dollars as a final permit cost.
The broader ADU rules guide can help you frame other questions about an accessory dwelling unit, but the County office should confirm the PLDO treatment for the actual project.
We were helping a Ramona homeowner budget an ADU when she noticed that the county’s park fee was separate from the building permit estimate. She assumed all ADUs were exempt because hers would be used by a family member. We checked the unit’s size and the current county schedule rather than assuming its intended occupant determined the fee.
When and where is the fee paid?
A PLDO park impact fee is generally paid when the County issues a ministerial building permit for the dwelling, unless the fee was previously paid or the dwelling is exempt under the ordinance.
For permits in unincorporated areas, County Planning & Development Services collects the money on behalf of the Department of Parks and Recreation. That makes Planning & Development Services the practical first stop when you need to know what appears on a specific building permit.
Discretionary projects work differently. The County identifies lot splits, residential subdivisions, and conditionally permitted residential uses as examples. Those projects are conditioned to dedicate park land or pay fees, and the County says dedication is preferred over payment of park impact fees.
For subdivision and condominium projects with more than 50 dwelling units, the County may require park land dedication as a condition of approval for a discretionary project. For residential development projects with 50 or fewer units, only payment of park impact fees is required under the rule described on the County page.
Could a project require land instead of a payment?
The County may require dedication for subdivision and condominium projects with more than 50 dwelling units.
The Ramona dedication figures are stated in square feet per dwelling unit or lot. The 2026 table gives 390.73 square feet for single-family development, 384.20 square feet for multi-family development, and 196.02 square feet for an accessory dwelling unit.
Those numbers should not be treated as a stand-alone approval calculation. A person considering a lot split should ask Planning & Development Services whether the proposal is being handled as a subdivision residential project and whether payment or dedication applies.
Why is Ramona’s amount different from other areas?
Ramona’s amount differs because each Local Park Planning Area has its own rates based on land acquisition and park construction costs within that area.
The PLDO divides the unincorporated county into 24 Local Park Planning Areas that match the Community and Subregional Plan boundaries in the County’s General Plan. Ramona has its own area and its own row in the fee tables.
The single-family totals on the same 2026 table show the variation. Ramona is listed at 9,730 dollars, while Lakeside is 9,486 dollars, Alpine is 9,317 dollars, San Dieguito is 12,261 dollars, and Desert is 6,854 dollars.
That is why a fee estimate borrowed from another community can mislead you. Confirm the property’s planning area and use the applicable table. If the project starts with undeveloped property, the questions in the buying land guide may help organize your review, but Ramona’s County rules and figures still need their own check.
How does Ramona help set park priorities?
Ramona provides recommendations through an annual priority-list process, while final review and decisions remain with the County.
Each year, Parks and Recreation requests a five-year priority list from every planning and sponsor group. These lists provide community recommendations for using PLDO funds. The department reviews them against Board Policy F-26, the ordinance, and the Parks Master Plan. In some cases, it may recommend park improvements that do not appear on a local list.
The Ramona Community Planning Group is advisory only to the County. Its November 5, 2026 agenda included a County request for updated PLDO and Recreation Programming Priority Lists for Fiscal Year 2026-27, due February 1, 2027. It also listed discussion of PLDO money generated by Ramona development and allocated to Ramona’s fund that the agenda said had been redirected without group input. That was an agenda item, and no outcome was posted in the material reviewed.
An October 1, 2026 agenda separately listed feedback being collected on possible park grant applications for an 8.5 million dollar grant due in December 2026. The ideas listed included relocating the senior center, creating a teen center and skatepark, and expanding soccer fields. These were possible grant ideas, not confirmed projects.
The short version
Ramona’s 2026 PLDO table lists 9,730 dollars for a single-family unit, 9,579 dollars for a multi-family unit, and 4,875 dollars for an ADU.
The fee is generally collected by County Planning & Development Services when a ministerial building permit is issued, unless it was previously paid or the dwelling is exempt. Larger discretionary developments may face park land dedication requirements. Because the County page does not confirm whether a particular ADU is exempt or when the table will next change, ask Planning & Development Services and County Parks and Recreation, using the contact on the PLDO page, before finalizing a budget.
After the permit questions are clear, compare the proposed project with the property’s current estimate using the home value tool.
Common questions
What is the 2026 park impact fee for a single-family home in Ramona?
The County's 2026 table lists a total park impact fee of 9,730 dollars per single-family dwelling unit in Ramona.
What is the listed 2026 park impact fee for an ADU in Ramona?
The County's 2026 table lists a total of 4,875 dollars per accessory dwelling unit in Ramona, but you should ask County Planning & Development Services whether a particular ADU is exempt.
When is a PLDO park impact fee paid?
The County says the fee is paid when a ministerial building permit for a dwelling is issued, unless it was previously paid or the project is exempt under the PLDO.
Does every part of unincorporated San Diego County have the same park fee?
No. The County has 24 Local Park Planning Areas, and each area has its own park impact fee or park land dedication rate per dwelling unit.
