Galveston, Texas - City Development Fees
Galveston | City | Galveston County / Texas Gulf Coast (Galveston Island barrier-island city) | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX MSA | County seat of Galveston County | FIPS 4828068
Galveston is a barrier-island city in Galveston County on the Texas Gulf Coast, connected to the mainland (Texas City and La Marque) by the I-45 causeway and part of the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land MSA. The City operates its own Building Division and Municipal Utilities Division. Building and construction permit fees are codified in the Code of Ordinances Sec. 10-46 (the consolidated "Fees" schedule), and developer-side water and sewer tap charges are published in the Municipal Utilities Water/Sewer Tap Application Basic Fee Schedule. Galveston also administers a Texas Local Government Code Chapter 395 impact fee program under codified Chapter 17, but the City Council has adopted a collection rate of $0.00 for all impact fee types and service areas. Verify current amounts with the City of Galveston before relying on them.
On this page
Fee Summary
| Fee Type | Status | Top-Line Figure | Effective Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building and Construction Permit Fees | Confirmed | New residential $0.15/sq ft; new commercial $0.20/sq ft first 20,000 sq ft + $0.05/sq ft thereafter; additions permit $0.40/sq ft + plan review $0.20/sq ft; demolition $50; re-inspection $50 / $200 | Current (codified) |
| Water and Sewer Tap Fees | Confirmed | Water complete tap set $3,427 (5/8") to $4,435 (2"); water meter only $2,150 (3") to $9,600 (6"); sewer 6" service $3,495 | As of Jan 2025 |
| Impact Fees (Texas Local Government Code Chapter 395) | Confirmed | Adopted collection rate $0.00 city-wide for water, sewer, and roadway (Service Areas A-D) under Ord. No. 16-087; the 2016 Impact Fee Study sets the maximum-assessable basis only | 2016-11-17 |
| Proffers | Not applicable | Texas jurisdictions do not use Virginia-style cash proffers | - |
| Special District Fees (TIRZ / management district) | Not administered by this city | TIRZ zones, the downtown management district, and Park Board jurisdiction finance through tax-increment capture and tax-roll assessments; no City developer application fee in the codified schedule | - |
Building and Construction Permit Fees - Current Operative Schedule
Source: City of Galveston Code of Ordinances Sec. 10-46 (the consolidated "Fees" schedule), captured verbatim from the Municode codification print published on the galvestontx.gov DocumentCenter (SHA-256 e3d4d189...). These are the Building Division construction-permit fees. The City's Planning & Development Division publishes a separate application-fee schedule (rezoning, administrative plat, site plan) referenced on its Applications, Fees, and FAQs page; those dollar amounts were not captured as a fetchable schedule and are noted in the coverage notes below.
| Fee Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| New construction - residential one- and two-family dwelling | $0.15 per square foot, plus site inspection charge and plan checking fee |
| New construction - commercial | $0.20 per square foot for the first 20,000 sq ft + $0.05 per square foot thereafter, plus site inspection, plan checking, and fire marshal fees |
| Building permit - additions to existing structures | $0.40 per square foot |
| Building plan review - additions | $0.20 per square foot |
| Plan checking fee | One-half of the building permit fee (building division review) |
| Site inspection fee (new construction) | $25.00 |
| Roof permit / windows / storage building (each) | $150.00 |
| Energy-related plan review | $50.00 |
| Demolition | $50.00 up to 100,000 cu ft; $0.50 per thousand cu ft above 100,000 cu ft |
| Moving permit (structure remains in city limits) | $100.00 plus site inspection charge |
| Re-inspection fee | $50.00 (1st visit); $200.00 (2 or more visits to the same property for the same violation) |
| Late fee / stop-work (permit not obtained before work started) | Fees doubled, minimum $100.00 |
Water and Sewer Tap Fees
Source: City of Galveston Municipal Utilities Division Water/Sewer Tap Application - Basic Fee Schedule (SHA-256 0485827b...). The City operates its own water and wastewater utility. These are the developer- and builder-side connection charges. Minimum water tap is 1 inch and minimum meter is 5/8 inch; a sewer tap must be purchased with a water tap unless proof of an existing septic system is provided; the tap fee covers the first 100 feet of pipe (overage charged at time and material cost).
| Fee Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Water tap (complete set: tap + meter + box) - 5/8" | $3,427.00 (tap $3,190 + meter $202 + box $35) |
| Water tap (complete set) - 1" | $3,550.00 (tap $3,226 + meter $289 + box $35) |
| Water tap (complete set) - 2" | $4,435.00 (tap $3,721 + meter $626 + box $88) |
| Water meter only - 3" (box & tap customer-provided) | $2,150.00 |
| Water meter only - 4" | $6,900.00 |
| Water meter only - 6" | $9,600.00 |
| Sewer tap - 6" diameter service | $3,495.00 (utility side $3,395 + clean out $100) |
| Water tap check permit | $10.00 |
| Sprinkler tap check permit | $30.00 |
Note: water taps over 2 inches and sewer taps over 6 inches must be installed by a contractor rather than by the City.
Impact Fees - Texas Local Government Code Chapter 395
Source: City of Galveston Code of Ordinances Chapter 17 (Impact Fees), Sec. 17-6, enacted by Ord. No. 16-087 adopted November 17, 2016, captured verbatim from the Municode codification (SHA-256 10ab944a...). Galveston has adopted a Chapter 395 impact fee program covering water, wastewater (sewer), and roadway facilities, but the current adopted collection rate is $0.00 for every fee type and every service area. Developers currently pay no impact fee in Galveston.
| Impact Fee Type | Adopted Collection Rate |
|---|---|
| Water impact fee - city-wide | $0.00 |
| Sewer (wastewater) impact fee - city-wide | $0.00 |
| Roadway impact fee - Service Area A | $0.00 |
| Roadway impact fee - Service Area B | $0.00 |
| Roadway impact fee - Service Area C | $0.00 |
| Roadway impact fee - Service Area D | $0.00 |
Per codified Sec. 17-6, "Impact fees assessed by the city council are as detailed below... Water City Wide $0.00 | Sewer City Wide $0.00 | Roadway A $0.00 B $0.00 C $0.00 D $0.00," and "the city council may change the assessment rate at any time in the future." Impact fees are assessed at building permit, utility connection, or final plat (Sec. 17-7) and collected at building permit or utility connection (Sec. 17-8). The maximum-assessable basis is established in the May 2016 Impact Fee Study for Water, Wastewater, and Roadway (Exhibit A to Ord. No. 16-087); those study figures are the legal maximum the City could charge, not the amount currently charged, and Chapter 395 permits the Council to adopt a lower rate.
Coverage Notes - What This Page Does Not Cover
Per ZoneFee's Partial-Verified Publication Standard, the items below were not closed via confirmed fee amounts on this page. They are disclosed here rather than estimated or omitted silently.
Planning Division Application Fees (Enrichment Gap)
The City of Galveston Planning & Development Division publishes its own application-fee schedule (rezoning, administrative plat, certificate of zoning compliance, site plan, and similar) referenced on its Applications, Fees, and FAQs page. As of the last review, the dollar amounts on that page were served by an empty or collapsed content widget and could not be captured as a fetchable schedule. The building and construction permit fees above (codified Sec. 10-46) are confirmed; the separate Planning Division application-fee amounts are an open enrichment item. Confirm those amounts directly with the City of Galveston Planning & Development Division.
Special District Fees (TIRZ / Management District)
Galveston contains overlapping districts, including tax increment reinvestment zones (TIRZ), a downtown management district, and the jurisdiction of the Galveston Park Board of Trustees. These finance through tax-increment capture, tax-roll assessments, or separate-entity administration, not through a City-administered developer application or assessment fee. No special-district developer fee appears in the consolidated codified fee schedule (Sec. 10-46), the impact-fee chapter (Chapter 17), the Water/Sewer Tap Application schedule, or the Municode chapter scan. Closed-search outcome: not administered by this jurisdiction.
Proffers
Texas jurisdictions do not use Virginia-style cash proffers (Virginia Code Section 15.2-2303 has no Texas counterpart). Developer-side contributions in Galveston occur through the building and construction permit fees, the water and sewer tap fees, and the (currently $0.00) Chapter 395 impact fee program captured above. Closed-search outcome: this fee family does not apply to this jurisdiction.
Fee Authorities
| Authority | Fee Types | Official Website |
|---|---|---|
| City of Galveston - Development Services, Building Division (construction permit fees codified in Sec. 10-46) | Building permit, plan review, demolition, moving permit, re-inspection, and energy plan review fees | galvestontx.gov |
| City of Galveston - Municipal Utilities Division (Water/Sewer Tap Application Basic Fee Schedule) | Water tap and meter fees, sewer tap fees, and tap check permits | galvestontx.gov |
| City of Galveston - City Council (Chapter 395 impact fee program under Ord. No. 16-087, codified Chapter 17) | Water, sewer (wastewater), and roadway impact fees (currently adopted at $0.00) | galvestontx.gov |
Sources
| Document | Agency | Accessed |
|---|---|---|
| Code of Ordinances Sec. 10-46 - Fees schedule (SHA-256 e3d4d189...) | City of Galveston, TX - Code of Ordinances (Municode) | 2026-06-10 |
| Water/Sewer Tap Application - Basic Fee Schedule (SHA-256 0485827b...) | City of Galveston, TX - Municipal Utilities Division | 2026-06-10 |
| Code of Ordinances Chapter 17 Sec. 17-6 - Impact Fees, Ord. No. 16-087 (SHA-256 10ab944a...) | City of Galveston, TX - Code of Ordinances (Municode) | 2026-06-10 |
| Impact Fee Study for Water, Wastewater, and Roadway, May 2016 - Exhibit A to Ord. No. 16-087 (max-assessable basis; SHA-256 df7501ee...) | City of Galveston, TX (Impact Fee Study, consultant report) | 2026-06-10 |
Last verified by ZoneFee: 2026-06-10. Fee schedules are subject to change. Verify current rates directly with the City of Galveston Development Services and Municipal Utilities Division before relying on this data for any financial decision.
This page reflects fee data sourced from the City of Galveston Code of Ordinances Sec. 10-46 (Fees schedule; SHA-256 e3d4d189...), the Municipal Utilities Water/Sewer Tap Application Basic Fee Schedule (SHA-256 0485827b...), and Code of Ordinances Chapter 17 Sec. 17-6 (Impact Fees, Ord. No. 16-087; SHA-256 10ab944a...) with the May 2016 Impact Fee Study Exhibit A as the maximum-assessable basis (SHA-256 df7501ee...). ZoneFee does not guarantee that fee amounts are current at the time you read this page. Fee schedules change. Galveston administers a Texas Local Government Code Chapter 395 impact fee program but has adopted a collection rate of $0.00 for all impact fee types and service areas; the 2016 study figures are the legal maximum, not the amount charged. The City administers no special-district developer fee schedule, and the separate Planning Division application-fee amounts referenced on the City's Applications, Fees, and FAQs page were not captured this pass. Texas jurisdictions do not use Virginia-style cash proffers. Verify all current rates directly with the City of Galveston before relying on this data for land acquisition, project budgeting, or any financial decision. This page is for research and due-diligence reference only - it is not legal or financial advice.