The average impact fee in California for single-family residence in 2012 was $31,100 per unit, nearly 90 percent higher than the next most expensive state and 265 percent higher [that’s more than TRIPLE] than the norm among jurisdictions that levy such fees, which typically pay for capital improvements, like water and wastewater facilities, required by a new development.
Many states and localities on the eastern side of the Sierras do not have such fees at all, and are not included in the average.
These fees also impact multifamily housing; the state’s fees on multifamily units averaged $18,800, 290 percent [almost QUADRUPLE] above the average outside the state — again, not including in the average states and cities that don’t charge any impact fees.
http://www.newgeography.com/content/003882-california-homes-require-real-reach
To add insult to injury, that “fee” becomes part of the price of the home or apartment – the base on which the annual property taxes are calculated.