It costs around $31,000 in growth-related fees to build a typical home in Manteca.

That’s in addition to land costs, construction costs, and infrastructure costs.

Typical buyers of new homes built in Manteca in the past year with 30-year fixed rate mortgages will end up paying at least $56,400 with interest for growth fees that are collapsed into a home’s price.

The cost of growth fees and their financing puts pressure on affordable housing.

Manteca collects growth fees for everything ranging from regional streets and government facilities to parks, fire facilities and mitigation for the loss of agricultural land. While some fees are mandated by other agencies such as the one for farmland conversion, most are dictated by the need to provide services to the occupants of new homes.

State law prohibits cities from charging fees to new homes beyond what can be justified with nexus studies that show exactly how much of the cost of new facilities is the direct result of growth. For example work on the wastewater treatment plant expansion and upgrade that is directly related to increasing capacity can be passed on in growth fees. Retrofits - upgrades and replacing worn-out equipment benefitting current ratepayers - can’t be put on the back of growth.

The City Council’s policy of having fees in place is designed to make sure growth pays its way. That means the goal is to have 100 percent of the cost incurred for new various municipal capital improvements made to accommodate growth to be passed through via growth fees.

Manteca in the fiscal year ending June 30 collected $8,813,670 in growth fees and $875,358 in interest on funds already in various fee accounts.