HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-03-13 SDC MIN SDC Committee Minutes
March 13, 1996 4 p.m.
Meeting Room, Community Center
Committee members present included Larry Medinger, Don Laws, Don Greene (who replaces Tim
Price), Daryl Boldt (who replaces Dave Bernard), Ken Hagen and Kevin Talbert, along with ex
officio member Sid Field. Staff present included Jill Turner, consultant, Wes Reynolds, Jim Olson,
John McLaughlin, Ken Mickelsen and Lynna Batters. Jack Nicholson was absent.
Laws called the meeting to order at 4:00.
Legality of Hosler Dam reimbursement. Greene observed that according to the handout, state law
allows reimbursement, however, he doesn't think the calculation for Hosler Dam follows that
guideline... Medinger says that since the dam hasn't been paid for by anyone lately, the legality of
the SDC can be questioned... Laws said that the City Attorney gave an opinion and the committee
must go by it. The attorney's opinion on this stated, "The SDC Committee has...questioned
whether reimbursement fees for Hosler Dam are an appropriate component of the SDCs. I will
leave the decision as to whether the fee is appropriate to the committee and the council. There is no
question that such component is legal. ORS 223.304(1)." Greene then requested that Nolte be asked
if the proposed methodologies are legal.
Time payments. Turner said that according to state law SDCs can be paid over time rather than up
front. This is different than the deferral allowed for affordable housing. The county allows ten
years, charged at 16% plus billing fees--they charge the highest interest rate possible.
Credits. Turner said credit for the transportation SDC is possible when a developer does major
work on arterial or collector streets that is not a part of the specific project. Relative to the water
supply SDCs, new houses are more efficient, this should be considered in the calculation. For TID
use, there could be credit available if the use could be transferred to the city. Credits are not likely
for sewer SDCs. As for storm drain $DCs, if the channel improvement is needed, credit is
probably appropriate.
Medinger noted that his project by Fordyce is taking considerable ranoff from the rest of the City,
to the point that it has gotten beyond their budget to do the work correctly... Green noted that state
law says improvements can't be on the property, they have to be adjacent to the property...
Reynolds said some cities have done reimbursement by contract.
Offsets. McLaughlin said this deals with what is existing on a site. For example, the old Sentry
Market which is being converted into a movie theater, already had sinks. Those fixtures were
subtracted from the new total to give a net increase. The developer was credited for what already
existed on site... Medinger asked what if it goes the other way in the future? If a new restaurant is
installed with $43,000 paid in SDCs and doesn't make it and the space is remodeled into a
warehouse, would the next user get credit because fixtures would be removed? McLaughlin said
no. And that SDC lines are not crossed when figuring credits.
Regarding up front payment of SDCs. Bob Gage asked if SDCs could be allocated on an annual
basis... Turner said that projects need to be operable immediately... Laws said that if SDCs were
based on square footage the fixture unit charges would be mellowed, and asked if there should be
different types of commercial SDCs... McLaughlin noted that with a development like the
Albertson's store, services need to be functional as soon as the doors open... To collect SDCs in
such a way that small or local businesses are favored is a political decision if the committee wishes
to address it... Laws also noted the possibility of phasing in the new SDC charges over a period of
time.
Fixture units in remodels. McLaughlin said he looked at records of 136 remodels. The averages
were 19.8 fixture units and 1,900 square feet. He thinks it makes sense to stick with the fixture unit
base for new construction but drop it for remodels. Fixture units work well for larger homes. Most
other cities use water line size, which means that an 800 sq. ft. home pays the same as a 4,500 sq.
ft. home... Medinger would like to see it based on square footage... Green disagrees. His
observation is that many remodels are for increased use... Boldt asked about basing SDCs on the
number of bedrooms... Reynolds said if that were the case the city would have to go in and look to
verify use... Green said there is not a total correlation to square footage and use... Turner noted that
outside the house influences determine peak use of water.
Talbert moved to have staff return with a workable policy to address minor modification at
remodels. No opposition. McLaughlin will return to tomorrow's meeting with a proposal.
Laws recapped that the committee wants to look at zones, theoretical vs. real transportation costs,
pay over time, phase in higher SDCs, offsets, a list of capital improvement projects, and a short list
of transportation projects.
Hagen said that regarding the impact of fees on development in the city, the SDC committee should
get as close to accurate SDC numbers as is possible and let the Council make the political decision
about whether to influence growth or development in some way.
The meeting adjourned at 5:30.
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