ARTICLE
Consideration of tiered SDCs at a variety of jurisdictions for transportation and parks is becoming increasingly common. With such a wide range of members with varying business models and varying opinions on the subject, the matter has been referred to an HBA subcommittee for further consideration. One such jurisdiction currently looking at tiered SDCS is Clackamas County Clackamas County recently updated their transportation system development charge methodology. As a part of the updating process, the County Commissioners directed staff to convene a stakeholder group to further study what a tiered rate would look like and whether or not it would be a fair, effective and promote affordability. The idea of a tiered rate is that smaller homes would have less of an impact on the system and therefore could pay less in SDCs. The Clackamas County group has already met once, with the HBA in attendance, and will meet again in December after completing further study based on the first meeting’s directions. With that, the HBA subcommittee on SDCs will meet before then to offer some insight on behalf of our association based on subcommittee discussions. The idea of tiered SDCs has been prevalent in our region for some time. In 2015, Portland City Council voted 3-2 to modify how it assigns SDCs for parks to new developments. The modification involved foundational changes in how the fees were calculated—including a change that meant larger homes pay more. The Parks 2015 Methodology Update was adopted by City Council on May 27, 2015. Methodology changes took effect July 1, 2016. The HBA was involved in a related legal challenge to a separate policy decision in the update, you can read more about that here. This meeting seeks to establish an official policy position for the HBA of Metropolitan Portland, as we have yet to formulate an official position on the concept. If you are interested in participating in the subcommittee meeting please contact HBA staff at jamesa@hbapdx.org