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Date ArticleType
1/23/2020 Member News

Tigard Adopts HBA’s SDC Reform Proposal


On January 7th, the Tigard City Council adopted an HBA system development charge administrative reform proposal with an eye towards reducing the cost of new housing. At the direction of a unanimous City Council, staff brought forward an ordinance which allows for the deferral of SDCs until final inspection.

Under the old system, SDCs were charged and paid at the time that building permits were issued. This meant that if developers used construction loans to pay for their SDCs, they paid the carrying costs of those SDCs throughout the construction process. Additionally, construction loans are typically made at higher interest rates than conventionally-secured loans due to the higher level of risk. As a result, the costs of SDCs are higher in real terms the earlier they are charged.

These factors mean that by collecting SDCs nearer to the time of construction completion, Tigard is actively reducing the cost burden to developers and builders of new homes. Depending on project size and timeline, this simple reform can reduce the cost of building a new home by thousands of dollars without reducing the fees the city collects. To learn more about our efforts to advance SDC reform at the local and regional level, contact Ezra Hammer at ezrah@hbapdx.org.

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