ARTICLE
At its regularly scheduled work session Monday night, the City of Wilsonville discussed proposed changes to its SDC Ordinance. Due to recent changes in its Water SDC, Wilsonville has some of the highest SDC rates in the region. In order to address these costs, the HBA met with the Mayor and staff to discuss the possibility of SDC collection reform. In response to the HBA’s advocacy, staff is currently reviewing two proposals that reduce the impact of SDCs on the cost of new housing. First, the city will consider vesting SDC rates upon the submission of a land use review application. Because rates change annually – and often times dramatically – it is extremely important for a builder to properly identify SDC rates early on in the development process. Second, the city will consider collecting SDCs immediately prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. By vesting SDCs earlier on in the development process and collecting SDCs later on the in the building process, the city can provide greater certainty while reducing the real costs to provide SDCs. To learn more about the HBA’s efforts to promote SDC collection reform, please contact Ezra Hammer at ezrah@hbapdx.org.