News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Habitat for Humanity wants the City of Sisters to waive systems development charges for a proposed house in Sisters, as allowed under a new charter amendment.
But getting the waiver may put a financial burden on the nonprofit housing provider. According to city attorney Steve Bryant, if the housing doesn't stay "affordable," Habitat for Humanity would have to pay the city back for the SDCs that were waived.
The charter amendment, approved by voters November 3, requires maximum SDCs allowed by law. The amendment allows the city to waive SDCs for nonprofit affordable housing providers, but requires that the housing remain "affordable" for 50 years.
"I don't know what 'affordable' is and it's not defined (in the charter amendment)," Bryant told Habitat representatives at a city council meeting Thursday, November 12.
Habitat builds homes at less than market cost through donations and "sweat equity."
After 20 years, the family that lives there owns the home. At that point, the value of the home is subject to the market.
"The 50 years concerns me," Bryant said. "If it's no longer 'affordable' Habitat would have to reimburse the city for those fees."
According to Bryant, Habitat would have to come up with some mechanism for tracking "affordability" through possible multiple owners over the 50-year period.
"This is a can of worms," Bryant said.
One solution could be to defer SDCs and attach a lien to the property to cover the deferral, according to Bryant. If the "affordability" criteria was exceeded in this scenario, the current property owner would have to pay Habitat for the deferred SDC (with interest) and Habitat would reimburse the city.
Habitat also requested that the city waive building permit fees. City officials indicated that they could only waive the portion of the fees the city actually collects. Much of the city's inspection and permitting fees go to Mortier Engineering of Eugene, the contractor who provides the services.
Habitat agreed to come back to the city with a proposal for the SDC waiver that would address the difficulties raised by the charter requirements.
Another solution may be available. SDC consultant Shaun Pigott told mayor Steve Wilson and city administrator Barbara Warren that the city could make a policy decision to subsidize Habitat housing. If they decided to do that, Piggott said, the city could simply pay Habitat's SDCs out of the general fund.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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