City needs help revising infrastructure charges

The City of Sisters is taking a look at the fees it charges for new houses or commercial buildings to hook up to water and sewer systems and to use the city street network.

Such fees, called Systems Development Charges (SDCs), are designed to make growth pay for its impacts on city infrastructure. The city is revising its SDCs to make sure the charges are adequate and are fair.

A six- to nine-person citizens advisory committee is being formed to take a look at the SDC plan.

“We’re still in need of people for our SDC advisory committee,” said City Manager Eileen Stein. “We just want a balance of perspectives on the committee.”

Currently four people have expressed interest in serving, Stein said.

There has been some indication recently that planners believe Sisters’ transportation SDC is too low. Sisters currently charges $133 “per vehicle trip” generated by the new development. If a commercial use is calculated to generate 10 trips, the SDC would be $1,330.

Stein said that among local cities’ SDCs, “ours is certainly the lowest of all of them.”

The SDC revision involves more than simply re-calculating SDCs, however. The committee will also take a look at how the charges are calculated.

Restaurateurs have long argued that calculating water and sewer SDCs based on the number of seats is unfair and makes it uneconomical for a successful restaurant to add a few seats.

The committee will review methodology to determine whether that method of calculation is accurate and fair.

For more information contact City Hall at 549-6022.