Citizens study city’s SDC methods

A group of Sisters citizens is taking a close look at the way the city assesses impact fees on developers for sewer, water and streets.

The impact fees, known as Systems Development Charges or SDCs, are designed to make growth pay for its impact on city infrastructure. The city is revising its SDCs to make sure the charges are adequate and fair.

The committee will look at how SDCs are calculated. For example, 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.

That calculation is derived from a unit of measurement called an EDU (Equivalent Dwelling Unit), standard for all residential and commercial water and sewer SDCs.

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

The committee will ask: “Does the EDU method make the most sense or should it be on a square-foot basis or should it be water meter size or number of bedrooms (for a residence),” City Manager Eileen 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.”

She said the committee would also look at some kind of “pass-by trip discount” for businesses that are visited during drivers’ commutes but don’t necessarily generate a large number of trips by themselves.

Committee members are: Lisa Clausen, Jim Long, Caroline Lucas, Bill Merrill, Gary Miller, Merry Ann Moore, Bill Willitts and Steve Wilson. Brad Boyd and Sharlene Weed will represent the city council and Darryl Tewalt will represent the planning commission.

Stein said she was impressed by the brains and talent represented on the committee and said she expects a nuanced and sophisticated policy recommendation to come out of the meetings.

A recommendation may call for a mix of methodologies for different residential and commercial uses, Stein said.

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Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

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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