Habitat seeks fee waiver from city council

Faced with scarcity of land and skyrocketing prices, Sisters Habitat for Humanity is seeking a waiver of fees from the Sisters City Council for its future projects.

The fee waiver would save the organization about $10,000 per home constructed. Habitat’s average cost per house is $80,000, according to Habitat Director Sharlene Weed.

Fees include things like permits, but the main cost is in Systems Development Charges required of all developers to pay for impacts on water systems, sewers and streets.

Right now, the organization is having a hard time finding suitable land to build on. With costs going up, Habitat is seeking any way possible to hold costs down.

This is the second time in recent years that Habitat has sought a fee waiver from the city. Earlier, under the administration of Mayor Steve Wilson, the proposal was quickly shot down.

The current council appears more receptive.

“I would say (the council’s outlook) is evolving,” said City Manager Eileen Stein. “There is more sympathy to that request. But the council realizes that we are bound by the charter.”

The Sisters City Charter allows for fee waivers for affordable housing — if that housing remains “affordable” for 50 years.

According to Stein, some councilors are concerned that without protecting that 50-year requirement, the city will lose the inventory of affordable housing it now has.

Weed says she is sympathetic to that concern, but maintaining affordability is not part of Habitat’s mission. In fact, if everything goes the way it is supposed to with a Habitat home, the purchase allows a family to enter the housing market and move up.

“Part of what we want to do is to make sure that the family has an asset,” Weed said. “That’s how you break the cycle of poverty. many families have never hMd an asset. That’s huge.”

The charter requires that if a waiver is granted and the house later “does not conform” to the affordability requirements, all fees must be refunded to the city.

“We can’t say that the house will be ‘affordable’ in 50 years,” Weed said. “No, we cannot guarantee that. But we can guarantee that when that home is sold, the fees are refunded to the city.”

The council will likely act on Habitat’s request in the next couple of months.

In the meantime, Weed, who is also a city councilor, has to stay out of any council debate or action. City Attorney Steve Bryant advised her last month that she not only must recuse herself from a vote on the matter, she must also recuse herself from all discussions and deliberations of the council.