Happy Valley’s Large SDC Increase Proposal

Happy Valley’s Large SDC Increase Proposal

Happy Valley is considering a major overhaul of its SDCs that, on the high end, could add roughly $28,000 in combined transportation and parks SDCs to a typical new single-family home. HBA’s review has raised serious concerns about both the methodology and how costs are split between reimbursement and improvement fees.

According to Happy Valley staff, the proposal Councilors will consider at a public hearing on November 3 calls for annual 10% increases in both the transportation and parks SDCs. While this results in a lower final cost than the SDC methodology shared with stakeholders, it still means that at the end of the phase-in period, the total SDC cost for a single-family home would exceed $61,000, on par with the highest rates in the region.

SDC phase-ins aren’t simply dependent on what a city wants to do, but on what the market will support. HBA feedback to the Happy Valley City Council has asked it to pause adoption of the SDCs until staff can meet with builders to talk through the proposal, a best-practice step that was skipped during this process.

You can view the HBA’s letter to Happy Valley City Council and staff here. Conversations with the Happy Valley City Council are ongoing. If you’re developing in the area and would like to provide input, please reach out to Tim Shumaker, Deputy Director of Government Affairs, at TimS@hbapdx.org for more details.