Those Nasty Building Fees:

The Registerguard
Services versus Surcharges

July 17, 2005
by Joe Harwood

It takes a lot to shock Vicki Pattle, a successful businesswoman and mother of four grown children.
Yet, when Pattle and her husband decided to move into Eugene from rural Lane County and build their dream house, they faced a crash course in civic infrastructure finance that came as a nasty surprise.
Having selected a home design for a parcel in northeast Eugene, Pattle was baffled when her builder sent an invoice listing $5,118 for "systems development charges." Later, she was assessed an additional $1,860 in systems development charges, for a total tab of $6,978.
"My eyes about popped out of my head when I saw the systems development fees," Pattle said. "I didn't realize this was part of the package, because I've never lived in the city."
Many cities around Oregon and nationwide are levying ever-larger systems development charges, also known as impact fees. The money typically goes into each city's capital budget to help pay for the costs of growth - repairing streets, expanding sewage and water treatment plants, and revamping or expanding stormwater systems and parks.

Under state law, the charges can't be based on the value of a home. Rather, they must be derived from a standard formula applied to every house - so much per bathroom or kitchen sink - much like a sales tax or flat tax that doesn't take income levels into account. So, the fees on a spacious and expensive four-bedroom, two-bath new home will typically be similar to those on a small, bare-bones, three-bedroom, two-bath home.
In addition to the city-imposed systems development fees for roads, parks and sewers totaling $5,118, she paid a $1,860 fee to the Eugene Water & Electric Board for EWEB's future water treatment capacity.
"I don't have a problem with the fees and paying my share," Pattle said. "But I think there might be a better way to assess them so it's more equitable."
Fees based on impact
"We've been trying to convince the jurisdictions to find a way to charge more for higher-end homes, but we haven't had any luck," said Roxie Cuellar, director of government affairs for the Lane County Home Builders Association.
That's because under state law, cities can't vary the systems development charges based on home value.
Chad Ruhoff, president of Ruhoff Home Builders in Eugene, said development charges, plus fees for building permits, are primary factors contributing to the lack of affordable housing. Building permit fees vary depending on the value of a project and pay for the cost of city inspectors to review plans and visit sites to ensure that codes are followed.
"On a typical $250,000 house, we are seeing (systems development charges) and (building) permits going into the $10,000 to $11,000 range," he said. "It's getting really expensive."

in addition to the fees that is mentioned, they forgot to include that the residents of Eugene/Springfield are also SUBSIDIZING these new homes and development with our ever-increasing utility fees.

The article states that some of the money will help pay for "repairing streets, expanding sewer and water treatment systems and parks."

The only road repairs as I see going on in the Eugene/Springfield area, are the roads that you have to ask yourself "why are they repairing this road? It looks fine to me" as your four wheeling down one of the main city streets trying to avoid the massive potholes.

I almost forgot to mention, the new construction for the high speeds 16 mile an hour bus line. Silly me.

Do not get me wrong; I understand the city must have fees to operate. However, sometimes as with any government agency, it can seem like they are just an open pit to throw money into and we do not get anything in return. (Thinking back 20 years ago when utilities only cost me $30 a month)