What Have We Done For You Lately?

Updates from the HBA Government Affairs Team

Legislature Passes Higher Taxes-Even with intense opposition from business groups across all spectrums, the Oregon House and Senate passed increased taxes on corporations totaling $261 million over the next two years. HBA, and our state association (OHBA), lobbied against these tax increases, due to the impact they will have on small businesses and that "gross revenue" calculations don't reflect profitability margins. OHBA and HBA are now considering support for citizen referrals on this bill.

Plat Extensions & SDC Deferrals-The HBA campaign for plat extensions and SDC payment options/deferrals is winding down and there have been several significant successes. We started this campaign with the primary goal of getting jurisdictions to provide plat extensions and wound up getting many to extend plats and do more. Go to our website or look at the July issue of HBN for more information.

Tigard Tree Ordinance- HBA provided testimony and legal work to push back against onerous tree ordinance changes being considered by Tigard. The city council agreed to delay its decision until July and is looking into some alternatives to address our concerns.

Oak Lodge Sanitary District-At its hearing on June 9, the OLSD board directed staff to revise the methodology that recommended increasing its sewer SDC to $5,023. The hearing on the revised methodology will be Sept. 8. It will likely be about $140 higher than the above amount and be effective after the hearing.

Clean Water Services (Wash. Co) – CWS will increase its sewer SDC to $3,600 on July 1.

Tualatin Valley Water District - TVWD deferred the SDC increase that was scheduled for June 1 to an effective date of Sept 1. The current rate is $4,755 and will increase to $5,538 on that date.

SDC’s-Below is a list of scheduled SDC increases. As always, plans submitted for review prior to an effective date will preserve the current fee and avoid the increase:

July 1: Wash Co. Transp. TDT           +$1,209 (Assuming the considered amendments take place, the increase will be only +$79)
July 1: Clean Water Services, sewer  +$500
Sept 1: Tualatin Valley, water              +$783
Sept 1: City of Beaverton, water          +$1,056
Sept 9: Oak Lodge Sanitary, sewer    +$3,496

Plat Extensions/SDC Payment Plan Options and Deferrals Campaign

The HBAMP campaign for Plat Extensions, SDC Payment Options/Deferrals is winding down and there have been several significant successes. We started this campaign with the primary goal of getting jurisdictions to provide plat extensions and wound up getting many to extend plats and do more! Here is where we are currently:

1. Washington County, who we leaned on very hard, is doing the following:

A. Making Plat Extensions a Type I rather than Type II hearing, alleviating the need for public input and making this an administrative decision. This is a huge benefit.
B. The WCCC is recommending to the Board of Commissioners that the TDT implementation be delayed by a full year and that the implementation still be over a four year period. This will allow plats sitting in the queue to be built at nearly the same rate as the current TIF and next year at a smaller increase. Given this was voter approved, it’s a big deal.
C. Offering financing options on SDC’s upon request. Washington County is not going to start a new program without demand, but will work with any developer who needs this option.
2. Clackamas County has been the most cooperative jurisdiction, pointing out that you can extend plats indefinitely in the County so long as you come in and ask to do so and you meet with staff once per year. There is no fee for this. In addition, Clackamas County now offers financing for up to ten years for SDC’s so long as they are paid out at closing of a sale.
3. City of Portland is still in the process of extending plats, but this is on the agenda and they are working toward it.
4. Happy Valley, Fairview, St. Helens, Newberg, West Linn and Hillsboro have all either passed an ordinance or indicated they will extend plats for a finite period of time without fees.

We targeted the above specific jurisdictions because the most significant building had occurred over the past five years in these areas. However, we originally asked all jurisdictions in the Metro Area to engage in the process. Many did not respond, while the following responded negatively:

1. City of Tigard—“This is a national problem and we do not care”
2. City of Gresham—“This is a problem but we are too busy to deal with it”
3. City of Oregon City—“We are broke and need the money”

Please keep this in mind the next time you purchase property in a specific jurisdiction.

ARCHIVES

May GA Updates (CS)
April GA Updates (CS)

For more information, contact Interim VP of Government Affairs Joe Keizur at 503-332-2047 or Local Government Affairs Director Ernie Platt at 503-684-1880.