A. New development within the City of Hood River contributes to the need for capacity increases for roads and other transportation improvements, sewer, water, parks and storm water systems to serve the demand that new development places on the City’s systems and facilities. Therefore, new development should contribute to the funding for such capacity increasing improvements. The system development charges (SDC) provided for in this Chapter will fund a portion of the system capacity upgrades to the City’s transportation, water, sewer, and stormwater systems needed due to new development.

B. ORS 223.297 through 223.314 authorizes the City to impose SDC for a variety of capital improvement systems to equitably spread the costs of essential capacity increasing capital improvements to new development.

C. SDCs for these City systems are incurred upon application to develop property for a specific use or at a specific density. The decision regarding uses, densities, and/or intensities causes direct and proportional changes in the amount of the incurred charge. SDC are separate from other fees provided by law or imposed as a condition of development. An SDC is a fee for service because it contemplates a development’s receipt of municipal system services based upon the nature of that development.

D. The SDCs imposed by this Chapter are not taxes on property or on a property owner as a direct consequence of ownership of property within the meaning of Section 11b, Article XI of the Oregon Constitution or legislation implementing that section. This Chapter does not shift, transfer or convert a government product or service, wholly or partially paid for by ad valorem property taxes, to be paid for by a fee, assessment or other charge, within the meaning of Section 11g, Article XI of the Oregon Constitution.

E. SDCs are in addition to hook-up and similar charges required to be paid by new development to connect to public systems and facilities and are in addition to any applicable tax, assessment, charge, fee in lieu of assessment, or fee otherwise provided by law or imposed as a condition of development approval.

F. The funding provided by this Chapter constitutes a mandatory collection method based upon the guidelines set forth in ORS 223.297 through 223.314 to assure the construction of capacity increasing improvements to critical municipal systems and facilities that serve new development, including streets and other transportation system improvements, and similar system components of the City’s sewer, water, stormwater and parks systems.