Document text
Builders fume over sewer fee By DAVID PRESZLER Rogue Valley home builders are raising a stink about a change in sewer fees that increases the cost of building new homes, especially on smaller lots that are popular among first-time buyers. "It increases the cost of every darn lot in this valley $400 plus," says Lou Mahar of PacTrend Inc. Bear Creek Valley Sanitary Authority officials say the change simply spreads the cost of replacing sewer lines more evenly. They say the higher fees are needed to keep up with the cost of maintaining an aging system in face of growth. "There's a lot of development going on and a lot of our lines are getting older," says Chuck Root, the agency's manager. A year ago, the sanitary authority changed how it calculates collection system reimbursement fees, which pay for upgrading and replacing of sewer lines. Before the change, fees were based on the size of the lot. Builders were charged 2 cents per square foot with a maximum charge of $450 per house. Under the new system, each house is charged a flat fee of $550, regardless of lot size. The theory is that houses on larger lots produce just as much sewage as those on smaller ones, so it doesn't make sense to tie the fees to lot size. "It wasn't a real fair way to assess fees," says Carl Tappert, an engineer with the sanitary authority. "We tried to base it on what you actually send down the pipe." But the new method sharply increases fees for smaller, 6,000- to 8,000-square-foot lots that make up the bulk of new construction, Mahar says. At 2 cents a square foot, the old fee on a 7,500-square-foot lot was $150; now it's $550. And it's home buyers who will pay more. "It's a cost that we just pass off," Mahar says. "It just filters down." Mahar's biggest complaint is the manner in which the change was made. The sanitary authority says public hearings were held and notices of those hearings were published in accordance with the law. But Mahar says he and the valley's other leading builders, such as Steve DeCarlow of DeCarlow Homes and Bret Moore of W.L. Moore Construction, had no idea a change was being discussed. "Nobody had a clue," he says. "Everybody was blindsided." DeCarlow and Moore did not return phone calls seeking comment. Mahar says he and three other builders have hired an attorney to see what can be done to fight the increases. Root says proper notice was given to the public. As for notifying leading home builders, he says, "How many do you call?" In fact, he says, a note on an invoice sent to Mahar specifically included a heads up about the higher fees. "We try real hard to work with folks," he says. "We think what we are doing and how we are spending the money is benefiting them as well." Mahar questions the need for such significant increases. "This is a substantial increase in the money they are generating," he says. But Root says the higher fees are needed to help pay for upgrading and replacing sewer lines. "We are spending big bucks every year," he says. The sanitary authority has spent $2.7 million on system rehabilitation projects in the last three years and expects to spend an average of $1.8 million in each of the next three, according to Root. He says the collection system reimbursement fees will bring in about $200,000 a year. He says new homes take advantage of and add pressure to a system that earlier construction paid for, so the fees are a logical way to make sure everyone pays a fair share. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA