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Council approves new SDC rate But developers get permit window By Jessica Smith Developers will pay higher fees to build homes in Medford, but a four-month grace period may spare some the increased costs. The Medford City Council voted 6-1 Thursday to approve the street fee increases, despite concerns expressed by some who said they feared the fee hike�s impact on affordable housing. Councilman Jim Key cast the lone dissenting vote. "There�s all kinds of excuses why we shouldn�t go ahead (with the fee increase) but there�s no reasons," Councilman Bill Moore said before the vote. Regardless of the effects on housing growth, Moore argued the increased street fees will ensure the city follows through on its long-standing commitment to solve Medford�s most pressing transportation needs, including the planned south Interstate 5 interchange overhaul. As approved, the city will more than double the street fee and charge an extra $1,630 for each new house. Increases in the street fees, combined with other system charges, will bring the total bill for a single-family home to $6,362, about 33 percent more than is now charged. The costs would be more for multiple-unit and commercial developments. More than a dozen people spoke to the council on the proposed increases, some arguing that the new charges would drive up costs for developers and shut down the affordable-home market. Others, meanwhile, said the fee increase and subsequent improvements to Medford streets, would open up more land for development and decrease costs over time. City Manager Mike Dyal warned the council that a delay in the increases could cause a rush on building permit applications by developers who want to avoid paying higher fees. The city proposed implementing the new fees in October. The council, however, voted to delay the fee increase until Jan. 1, 2001, allowing developers who apply for building permits by Dec. 31 to circumvent the new charges. Most of the planned fee increase comes from a $1,000 surcharge for developers to pay for the south interchange overhaul, also approved by the council Thursday. The surcharge would pay for both the $5 million in contributions agreed to by the city and the private sector in a deal with the state to move the project ahead, despite a current lack of funding. City officials, however, pulled another fee increase from the agenda Thursday. Discussion on proposed increases in the street utility fee, paid monthly by Medford households, was postponed to allow city engineers to develop a phased schedule for the fee increases. In other news Thursday, the council: Approved a 5 percent pay raise for Dyal. The city manager will be paid $116,550 in 2000-2001, up from his $111,000 salary the previous year. Approved a $145,000 payment to developer Noel Moore for construction on the East McAndrews Road extension. The money reimburses Moore for his work on the road. Medford third highest in county Approved increases to the city�s street fees won�t have much impact on how Medford ranks with other Oregon cities. According to 1998 figures, the total system development fee charged to a new single family home in Medford is lower than at least eight other cities with similar populations. A headline on an earlier story and an editorial reported that Medford�s system charges were second highest in the state. Locally, Medford appears to have the third highest total development fees. Here�s how Medford stacks up with a partial list of local cities and the system development fees charged to new homes: Ashland � $8,680 Eagle Point � $6,649 Medford � $6,362 Shady Cove � $5,645 Central Point � $5,330 Jacksonville � $5,002 Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA