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§ 31.14  ABANDONMENT OF PROCEEDINGS.
   The Council shall have full power and authority to abandon and rescind proceedings for improvements made under this chapter at any time prior to the final completion of such improvements; and if liens have been assessed upon any property under such procedure, they shall be canceled; and any payments made on such assessments shall be refunded to the person paying the same, his or her assigns, or legal representatives.
(Prior Code, § 31.14)  (Ord. 120, passed 2-1-1971)
§ 31.15  CURATIVE PROVISIONS.
   No improvement assessment shall be rendered invalid by reason of a failure of the Engineer’s report to contain all of the information required by § 31.01 of this chapter, or by reason of failure to have all of the information required to be in the improvement resolution, the assessment ordinance, the lien docket, or notices required to be published and mailed, nor by the failure to list the name of, or mail notice to the owner of any property as required by this chapter, or by reason of any other error, mistake, delay, omission, irregularity, or other act, jurisdictional or otherwise, in any of the proceedings or steps herein specified, unless it appears that the assessment is unfair or unjust in its effect upon the person complaining; and the Council shall have the power and authority to remedy and correct all such matters by suitable action and proceedings.
(Prior Code, § 31.15)  (Ord. 120, passed 2-1-1971)
§ 31.16  REASSESSMENT.
   Whenever any assessment, deficit, or reassessment for any improvement which has been made by the city has been, or shall be, set aside, annulled, declared or rendered void, or its enforcement restrained by any court of this state, or any federal court having jurisdiction thereof, or when the Council shall be in doubt as to the validity of such assessment, deficit assessment, or reassessment, or any part thereof, then the Council may make a reassessment in the manner provided by the laws of the state.
(Prior Code, § 31.16)  (Ord. 120, passed 2-1-1971)
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT CHARGES
§ 31.30  PURPOSE AND CLASSIFICATION; EMERGENCY CLAUSE.
   (A)   Purpose. The purpose of the system development charge is to impose an equitable share of the public costs of capital improvements for water, sewers, and wastewater drainage, streets, flood control, and parks upon those developments and redevelopments that create the need for, or increase the demands on, capital improvements.
   (B)   Scope. The system development charges as imposed by this section are separate from, and in addition to, any applicable tax, assessment, charge, fee in lieu of assessment, exaction, dedication, or fee otherwise provided by law or imposed as a condition of development approval application.
   (C)   Classification. Any fee, rates, or charges imposed by this subchapter are not a tax subject to the property tax limitations of Oregon State Constitution Article XI, § 11(b).
   (D)   Emergency clause. Whereas passage of this subchapter is deemed to be necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the city, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, and this subchapter shall be in full force and effect upon its passage by the City Council and approval of the Mayor.
§ 31.31  DEFINITIONS.
   For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
   ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGE. The amount charged to each development to cover the cost of developing the methodologies, providing an annual accounting of system development charge expenditures, implementation, and operational costs associated with the system development charge program.
   CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT. Public facilities or assets used for the following:
      (1)   Water supply, treatment, and distribution;
      (2)   Wastewater collection, transmission, treatment, and disposal;
      (3)   Drainage and flood control;
      (4)   Transportation, including, but not limited to, streets, sidewalks, bicycle lanes, multi-use paths, street lights, traffic signs and signals, pavement markings, street trees, swales, public transportation, vehicle parking, and bridges; or
      (5)   Parks and recreation, including, but not limited to, community parks, public open space and trail systems, recreational buildings, courts, fields, and other like facilities.
   CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT. Does not include costs of the operation or routine maintenance of CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS.
   DEVELOPER. The person, builder, applicant, permittee, or firm developing land, making the improvement, or building or modifying a structure.
   DEVELOPMENT. All improvements on a site, including buildings, other structures, parking and loading areas, landscaping, paved or graveled areas, and areas devoted to exterior display, storage, or activities, any building permit resulting in increased usage of capital improvements, and any new connection or increased size connection for a capital improvement.
      (1)   DEVELOPMENT includes the redevelopment of property.
      (2)   DEVELOPMENT also includes improved open areas, such as plazas and walkways, but does not include natural geologic forms or unimproved lands.
   IMPROVEMENT FEE. A fee for costs associated with capital improvements to be constructed after the date the fee is adopted pursuant to § 31.32.
   LAND AREA. The area of a parcel of land as measured by projection of the parcel boundaries upon a horizontal plane, with the exception of a portion of the parcel within a recorded right-of-way or easement subject to a servitude for a public street or for a public scenic or preservation purpose.
   OWNER. The owner or owners of record, title, or the purchaser or purchasers under a recorded land sales agreement, and other persons having an interest of record in the described real property.
   PARCEL OF LAND. A lot, parcel, block, or other tract of land that is occupied, or may be occupied, by a structure or structures or other use, and that includes the yards and other open spaces required under the zoning, subdivision, or other development ordinances.
   QUALIFIED PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. A capital improvement that is required as a condition of development approval, identified in the plan adopted pursuant to § 31.36; and either:
      (1)   Not located on, or contiguous to, property that is the subject of the development approval; or
      (2)   Located in whole or in part on, or contiguous to, property that is the subject of development approval and required to be built larger, or with greater capacity than is necessary, for the particular development project to which the improvement fee is related.
   REIMBURSEMENT FEE. A fee for costs associated with capital improvements already constructed, or under construction when the fee is established, for which the City Council determines that capacity exists.
   SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT CHARGE. A reimbursement fee, an improvement fee, or a combination thereof, assessed or collected at the time of increased usage of a capital improvement or issuance of a development permit, building permit, or connection to the capital improvement.
      (1)   SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT CHARGE includes the portion of a sewer or water system connection charge that is greater than the amount necessary to reimburse the city for its average cost of inspecting and installing connections with water and sewer facilities.
      (2)   SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT CHARGE does not include any fees assessed or collected as part of a local improvement district or a charge in lieu of a local improvement district assessment, or the cost of complying with requirements or conditions imposed upon a land use decision, expedited land use division, or limited land use decision.
(Ord. 2021-02, passed 3-22-2021)
§ 31.32  ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.
   (A)   System development charges shall be established and may be revised by resolution of the City Council. The resolution shall set the amount of the charge through a methodology developed pursuant to § 31.33 herein, the type of permit to which the charge applies, and, if the charge applies to a geographic area smaller than the entire city, the geographic area subject to the charge. Changes in the system development charges shall also be adopted by resolution, excepting those changes resulting solely from inflationary cost impacts.
   (B)   All system development charges will be indexed. The indexing will be based on the Engineering News Record Construction Cost Index for Seattle, Washington for December of each year, and they will be increased on April 1 each subsequent year.
   (C)   Unless otherwise exempted by the provisions of this subchapter, or by other local or state law, a system development charge is hereby imposed upon all development within the city upon issuance of permit, as stated in § 31.37 herein, or upon the act of making a connection to the city’s water or sewer system within the city, whichever occurs first, and upon all development outside the boundary of the city that connects to, or otherwise uses, the sewer facilities, storm sewers, or water facilities of the city.
   (D)   Administrative costs for the city’s system development charge program are estimated and include the periodic and on-going direct and indirect costs associated with complying with the requirement of state law and the cost of administering system development charges. An administrative charge shall be incurred when one of the following occurs.
      (1)   When a redevelopment occurs that changes the use of a building in its entirety, and it is determined that usage of any capital improvement is increased or there is need of additional capital improvements, the associated administrative fee will be calculated as either a percentage rate of the net charge after credits are applied, or at a flat rate, whichever is higher, as listed in division (E) below.
      (2)   When a redevelopment permit application (other than for redevelopment that changes the use of a building in its entirety) requires a detailed review to determine that there will be no increased usage of any capital improvement and no additional capital improvements will be needed, the associated administrative fee will be applied at a flat rate as listed in division (E) below.
      (3)   When an system development charge is imposed for all other development, the associated administrative fee will be calculated as a percentage rate of the net charge after credits for previous use and impact reduction are applied, or at a flat rate, whichever is higher, as listed in division (E) below.
   (E)   The administration fees charged in accordance with division (D) above will be as follows:
      (1)   If based on percentage, as described in division (D) above: 5%; or
      (2)   If based on flat rate, as described in division (D) above: $100.
   (F)   An administrative charge calculated shall not exceed a maximum amount of $30,000 for a single permit issued. If multiple permits are issued for different phases of the same development, the maximum administrative charge shall be applied to each permit independently.
(Ord. 2021-02, passed 3-22-2021)
§ 31.33  METHODOLOGY TO ESTABLISH OR MODIFY A REIMBURSEMENT FEE.
   (A)   The methodology used to establish or modify a reimbursement fee shall promote the objective of future system users contributing not more than an equitable share to the cost of existing facilities and be available for public inspection. The methodology used to establish or modify a reimbursement fee shall, where applicable, be based on:
      (1)   Ratemaking principles employed to finance publicly-owned capital improvements;
      (2)   Prior contributions by existing users;
      (3)   Gifts or grants from federal or state government or private persons;
      (4)   The value of unused capacity available to future system users or the cost of the existing facilities; and
      (5)   Other relevant factors identified by the City Council.
   (B)   The methodology used to establish or modify an improvement fee shall, where applicable, demonstrate consideration of the estimated cost of projected capital improvements identified in an improvement plan (see § 31.36) that are needed to increase the capacity of the systems to which the fee is related. The methodology shall be calculated to obtain the cost of capital improvements for the projected need for available system capacity for future system users.
   (C)   The methodology used to establish or modify a reimbursement fee or improvement fee shall be contained in a resolution adopted by the City Council and reviewed annually.
(Ord. 2021-02, passed 3-22-2021)
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