Astoria council signals support to move to second phase of system development charges, asks staff to study deferrals and housing relief

Astoria City Councilors on Monday discussed proposed second‑phase increases to the city’s system development charges, signaling support for ordinance changes to advance the fee schedule and asking staff to return with language on payment deferrals and options to relieve or subsidize SDCs for affordable housing.

John Guillerducci, principal at FCS Group, summarized the state law framework and the city’s calculation method for SDCs, saying: "These are the one‑time fees paid at the time of development by new development." He described two components of SDCs — a reimbursement fee for buy‑in to existing unused capacity and an improvement fee based on planned, capacity‑increasing projects — and warned that SDC revenues may be used only for capital projects, not operations.

The consultant showed the city has collected about $110,000 since the program’s initial phase in 2023 and described the proposed three‑year phase‑in. Under the presentation, a typical single‑family residence would face a total SDC (all five services combined) of roughly $15,000 at full implementation; the staff recommendation for step two would move fees substantially closer to that level,…