Oregon City commission advances parks SDC methodology; staffs to start public-notice process

Oregon City commissioners on Tuesday reviewed an updated methodology for parks system development charges and directed staff to return the proposal to the Parks, Recreation and Aquatic Committee (PRAC) and begin the statutorily required 90-day public-notice and hearing schedule.

The commission heard a presentation from Deb Gallardi of Gallardi Rothstein Group, the city's SDC consultant, who said the revised package includes an updated project list, separated land acquisition and park development costs, and new residential and nonresidential charging schemes. "We are back before you with updated systems development charge calculations and, project list and schedule," Gallardi told the commission.

The changes discussed would add two projects to the SDC-eligible list: a 3-to-5-acre neighborhood park within the Park Place concept area and a redevelopment component at End of the Oregon Trail that focuses on parkland and SDC-eligible amenities. The consultant also reported that the growth-share SDC cost basis — the portion SDCs are designed to recover from future development — totals about $43 million, and that the overall SDC cost basis (including reimbursement and compliance components) is just over $51 million. Gallardi said reimbursement-fee capacity in the update is roughly…