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Council adopts updated transportation SDCs; asks staff to review recreation trip counts
Summary
Council approved adoption of the city's updated system development charges (SDCs) based on 12th-edition ITE trip rates but directed staff to investigate a local memo arguing for a 50% reduction in trip counts for some recreation categories and to waive appeal fees for applicants affected while staff completes the review.
Bend City Council voted on June 17 to adopt updates to the city's system development charges (SDCs) — the developer-paid fees used to fund transportation capacity — that incorporate the Institute of Transportation Engineers 12th-edition trip rates. The adoption followed public testimony from a consultant who presented local trip data indicating many recreation trips are "pass-by" trips and argued for a 50% reduction to certain recreation trip counts.
Joe Bestman, who has coordinated surveys at local recreation centers, presented data from more than 370 patrons showing roughly half of trips to certain fitness and recreation facilities were pass-by trips (people stopping on the way to/from other destinations). He asked staff to apply a 50% reduction to trip counts for private and public recreation uses to reflect local behavior and to achieve equitable fees across development types. Staff said they had already incorporated the local study into one recreation category but needed more time to verify whether the memo's broader technical adjustments should be applied across private and public categories. Staff recommended adopting the SDC schedule as presented, then continuing to dig into the memo's technical claims and, if warranted, returning with modifications in the fall.
After adopting the SDC updates as presented, council approved an additional motion instructing staff to review the local memo and related implementation issues and to return with recommendations this fall. That motion also directed staff to waive city-level appeal fees for any applicant bringing a project within the contested recreation category during the review period (the applicants would still incur consultant costs to prepare appeals). The waiver is intended to remove a barrier to project-specific appeals while staff investigates potential methodology changes.
Councilors emphasized the desire to rely on local data where possible but also recognized the technical complexity of trip-generation methodology and the need for a careful, documented response. Staff said they would incorporate any modifications into the supplemental transportation-SDC schedule and bring them back at a fall meeting for adoption if warranted.
