YACHATS — The city of Yachats has updated its policy on system development charges, which are incurred when someone builds a new home or business and connects to city services.
The city is changing its policy to match all other municipalities in Lincoln County, which is to accept payments only when the city planner approves building plans and before connecting to the water, sewer or storm drain system.
All SDCs must be paid prior to issuing building and development permits or a permit to connect to the water, sewer or storm drain system within Yachats. Fees collected will be credited to the specific lot paid for and cannot be transferred to another lot.
If the connection to the system does not occur within one year of payment and the amount of SDC increases by the time a connection is made, the applicant is responsible for paying the difference.
If a property owner fails to connect the city’s system two years after the fees have been paid, a refund will be made upon receipt of a written request. Any future development of the lot will require payment of all SDC fees at the rate when a new application is approved.
The conversation about updating the SDC policy came up when the city council was asked to look at the suggested ways to increase revenue for water and wastewater enterprise funds.
Finance committee members and city officials said property owners who prepaid years ago are not paying the full cost of the current system or for its upkeep. Total charges today to connect to the city’s storm drain, water and sewer system is $17,122.
There are currently 51 property owners who pre-paid SDCs for water service, 55 for sewer and eight for storm drain that date back to 1974. Those will be grandfathered in as long as the lot is owned by the same owner who paid the fees.
