REDMOND, OR -- The city of Redmond plans to increase its System Development Charge for transportation - those are fees paid by developers for roads and other infrastructure in the growing city. "We haven’t had a substantive increase since 2008," says Mayor Ed Fitch, "We’re way behind, in terms of some of the projects that are needed for transportation, both for congestion and safety." He tells KBND News, "There’s about a $15 million gap currently, in what we have as resources and what we need to do over the next five years. So, the city’s looking to increase the System Development Charge for transportation from about $5,600 to somewhere around $11,000 to $13,000."

Fitch says the City Council hopes to meet with the Cetral Oregon Builders Association before making a final decision, "We’re going to be talking to COBA and with Redmond Economic Development (REDI) to go over that and get their input." He says the question is not whether to raise SDCs, but by how much and when? "It’s challenging; we recognize that. So we may be staging in over time because certain projects were already in place or in development, and financing’s already lined up. So, we’ll be looking at how that gets phased in, as well."

Fitch says those conversations will take time, "We expect that process to take a couple months. Then, there’s about a two or three-month process to get hearings set and the change implemented. So, I expect it to be sometime around September."