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Portland home builders and developers are continuing to fight the fee increases on new construction that Commissioner Amanda Fritz pushed through City Hall last year. They argue in court papers filed last week that the city's fee increases should be ruled illegal.
The fees are known as system development charges, and in this case they were designated to go to Portland Parks and Recreation, which Fritz oversees.
City Council passed the fee increase in May 2015, resulting in fees on new residential and commercial development that were in some cases triple the original amount. The fees were based on sizes of projects, and one of the goals was to encourage developers to build smaller homes.
Business groups including the Portland Business Alliance, Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland and Oregon Association of Realtors, among others, opposed the fee increases.
In July 2015, the coalition of business groups filed a petition in Multnomah County Circuit Court arguing that the city blew it when it came to implementing the increases.
The city failed to provide plans that showed how the money would be spent, effectively breaking Oregon law, says the coalition's attorney, Paul Conable. SDC fees can be spent only on new construction necessitated by population growth.
At the end of May 2016, the city created a "short and cursory" plan, however, it still failed to explain how the SDC fees would be spent, says Conable.
A county judge ruled in favor of the coalition in June 2016.
"Notwithstanding that ruling," says Conable, "the city started collecting those fees on July 1."
The coalition filed a second petition in Multnomah County Circuit Court on July 25, stating "[the amended ordinance] is improper and only serves to further confuse an already botched process."
Jane Leo, governmental affairs director of Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors, says the coalition is looking out for homebuyers, who will pay higher prices if builders shoulder bigger fees.
"The fee is based on the size of the home, making assumptions about who is going to live in the home," Leo says.
City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, through her chief of staff, declined to comment on the pending legal battle.
The coalition wants the city to invalidate the fee increases and force the city to refund the amount of fees that they have collected since July 1.
Fritz doesn't appear swayed.
Monday, Fritz celebrated a $1.1 million set-aside for the Columbia Children's Arboretum in Northeast Portland, saying improvements to the park are possible only through the use of SDCs.
"SDCs help ensure that Portland's quality of life keeps pace with our growing and changing city by providing additional parks and recreation facilities needed to accommodate growth," Fritz said in a statement.
Willamette Week