At the City of Newberg, we utilize System Development Charges (SDCs) to fund water, wastewater, transportation, and stormwater projects that have been identified in our master plans. SDCs are one-time charges to individuals, developers, and projects who are developing a vacant piece of property, redeveloping a property, or changing what a property is used for.
The money collected is used to build or reimburse necessary capital improvement projects needed to support an increased population or increased use caused by the new development. These charges allow some of the cost of increasing our infrastructure capacity and responding to population growth to be paid for by those developing property rather than the cost falling fully on current residents. When a property is developed or redeveloped, we charge SDCs based on what the new infrastructure need is for the property.
Newberg’s SDCs are calculated based on established guidelines from Oregon legislation. Under the SDC FAQ, you can find the new SDC models with calculators and an Information Guide.
If you would like to examine the SDC models that underpin our charges they are available below:
Storm water SDC model
Transportation SDC model
Waste water SDC model
Water SDC model.
Permits issued on or after April 1, 2024 will be subject to the rates in effect at that time based on the new SDC models adopted by the City Council on 2/20/2024 with Ordinance No. 2024-2922.
You can find our current rates for System Development Charges in our Master Fee Schedule:
Finance documents and forms
The resolution that brought our current model into effect can be found below:
Res No. 2024-3920, adopted by City Council March 18, 2024
Here is a quick guide to our current SDC charges and incentive programs that were initiated in 2024:
System Development Update 2024
In some cases, SDC credits are available to offset System Development charges if a developer is carrying out an identified public improvement (for needed city infrastructure). Critically these improvements MUST create recognized public improvements listed on one of the City of Newberg’s SDC models (also found on this page). If the project is an identified public improvement on our SDC list you can use this application process, linked below, to seek credits for the work:
SDC Credit Request
Frequently asked questions about SDCs
System Development Charges or SDCs are one-time charges for those developing a vacant piece of property, or someone redeveloping a property.
They fall into one of five categories:
- Water
- Wastewater
- Stormwater
- Transportation
- Chehalem Parks and Recreation District charge
The City of Newberg controls water, wastewater, stormwater, and transportation SDCs.
We charge developers SDCs because infrastructure such as pipes, roads, and pump stations are needed to provide new developments access to these fundamental services. SDCs allow developers, rather than residents, to bear the cost of projects that have either increased our existing capacity or will be needed in the future to serve a growing population. The projects funded by SDCs are identified in the Capital Project Lists within the Transportation, Water, Wastewater, and Storm Water SDC Models adopted with Ordinance No. 2024-2922.
When a property is developed or redeveloped we charge SDCs based on what the new infrastructure need is for the property.
SDCs fall into three categories:
1. Reimbursement fees: Reimbursement fees reimburse the City for infrastructure projects they have already completed that helped increase the capacity. Rather than taxpayers bearing this cost on their own, SDCs “reimburse” the City for the cost of creating infrastructure with more capacity than is needed, with the knowledge that when there is new development, this capacity will be needed. Reimbursement fees essentially pay the City back for being proactive in their infrastructure development.
2. Improvement fees: Improvement fees fund projects that have been identified in our Master Plans. These projects are meant to meet the need for population growth and allow the City to grow in the future. They also help fund replacing outdated systems that need to be improved.
3. Compliance costs: Compliance costs help fund the administrative cost of charging SDCs including the methodology used to calculate SDCs and the master planning involved. This ensures we are using SDC funds for their intended use and helps us determine the cost of SDCs every year.
There are different categories of development when it comes to SDCs. We charge the development of a single-family residence differently than the development of a restaurant, which we charge differently than a manufacturing facility, health/fitness club, etc.
Each component of a SDC (water, wastewater, stormwater, and transportation) is calculated differently. For all four components, we calculate an amount based on our list of both projects that already increased capacity and projects that will need to be provided in the future, we then use a formula to turn this amount into a dollar figure that can be used to calculate SDCs based on the following information about the development itself:
- The water charge is based on the meter size and whether the development needs a potable or a non-potable system. A manufacturing plant will likely need a larger water meter than a single-family residence.
- The wastewater charge is based on the number of fixture units planned to have in a unit. Most single-family homes are 18 fixture units. Fixtures include items like showers, toilets, a kitchen sink, laundry machines, a dishwasher, and so on. The amount of fixture units used in calculating the SDC fee is derived from the uniform plumbing code. Some fixtures like a bath tub equate to one fixture unit while others like a shower equate to more than one fixture unit.
- The stormwater charge is based on the amount of new “impervious surface” or hard surfaces created. An impervious surface is a structure like a road, sidewalks, driveways, distribution centers, etc., that are covered with water-resistant material like asphalt, concrete, or rooftops.
- The transportation charge is calculated based on the “land use”, “units”, and trips during peak hours both in a vehicle and as a pedestrian. Land use references the type of development, from a hotel to a golf course to a library to a single-family home, and so on. Units are determined by the land use – so you might calculate based on square footage size, or on the amount of acreage, or on the number of rooms. The City uses the Institute of Transportation Engineers Manual to determine trip rates for peak hours.
Please note that the project lists contain a few key terms that reference how much money the city can use from SDCs to build capital infrastructure. These include:
City Construction Factor
This is the percentage of a given capital project that the city is allowed to spend SDC revenue on. The more a project expands our infrastructure the more SDC funds can be spent on that project.
City $ Eligible
This is the city construction factor for the listed SDC value expressed as a dollar amount. When the project is built this amount of SDC money can be used to build it from Newberg's SDC reserves.
There are a couple of ways a developer can lower the cost of an SDC.
- If the property is being redeveloped, rather than paying the full cost of the SDC, the applicant pays the difference in the fee between charges for the old and new use of the property.
- If the development is a “qualified public improvement” meaning the improvement being proposed is required in order for a development to be approved, is already included in one of our master plans, and is either not part of the land already being developed or is part of the land, but must be developed in a larger capacity than would have if it was just a part of the development, the developer can receive a credit for the difference in the larger improvement. For example, in order to be approved, we’ve told a developer they must install a 12-inch pipe as it has been identified in one of our master plans. For their project, the developer only needed an 8-inch pipe. They can receive a credit for the extra amount they had to pay to install a bigger pipe.
- Additionally, every year there are two waivers for the water and wastewater SDCs available for single-family residential developments for homes being built for low or moderate-income residents.
Additional amendments to Newberg Municipal Code Section 13.05 became effective on April 1, 2024 after the City Council passed Ordinance 2024-2922. These include additional Incentive Programs to encourage development. See the attached document on System Development Charge Information for more details.
- Chehalem Water and Wastewater Extensions
- E Crestview Drive Extension
- N Elliott Road Improvement Project
