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Welcome

Clackamas County is updating Transportation System Development Charges (TSDCs) in unincorporated Clackamas County.

Learn what these fees are and why they matter, and provide your input through this interactive open house.

This site is no longer accepting comments, but you can provide feedback through the project website.

Where do you want to go?

1
Learn about the basic purpose and function of Transportation System Development Charges. 
2
Explore the list of potential projects and provide feedback. 
3
Learn what we are considering doing to simplify rates and provide your input. 
4
Learn how traffic is calculated and let us know what you think about the options. 
5
Learn how you can be involved in the process and tell us a little about yourself. 

= Page includes questions or opportunities for comment.

About Transportation System Development Charges

These fees support new development by making investments to accommodate increased traffic.

Video: 1 min 4 sec

What are TSDCs?

These are one-time fees paid by developers when they build a new residential or commercial development. The fee covers part of the cost of building transportation facilities to serve new development—like the roads and sidewalks that people use to get where they need to go.

How are the fees calculated?

Development that adds more traffic has higher rates. For example, the low amount of traffic to and from a new single-family home will have less impact than the larger amount of traffic generated by a new grocery store or movie theater. As a result, the fee will be lower for the home.

What is the money spent on?

The county uses the money for projects that provide space for the additional traffic created by new development.

We have used TSDC revenue as matching funds for projects all over the county, including:

  • Government Camp
  • Clackamas Regional Center
  • Stafford/Borland Area
  • Sunnyside Road/172nd Avenue
  • Canby and the Arndt Road area

What is the TSDC update?

County staff is working with a group of representatives from the development community, home builders and engineering firms to make recommendations related to the future of TSDCs in Clackamas County.

This group is considering:

  • Developing a new rate that balances the need to fund transportation improvements while taking into account the constant increase in total development costs.
  • Identifying criteria for selecting projects that are eligible to be funded with revenue from these fees.
  • Ways to simplify the rate structure, making it easier for developers and community members to estimate fees.

We need your feedback.

On the following pages, you can learn about the changes we’re considering, and provide your comments. We will take your input into account as we make decisions about the program.

Potential Projects

We can only use TSDC funds to build projects focused on accommodating traffic growth created by new development. Review the draft project list below, then give us your feedback.

How does a project make it onto the TSDC project list?

The working group identified projects that focus on growth created by new development based on the following criteria:

  • Increase traffic connections to daily needs and services.
  • Reduce congestion at intersections.
  • Are located in or near a current or future employment area.
  • Improve safety on roads.
  • Provide the greatest benefit to the entire community by keeping projects on roads with significant amounts of traffic, such as arterials and collectors.

The group removed the following projects from the list:

  • Projects not planned for construction in the next 10-years.
  • Studies, with no construction planned.
  • Multi-use pathways.
  • Projects that are already funded or under construction.

Draft Project List

Explore the Project Map and Project List Table tabs below to learn about the 76 projects on the draft TSDC project list. Then answer the questions on the QUESTIONS tab.


Map Legend

ProjectProject List Menu
Congested corridorCounty BorderView Full Screen

Explore the map below to learn about the 76 projects on the draft TSDC project list. Then answer the questions below.

(The projects listed in this table are the same as shown on the project map.)

Many of the projects on this list are still under development and will be defined in more detail as they get closer to implementation.

Download the Clackamas County TSDC Project List (pdf, 99kb)

Do you believe we used the right criteria to identify projects? (Check one.)
Do you believe the project list focuses on roads and intersections that would benefit a majority of travelers in that area? (Check one.)
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Simplifying the Rates

TSDC rates differ among land use categories based on how many trips a new development will add to the transportation system. For example, the fee for a single-family home is lower than the fee for a large grocery store because of the smaller number of trips it generates.

Specific rates or general categories?

Currently, Clackamas County has 94 separate rates. Reducing the number of rates would make it easier for developers and community members to identify the correct rate, but general rates could change the amount paid for different types of development.

We can use the current approach, or we can reduce the number of rates. A change may cause higher traffic generating uses to pay less and lower traffic generating uses to pay more.The table below briefly describes each option and gives an example of the associated TSDC rate for three typical development types.

Please answer the questions below to give feedback on the option you prefer.

Option*

Explanation

Fee
(Based on current cost per trip**)

Single- Family Home

Specialty Retail

(5,000 Sq. Ft)

Bank

(1,500 Sq. Ft)

1. No Change

Retain specific land use rates.

Keep the current practice; adopt rates for specific land uses for new development types.

This requires staff review of a change of use permit to identify changes in traffic; changes can trigger a charge if additional trips are generated by the proposed development.

$3,560

$45,904

$61,496

2. Reduction

Reduce land use rates by removing those with less than four studies available that estimate traffic rates.

Adopt specific land use rates for new development types, but eliminate rates when fewer than four traffic studies support the amount of traffic generated for a single type of development.

This requires staff review of a change of use permit to identify changes in traffic; changes can trigger a charge if additional traffic is generated by the proposed development.

(Reduces number of rates by about 10%.)

$3,560

$45,904

$61,496

3. Consolidation by Type

Consolidate land uses into similar use categories.

Combine similar land use categories (e.g., different types of commercial in one category, different types of industrial in another, etc.), and average the traffic generated by the similar uses to establish a broad category rate that generally matches the proposed development.

This would reduce the need to capture fees on a change of use if the proposed use falls within the same use category.

(Reduces number of rates by about 50%.)

$3,560

$50,155

$61,496

4. Consolidation by Zone

Consolidate land uses based on land use zoning.

Combine land uses based on allowed uses within the land use zone in which the development is located; average the traffic generated by the uses to establish a rate for that zone.

This would eliminate the need to capture fees on a change of use if the proposed use is also a permitted use in that zone.

(Reduces number of rates by about 80%.)

$3,560

$70,830

$21,249

* Under any of the options above, an applicant may choose to pay for a traffic study to gather traffic data for a use similar to the development proposal. Studies must comply with the ordinance in effect at the time.

** Fees differ from the current SDC Fee schedule due to updates to trip rates for land use categories.


Questions

We can use the current approach, or we can reduce the number of rates. Please check the box next to the option you prefer. (Check one.)

Figuring Out the Traffic Impact

These fees are charged based on the amount of traffic a development is likely to generate. We can look at the traffic added during afternoon rush hour or the total traffic added throughout an average day.

Traffic created by new development

Fees are based on the amount of traffic a development is likely to create. We are considering two options for determining the amount of added traffic:

  1. Average daily trips to and from a site - Charge fees based on the total amount of traffic that a land use generates in a full day.
  2. Afternoon rush-hour traffic - Traffic is heaviest during weekday afternoon commute times. Road improvements are often needed to accommodate these high traffic flows. Because of this, many communities use afternoon rush-hour traffic to assess fees.

Using afternoon rush-hour traffic as the basis for the fees would mean higher rates for uses with more traffic during afternoon commutes. Here are some examples of how traffic impacts could differ under the two options.

Adjusted Trips to and from a site

Land use type

Option 1:
Average daily trips to and from a site

Option 2:
Afternoon rush-hour traffic, impact during commutes

Single-family home

≈ 10 trips

≈ 1 trip

Specialty retail

(5,000 Sq. Ft.)

≈ 123 trips

≈ 9 trips

Medical Office

(5,000 Sq. Ft.)

≈ 66 trips

≈ 5 trips

School

(10 classrooms with 25 students per class)

≈ 128 trips

≈ 37 trips


Questions

Which model would you would prefer the County use? Please check the box by the option you prefer. (Check one.)

Next Steps / Stay Informed

Please answer these final questions and submit your answers at the bottom of the page.

Next Steps

  • The work group will meet to review public input and develop recommendations.
  • Staff will present work group recommendations to the County Board of Commissioners.
  • County Board will hold public hearings and take action on the recommendations.

For More Information

This site is no longer accepting comments, but you can provide feedback through the project website.


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