Working with Stakeholders to Streamline Transportation System Development Charges

About the Program

Category: Community and Economic Development (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

Clackamas County encompasses 1,900 square miles in the Portland area, with 410,000 residents, thousands of businesses and 1,400 miles of roads. Since 1993 we have used transportation system development charges (TSDCs) to help fund expanded roadways to meet demand created by development. TSDCs are one-time fees charged to new or expanded development based on a formula that estimates the impact the development will have on the transportation system. Traditionally, we administered TSDCs for two areas; 1) one in and around a city – Happy Valley – administered with the city and 2) one for the remaining unincorporated areas. The fees, the methodology used to determine them and capital projects supported by them, were last updated in 2006. Since then we updated our transportation system plan with more than 300 projects focused on efficient travel and safety. From 2015-17, we worked jointly with business leaders, developers and transportation experts, to update the TSDC program, to reflect current goals and ensure that TSDCs are applied fairly and equitably. Another goal was to dissolve the joint district so Happy Valley could control its own TSDCs. The result, approved in 2017, is an updated, streamlined system created with developers that will support community and economic growth for many years.