VERNONIA, The one-time city fees on a new house in Vernonia could rise from $8,424 to as much as $48,385 under a consultant’s draft study the city released Oct. 9, the first update to its system development charges in years. The city council holds a public hearing on the proposal Thursday, Dec. 10, at 6 p.m.
System development charges, or SDCs, are what a builder pays to buy into the water, sewer, street, and park systems that a new home will use. Vernonia charges five of them, and the draft report by FCS Group, a Portland consulting firm, recalculates four: water, sewer, transportation, and parks. The stormwater charge stays where it is because, the report says, “the data on needed projects was not yet available.”
What the Numbers Say
The report calculates a “maximum defensible” charge for each system, the most the city can legally collect under Oregon law. For a single-family home on a standard three-quarter-inch water meter, the totals come to:
| System | Current charge | Proposed maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Water | $2,269 | $18,106 |
| Sewer | $2,957 | $7,496 |
| Streets | $858 | $1,565 |
| Parks | $1,000 | $21,218 |
| Stormwater | $1,340 | $1,340 (not updated) |
Current charges are from the city’s 2025-26 master fee schedule; proposed charges are the report’s Exhibit 25. The report’s own comparison with seven other small Oregon cities puts Vernonia’s existing total of $8,424 near the bottom and the updated total of $48,386 at the top. “If the City adopted each SDC to the maximum extent, it would have the highest total SDCs of its comparable jurisdictions,” the report says, above Stayton at $30,992 and Carlton at $30,311.
The council does not have to go that high. “The City has the liberty to set the SDC for each service at any level up to the maximum defensible charge,” the report says, and “may also decide to phase in any or all the SDCs” over time. It recommends adjusting the charges every year to a Seattle construction cost index.
The parks figure is the largest jump, driven by a per-resident charge of $9,164 multiplied by an assumed 2.32 residents per single-family home. The water charge is built on a $3.74 million list of improvement projects spread over 205 new customer equivalents the city expects to add by 2043, when its planning documents project the population growing from about 2,420 to 2,826.
Why Now
SDC money has been thin. The city’s 2026-27 budget expects only three to five new homes this year and budgets $6,807 in water SDC revenue, $8,871 for sewer, $3,000 for parks, $2,574 for streets, and $4,020 for stormwater. The year before, the city collected SDCs on 10 homes. The budget notes an “ongoing SDC study” as the only expense in the parks SDC fund.
Oregon law requires a city to mail notice at least 90 days before the first hearing on a new SDC methodology and to make the methodology public at least 60 days before, under ORS 223.304. Vernonia’s Sept. 11 notice and Oct. 9 notice both cite “ORS 223.204,” a section that does not exist in the Oregon Revised Statutes; the SDC statutes run from 223.297 to 223.316. Anyone who wants to challenge a methodology in court has 60 days after the council adopts it.
Written comments go to City Recorder Stephanie Borst at 1001 Bridge St., Vernonia, OR 97064, or sborst@vernonia-or.gov, and must arrive by the hearing date. The report is available at City Hall and online. The notices do not say whether the council will vote on Dec. 10 or later; the report says adoption would come by resolution.
New Franchise Deals With Ziply and NW Natural
On Oct. 19 the council adopted two franchise ordinances without discussion or public comment, according to draft minutes up for approval Monday. Ordinance 952 gives Northwest Natural Gas Company a 10-year franchise at 5 percent of gross revenue from gas sales inside city limits, paid quarterly, replacing Ordinance 888. Ordinance 953 gives Ziply Fiber a five-year telecommunications franchise, renewable for five more, at 7 percent of gross revenue, with late payments charged 9 percent interest and a three-year audit lookback. Internet access revenue is excluded from the fee while federal law prohibits taxing it.
Both passed 5-0 on first and second readings the same night, with Mayor Rick Hobart and Councilors Dale Webb, Donald Normand, Susan Wagner, and Dennis Weller voting yes. The packet included no staff report on what the previous franchises paid. Ziply has 30 days from enactment to file its acceptance or the franchise lapses.
City Hall Closures
City Hall will be closed Nov. 5 and 6 for server upgrades, Nov. 11 for Veterans Day, and from noon Nov. 25 through Nov. 27 for Thanksgiving, per a city notice. Public Works is at 503-429-6921; police non-emergency is 503-397-1521.