Springfield’s City Council has directed staff to waive Systems Development Charges (SDCs) to encourage two types of housing in the community. SDCs are collected at the time of building permit to accumulate capital needed to provide sufficient capacity in infrastructure systems to accommodate that development. Springfield charges SDCs for transportation, stormwater, and wastewater systems. Waiving SDCs is one way to incentivize development that might not otherwise happen.

Council has directed staff to institute a second SDC waiver to promote homeownership opportunities for low-income buyers. This waiver would be available for housing built by non-profit organizations with a purchase price affordable to low-income homebuyers making 80% or less of the area median income. The SDC waiver would be a forgivable loan. If the house is resold within the affordability period, it would need to be sold to another low-income household, or the seller would be required to repay the loan. Council will review the design of this program in the fall.

The code changes make housing development easier by providing clear and objective standards and a more straightforward review path. The updated code also integrates new state middle housing requirements, which allow for a greater variety of new housing to be developed in Springfield, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, cottage clusters, and townhouses. These middle housing types may be more affordable due to their smaller size, fit along the spectrum of housing choice between detached single unit homes and multi-unit apartment buildings, and create more opportunities for in-fill development in areas already served with utilities and streets.

To help address the ongoing housing needs in the community and assist in administering the additional funds available in response to the pandemic, the City created a new position and hired Katie Carroll as the City’s Housing Analyst. Katie has been working on planning projects part-time for the city over the past year and graduates this month with a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from Portland State University. Interim Planning Manager Sandy Belson shares, “Katie exhibited a high level of skill and accomplishment in her work last year, that we are excited that she is joining our Housing Team to create more opportunities to address the gaps between household need and housing supply.”