Canby's Development Fees Are Changing. What That Means for Housing Costs in Your Backyard.

Canby’s Development Fees Are Going Up. Here’s Why That’s More Complicated Than It Sounds.

Every time someone pulls a building permit in Canby — new house, new apartment complex, new business — the city charges a one-time fee. It’s called a System Development Charge, or SDC. The idea is straightforward: new development creates demand on city infrastructure, so new development helps pay for it. Parks. Roads. Water systems. Sewer.

That’s the theory. Here’s the reality: Canby’s SDCs haven’t been updated in a long time. Costs have gone up. Needs have grown. And the city has a substantial list of capital projects — park land, water upgrades, transportation improvements — waiting for funding that the current fee structure can’t adequately support.

The Three-Year Phase-In

At the April 1st meeting, Canby’s planning team walked through a proposal: a three-year phase-in of increased SDC fees, designed to fund roughly 20 years of infrastructure projects.

The gradual approach is intentional. Raise fees too fast, or too high, and developers stop building. And if developers stop building, housing supply tightens — which doesn’t help anyone looking to buy in Canby.

That tension is real. The city needs the revenue. The development community has limits. Finding where those two things meet is what the next few months are about.

Who’s Already Paying Attention

The homebuilders association has already submitted a letter. Developers are watching closely. Neither of those groups sends letters or watches closely when they think the outcome is fine.

The public hearing is scheduled for July. That’s when residents, builders, and anyone who cares about what gets built — and what it costs to live here — will have a formal chance to weigh in.

Why This Is a Housing Affordability Issue

SDCs get built into the cost of new construction. When they go up, builders pass that cost along. In a market where housing affordability is already strained, fee increases can push new construction out of reach for entry-level buyers and renters.

That doesn’t mean fees shouldn’t go up — it means the level, the timing, and the structure all matter. A well-designed fee increase funds the infrastructure Canby needs to grow without choking off the growth that makes the city financially viable in the first place.

If you’re a buyer, seller, investor, or just someone who lives in Canby and wonders why new things cost what they do — this is the policy conversation underneath all of it. July’s public hearing is worth showing up to.

Jennifer Schurter serves buyers, sellers, and investors throughout South Clackamas County and the North Willamette Valley — including Canby, Oregon City, Wilsonville, Aurora, Hubbard, Molalla, Woodburn, Newberg, Sherwood, Tualatin, West Linn, Lake Oswego, and the greater Portland metro south. Her goal is simple: to be the most knowledgeable, most responsive, and most genuinely helpful real estate agent in the area — every single time. Jennifer is a licensed Oregon real estate broker with Real Broker LLC.

Ready to talk through your next move? Schedule a time with Jennifer here. No pressure, no pitch — just a real conversation.