Canby Hasn't Touched Its Street Fee in 18 Years. The Bill Is Coming Due.

Canby's Street Maintenance Fee Is 18 Years Old. That's About to Change. 

Eighteen years.

That’s how long it’s been since Canby updated its street maintenance fee. Not adjusted. Not fine-tuned. Not revisited in a meaningful way—just left as-is.

In those 18 years, everything involved in maintaining a road has gotten more expensive. Asphalt costs more. Labor costs more. Fuel costs more. According to city staff, overall costs have increased by roughly 200%.

The fee that’s supposed to fund all of that hasn’t moved.

And now, the gap between what it costs to maintain Canby’s streets and what the city actually collects has grown too large to ignore.

 

 

---

The Backlog Problem

When funding doesn’t keep up with costs, maintenance gets delayed. And when maintenance gets delayed, small problems turn into expensive ones.

That’s where Canby is now.

The city has accumulated a backlog of street repairs significant enough that engineers are still in the process of assessing the full extent of the damage. They’re conducting a system-wide inventory—essentially figuring out just how much work needs to be done.

That alone says a lot.

Because once roads start to deteriorate past a certain point, repairs become more complex and more costly. A simple resurfacing job can turn into a full rebuild. And the longer that work is delayed, the more expensive it becomes.

---

The Current System Doesn’t Make Sense

At the April 6th Street Maintenance Task Force meeting, city staff presented proposed updates to the municipal code—the rules that determine how the fee is structured and who pays what.

The biggest issue with the current system is straightforward: it treats very different types of properties the same.

Right now, when the fee increases, it increases across the board by the same percentage. A single-family home and a large multi-tenant commercial property are essentially lumped into the same category.

That doesn’t reflect reality.

Different types of properties place very different demands on the road system. A residential household generates relatively light traffic—commuting, errands, day-to-day use. A commercial property, on the other hand, often involves delivery trucks, higher traffic volume, and heavier vehicles.

Those uses create more wear and tear on the streets.

A system that charges both the same way doesn’t align with how roads are actually used—and that’s a big part of what the city is now trying to fix.

---

What’s Being Proposed

While final numbers haven’t been released yet, the direction is clear: separating residential and commercial users into different categories.

That means homeowners and businesses would no longer be tied to the same fee structure. Instead, the goal is to create a system that more accurately reflects the impact each type of property has on the streets.

It’s a shift toward a more usage-based approach—one that tries to balance fairness with the reality of infrastructure costs.

Exactly how that split will look, and how much each group will pay, is still being worked out.

---

Why This Matters Now

Timing matters here.

The city is still in the analysis phase, but momentum is building toward a formal proposal. A vote before the full city council could happen as early as this summer.

Once that proposal is finalized, the numbers will become real—showing up in monthly bills for residents and operating costs for businesses.

That’s why paying attention now matters more than reacting later.

Because by the time the fee shows up on a bill, the decision has already been made.

---

The Bigger Picture

This isn’t just about a fee increase. It’s about how a city maintains the infrastructure people rely on every day.

Streets are one of those things you don’t think about—until they start to fail.

Potholes, cracks, and deteriorating pavement aren’t just inconveniences. They affect safety, vehicle maintenance costs, and how a community is perceived. For homeowners, they can even play a role in property value and neighborhood appeal.

Well-maintained infrastructure signals stability. Deferred maintenance signals the opposite.

---

What Happens Next

The engineers will finish their assessment. Staff will finalize a proposal. And the city council will eventually vote.

When that happens, residents and business owners will get a clear picture of what the updated street maintenance fee looks like—and how the new structure divides responsibility between residential and commercial properties.

Until then, this is the window where the conversation is still taking shape.

---

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.