SDC ordinance hearing set for tonight
By Katie Pizza
Argus Observer
Monday, June 2, 2008 11:19 AM PDT
Ontario - The Four Rivers Cultural Center will serve as the proving ground for a proposed system development charge ordinance (SDC) in a public hearing at 7 p.m. today.
The Ontario Public Works Committee submitted the SDC report to the Ontario City Council at its May 5 meeting, but the council will not accept the report until after the hearing.
Members of the Concerned Citizens of Ontario group plan to attend the hearing to express their opinions about the financial aspect of SDCs.
Concerned Citizens of Ontario member Cathy Wiegand said she had issues with the current proposal and planned to speak about those issues at the hearing.
“Instead of current residents paying for new growth, new growth should pay for itself,” she said.
She said the proposal by the Public Works Committee will not cover the full cost of growth, leaving current residents to foot the bill.
“The ones who get the benefit of the SDCs should be the ones who have to pay,” Wiegand said.
Wiegand pointed to infrastructure such as sewage, water and streets that would benefit new growth.
Group member Gary Fugate said the Concerned Citizens of Ontario support SDCs as a whole.
However, Fugate said the what the group will discuss revolves around which issue is brought to the forefront.
“We’re going to wait and see how the council presents it,” he said. “If it’s a discussion of the ordinance, we’ll support it.”
However, he said the group will not support the current fees.
City Council member Dan Cummings said the hearing will primarily be about the ordinance rather than fees, which will be discussed in more depth at the next public hearing.
“With the fee portion, I’m going to allow discussions,” he said.
However, he said he is going to oversee those discussions to keep them from turning argumentative.
“Sometimes these things get out of hand,” he said.
Wiegand encourages Ontario residents to attend the meeting.
“This is an issue that affects all of us who live in the city of Ontario,” she said.
