By Steve Hendley, Partner, Construction Services Manager

For tenants calculating business location expenses or developing a building for a particular type of use, plan for the inclusion of fees imposed by System Development Charges (SDCs), which can be significant.

Government agencies impose SDC fees to recover the cost of a particular user’s impact on public services such as water, sewer and transportation. Each type of use (i.e. school, manufacturing and heavy industrial, etc.) affects public services differently, and fees are calculated based on the user’s impact on those services as a monetary solution paid to the city.

Take for example, the SDC fees for the construction of a new manufacturing building. The transportation fee for a manufacturing user is assessed at $3,526.00 per 1,000 square feet.  A 10,000 square foot building then has a fee of $35,260.00 just for transportation system development.  Sewer and water in this example can add an additional $15,000 and $8,000 respectively.  SDCs in this example total and add $58,260.00 to the project cost. 

By Steve Hendley, Partner, Construction Services Manager For tenants calculating business location expenses or developing a building for a particular type of use, plan for the inclusion of fees imposed by System Development Charges (SDCs), which can be significant. Government agencies impose SDC fees to recover the cost of a particular user’s impact on public…