The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The Sisters City Council voted unanimously to waive a $2,994 Systems Development Charge for a property owner to connect to the municipal sewer system.

Sewer fees have been a controversial issue among city staff and property owners over recent months, but this is the first time the city has responded to a resident who owned a property which existed before the 1999 cut-off date for the original city sewer plan.

Residents who owned property before December 1999, only paid $1,000 to connect to the city sewer. Peggy and John Tehan, who own a mobile home on 10 acres of land on North Cowboy St., asked the city if they could be relieved of their $2,994 SDC, because their property existed before December 1999.

The property, however, is located northeast of the "footprint" (boundary) for the city sewer plan. Fourth Sister Lodge, a condominium complex, is the only other property which existed in 1999 and is located inside the city limits, but was excluded from the sewer plan, said Eileen Stein, city manager.

The owner of Fourth Sister Lodge was not charged an SDC, Stein said. So the council agreed to drop the SDC, but still charge the Tehans a $1,000 connection fee.