Street Fees

Background

Street fees are being proposed in Portland and surrounding areas. An original proposal showed Quick Service operators in Portland paying over $761 a month in order to fund transportation projects. ORA made it clear in response that we would not support the fees at that level. Quick Service Gas Stations and C-Stores were paying two to three times the rate of other businesses. This amount was not in line with existing street maintenance fees in Lake Oswego, Medford, Tigard and Tualatin. After discussions with the Transportation Department and the Small Business Advisory Committee all averages for the restaurant industry were quoted below $200. However accurate estimates have still not been published. The Portland Street Fee is now being referred to voters.

In West Linn fees are also being proposed at a much higher rate than Portland. The average fee to fund transportation projects for Quick Service Operators in West Linn as of January 10th was $758.00 a month. After negotiations West Linn stated that there will be a $425.00 cap for any business and the monthly fee for restaurants (including Quick Service) will be proportionate to this cap, restaurants are again being quoted under $200. In addition if voters pass a proposed 5-year bond this will replace the street fee and if a gas tax is passed the street fee will be reduced to include these funds.

Canby is also in the process of passing a street fee similar to other cities around Oregon that would be based on traffic generation. However, currently the city is stating businesses would pay between $5.00 and $50.00 per month. Canby also passed a 3 cent per gallon gas tax on all gas sold in Canby which will fund additional street maintenance.

Issue

Tax calculations so far in West Linn and Portland have been unpredictable and favor larger stores over smaller stores with tight margins. In addition there has not been a method shown on how to accurately calculate trips generated. With the price of running a business at an all time high there is also discussion of adding a gas tax in many counties on top of the street fee.

There is no federal code to put a cap on the amount or duration of a monthly fee. The process in both West Linn and Portland has been very subjective so far with little or no regulation. As suspected this seems to be a domino effect and we expect to see even more local governments proposing this fee

ORA Position

The Oregon Restaurant Association is not opposed to improving roadways and streets with an additional tax that treats payers equally (ex: Canby). Improved road conditions will benefit our members by making it easier to deliver goods and services as well as giving visitors a more positive experience. However, we are opposed to subjective systems which do not treat all payers equally where the small business is at a large disadvantage.