An ordinance to decrease or eliminate water and sewer main hookup fees for new construction was tabled by the Hoquiam City Council at its meeting Monday night.

Councilman Ben Winkleman protested, saying the ordinance was important and should be considered that evening. When it came time for a vote to table, Winkleman was the only council member to vote no.

The ordinance would eliminate so-called “capital facility charges” on new construction with diameters up to one inch and significantly reduce them in larger meters. Currently the city charges more than $7,000 for a one-inch main hookup. Mayor Jasmine Dickhoff had said previously she would veto the ordinance if it passed.

Michael Vellani, the developer behind the Summerhaven housing development off East Hoquiam Road, testified during the public-comment period and said the city’s fees are unreasonable and discouraged others from attempting similar developments in the city.

He said a home in Summerhaven sold for $269,000 in 2007. After the housing market collapsed the next year, values dropped dramatically. Vellani said he purchased that same home in 2014 for $70,000, and the cost of such a home would now be valued at about $110,000.

“To construct a similar home today would cost $180,000,” he said. “We cannot bear this price and be successful.”

Vellani pointed out surrounding cities’ fees, significantly lower than Hoquiam. He said because of that the real estate markets in Aberdeen, Montesano and Cosmopolis have improved as more homes are built and housing becomes more affordable and abundant.

Vellani said his planned development of 50 rental townhomes would help alleviate “a huge rental deficit in this area,” but with the high cost of fees, rents would be up significantly, and the 20 single-residence homes he plans to build would be priced beyond the means of a large number of families in the region.

“(The reduced fee structure) would be good not just for the condos but the City of Hoquiam,” Vellani previously told The Daily World. “Developers would build more here if it was more affordable. This mayor doesn’t want to help its residents and constituents, and we’re passing on the cost to people who can barely make a living as it is.”

Former Hoquiam Mayor Jack Durney also spoke in favor of the ordinance.

“The city needs to expand and contribute to encouraging housing development,” he said. He added that putting these new properties on the tax roles and utilities would create a great deal of revenue for the city, even without the up-front fee.

The ordinance will now go back to the committee for further discussion and will likely be considered at the council’s next meeting March 12.