Local Transportation Infrastructure Charge: killing density?

[Account Closed]

For those of you familiar with LTIC, is there absolutely no way around it other than to build the sidewalks, even if it's R10 and no one has sidewalks anywhere in sight?  It was a complete deal-killer when I learned about it yesterday. 

Given that the City of Portland is saying there's a "housing emergency" and it needs more density, the LTIC seems hypocritical. They tack on a fee that makes developing 2-3 low density lots completely unfeasible unless you can acquire the lots for almost nothing.  So the 30,000sf lot is going to stay a 30,000sf lot with one 1,300sf house on it, instead of 3 lots with three 2,500sf SFRs + 3 ADUs.  

This only makes it possible for deep-pocketed developers to build large luxury projects, which is 180 degrees from the city's stated goal of affordability and density.  

Any ideas on how to affordably develop lots in residential zones, especially R5 to R10, when the streets are "under-improved?"  It's the areas without sidewalks that aren't already trendy and expensive that would cost the most to develop, killing most smaller projects and ironically preventing increased density.  

Has anyone tried to get the city to see this point of view and maybe change the rules for smaller developers?  Any idea who I'd talk to if I wanted to try?