SR 07-25-2017 11A
Ci ty Counci l
Report
City Council Meeting : July 25, 2017
Agenda Item: 11.A
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Susan Cline, Director , Public Works, Office of Sustainability & the
Environment
Subject: Adopt a Resolution Authorizing an Additional Property Assessed Clean
Energy (PACE) Provider
Recommended Action
Staff recommends tha t the City Council adopt the attached resolution authorizing
Figtree as additional Property Assess ed Clean Energy (PACE) provider .
Executive Summary
The Office of Sustainability and the Environment is responsible for helping the City of
Santa Monica meet established targets for energy reduction and greenhouse gas
emissions as outlined in the 15 x 15 Climate Action Plan, ad o pted by Council in 2013.
Also in 2013 , Council authorized Santa Monica’s participation in the Home Energy
Renovation Opportunity (HERO ) program. HERO is a provider of services and
resources that connect home and building owners with incentives and rebates through a
Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program.
In 2016 , Council authorized staff to enter into member agreements with the California
Home Finance Authority and the California Enterprise Development Authority Joint
Powers Authorities (JPAs). Joining these JPAs allowed Ygrene, Energy Efficient
Equity, Alliance NRG and California FIRST to begin providing PACE programs in Santa
Monica. Staff recommends that Council approve the attached resolution, authorizing
Figtree to operate in Santa Monica as an additional PACE provider.
Background
PACE financing allows property owners to fund energy and water efficiency, renewable
energy , and seismic retrofit projects with no up -front costs. When a PACE program is
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authorized, a municipality or county may form special tax districts or join designated
joint power authorities with authorized PACE providers to help property owners finance
the se projects, allowing owners to place an additional tax assessment on their
properties. Participating property owners repay the cost of the improvements through an
assessment levied against their property which is payable in semi -annual installments
on pro perty tax bills. A lien is filed against the property as security until the assessment
is repaid. The assessment remains with the property should the owner transfer or sell
the property before the loan is repaid.
On July 13, 2010, Council authorized part icipation in the Los Angeles County Energy
Program (LACEP), which, at the time, offered financing to commercial property owners
through a PACE program , per Attachment A .
On November 12, 2013, Council adopted a resolution to join Western Riverside Council
of Governments (WRCOG) under its JPA thereby enabling the HERO PACE program to
operate in the City of Santa Monica , per Attachment B .
On March 1 , 2016, Council adopted resolutions to join the California Home Finance
Authority and the California Enterpris e Development Authority under their JPA authority
thereby enabling additional PACE programs to operate in Santa Monica including
Ygrene, Energy Efficient Equity, Alliance NRG and CaliforniaFIRST , per Attachment C .
Discussion
Since the authorization of HE RO, 32 residential property owners have had potential
solar photovoltaic and water and energy efficiency projects approved, and 4 jobs related
to the projects have been created. Of those, 17 have been completed thus far, valuing
$495,000 in total. In terms of lifetime impact, those 17 projects will provide $591,000
and $14,900 in energy and water bill savings, respectively. In terms of a lifetime
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, 849 tons will be abated from the currently
completed projects.
Since the authorization of the additional 4 PACE providers , 15 additional residential
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property owners have had potential solar photovoltaic, water and energy efficiency
projects approved. Of those, 10 projects valued at $384,218 have been completed thus
far, creati ng six jobs . These projects will save 2.2 million kWh of electricity and 1.4
million gallons of water , and 461 tons of greenhouse gas emissions over their projected
lifetime .
In 2016, w hen Council authorized the following PACE service providers (HERO,
Ygr ene, Energy Efficient Equity, Alliance NRG and CaliforniaFIRST) to operate in Santa
Monica , an incorrect resolution was included for the Figtree PACE program, and as a
result that program has not been authorized to operate in Santa Monica . In an attempt
to make multiple resolutions similar with one another, staff edited the language of the
Figtree Resolution that effectively nullified the document.
The current resolution before the Council has been approved by Figtree and contains
the appropriate language to authorize their ability to operate in Santa Monica. Figtree
has been in operation in California since 2010 and authorized by 196 local jurisdictions
primarily financing commercial projects. Figtree has since financed 55 commercial
projects with a tota l approximate value of $16M . The company recently merged with
Dividend Solar to create Dividend Finance and will now formally offer residential PACE
in its program areas .
In order to authorize Figtree as an additional PACE service provider, staff request s that
Council adopt the attached resolution.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There are no direct financial impacts associated with adoption of this resolution. With
the process of permitting more PACE providers, local government agencies in general
bear no costs for setup or implementation. All PACE administrative costs are covered
through an initial administrative fee included in the property owner’s voluntary
contractual assessment and an annual administrative fee , which is also collected on the
p roperty owner’s tax bill. The amount charged from the fees varies per PACE provider.
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Prepared By: Garrett Wong, Sustainability Analyst
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. July 13, 2010 Staff Report (Web link)
B. November 12, 2013 Staff Report (Web link)
C. March 1, 2016 Staff Report (Web link)
D. Figtree Resolution
REFERENCE:
Resolutions No. 11064
(CCS)