The California Statewide Communities Development Authority (“CSCDA”)[1] the largest joint powers authority in California, was founded and sponsored by the League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties. CSCDA has implemented Property Assessed Clean Energy (“PACE”) under the provisions of Chapter 29 of Division 7 of the Streets & Highways Code (“Chapter 29”) on behalf of its member counties and cities. Chapter 29 authorizes a legislative body to designate an area within which a public agency (including a joint powers authority like CSCDA) and property owners may enter into voluntary contractual assessments to finance and refinance the installation on real property of distributed generation renewable energy, energy efficiency, water efficiency and seismic strengthening improvements, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and such other improvements, infrastructure or work as may be authorized by law from time to time (collectively, the “Improvements”).
CSCDA has established the CSCDA Open PACE Program to provide financing for Improvements under Chapter 29 and designated multiple third-party program administrators, including Nuveen Green Capital (including its affiliates, “Nuveen”), to offer CSCDA’s members turn-key commercial PACE solutions.
More information about CSCDA and CSCDA’s Open PACE program administrators is available at www.cscda.org.
The owner, Preservation Golf, LLC, (the “Participating Property Owner”) of the property located at 5201 Riverlakes Drive, Bakersfield, California (the “Participating Property”) has asked the Authority and Nuveen to provide financing through the CSCDA Open PACE Program for the installation of solar Improvements on the Participating Property (the “Project”). The financing is commercial PACE only, and does not include any residential properties.
The Participating Property’s participation in the CSCDA Open PACE Program would allow the Participating Property Owner to finance the commercial PACE Improvements authorized by Chapter 29. The commercial PACE Improvements installed on the Participating Property would be financed by the issuance of bonds by CSCDA. The bonds would be secured by a voluntary contractual assessment levied on the Participating Property and collected as part of the regular county property tax bill.
CSCDA has pre-qualified Nuveen as a commercial PACE administrator based on its business practices, qualifications, experience, and capital commitment to the PACE market, and CSCDA (and not the City of Bakersfield) will be responsible for entering into the voluntary contractual assessment agreement with the Participating Property Owner, levying the voluntary contractual assessment on the Participating Property, issuing bonds to finance the Improvements and taking remedial actions in the event of delinquent assessment payments. The resolution expressly provides that the City of Bakersfield will not be responsible for the conduct of any assessment proceedings, the levy of assessments, any required remedial action in the case of delinquencies in assessment payments, or the issuance, sale or administration of any bonds issued by CSCDA.
The proposed approval is limited to the commercial property located at 5201 Riverlakes Drive; no other properties in the City would be allowed to participate in the CSCDA Open PACE Program without the approval of the City Council. No residential property is included in the financing.
No environmental review is required under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) in connection with the City Council consenting to the participation of the Participating Property in the CSCDA Open PACE Program because the Project is categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15303(e) (Class 3- New Construction) of the State CEQA Guidelines.
There is no negative fiscal impact to the City’s general fund by consenting to the participation of the Participating Property in the CSCDA Open PACE Program. Consenting to the Participating Property’s participation will assist the Participating Property Owner with completion of the Project.
[1]The California Statewide Communities Development Authority (CSCDA) was created in 1988, under California’s Joint Exercise of Powers Act, to provide California’s local governments with an effective tool for the timely financing of community-based public benefit projects. CSCDA has over 530 member agencies and is the Joint Powers Authority and conduit bond issuer founded and sponsored by the League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties. More information about CSCDA is available at www.cscda.org.