For Immediate Release: Tuesday, May 7, 2019
From the Office of Councilmember Tom Hucker
Legislation helps finance improvements on new properties
ROCKVILLE, Md., May 7, 2019—The Montgomery County Council today unanimously passed legislation introduced by Councilmember Tom Hucker that expands a county program that helps owners of commercial properties incorporate energy-efficient improvements and upgrades.
The bill expands the current Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Program, or CPACE, which the council approved four years ago.
“This bill will help us meet our ambitious — but crucial — goal of zero carbon emissions by 2035,” Councilmember Hucker said. “Extending CPACE to new construction gives us another important tool to fight climate change, which we now know poses a grave threat to our planet.”
Under CPACE, the county applies a surcharge to the owner’s property-tax bill. That surcharge is used to pay off any loan the owner took out to finance the improvements, such as solar power, state-of-the art windows, green roofs and more efficient heating and air conditioning systems.
Because the county is essentially guaranteeing the loan payments, it’s easier for the owner to obtain private financing for the energy-efficient measures.
If for some reason the owner fails to pay the surcharge, the usual procedures involving nonpayment of property taxes kick in, possibly ending in foreclosure. That means the program costs the county virtually nothing.
The current program applies to only existing buildings. Bill 7-19, Environmental Sustainability - Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Program - New Construction — extends CPACE to owners constructing new commercial buildings.
Several other jurisdictions around the state, including Baltimore and Howard counties, already allow CPACE for new construction.
Currently, there’s a total of about $8.5 million in CPACE surcharges for 12 projects in the county.
“I know of at least one new building project in the county that’s stalled because our current CPACE program doesn’t apply to new construction,” Hucker said. “That means that extending CPACE to new buildings is good for not only our environment, but our economic development, too. I want to thank my colleagues, who all co-sponsored this bill, for their support.”
More information on the bill is here.
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Release ID: 19-161