Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Andrew J. Meyers
Department: County Attorney
Information
Requested Action
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MOTION TO ENACT Ordinance, the title of which is as follows:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, PERTAINING TO THE PROPERTY ASSESSED CLEAN ENERGY (“PACE”) PROGRAM IN BROWARD COUNTY; REPEALING SECTION 20-14 OF THE BROWARD COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCES (“CODE”); CREATING SECTIONS 20-176.130 THROUGH 20-176.137 TO BE KNOWN AS THE “BROWARD PACE ACT”; PROVIDING FOR DEFINITIONS, INTERLOCAL AGREEMENTS, PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR REQUIREMENTS, AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS; AMENDING SECTION 8½ 16, CREATING A FEE SCHEDULE FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE BROWARD PACE ACT; AND PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, INCLUSION IN THE CODE, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
(Sponsored by the Board of County Commissioners)
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Why Action is Necessary
A Resolution directing the County Administrator to publish notice of public hearing to consider enactment of the Ordinance was adopted by the Board of County Commissioners (“Board”) at its meeting of May 21, 2024.
What Action Accomplishes
Allows for the Board’s consideration of the proposed Ordinance.
Goal Related Icon(s)
☐County Commission
☐Go Green
☐MAP Broward
Previous Action Taken
Summary Explanation/Background
Broward County launched the Broward Property Assessed Clean Energy (“PACE”) program in June 2016, expanding property owners’ access to energy efficiency, renewable energy, and resiliency improvements financed through non ad valorem special assessments. At that time, the Board required certain mandatory disclosures for PACE program administrators that financed residential projects.
In the ensuing years, concerns have arisen regarding certain predatory practices, inappropriate use of the County logo to imply an affiliation with the County, and lack of understanding by residential property owners of the full effect of entering into PACE financing agreements, and the adequacy of disclosing the full project cost. In addition, during the 2024 Legislative Session, the Florida Legislature substantially revised the applicable Florida statute; those changes were signed into law by the Governor on June 28, 2024.
The public hearing for this item was originally scheduled to occur on June 18, 2024. At that Board meeting, the Office of the County Attorney informed the Board that it would work with Resilient Environment Department (“RED”) staff to address comments received from the industry and other stakeholders and submit a revised Ordinance for the Board’s consideration after summer recess. RED and County Attorney staff met with industry stakeholders several times over the summer recess to understand and discuss their concerns. The revised proposed Ordinance (Exhibit 1) addresses many of the stakeholder concerns. Exhibit 2 is a redlined version showing the changes from the June 2024 version of the proposed Ordinance to the currently proposed form of the Ordinance. Exhibit 3 is a matrix of the material comments from the stakeholders and summarizes how they were addressed in the current proposed version. Exhibit 4 includes a resolution of the Climate Change Task Force supporting enactment of the ordinance (we do not believe any changes made in the current proposed version would alter this support; we will advise if we learn anything to the contrary).
The revised proposed Ordinance incorporates the 2024 changes to Florida law and strengthens the Broward County Code of Ordinances requirements for PACE programs operating within Broward County, including by:
1) requiring the execution of an interlocal agreement with the County before a PACE program administrators can operate in Broward County;
2) requiring additional disclosures and a recorded disclosure interview for PACE financing of improvements to residential property;
3) expressly prohibiting the use of the County logo in PACE marketing material; and
4) expanding the enforcement methods to better ensure compliance with Broward’s PACE program requirements.
Notice of this rescheduled public hearing has been published in compliance with the statutory requirements.
Source of Additional Information
Michael C. Owens, Senior Assistant County Attorney, 954-357-7600
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
Per the Office of Management and Budget, the estimated impact on the budget does not exceed the threshold required for a Fiscal Impact Statement.