Jersey City Council adopts ordinance to opt into Garden State C-PACE program after Port Liberte residents urge action

The Jersey City Municipal Council on Wednesday adopted an ordinance to opt the city into the Garden State Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program, a state-backed financing mechanism that helps owners fund energy efficiency and resiliency work through property-secured assessments.

The measure, city ordinance 25-065, passed on final reading by an 8-0 vote with Councilperson Baggiano absent.

The adoption followed a public hearing in which multiple Port Liberte residents described a multi-million-dollar capital project at their waterfront condominium and urged the council to approve the C-PACE opt-in so their community could access financing. “Port Liberte is a beautiful condominium development on the canals,” resident Leanne Callahan told the council, describing a roughly 363-unit complex. She said building envelope work after Hurricane Sandy and decades of wear has driven a potential re-envelopment cost to “about $50,000,000.”

Other Port Liberte speakers said seniors and long-term residents would be disproportionately harmed if the association had to self-finance the project. “This relief of C-PACE would be welcomed by many seniors like myself. I am 76 years old,” Norma Jimenez said, describing a $140,000 special assessment she said she faced.

Council members who spoke during the vote thanked residents for appearing and noted the ordinance had been the product of earlier research and interagency conversations. Councilperson Ridley, who noted constituent outreach from Port Liberte, said the program could “assist a little bit” with what she called “a big lift.” The ordinance passed on final consideration and adoption with an 8-0 tally.

What the ordinance does and does not do: by opting in, Jersey City authorizes property owners to pursue C-PACE financing under the state program’s rules; the city’s role is to permit the program to operate locally and to cooperate with required lien processes. Council members and staff stated that individual projects would still need to meet C-PACE eligibility rules and go through application and approval processes before financing occurs.

The public comments during the hearing highlighted several implementation questions residents said they want the city to monitor: which property types qualify (commercial and multifamily are typically eligible), how assessments are attached to properties, and how long processing will take. Council staff answered general program questions in the hearing, describing C-PACE as a state program to support sustainable, resilient capital projects, not a direct city grant program.

The council’s adoption clears the way for Port Liberte and other commercial or multifamily properties to apply for C-PACE financing if they meet program requirements. Residents and council members said they will continue to press the administration and staff for information on next steps, timing and outreach for potentially eligible properties.

Looking ahead, Port Liberte residents who spoke said they would pursue the program’s application steps and requested city assistance in public information about how to apply.