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EDA asks council to research legal options for solar on closed landfill; council seeks workshop and cost estimate
Summary
EDA members requested that city staff and the city attorney research legal and financing constraints for a potential solar farm on the city’s closed landfill. The council agreed to collect more information, contact industry experts, and discuss the item in a workshop next year before committing to legal costs.
EDA commissioner Tony Manzera asked the City Council on Oct. 21 to direct the city attorney to research whether general obligation bonds tied to the old closed landfill must be paid off before the city can lease or otherwise enable a solar farm on the site.
Manzera and other EDA members said the landfill — closed decades ago and subject to cleanup and ongoing monitoring — currently prevents many uses but that a landfill-specific solar array could provide revenue and reuse of the property. "If we don't have to pay off the bonds," Manzera said, "then I think we should proceed." He described reaching out informally to solar developers and cited that landfill-specific arrays can be installed without driven posts and that a lease/PPA (power-purchase agreement) structure might work.
Community and economic development staff told the council they have contacted industry experts, including a local utility contact, and that the next step would be targeted legal review of the bond documents and statutes to determine whether a public-benefit arrangement (such as a lease or PPA) would require retirement of general obligation debt. Staff did not yet have an estimate for attorney time or costs; council members asked staff to return with a cost estimate and to place the issue on a future workshop agenda.
Council members discussed risks and timing. One councilor noted that if bonds have a call date far in the future the city could not retire them immediately; another noted that staff incur legal costs frequently and that a limited legal review could be absorbed in staff time depending on scope. Several council members favored a workshop to review the legal exposure, potential business models (lease/PPA), and whether the EDA should proceed with a business plan only if legal obstacles are manageable.
Staff said they will contact the utility, continue industry outreach, and seek an estimate for legal review. The EDA plans to include the landfill reuse question in its 2026 work plan pending the council’s direction.
