Commissioners hear CPACE briefing as regional directors seek county adoption

Columbia County commissioners heard a presentation on Jan. 29, 2025, on the Oregon CPACE program and were asked to consider adopting model ordinance language so private lenders can place benefit-assessment liens tied to energy-efficiency and seismic improvements.

The briefing was given by the interim director of the Columbia Pacific Economic Development District and Lydia Ivanovich, programs manager at Colpac (Columbia Pacific Economic Development District). The presenters told the board CPACE is established at the state level and implemented locally by adopting county ordinance language; private lenders provide capital and the financing is structured as a benefit assessment attached to the property, not to county revenue. "Following the adoption, the county can completely divest itself from any type of administrative or legal and financial responsibilities in the operation of the program," a Colpac…