Board continues deliberation on CPACE ordinance to Sept. 2 after staff briefing

The Washington County Board of Commissioners opened a public hearing on Ordinance 906 — a proposal to repeal the county’s Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program — and after hearing staff presentations and public comment voted unanimously to continue deliberation to Sept. 2, 2025.

Steven Roberts, director of Land Use and Transportation, and Adrienne Shelly (economic development manager) briefed the board on program history and staff findings. Adrienne Shelly said the county adopted an off-the-shelf CPACE program and had completed two projects to date but that staff found limited program utilization and constrained staff capacity to administer the program.

"We are now at June, which was the date for the second ordinance reading and first public hearing today...the ordinance would sunset the county's C-PACE program prior to the original December sunset date," Shelly said during the presentation. Staff recommended continued engagement with CPACE stakeholders — including developers, capital providers and administrators — and an analysis of program criteria, costs and outreach before making a final decision.

During public comment, resident Dale Feek (chair, Washington County Citizen Action Network) urged support for strong government services and referenced the importance of programs that support local environmental objectives.

After hearing the presentation and public testimony, commissioners voted to close the hearing and continue deliberations to Sept. 2, 2025, giving staff time to complete the required code-based assessment and stakeholder outreach. The motion passed by roll call, 5-0.

Ending: Staff will continue engagement and analysis and return with recommendations and any proposed code changes ahead of the September 2 deliberation date.