Committee Sends Solar Incentive Ordinances to Full Board After Industry and Housing Debate
Summary
Supervisors debated dividing a proposed $3 million City solar incentive between nonprofit affordable housing and owner-occupied/single-family projects. Solar installers and environmental advocates urged full funding and warned that narrowing eligibility would limit market uptake; the committee sent two solar items to the full Board for June 3 without recommendation and continued a third item.
The Budget & Finance Committee took up three ordinances to preserve and deploy $3 million in municipal MECA funds for a solar incentive program. The proposals included an ordinance to preserve the funding, an environmental code amendment to create the program, and a pilot-program ordinance spelling out allocation priorities.
Supervisor Mark McRaeamy proposed an amendment to split the pilot dollars between nonprofit-owned affordable housing and single/multi-family residential projects and to hold a portion in reserve for program evaluation. Solar industry representatives and nonprofit developers testified strongly for maintaining the full $3 million and warned that targeted carve-outs would reduce leverage from other incentives and lower market uptake for rooftop solar.
Industry speakers described existing applications and project commitments that depend on predictable city incentives. BlackRock Solar called the original $3 million conception "a potential game changer," while installers and Vote Solar urged broader eligibility to leverage state and federal incentives and to maximize installed megawatts per public dollar.
After testimony, the committee voted to send items 5 and 6 (the code change and the pilot ordinance as currently filed) to the full Board on June 3 without a committee recommendation. Item 4 (the preservation of funding) was continued to the call of the chair for further work. Committee members signaled they want more precise language on eligibility, workforce and evaluation criteria before final adoption.
Next steps: the two referred ordinances will be before the full Board of Supervisors on June 3 for consideration; the administration and sponsors may refine eligibility, set-asides and program metrics before that hearing.
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