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Meridian staff outline CPACE commercial financing program; council to consider resolution of intent in April
Summary
City staff presented a draft Commercial Property Assessed Capital Expenditure (CPACE) program that would allow commercial property owners to finance eligible improvements through assessments; staff recommended starting administration in-house and returning a resolution of intent for council consideration as early as April 7.
Curtis Calder, who prepared the draft CPACE program for Meridian, told the council the proposal follows state templates and City Attorney review and currently uses statutory maximums for fees: a $500 application fee and a 1% loan service fee with a per-project cap described in the draft. He said fees would be expected to offset administration costs rather than generate significant revenue for the city.
The proposal would let commercial property owners—multifamily, industrial and other commercial uses—access long-term financing tied to a property assessment to fund energy or resilience upgrades and other eligible capital improvements. Calder cited Rexburg’s Madison Station, where a $15 million CPACE package helped unlock a phase of development, and said typical projects observed in other states range from $3 million to $5 million, with some as large as $65 million.
Council members focused on administration and cost recovery. Councilman Taylor said he wanted developers to pay administrative costs and favored contracting administration if that made cost recovery clearer. Mayor Robert E. Simonson and other council members recommended starting the program internally so staff can better assess workload and only outsourcing if demand warrants it. Councilman Overton and others emphasized protecting taxpayers and ensuring the fee model recovers city costs.
Calder explained next steps: staff can return a resolution of intent as early as the April 7 meeting, set the required public hearing for April 21 or April 28, and adopt the resolution establishing the CPACE program at that same meeting if council chooses to proceed. He also said staff would publish the program on the city website once it is official.
The discussion concluded without a formal vote to establish the program; the council requested the resolution of intent be brought back for further consideration and a public hearing.
The council did not adopt any CPACE ordinance or resolution at this meeting; any final decision will follow the resolution of intent and required public hearing.
