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Committee forwards PACE opt‑in referral after questions about neighborhood impact
Summary
The committee voted to send the city opt‑in to the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program to the full council with a favorable recommendation after a MassDevelopment presentation and councilor questions about loan burden and neighborhood benefit.
The Ordinary and Intergovernmental Relations Committee voted June 23 to forward a referral for the city to opt into Massachusetts’ Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program to the full council with a favorable recommendation.
A MassDevelopment representative described PACE as “a financing mechanism for commercial property owners to finance energy efficiency improvements or new construction developments” that is repaid via a betterment assessment on the property tax bill and typically stretches repayment over 20 years. The presenter said PACE is administered by MassDevelopment with technical review by the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and that the program is voluntary and requires mortgage‑holder consent.
Councilors pressed the presenter on equity concerns and local benefit, with one member saying they worried that loan‑based financing could be difficult to sell to property owners in lower‑income neighborhoods. The presenter replied that PACE targets commercial properties, can pair with Mass Save incentives for energy upgrades, and that the city can choose how actively to market the program.
The committee’s favorable referral sends the opt‑in question to the full council for a subsequent vote; MassDevelopment said two local property owners had expressed interest in applying once the city opts in, but no formal applications had been filed at the time of the committee meeting.
