RESOLUTION NO. 120293
Declaring the City Council's support in requesting
the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to withdraw its prior negative
statements regarding residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs and encouraging FHFA to develop
regulation and guidance designed to maximize the value of PACE programs.
WHEREAS, utility
bills represent a major cost for home and business owners; and
WHEREAS,
persistent unemployment, particularly in the construction industry, continues
to burden our families and communities; and
WHEREAS,
investing in cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements
to homes and businesses can cut utility bills, create thousands of local jobs,
and reduce reliance on foreign energy sources; and
WHEREAS, the
upfront costs and potentially long payback periods are obstacles faced by
property owners who want to implement energy efficiency and/or renewable energy
projects at their homes; and
WHEREAS, the City Council on June 11, 2009, approved
and adopted the Kansas
City, Missouri Energy Efficiency
and Conservation Strategy
through passage of Resolution
No. 090461
which includes a goal to
reduce electricity use by 2
billion kWh per year and natural
gas use by 5 billion
cubic feet/year by 2020 and directs the City
Manager to implement the strategy
in order to reduce total energy costs,
reduce fossil fuel emissions, and make the City a more sustainable community; and
WHEREAS,
Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing programs are an innovative,
voluntary local government solution that requires no general taxes or public
funding to help property owners finance energy efficiency and renewable energy
improvements – such as energy efficient heating, ventilation and air
conditioning, upgraded insulation, new windows, solar installations, and other
energy improvements – to their homes and businesses; and
WHEREAS, the City Council,
pursuant to Resolution No. 100284, expressed its support for enactment of PACE legislation by the Missouri
General Assembly; and
WHEREAS,
twenty-seven states, including the State of Missouri, and the District of
Columbia have passed laws enabling local governments to develop PACE programs;
and
WHEREAS, despite
the great promise of PACE, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on July 6, 2010, issued unwarranted
statements (the “Statement”) and directed the Federal National Mortgage
Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie
Mac), (together, the “Enterprises”), and the Federal Home Loan Banks (the
‘‘Banks’’) to refrain from purchasing residential mortgages with PACE
assessments; and
WHEREAS, on
February 28, 2011, the FHFA issued a directive (the “Directive”) to the
Enterprises and the Banks to continue to refrain from purchasing mortgage loans
secured by properties with outstanding first-lien PACE obligations; and
WHEREAS,
the Statement and the Directive have had an immediate chilling effect on
certain existing PACE programs, halting operations and freezing the potential
development of hundreds of other PACE programs nationwide including Kansas
City, Missouri; and
WHEREAS, the National League of
Cities, National Association of Counties and the US Conference of Mayors have
commented on the FHFA Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) in support
of PACE and its attendant benefits to the nation, to municipalities, to
property owners and to lenders without federal tax subsidies, mandates, or
expansion of any federal programs; and
WHEREAS, FHFA’s withdrawal of its Statement and Directive and endorsement
of regulation or guidance designed to maximize the value of PACE programs would allow municipalities to create successful PACE programs at the local level and give
Kansas City the ability to determine whether
it wishes to create a clean energy
development board to provide financing
to property
owners for energy efficiency and renewable energy
projects in Kansas City; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL
OF KANSAS CITY:
That the City of
Kansas City, Missouri opposes the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s current position
regarding residential PACE programs, urges the Federal Housing Finance Agency
to rescind its Statement and Directive foreclosing the resource option for
Kansas City residents for financing energy efficiency and renewable energy
improvements through a PACE program, and requests that the City Manager submit
comments to the Federal Housing Finance Agency pursuant to FHFA’s ANPR and
request for comments published in the Federal Register on January 26, 2012,
taking into consideration the series of questions posed by the Federal Housing
Finance Agency as well as any other issues and questions determined by staff to
be relevant.
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