C-PACE loan requirements; program fees; reporting; Program Administrator; program guidelines.
Richmond, Va., City Code § 11-194
in effectSec. 11-194. - C-PACE loan requirements; program fees; reporting; Program Administrator; program guidelines.
(a) Source of loans. C-PACE loans shall be originated by capital providers. The City or its respective governmental entities shall have no obligation to originate or guarantee any C-PACE loans.
(b) C-PACE loan amount thresholds. The minimum loan amount that may be financed for each project is $50,000.00. There is no maximum aggregate amount that may be financed with respect to an eligible property, except as stipulated in the program guidelines. There shall be no limit on the total value of all C-PACE loans issued under the C-PACE program.
(c) C-PACE loan refinancing or reimbursement. The Program Administrator may approve a loan application submitted within two years of the City's issuance of a certificate of occupancy or other evidence that the eligible improvements comply substantially with the plans and specifications previously approved by the City and upon a determination by the Program Administrator that such loan may refinance or reimburse the property owner for the total costs of such eligible improvements.
(d) C-PACE loan interest. The interest rate of a C-PACE loan shall be as set forth in the C-PACE documents.
(e) C-PACE loan term. The term of a C-PACE loan shall not exceed the weighted average useful life of the eligible improvements, as determined by the Program Administrator.
(f) Apportionment of costs. All of the costs incidental to the financing, administration, collection, and/or enforcement of the C-PACE loan shall be borne by the property owner.
(g) Financing agreements. capital providers may use their own financing agreements for C-PACE loans, but the financing agreement may not conflict with the provisions of this chapter, the C-PACE Act, or the C-PACE program agreement. To the extent of any conflict, this chapter, the C-PACE Act, and the C-PACE program agreement shall prevail.
(h) C-PACE program agreement. In order to participate in the C-PACE program, property owner and capital provider shall enter into a C-PACE program agreement, which sets forth certain terms and conditions for participation in the C-PACE program. The Program Manager is authorized to approve the C-PACE loan and execute the C-PACE program agreement on behalf of the City without further action by the City Council. The C-PACE program agreement shall be binding upon the parties thereto and their respective successors and assigns until the C-PACE loan is paid in full. To conform to a modification of the Statewide program template version of the C-PACE program agreement, the Program Administrator may modify C-PACE program agreement in accordance with the provisions of Subsection (p) of this section as necessary to further the Statewide program's purpose and to encourage Program participation, so long as such modifications do not conflict with the program guidelines, this chapter, the locality agreement or the C-PACE Act.
(i) Repayment of C-PACE loan; collection of C-PACE Payments. C-PACE loans will be repaid by the property owner through C-PACE Payments made in the amounts and at such times as set forth in the assessment payment schedule, the C-PACE documents and program guidelines. The capital provider shall be responsible, subject to and in accordance with the terms of the C-PACE program agreement and other C-PACE documents, for the servicing of the C-PACE loans and the collection of C-PACE Payments. If a capital provider fails to service a C-PACE loan, such C-PACE loan shall be serviced by the Program Administrator. Nothing herein shall prevent the capital provider or the Program Administrator from directly billing and collecting the C-PACE Payments from the property owner to the extent permitted by the C-PACE Act or other applicable law. The enforcement of C-PACE loans and their C-PACE documents during an event of default thereunder is governed by Section 11-195(e).
(j) C-PACE loan assumed. A party which acquires a property which is subject to a C-PACE lien, whether it obtained ownership of the property voluntarily or involuntarily, becomes the property owner under the C-PACE documents and, by virtue of the C-PACE lien running with the land, assumes the obligation to repay all remaining unpaid C-PACE Payments which are due and which accrue during such successor property owner's period of ownership. Only the current C-PACE Payment and any delinquent payments, together with any penalties, fees and costs of collection, shall be payable at the settlement of a property upon sale or transfer, unless otherwise agreed to by the capital provider.
(k) Transfer of C-PACE loans. C-PACE loans may be transferred, assigned, or sold by a capital provider to another capital provider at any time until the C-PACE loan is paid in full provided that the capital provider shall notify the property owner and the Program Administrator of the transfer prior to the billing date of the next C-PACE payment due (and within 30 days if the C-PACE loan is serviced by the Program Administrator), record a C-PACE assignment (CP) among the land records, and deliver a copy of the recorded C-PACE assignment (CP) to the property owner, the City, and the Program Administrator. Recordation of the C-PACE assignment (CP) in the land records shall constitute an assumption by the new capital provider of the rights and obligations of the original capital provider contained in the C-PACE documents.
(l) Program fees. The Statewide program is self-financed through the program fees charged to participating property owners, together with any funds budgeted by the General Assembly to support the Statewide program. The program fees are established to cover the actual and reasonable costs to design and administer the Statewide program, including the compensation of a third-party Program Administrator. The amount of the program fees shall be set forth in the program guidelines. program fees may be changed by the Program Administrator from time to time and shall only apply to C-PACE loans executed after the date the revised fees are adopted.
(m) Locality agreement. The City shall opt into the Statewide program by entering into the locality agreement, adopting the Statewide program as the City's own C-PACE program. In accordance with the C-PACE Act, opting into the C-PACE program shall not require the City to conduct a competitive procurement process. The Program Manager is authorized to execute the locality agreement on behalf of the City without further action by the City Council.
(n) Program guidelines. The Program Administrator, under the direction of and in consultation with Virginia Energy, has designed the program guidelines to create an open, competitive and efficient C-PACE program. The Program Administrator may modify the program guidelines from time to time, provided such amendments are consistent with the C-PACE Act and approved by Virginia Energy before taking effect.
(o) Indemnification. The Program Administrator shall indemnify, defend and hold the City, its officers, agents and employees harmless against any and all losses, liabilities, claims, damages, and expenses (including court costs and reasonable attorney's fees) arising from any material default or breach by the Program Administrator of its obligations to the City under or in connection with the Statewide program as well as all claims against the City, its officers, agents and employees, arising from errors, omissions, negligent acts or intentional acts of the Program Administrator, its officers, agents and employees.
(p) Effective version of documents.
(1) The effective version of the program guidelines, C-PACE program agreement, C-PACE lien certificate, C-PACE Amendment, C-PACE Assignment ("CP") and C-PACE Assignment (locality) (the "documents") in the City shall be the version in use by Virginia Energy and the Program Administrator as of the adoption date of Ordinance No. 2023-152, adopted September 11, 2023.
(2) If any of the Documents are revised by Virginia Energy, the Program Administrator, or any other authorized party after the adoption date of the ordinance, the City shall adopt the revised documents automatically unless the proposed revision to the documents may change the rights or obligations of the City ("substantial revisions").
(3) Substantial revisions shall not take effect in the City until 90 days after the Program Manager and the City Clerk receive written notice from Virginia Energy or the Program Administrator of such substantial revisions. During such 90-day period, City Council may reject the noticed substantial revisions through a resolution ("rejections resolution").
(4) If City Council adopts a rejections resolution during the aforementioned 90-day period, the documents in effect in the City shall not include the substantial revisions unless the substantial revisions are resubmitted pursuant to Subsection (p)(3) of this section and are not subject to a rejections resolution following such resubmission.
(Code 2020, § 11-194.1; Ord. No.2023-152, § 2, 9-11-2023)
Source: City of Richmond, Virginia, Code (2026 recodification) and Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/va/richmond/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICICO_CH11EN_ARTVIIICOPRASCLENFIPR_S11-194CELOREPRFEREPRADPRGUFetched: 11/8/2026