13-3204. Clean energy assessment district; creation; procedures; governing body; public hearing; notice; ordinance; resolution; contents; assessment contracts.

(1) Pursuant to the procedures provided in this section, a municipality may, from time to time, create one or more clean energy assessment districts. Such districts may be separate, overlapping, or coterminous and may be created anywhere within the municipality or its extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction, except that a county shall not create a district that includes any area within the corporate boundaries or extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction of any city or village located in whole or in part within such county. The governing body of the municipality shall be the governing body for any district so created.

(2) Prior to creating any clean energy assessment district, the municipality shall hold a public hearing at which the public may comment on the creation of such district. Notice of the public hearing shall be given by publication in a legal newspaper in or of general circulation in the municipality at least ten days prior to the hearing.

(3) After the public hearing, the municipality may create a clean energy assessment district by ordinance or, for counties, by resolution. The ordinance or resolution shall include:

(a) A finding that the financing of energy projects is a valid public purpose;

(b) A contract form to be used for assessment contracts between the municipality, the owner of the qualifying property, and, if applicable, a third-party lender governing the terms and conditions of financing and annual assessments;

(c) Identification of an official authorized to enter into assessment contracts on behalf of the municipality;

(d) An application process and eligibility requirements for financing energy projects;

(e) An explanation of how annual assessments will be made and collected;

(f) For energy projects involving residential property, a requirement that any interest rate on assessment installments must be a fixed rate;

(g) For energy projects involving residential property, a requirement that the repayment period for assessments must be according to a fixed repayment schedule;

(h) Information regarding the following, to the extent known, or procedures to determine the following in the future:

(i) Provisions for an adequate debt service reserve fund created under section 13-3209, if applicable;

(ii) Provisions for an adequate loss reserve fund created under section 13-3208; and

(iii) Any application, administration, or other program fees to be charged to owners participating in the program that will be used to finance costs incurred by the municipality as a result of the program;

(i) A requirement that the term of the annual assessments not exceed the weighted average useful life of the energy project paid for by the annual assessments;

(j) A requirement that any energy efficiency improvement that is not permanently affixed to the qualifying property upon which an annual assessment is imposed to repay the cost of such energy efficiency improvement must be conveyed with the qualifying property if a transfer of ownership of the qualifying property occurs;

(k) A requirement that, prior to the effective date of any contract that binds the purchaser to purchase qualifying property upon which an annual assessment is imposed, the owner shall provide notice to the purchaser that the purchaser assumes responsibility for payment of the annual assessment as provided in subdivision (3)(d) of section 13-3205;

(l) Provisions for marketing and participant education;

(m) A requirement that the municipality obtain verification that the renewable energy system or energy efficiency improvement was properly installed and is operating as intended; and

(n) A requirement that the clean energy assessment district, with respect to single-family residential property, comply with the Property Assessed Clean Energy Act and with directives or guidelines issued by the Federal Housing Administration and the Federal Housing Finance Agency on or after January 1, 2016, relating to property assessed clean energy financing.

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