15.10.020 Definitions.
"Assessment Agreement" means the form agreement approved by the Department and described in PCC 15.10.040.
"Assignment" means the form assignment agreement approved by the Department and described in PCC 15.10.050.
"C-PACER Assessment" means an annual assessment on Eligible Property imposed by Pierce County under an Assessment Agreement.
"C-PACER Financing Arrangement" means the totality of the agreement between a Capital Provider and the Owner of Eligible Property for the purpose of financing Qualified Improvements and Eligible Costs.
"C-PACER Lien" means the lien recorded against Eligible Property by Pierce County to secure payment of a C-PACER assessment and related amounts under the Financing Arrangement.
"Capital Provider" means any private entity, their designees, successors, or assigns, that provides funding under a C-PACER Financing Arrangement to Owners of Eligible Property on impartial terms and meets all requirements of PCC 15.10.070 and the Program Guidebook.
"Department" means the Sustainable Resources Division of the Pierce County Department of Planning and Public Works.
"Eligible Costs" means the cost of materials and labor necessary for or incident to the installation or modification of a Qualified Improvement, including the pro-rata costs, or specific costs where appropriate, of permit and inspection fees, project development and engineering fees, program application and administration fees, third-party review and verification fees, lender's fees, capitalized interest, interest reserves, and escrow for prepaid property taxes and insurance. Total Eligible Costs for new construction may not exceed 30 percent of total costs of the Qualified Project. Eligible Costs do not include costs related to land acquisition or environmental or geological testing or remediation.
"Eligible Property" means privately owned commercial, industrial, or agricultural real property, or multifamily residential real property with five or more dwelling units, located in Pierce County.
"Fossil fuel" has the same meaning as in RCW 19.405.020.
"Greenhouse gas" has the same meaning as in RCW 70A.45.010.
"Owner" means the fee simple owner of Eligible Property and includes any group of persons or entities who together own Eligible Property in fee simple.
"Program" means the Pierce County C-PACER program established under this Chapter.
"Program Administrator" means the Department or an organization contracting with the Department for the administration of the Program.
"Program Guidebook" means a comprehensive document detailing the Program requirements, and any additional guidelines, specifications, underwriting, or approval criteria, as well as any standard application forms, determined by the Department to be necessary or appropriate for the administration of the Program and consistent with this Chapter.
"Qualified Improvement" means a permanent improvement affixed to real property, including an efficiency or safety technology, product, device, activity, or an interacting group of any of them, installed or constructed on or after January 1, 2021, with the intended purpose of:
1. Reducing, or supporting or allowing the reduction of, the consumption or demand of energy or fossil fuels through, as nonexclusive examples, energy efficiency improvements, electrification improvements, improvements that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, building design or envelope improvements, or the replacement of fossil fuel-burning equipment with clean-energy alternatives;
2. Supporting the on-site production of clean, renewable energy, including electrical and thermal;
3. Reducing, or supporting or allowing a reduction in, water consumption or demand;
4. Reducing or eliminating lead in water which may be used for drinking or cooking; or
5. Increasing or improving resilience through, as nonexclusive examples, seismic retrofits, energy storage systems or microgrids, or improvements for flood mitigation, stormwater management, or wildfire and wind resistance.
"Qualified Improvement" does not include the installation, maintenance, or repair of equipment that burns fossil fuel or an improvement that merely replaces an existing improvement without providing any additional public benefit.
"Qualified Project" means a project approved by the Program Administrator involving the purchase and installation or modification of a Qualified Improvement, including new construction or the adaptive reuse of Eligible Property, that provides a Significant Public Benefit related to the intended purpose of Qualified Improvement.
"Significant Public Benefit" for existing structures means that the Qualified Improvement, or the resulting performance of the system or structure as a whole if the Qualified Improvement cannot be independently evaluated:
1. Meets or exceeds the requirements of the Pierce County Energy Code or, if more stringent, the Washington State Energy Code;
2. Meets or exceeds energy performance standards in Chapter 194-50 WAC if the structure is a building covered by that Chapter;
3. Is reasonably expected to reduce the annual amount of energy purchased from a utility, or the amount of greenhouse gas emitted, by 20 percent, including through on-site production and use of clean, renewable energy;
4. Is the replacement of existing fossil-fuel burning space- or water-heating equipment with electric options, which may include the replacement of related system elements;
5. Meets or exceeds the requirements for water efficiency under Pierce County building codes or, if more stringent, Washington State building codes;
6. Meets or exceeds safe drinking water standards, as set by the Washington State Department of Health, for lead contamination; or
7. Meets or exceeds seismic, flood, or other building resiliency requirements under Pierce County building codes or, if more stringent, Washington State building codes.
"Significant Public Benefit" for new construction means that the Qualified Improvement, or the resulting performance of the system or the new structure as a whole if the Qualified Improvement cannot be independently evaluated:
1. Exceeds the requirements of the Pierce County Energy Code or, if more stringent, the Washington State Energy Code;
2. Is reasonably expected to reduce the annual amount of energy that would otherwise be expected to be used or purchased from a utility, or the amount of greenhouse gas emitted, by 30 percent, including on-site production and use of clean, renewable energy;
3. Exceeds the requirements for water efficiency under Pierce County building codes or, if more stringent, Washington State building codes;
4. Exceeds safe drinking water standards set by the Washington State Department of Health for lead contamination; or
5. Exceeds seismic, flood, or other building resiliency requirements under Pierce County building codes or, if more stringent, Washington State building codes.