Year after year, Oakland is recognized as one of America’s most sustainable cities.

I take great pride in knowing that our residents understand that clean energy presents a great opportunity to create jobs, grow our economy and cut pollution. But building a sustainable city is not only about reducing pollution. It’s about creating neighborhoods that empower residents to live in healthier, more livable homes.

Related Articles Opinion: Private lenders use PACE energy program to trap struggling homeowners Too often, residents living in suddenly-hip neighborhoods and cities are displaced by the cost of living crisis. Residents who manage to maintain their older homes often need upgrades and improvements.

Yet the money it takes to afford upgrades can pose a tremendous barrier for residents. Some are left with a daunting choice: Live in an unsafe and energy inefficient home, or become uprooted from the community due to a lack of money.

But Oakland is creating a truly sustainable city — one that both protects our people and our environment.

A policy called Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing has not only accelerated the adoption of clean energy and efficiency technologies, it’s helped thousands of Oaklanders make home upgrades without crashing into those large financial barriers.

PACE was created a decade ago in Berkeley. Since then, it has grown in popularity and benefits municipalities throughout California and 33 other states. PACE is a form of financing offered for certain home upgrades, namely energy and water efficiency, solar installations, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades.

These upgrades can save people money on their utility bill in the long run. But in the short term, they can also dramatically improve people’s lives and help keep them rooted in their communities.

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When a homeowner with equity in their home qualifies for PACE financing and chooses to make a home improvement, they do not have to put any money down upfront. Instead, a PACE provider uses private funds to cover 100 percent of the upfront costs of the project, while the consumer pays back the cost of their upgrade through a line on their property tax bill.

Due to long repayment periods of up to 30 years, monthly payments are manageable compared to other forms of financing.

Since the creation of Oakland’s PACE program in 2015, nearly 900 Oakland homes and businesses have been upgraded and improved. That means more Oakland residents are happier, healthier, and more productive members of our community.

These projects also have a tremendous collective environmental impact. Every year our city conserves an estimated 1.4 million gallons of water while preventing 30,000 metric tons of emissions from polluting our air.

The benefits of PACE are not just unique to Oakland, but extend to more than 400 California cities and municipalities. PACE has created 25,000 jobs in California and has helped more than 150,000 homeowners and businesses make important upgrades and improvements.

Recently, state policy makers recognized that the benefits of PACE could be maximized through adjustments to the program. Two bills – SB 242, authored by State Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, and AB 1284, by Assemblyman Matt Dababneh, D-Encino – signed into law on Oct. 4 give power to the California Department of Business Oversight to regulate the PACE industry, license PACE program administrators and ensure homeowners can pay their PACE assessment. Another key improvement to the program is the requirement that private PACE financing administrators conduct a recorded live phone call to ensure that consumers fully understand the terms of their PACE contracts.

By having Gov. Brown sign these regulations into law, PACE will continue to work for the people of Oakland, so we can strengthen our neighborhoods and protect our environment.

Libby Schaaf is Mayor of Oakland. For more information on Oakland’s PACE program, go to https://tinyurl.com/ydyl794o.