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City's billing for street lighting shocks residents

Some in a Tampa Palms community take their complaints to the City Council after being told they must pay up.

By DEMORRIS LEE
Published August 7, 2005

TAMPA PALMS - Roger and Krista Salvati were stunned when they received a tax notice from the city of Tampa saying they had been assessed nearly $500 for street lights along their street.

After a couple of phone calls to neighbors, many in the Tampa Palms community of Lancaster Village were scratching their heads at the additional fee.

Residents called Rampart Properties, which manages the area, and got no answers. They tried to contact the city and became even more confused.

On short notice, 22 homeowners met Sunday afternoon and decided they would take their concerns to Thursday's meeting of the Tampa City Council.

"They couldn't give me any straight answers and I left there really frustrated and I felt kind of powerless," said Krista Salvati, who also attended a meeting with a developer's representative.

The council postponed until Aug. 25 voting on whether to assess the 81 homes in Lancaster Village $469.64 a lot.

"My concern is, out of the $12,000 plus we pay in property taxes, why can't they carve that out of that money to pay for the street lights?" Krista Salvati asked.

Some are paying even more. Joseph Caetano, a longtime community leader and sometime politician, is one of nine property owners in Lancaster who have to pay $700 for the four lights on their street.

"I don't know why I have to pay more," Caetano said.

Calls to Michael Brooks, the developer's attorney, were not returned.

Calvin Thornton, the city's interim chief planning engineer, said that when communities are first platted, developers have a choice: They can pay for street lights up front and ultimately put the cost in the price of the home or they can assess the homeowners by setting up a lighting district.

The street light assessment is usually a 20-year tax. After that time, the city assumes responsibility.

In Lancaster, Rampart Properties was paying the street light assessment. But now that the community has been built out, the homeowners have assumed the burden.

Last year, Rampart paid about $14,000 to the city for street lighting.

This year's bill to homeowners is $38,040.84, reflecting the fact that they must pay for both the internal street lighting and for lights that lead into their community.

The price for street lighting varies from community to community, Thornton said. Some residents pay $53.12 a year and others may pay $4,000. The price is calculated by the type and number of lights and the number of homes platted in the community.

For example: In Lancaster, the lights are 100-watt, high-pressure sodium with classical post tops and aluminum colored Charleston poles. Keeping them lit costs $48 a month per light, times 12 months. The total is then divided by the number of lots in the community.

Other communities could have concrete poles and pay $21 a month for the light. Residents also must pay a percentage of the lighting that leads to their community. Residents in Lancaster pay a portion of the lighting on Palms Springs Boulevard.

Caetano and his neighbors are paying nearly $300 more a year because their nine houses are on a different city plat than the other 81 Lancaster homes.

Shawn Harrison, the Tampa council member for the area, said home buyers need to be aware that eventually, the cost of street lighting may fall on their shoulders.

Council member John Dingfelder wants to change the city code to require a separate one-page notice in capital letters or something letting homeowners know about the assessment.

"One of the things we are looking at is giving a little more notice other than having it in the plat," Harrison said. "But technically, it's on the plat and that's all the public notice that's needed."

- Staff writer Janet Zink contributed to this story. Demorris Lee can be reached at 813 269-5312 or dalee@sptimes.com

[Last modified August 6, 2005, 10:03:05]