Lehigh Acres Street Light Initiative

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Betsy Clayton, APR/CPRC

Communications Director

Lee County Government

239-826-4606

[email protected]

Lehigh Acres streetlight initiative to expand to include dead ends starting this year

Fort Myers, FL, Nov. 15, 2021 – A community effort to add thousands of streetlights at Lehigh Acres intersections will expand this winter to include more than 2,000 streetlights at the end of dead-end streets.

The project is possible due to the Lehigh Acres Streetlighting District. It was created by residents in 1992 as a Municipal Services Taxing/Benefits Unit. Residents within the district pay property taxes to fund the lighting project. The lights are designed and installed by the electrical utility providers in Lehigh Acres, which are Florida Power & Light and LCEC (Lee County Electric Cooperative).

You can find a map of existing lights and the district boundaries here:  https://leegis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=43b9955c4b2d464eb268cda873baa919

Since 2019, the streetlighting effort has focused on installing about 3,000 lights, with most of them on intersections and school bus stops. That effort continues, but will now include the dead-streets and, eventually, lights placed at some mid-block locations.

The lights typically are installed in right-of-way or utility easements, where they are most effective, cost efficient and consistent with the existing infrastructure. Because the lights are not on private property, the power companies typically do not contact homeowners before installing a light near their property.

Homeowners can request a light near their residence, but final selection will depend on proximity to planned lights and other contributing factors. The light application and additional information can be found at www.leegov.com/budget/mstbu.

To report any malfunctioning lights to the utility companies, take note of the pole number located on the pole and call the company listed on your energy bill. The lights also may be reported to the Lee County MSTBU office at 239-533-2308.

About Municipal Service Taxing/Benefit Units:

Property owners in unincorporated Lee County who wish to implement special services or improvement projects to their neighborhood or community may petition the Board of County Commissioners to create a Municipal Service Taxing/Benefit Unit (MSTBU), a dependent unit of government.  These services or projects are paid through ad valorem taxes, assessments or charges to the properties that benefit from the service or project.  These payments are made through your annual tax bill.

The projects or services, which benefit a specifically defined geographic area, can be one-time Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) or ongoing Operation & Maintenance (O&M) services. 

• Examples of CIP projects: road paving, bridge replacement, sidewalk installation, and canal dredging. 
• Examples of O&M services: road, sign, or landscaping maintenance, irrigation, lighting, channel marker/canal maintenance.