CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WINK) – Northwest Cape Coral homeowners are demanding answers after learning a roadway improvement they say was previously described as non-assessed is now included in the cost of the city’s North 3 Utilities Extension Project.
North 3 will bring city water, wastewater and irrigation to about 5,100 parcels in northwest Cape Coral. For a one-equivalent-parcel property, roughly the size of a typical 10,000-square-foot residential lot, the city estimates assessments of $35,264 east of Burnt Store Road and $41,029 west of Burnt Store Road.
The $5,765 difference for properties west of Burnt Store Road is tied to what the city calls the Alternative 5 roadway improvement, which includes additional roadway, drainage and multimodal features.
“Well, I was appalled, like a lot of the residents who live west of Burnt Store Road,” homeowner John Bashaw told WINK News.
Residents say their frustration stems from what they heard during an earlier city discussion.
During a March 2025 meeting, city staff said, “And just to point out, these are non-assessed transportation costs as well.”
But during the city’s September assessment discussion, staff said, “And the Alternative 5 is funded through the assessment.”
“This is very cut and dry. This isn’t a misinterpretation,” Bashaw said. “At one point, the city said it’s not assessed, and at another point, they said it’s assessed.”
It remains unclear whether the transportation costs referenced in the March 2025 meeting covered exactly the same work now included in the Alternative 5 assessment.
Mayor John Gunter told residents Wednesday he went back and reviewed the earlier meeting and believes the city had promised those roadway improvements would be non-assessed. Gunter said he could not explain why they were later included in the assessment and said the issue will factor into his position when it returns to council.
WINK News asked the city to explain the apparent change. The city said Alternative 5 will be discussed in detail at the Oct. 14 Committee of the Whole meeting.
The debate comes after residents packed City Hall for a Sept. 28 special meeting over the broader cost of North 3. City Council moved the assessment process forward, with a final assessment hearing scheduled for Nov. 2.
Cape Coral mayoral candidate Lisa Cohen-Adkinson told WINK News she plans to file a lawsuit Thursday seeking to delay that final vote until after the Nov. 3 election.
The city has also scheduled a North 3 homeowner information meeting for Oct. 19, where property owners can review their individual assessments and payment options with city staff.