CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WINK) — Homeowners in Cape Coral’s North 3 Utilities Extension Project zone now have another year to collect funds to pay for the project.
They also have to wait to see how a redesigned plan will affect the cost. Even as Zone 3 is delayed roughly 12 months, other projects will continue on their timelines, according to the city.
Josh Boyd lives in the utilities extension zone that borders North 3. As a homeowner who also owns a second plot of land in the expansion zone, he’s already trying to figure out how he will pay for the project.
“Literally every single day, it keeps me up. It’s horrible,” Boyd said.
Construction for the North 1 UEP is expected to be completed in 2027. In a packet breaking down the project, homeowners had to pay more than $25,000, and if they couldn’t pay up front, they could opt into a 20, 25 or 30-year payment plan.
“At least I have time because I’m working still. But what? So I’m working so that all my fun money, my savings, can go to water, so that I can then be billed for the water, it’s just crazy,” Boyd said.
For a standard 10,000-square-foot lot getting all three services, annual payments would come out to more than $3,700 over 30 years. The cost for the project depends on lot size and how much a homeowner can pay up front.
A Northwest 3 neighbor said if the project had continued and homeowners had been charged $41,000, a 20-year payment plan would cost almost $5,000 annually.
Boyd said he pays $5,000 in taxes yearly, he fears for what the North 10 EUP will cost.
“To basically double my tax bill for the next 20 to 30 years, it’s not sustainable,” Boyd said. “You know to have seniors, people who are on a fixed income, living on Social Security, they’re retirees down here. How are they supposed to cough up that money?” Boyd said.
With the project looming, Boyd said he’s thought about avoiding the cost altogether.
“I’m definitely thinking of selling already. My parents, they live a mile up the street, we’re thinking of selling, and it sucks because this area is incredible,” Boyd said.
North 3 UEP neighbors will have to wait for the redesign to see how much that project will cost. The next step for North 3 is a vote on Nov. 2, where city council will vote to repeal the ordinances that have been approved so the city can go back to the drawing board.