Request a Residential Street Light
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Overview
Neighborhoods can request new street lights or replacements for their community. Neighborhood street lights in unincorporated Hillsborough County are paid for by property owners as a separate Hillsborough County Consolidated Street Lighting Special Purpose District assessment on their property tax bill, or as a fee within their homeowner's association assessment. Adding new street lights to existing neighborhoods is possible, but requires agreement from the property owners who will be paying for them.
Fees
- Street lighting is billed annually in advance
- The assessments are part of the annual (ad valorem) property tax bill
- Cost of the Residential Street Lighting Program includes:
- planning and engineering
- installation
- maintenance
- tree trimming
- energy to operate the light
- Street light assessments are based on the front footage of your lot (parcel)
- See a breakdown of fees and light styles
Things to Consider
- Lights are installed and maintained by Tampa Electric Company (TECO)
- Regular replacement of the light bulbs is part of the preventive maintenance plan
- Necessary tree trimming is done upon request by residents
- Contact TECO online or call (813) 223-0800
- All light fixtures are equipped with a dusk-to-dawn sensor controlling light operation
How To
- Contact the Traffic Services Section at (813) 635-5400
- We will request a lighting plan for the area from TECO on behalf of the petitioner
- We will send you:
- a map showing the boundaries of the proposed lighting area
- a letter explaining the type of lighting
- an approximate cost
- a copy of the proposed street lighting plan
- the petition forms
- You should circulate the petition among the people living within the boundaries of the proposed area
- The signatures obtained must constitute a majority of the property owners in that area
- When petitioning for registered voters, you must submit the petition to the Supervisor of Elections for the verification of the names
- There is no fee for verifying property owners or for verifying registered owners
- If we confirm that the petition contains the necessary majority of signatures and all requirements have been met, we will place the petitioned area on the annual schedule for a public hearing to establish new street lighting districts
- We will publish a notice of a public hearing to inform interested parties of a proposed street lighting district, to allow all affected property owners the right to appear at the hearing, and to file written objections or comments concerning the proposed lighting areas
- At the public hearing, the Board of County Commissioners will consider any objections or comments for approving or not approving a proposed lighting area
- If the area is approved, we will authorize TECO to install the lights
- After BOCC approval, TECO has one year from October 1 to October 1, of the following year, to complete installation of all the new areas
- The method of collection for funding of this special taxing district for street lighting is by special assessment
- The assessment is added to property owners’ tax bills before the installation of lights
- The funds are collected in advance for payment of the lighting bills