Sarasota advances plan to bury utility lines on St. Armands, Lido keys

With strong support demonstrated to bury utilities on the barrier islands and enhance lighting in a mainland neighborhood, the City Commission directs staff to proceed.

By Andrew Warfield
| 5:00 a.m. October 24, 2025

Overhead utility lines behind commercial buildings on St. Armands Circle.

Sarasota
News

At the unanimous direction of the Sarasota City Commission, staff across multiple departments will begin laying the groundwork to create special tax districts for the burying of utility lines on St. Armands and Lido Keys and for enhanced neighborhood lighting within the South Poinsettia Park neighborhood.

Representatives of all the would-be special assessment districts expressed their support during the Oct. 20 commission meeting, backed by neighborhood surveys that demonstrate overwhelming support of willingness to pay more to address their utility needs.

Utility lines are strung along rear yards on some streets on Lido Key.

Surveys among the affected groups of property owners for the proposal showed approximately 87% support of the St. Armands Residents Association, 97% among members of the Lido Shores Property Owners Association, and 93% from the Lido Key Residents Association. A St. Armands Circle Association merchant survey also reportedly showed strong, though not a specific percentage, support.

The City Attorney’s Office has confirmed that no statutory threshold is required to begin the feasibility phase and the City Commission may determine what level of support is sufficient to move forward. Staff advised that a demonstration of strong community backing of 75% or greater helps ensure political and financial viability.

For the South Poinsettia Park Neighborhood Association, a survey showed 70% support for the enhanced street lighting

South Poinsettia Park spans 19 streets bounded by Hyde Park Street to the north, Jasmine Drive to the south, Tamiami Trail to the east and Osprey Avenue to the west. According to the neighborhood association website, it is home to 380 residences and approximately 50 businesses.

St. Armands Residents Association President Chris Goglia states the case for burying utility lines on St. Armands Key.

“If you ask 1,000 people would you like the city to bury your power lines, 1,000 people would say yes,” St. Armands Residents Association President Chris Goglia told commissioners. “But if you told those same 1,000 people you’ve got to have a metal box on the ground in front of your house and you’ve got to pay for it, all those 1,000 people might not say yes anymore.”

But 87% of those residents did, that number climbing to 93% among survey respondents whose primary residence is St. Armands.

With the commission’s direction staff will prepare the legal and procedural documents required to form the special assessment districts, estimate costs for the projects, schedule a public hearing and prepare a time line.

Public Works Director Nikesh Patel suggested should the undergrounding in particular move forward, it will take three to four years to implement and up to seven years to complete.

A taxing process

Preliminary steps in creating a special tax assessment district to cover the cost of burying utility lines on St. Armands and Lido Keys.

Engage a consultant to prepare an assessment report summarizing the benefits of underground utilities versus cost.
Determine the project cost estimate of all costs to be recovered through assessments, including cost to develop the assessment, legal expenses, hard and soft project costs and financing costs.
Determine if securing the consent of the majority of property owners in the proposed tax district is desired. If so, develop and implement a non-binding petition or ballot process. Note that neither the petition process or consent of individual property owners are required by state law or city ordinance, but may be politically expedient.

Calendar year before tax bill collection begins.

Adopt a resolution expressing intent to begin tax bill collection within the special assessment district the following year, typically by December.
Resolution adoption must be preceded by a weekly published notice for four consecutive weeks.
Forward copies of the executed resolution to the tax collector, property appraiser and Florida Department of Revenue.
Enter into reimbursement agreement with the tax collector.

author

Andrew Warfield

Andrew Warfield is the Sarasota Observer city reporter. He is a four-decade veteran of print media. A Florida native, he has spent most of his career in the Carolinas as a writer and editor, nearly a decade as co-founder and editor of a community newspaper in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.