Who Pays to Bury Aqualane Shores' Power Lines, and Why Port Royal's Answer Is Different

Some Aqualane Shores homes may face a utility charge that won't show up in the list price, the HOA dues or the tax line on a listing sheet. In October 2025, the Aqualane Shores Association board discussed a special assessment district to put the neighborhood's remaining overhead power lines underground. The estimate was about $31,000 to $32,000 per home, payable over 10 years. Under that proposal, the charge would not pass to the next owner with the deed. If a home sells before the balance is paid off, the balance has to be paid at the sale.

That turns a neighborhood infrastructure project into a closing-table item. The board minutes also show that Port Royal, just to the south, was on a different track. That gap comes from how Florida Power & Light decides where it pays to bury lines.

The Line Item That Arrives at Closing

The board minutes, dated 10/28/2025, summarize the City of Naples' position this way:

"City said it could allocate over 10-year period without rolling forward with deed, except if house sold before paid off then must pay on sale."

The voting section of the same minutes says the same thing again. The obligation "will not carry over with the deed upon sale but must be paid at time of sale if not paid off."

That has a practical effect on anyone buying or selling in the proposed district. Spread over 10 years, $31,000 works out to about $3,100 a year before any financing terms, and the minutes don't spell those out. If an owner sells in year three, most of that balance is still unpaid, and it comes due in one payment. The minutes say the balance must be paid on sale. They don't say which side pays it. Who absorbs it is a negotiation, and it belongs in the contract, not in a surprise on the settlement statement.

Assessments in Naples are typically collected on the property-tax roll, according to the City Finance Department. Making one requires a straw poll, public notice and several City Council actions. So an approved assessment would leave a public record, and a buyer's title and tax review should turn it up.

Why Port Royal Isn't Writing the Same Check

FPL buries neighborhood lines under two different programs, and they put the cost in different places.

The Storm Secure Underground Program, known as SSUP, is FPL's own program. FPL says customers pay nothing out of pocket upfront. The cost is spread across all FPL customers through a Storm Protection Plan monthly charge approved by the Florida Public Service Commission. Voluntary conversions are different. The municipality or community that asks for one pays for it.

Neighborhoods can't sign up for SSUP. In a September 16, 2026 release, FPL said it "strategically selects communities" using outages during named storms, outages caused by vegetation, and other reliability metrics. The same release reports 2,000 miles of conversions completed, serving more than 200,000 customers. Back in March 2023, City staff made the same distinction for Naples City Council. A voluntary, city-sponsored conversion is paid for by its sponsor, and FPL chooses SSUP areas based on reliability.

According to the Aqualane Shores Association minutes, Port Royal was getting free undergrounding in about three years, while Aqualane Shores was "on schedule for 2035 or later without action." The same minutes say FPL had installed concrete poles and hardened other sections in Aqualane within the previous five years. They also say the proposed district leaves out recently hardened feeders. The minutes don't explain how FPL ranked the two neighborhoods. What they do show is that two waterfront neighborhoods sharing a boundary were facing very different costs for the same upgrade.

The Port Royal timing isn't entirely consistent. The summary at the top of the minutes says "by 2027." The detailed notes say "in about three years," which from an October 2025 meeting points to about 2028. The Port Royal Association's public undergrounding dashboard shows Phase 1 complete and Phase 2 in progress. Phase 2 is an inventory of overhead lines with the City of Naples and preparation for neighborhood outreach. The dashboard has no posted dates, and its "Important Dates" section still shows placeholder text. Neither neighborhood's timing should be treated as settled.

What the Aqualane Estimate Covers

The association redrew the proposed district around the wood-pole lines still serving side streets:

• The laterals along 17th, 18th and 21st Avenues South
• The cul-de-sacs on 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Streets South
• Southwind Drive, Forrest Lane, Marina Drive and Jamaica Lane

Streetlights would go into a separate proposal. Areas that already have new lighting would be excluded. The district covers about 270 to 280 homes. The minutes base the $31,000 to $32,000 figure on a Kimley-Horn study and note that negotiations could move it as low as $28,000 or as high as $35,000.

The neighborhood has used this kind of assessment before. In 2019, Aqualane owners approved a natural gas and fiber line extension with more than 50% support, and the City estimated its capital cost at $1,360,840. The City's March 15, 2019 ballot letter put the single-family assessment at $2,693 one-time, or $742 a year over four years. The power line estimate is about 11 to 12 times that amount, on a 10-year schedule instead of four. That's a large enough jump that it should be treated as a separate line in the cost of ownership, not as routine neighborhood upkeep.

Where the Process Stood at the Last Public Record

On February 7, 2024, Naples City Council voted 6–0 to approve Resolution 2024-15309. It authorized Kimley-Horn to study separate conversions for Aqualane Shores, Port Royal and Royal Harbor, and it appropriated $94,458 from the Public Service Tax Capital Projects Fund. The work covered order-of-magnitude cost estimates, phasing, easement needs, funding options and community presentations. One condition came with it. If any of the assessments failed to move forward, the three neighborhoods would repay the City's advance in proportion.

At the October 2025 board meeting, the next step was to bring FPL back with updated estimates before any vote of affected owners. The board also discussed refunding donations to neighbors who fall outside the redrawn area and holding the consultant fee until it's clear the project will proceed.

Since then, the public record has been quiet. The City's 2026 Council and CRA agenda index lists no Aqualane undergrounding estimate, straw poll, assessment resolution or vote. At an April 13, 2026 Council workshop, staff discussed a general comprehensive-plan policy on whether and how to phase utility undergrounding over 10 years. That was citywide planning, not an Aqualane decision. More recent association records may exist. The Aqualane Shores Association keeps member content behind a $100 annual membership.

As of early October 2026, then, the most recent public information is almost a year old. The proposal hadn't been voted on, the cost depended on an FPL estimate nobody had published, and if the vote passed, the balance-due-at-sale terms would apply.

Questions to Put in Writing Before You Sign

For any home on the streets listed above, these questions belong in due diligence. Ask them of the seller, the title company and the association.

1. Is the property inside the proposed undergrounding boundary, or on a section FPL has already hardened?
2. Has an updated FPL estimate been issued, and has the 50%-plus-one vote of affected owners happened?
3. If the assessment passed, how much is the current balance, and does it show on the property-tax roll?
4. If the vote is still pending, does the contract say who pays a balance that becomes due during the buyer's ownership or at a later sale?
5. For sellers, has the payoff amount been confirmed early enough to be accounted for in pricing instead of discovered at closing?

FAQ

Does the assessment transfer to the next owner?

Not under the terms described in the October 2025 minutes. The balance would be due at the time of sale if it hasn't been paid off.

Who votes?

Only the affected owners inside the proposed district, and approval takes 50% plus one, according to the association minutes.

Why bury lines at all if FPL will do it eventually?

FPL's own storm data shows that underground neighborhood lines performed about five times better during Hurricane Ian in 2022, and about 5 to 14 times better during the 2024 season that included Debby, Helene and Milton. For Aqualane, the decision in front of owners was whether to pay to get that ahead of an FPL schedule pointing to 2035 or later.

If you're looking at a home on one of these streets, or getting ready to sell one, Angela Graziano can help confirm where the property sits in the proposed district, ask for the current assessment status in writing, and work the answer into your offer or pricing before closing. Schedule Your Free Consultation.