Huntsville’s planning committee met electronically on June 16, its first meeting since the pandemic hit. On the agenda was a proposal for two new cell towers—one at 348 Muskoka Rd 3 North and one at 519 Etwell Road.
While the municipality is not the approval agency for telecommunication towers, part of the requirement by Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), which approves such towers, is that the proponents of the towers consult with the local municipality and follow the municipality’s public consultation process where one exists, explained Huntsville director of planning services Kirstin Maxwell.
A protocol for public consultation was passed by the Town of Huntsville in 2012 and requires the proponent, in this case Rogers, to:
“1. a) provide written notice of the proposal, to all tenants and property owners within a radius of 6 times the height of the tower, measured from the base of the tower.
1. b) hold 2 open houses, one on a Saturday, and to advertise the open houses in the local newspaper, a minimum of 30 days prior to the first open house.”
In her report, Maxwell stated that although the notification protocol does not require the proponent to circulate lake associations, notification of the proposal was provided to both the Fairy Lake and Lake Vernon associations.
348 Muskoka Rd 3 North
The telecommunications tower proposed on Muskoka Rd 3 North would be a 30-metre shrouded monopole style, explained Maxwell.
She noted that rendering of the tower from different vantage points had been provided and it would be located in an area already clear of vegetation and forming part of an existing parking lot.
She said in response to staff’s inquiry about a tree-style tower, the proponent “advised that a ‘tree’ would look out of place in this location as it would be higher than the existing vegetation, whereas the shrouded monopole style is painted to blend into the skyline and would be considered less obtrusive.”
Maxwell told committee that the municipality had received an inquiry about the proposed tower from staff at Huntsville hospital concerned about the tower interfering with the hospital’s helipad but said ensuring the tower does not interfere is part of the approval process.
“Due to its proximity to the hospital helipad, both Transport Canada and NAV Canada are required to be consulted as part of the application to ISED Canada,” she said.
519 Etwell Road
Rendering of the proposed Etwell Road tower provided by the proponent to planning committee.
The self-support steel lattice-style tower proposed on Etwell Road would be 60 metres in height but would be situated in a gully, according to Maxwell. Again, the applicant provided renderings from different vantage points and while there was one inquiry about this tower, there were no objections she told committee.
Prompted by a question from Councillor Jason FitzGerald, Maxwell said while council would not have the final say as to whether the tower gets approved, she thought it would significantly influence the decision. She also noted that part of the approval process would involve proving that Rogers would not be able to collocate on another tower in order to offer its service.
Councillor Bob Stone wanted to know if there would be lights on the towers. Maxwell said she thought there would be in order to ensure air navigation safety.
“The lights on these towers destroy our vistas and our night sky and there are other ways around it—lower towers and different locations—but I cannot support this,” said Stone.
Councillor Dan Armour, a senior paramedic, welcomed the tower by the hospital on Muskoka Road 3 North. He said the signal wasn’t always the greatest in that area. “I believe the closest tower right now that they’re pinging off of is on East Waseosa hill. So that’s the issue they’re having in that area with any type of cell coverage. I believe there’s other purpose for that tower, eventually, it could actually help with communications with other services like OPP and ambulance, etc. so I think it’s a good location.”
While Stone voted down the endorsement of both towers, the rest of committee voted in their favour.
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Are the two towers (“Lord of the Rings” reference incidental) necessitated by the transition from 4G to 5G? Apparently, the band-width auction is to be held tomorrow (06-25), so it seems to be more than a little coincidental.
Hello Ted,
You may be able to find your answer by going to the staff report, included here: https://huntsvilleon.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/35783?preview=35785&attachmenturl=%2Fdocument%2F35499
Question, what radius would each Tower serve, as it seems to be very self serving to specific areas??