Photo supplied.
The November 20th Council meeting was attended by six delegations from the Mount Pleasant area who spoke out against the proposed new cell tower located at 944 Mount Pleasant Road. Many of their arguments against the proposal were environmental. Delegates suggested that the proposed site was too close to the Cavan Swamp, which was the first identified Provincially Significant Wetland in the province. The concerns they had voiced during the public consultation process remain.
The project is part of an initiative by the Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure, Infrastructure Canada and Rogers Communication. EORN is a not-for-profit organization formed to meet the need for effective, faster broadband access in rural areas across the region. Rogers was selected for this partnership through a competitive bidding process, and is expected to build 330 new wireless sites and upgrade 300 existing ones with 5G capacity in eastern Ontario by 2025.
High speed internet access is viewed by all levels of government as a critical economic development tool. Low population densities in rural areas make internet networks financially unattractive for private providers, so public/private partnerships are required to bring high speed internet across the province. In its program Ontario Connects, the province has committed to ensuring that every home and community would be connected to high-speed internet by the end of 2025. The CRTC set specific data speed targets to ensure rural and remote areas across the country have access to voice and broadband internet services on fixed and mobile wireless networks. New cell towers improve cellular networks, reduce coverage and capacity gaps. This is expected to fuel job creation, improve social connectivity, provide reliable access to emergency services and integrate transportation systems. What’s not to love?
Environmental concerns aside, the tower itself is an issue. In Mount Pleasant, the proposed tower is 90 metres high. There’s no getting around its visual impact on the neighbourhood.
A delegation from Rogers’ site selection agent, Spectra Point Inc., was on hand to outline the site selection criteria and justification for this particular tower. A map illustrating current Rogers coverage in the area, a description of the topography and the tower line of sight requirements were outlined. They explained that the tower had to be 90 m high to ensure it could connect to the data “corridor”. It also requires the capacity for other providers to add their own equipment to extend service to all cellular customers. The height of the tower could be reduced if a higher spot was found with a willing host. Higher topography would allow the installation of a less obtrusive tower, perhaps even one that looks like a tree, as suggested by one of the delegates.
The proposal is supported by studies including an Arborist Report, a pending Archeological study and is subject to current policies, public consultation and comments from Otonabee Regional Conservation. Its representative indicated that the proposed location is more than 400 feet from a provincially significant wetland and more than 100 feet from other wetlands.
Council has been asked to “concur” with the proposal. They have no decision-making authority in this area, which is the sole jurisdiction of the Federal Government through Industry Canada. The staff report indicated that there were no current policies that would justify a refusal to do so and suggested the township could make specific requests for further studies as conditions of this concurrence. Based on the delegate presentations, staff will present a new list of conditions to be included with the submission to Industry Canada to consider in its approval process at the December 18th Council meeting. Let’s hope new solutions to the issue can be found before Industry Canada makes the call. KG
