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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, October 28, 2011 · 8 Mayor confident he'll hear about poor service Continued from page 1 Even so, Town staff said it is important for the Town to make its preferences known. "If a municipality does not maintain an approved telecommunications facility protocol, proponents are asked to follow Industry Canada's Default Public Consultation Process where a facility requires consultation. This process only provides minimal consultation with the public and no requirements on facility design," said Joe Nethery, manager of zoning bylaw projects, in a report to council. "An approved telecommunications facility protocol clearly defines the Town's expectations for proponents, and the steps required to obtain the Town's concurrence with the process followed by the proponent." Council chose to repeal its existing Telecommunications Towers Policy on May 26, as it and the community struggled to stop a 29-metre cell tower from being built at 1461 Rebecca St. The existing policy was found to be outdated. The protocol adopted by council, Monday, calls for telecommunications facilities to be 200 metres away from any sensitive land uses, which include residential areas, schools and health care facilities. Design guidelines were also laid out in the protocol with one condition stating new telecommunications facilities shall avoid obscuring significant views or vistas. The protocol asks that where a proposed telecommunications facility is located on the roof of a building or structure, support structures and equipment shelters should not be visible from any public street. It also asks that telecommunications facilities positioned on rooftops be positioned in a manner that provides for an attractive appearance. Expanded consultation was another condition set out in the protocol. This section calls for the proponents to hold a public open house, notify residents living as far as 120 metres from the proposed facility, and establish a notice sign for the proposed facility along any lot line abutting a public street. The proponents are also asked to place a notice in the local community newspapers if the cell tower is 30 metres tall or greater. During the meeting one resident "The application requirements are unduly onerous, given the scale and modest impact of a wireless communications facility." Stephen D'Agostino, on behalf of Bell, Rogers and Telus modest impact of a wireless communications facility," he said. "Some of the requirements are in fact out of order given the way Industry Canada and its other agencies approve towers." The public consultation requirements, he said, do not reward smaller towers and pointed out that if the requirements are the same for building a 20-metre tower and a 40-metre tower than the proponents will always come forward with the taller tower. D'Agostino said the design guidelines listed are in some cases inconsistent with the technology and voiced concerns about extending the distance cell towers must be from residential areas. D'Agostino said that as the world moves more towards data devices and increased broadband capacity, then by extension, more cell towers are needed. "We think Oakville is in support generally with respect to wireless telecommunications," he said. "Telecommunications is a powerful economic enabler and if one were to go to your economic development website one would see that as it is identified as one of the supports for Oakville's goal to attract knowledge based industry." D'Agostino went on to say that a 200-metre setback from residential areas means certain areas in Oakville will develop poor cell phone service. Burton said he had every confidence that if the Town's actions result in poor cell phone service the residents will let council know. In the end, council opted to adopt the protocol on an interim basis. Additional changes to the protocol include a provision, which asks the proponents to provide a calculation of how much radiofrequency radio exposure the nearest sensitive land use will be subject to when they propose a new telecommunications facility. The protocol also raises the fee proponents must pay to apply for a Municipal Letter of Concurrence on Facility Design and Public Consultation to $5,000. The idea behind this fee increase is to ensure the time Town staff must spend on these applications are paid for by the telecommunications industry and not by the taxpayer. OAKVILLE BEAVER FILE PHOTO NOT IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS: Red-and-white protest signs that read, No Rogers Towers,' still sit on lawns near Rebecca Street just east of Third Line. delegation said council had completely missed the health issue stating cell towers had been linked to brain cancer. Oakville Mayor Rob Burton said council's concern about the health issue was reflected in their desire to keep cell towers away from residential areas. Not everyone was happy about the protocol. Stephen D'Agostino, representing Bell, Rogers and Telus, said that while there was much he could support in the draft protocol there were also some items he had concerns about. "The application requirements are unduly onerous given the scale and Since 1952 OPEN HOUSE Two Locations in Oakville Carpet Cleaning Specialists On The Spot! 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