Telus, Rogers say Calgary’s new tower consultation policy ‘too onerous’

The City of Calgary has passed an amendment to its telecommunications policy that Telus Corp. and Rogers Communications say is too onerous and is limiting cell tower construction in the city. Under the city's new policy, when a wireless carrier proposes to build a new cellphone tower, it must consult with all property owners within a 300-metre radius of the tower. “We saw that as way too onerous,” wrote David Zacher, manager of network implementation with Rogers, in a letter to the City of Calgary dated March 9, 2010. Under the city’s previous guidelines, wireless providers did not have to consult with the public if the tower was under 15 metres in height. Now, according to new policy, wireless carriers have to consult on the construction of all towers. Chris Gerritsen, a spokesman with Telus, told The Wire Report that some companies took advantage of loopholes in the system and built towers that were 14.9 metres high to avoid public consultation. He said city council amended its cellphone tower policy on Dec. 14. Telus argues that the city’s amendment to the policy was made without any consultation with the telecommunications industry. “We would like to engage in an open dialogue with the city and talk about it with them,” Gerritsen said. Agenda notes for the city’s land use, planning and transportation committee, which is meeting this week, suggest that the new policy will reduce the number of cell tower applications. The agenda says “applications for cell tower installations could be reduced by as many as 100 for towers less than 15 metres in height.” In a letter to the City of Calgary, Telus said the city's new rules make it difficult to meet Industry Canada’s guidelines. “Council’s amendment impedes the ability for the city to meet Industry Canada’s consultation expectations and unnecessarily increase durations for sites not normally associated as being ‘controversial’ or ‘sensitive’ ,” Karen Dolan, manager of real estate and government affairs with Telus, wrote. Telus says the city should follow Industry Canada’s “Guide to Assist Land-use Authorities in Developing Antenna Siting Protocol.” Industry Canada gives wireless carriers 120 days to complete consultations with the public for each new cell tower. But the department also says consultations aren't necessary for towers under 15 metres. “LUAs are encouraged to develop protocols that are clear and within their areas of responsibility while not being more burdensome for proponents than the processes and responsibilities set out in CPC-2-0-03,” the Industry Canada guide says. Dolan suggested the city is discouraging investment in more wireless infrastructure. “A decision to leave the policy as it currently remains implies that the city has no further interest in the processing of new telecommunications technologies,” Dolan wrote. Telus said it would opt out of negotiations with the city of Calgary on new cell phone towers—instead relying on Industry Canada’s guidelines—if the city’s policy does not change. “This includes not providing the fees that would have otherwise been paid to the city,” Dolan wrote. Dolan said in her letter that the City of Calgary has a submission-processing fee for cell towers of $2,528, and Telus expects to submit about 10 submissions to the city this year at a cost of $25,280. Both Telus and Rogers have recommended that the city's committee on land use, planning and transportation, which oversees antenna planning, should reconvene to discuss the topic with industry stakeholders. Members of the land use committee were not available for interviews on Monday. jmigneault@thewirereport.ca

Telus, Rogers say Calgary’s new tower consultation policy ‘too onerous’

News | May 17, 2010

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