Tower may not be built on church lot

A 30-metre cellphone tower Rogers had hoped to build in a Saskatoon church parking lot is now on hold after Holliston residents vocally opposed the structure.

Doreen Wilson, who lives two doors away from the proposed tower site, said she and her neighbours were “rejoicing” last week when she heard the communications company was considering other options.

“We put a lot of work into it,” she said. “When you can fight and get results over a big company like Rogers, you find that it’s worthwhile.”

Rogers had struck a deal with Preston Avenue Community Church, at Preston and Adelaide, to erect the tower in its parking lot for an undisclosed lease fee. The structure would have had a cross on top.

For reasons no source contacted Friday would divulge, Rogers was looking for a new tower location to replace an existing cell antenna on the roof of the 16-storey Forget Tower on Louise Avenue behind Market Mall.

Forget is run by the Saskatoon Housing Authority. Operations manager Don Pulak said Friday he was limited in what information he could give, but confirmed Rogers does lease space on the roof of the tower and “at this point continues to do so.”

The proposed structure at the church would have a 13-by-7-metre base containing equipment, City of Saskatoon manager of planning and development Alan Wallace said, making it akin to a 12-storey building and “not a small structure by any means.”

The city is compelled to call a public meeting for the introduction of any structure taller than 15 metres. Rogers can also ask the city for a “letter of concurrence” based on the community’s mood, to support an application to Industry Canada for approval of the tower. Wallace said Rogers has not yet asked the city for that letter.

A public meeting held in May was so packed — mainly with residents opposed to the tower — that some people couldn’t fit in the room, Wilson said.

“WHEN YOU CAN FIGHT AND GET RESULTS OVER A BIG COMPANY LIKE ROGERS, YOU FIND THAT IT’S WORTHWHILE.”

DOREEN WILSON

She and other residents were worried the structure would devalue their properties, wouldn’t be nice to look at, would let off a hum and may have unknown health effects for people in its proximity. Wilson and her neighbours collected at least 150 signatures on a petition from people who opposed the tower’s location, she said.

In an email Friday, Rogers spokesperson Patricia Trott said the company was backing away from their plans for a tower on church property.

“Re: the status of the site, we have listened to the community and are working with the community to see if we can find an alternative site,” Trott wrote.

The company has nearly 20 antennas in the city, she said.

When contacted Friday, Preston Avenue Community Church pastor Roy Hewko said the church was no longer giving media interviews on the subject, and said he did not know the status of the tower.

Wilson said residents contacted their Saskatoon Eastview MLA Corey Tochor, and credited him with getting Rogers and the housing authority back into talks about keeping the cellphone antenna where it is.

Tochor confirmed the authority and Rogers are negotiating a long-term lease.

“They still haven’t inked a deal,” Tochor said.

“I’m encouraging both sides to come to a long-term agreement,” Tochor added.

Both Wallace and Wilson said other neighbourhoods could be dealing with the same issue soon.

As cellphone customers demand more bandwidth for their mobile devices, cellular providers are going to have to supply a more dense network of antennas in urban areas like Saskatoon, Wallace said.

The city is getting close to the point where new neighbourhood plans will include allotted space for antenna, just like they leave space for fire hydrants, power poles and utility lines, Wallace said.

“I think municipalities have to come to grips with (it) — this is a fact of life now,” he said.

Trott said Rogers has no other new antenna sites planned for the next year, but added “that could change depending on the needs of our customers.”

SaskTel spokesperson Michelle Englot said the Crown corporation currently has 14 Saskatoon cell towers, which does not include more antennas atop buildings or light standards.

SaskTel wants to more than double that number, with plans for 15 more towers in Saskatoon, and about 15 more rooftop or light standard antennas, she said.

The number of customers is rising, she said, but the demand for cellular data is “growing exponentially.”

“We do need to keep adding capacity to our network,” Englot said.

The next public consultation meeting for a SaskTel cell tower will be in Haultain on July 11, she said. After that, Buena Vista residents will be asked about a tower planned for Lorne and Eighth Street at a July 25 meeting.