Maryhill residents ask council to push back against proposed cell phone tower

MARYHILL RESIDENTS OPPOSED TO the prospect of a large communications tower looming over their village found a sympathetic ear at Woolwich council Tuesday night.

Shared Network Canada (SNC) plans to erect a 65-metre (213-foot) tower on a farm property on St. Charles Street, just east of the village. Residents are none too happy, with a petition bearing almost 200 names presented to councillors.

Donna Hartman, who lives on St. Charles Street East, called on the township to challenge the location of the tower, prompting the company to move it elsewhere.

“I am not here to stop Shared Network from constructing a tower. I am here to ask you to refuse the site chosen by Shared Network based on the unique characteristics of our community,” she said, noting the tower would overshadow the historical centre of the village, including St. Boniface Church, the 1877 structure that is the most visible landmark.

“St. Boniface Church is a significant structure, and its view – the wonderful vista of this quaint, historic com-

munity – will be destroyed by a steel tower with lights, twice its height, with no architectural merit.”

Communications towers are regulated by the federal government, however, and municipalities can comment on proposals, but have no vote in the matter. But they can challenge the location, Hartman noted, adding the company hasn’t appeared overly cooperative in the face of public pushback.

“I believe Shared Network has acted in bad faith,” she said, noting that the proposed site already has a laneway and circular clearing in place.

Coun. Murray Martin told Hartman she may have been too kind about the company’s motives.

“I would say they did act in bad faith,” he said, pointing to the lack of commuHarris, and a public open house held in Bloomingdale with little notice instead of in Maryhill itself.

The company has promised, however, to hold another public session, this time in the village.

But Dan Kennaley, the township’s director of engineering and planning, said he wants to see SNC move ahead with that meeting sooner rather than later so that public input would actually matter.

Concerns about the tower’s proximity to the village are borne out by a recent study that identifies Maryhill as a prime candidate for a cultural heritage landscape (CHL) designation, he added.

The review carried out by the Heritage Resources Centre at the University of Waterloo looked at significant locations in Woolwich and Wellesley townships. Maryhill’s collection of historic buildings, including the Maryhill Inn (built in 1950) and Commercial Tavern (1854), and the surrounding viewscapes were highlighted.

Further study will be needed to determine suitability and the ultimate boundary of a Maryhill CHL, Kennaley noted, a process that would be hampered by the installation of a large steel tower.

Along with studying the UW report, Woolwich planners are waiting for answers to a long list of questions submitted to SNC, he added. All of that information, including a public meeting, would be valuable in creating a staff report that recommends a course of action to council.

But even if council voted to request SNC find a different site, there’s no guarantee Industry Canada would listen to the township, said Kennaley.