Telecommunications Tower To Be Built In West Hill

Bell Mobility has made application to the Ministry of Industry to build a
telecommunication tower on the CNR property located near Galloway Road.  The City of
Toronto does not have any legislative authority over the placement of these towers
but does mandate that a community meeting take place for community residents.  (They
are looking at the City to replace the earlier proposed one at the Guildwood
Presbyterian Church.)

At the end of 2007 150 people had jammed the Guildwood Community Presbyterian
Church just before Christmas, concerned about a proposal to build the tower at
the Church. The meeting had been
called by officials from Bell and Industry Canada, the federal agency
that governs telecommunications, to reassure residents that
electromagnetic radiation from the tower would pose no health threat
and that the tower will look like a flagpole. Although at 37 metres in
height, that would make for a very large flagpole indeed. One with a
large shed at its base.

The deal had been reached between the
Church and Bell Canada in back in April, but residents, only learned
about it on Nov. 8th, after Bell sent letters to about 70 homeowners in
the area informing them the tower would be built in the new year. Ward
43 Councilor, Paul Ainslie, told the meeting the city has developed a
protocol requiring telecommunications carriers to consult with the
municipality on tower locations as of January 1, 2008, but it couldn't
be backdated to this tower and wouldn't be binding on cell companies.

Under
the Radio Communications Act, Industry Canada has the final authority
to approve the location of telecommunication towers and antennae.
Municipal zoning by-laws do not have to be considered. A court decision
on March 2, 2007 determined that telecommunication installations are
not subject to site plan control since they are a Federal undertaking.

Many
people at the meeting were also angry that no church officials showed
up to explain why they made a 20-year lease deal with Bell without
first informing the community.

In the past, the City of Toronto
Board of Health have noted concerns that existing guidelines may not be
health protective for continuous lifetime exposure to radio frequency
(RF) electromagnetic levels and that several jurisdictions have adopted
stricter limits than those in Canada. In 1999, the Board of Health
recommended a prudent avoidance policy that RF waves from
telecommunication towers and antennas be 100 times below Safety Code 6
in areas where people normally spend time. The Medical Officer of
Health has recommended that the City collect data from cell phone
carriers on predicted RF levels of proposed towers and antennas to
allow the City to monitor the potential impact of proposed
telecommunication facilities in Toronto.

Bell
officials reassured residents that testing done at the base of other
towers showed the electromagnetic radiation is "thousands of times"
lower than acceptable levels; however, many at the meeting distrusted
the claim. Others felt that even if the tower was not a health threat,
they didn't want a flagpole more than twice as high as the church
steeple towering over their community.

Due to public pressure the applications was withdrawn but the tower
now proposed for CNR property at Galloway and the train tracks
behind the Boy's and Girls Club.