A proposal to erect a cell phone tower on Lyman Hill in North Canoe has sparked strong opposition from neighbouring property owners.
Standard Land Company Inc. plans to install three towers on behalf of Telus and, as required by Industry Canada, which governs such installations, must consult with the city.
The one that is sparking opposition is a 45-metre tower at 6790-56th St. NE. City staff report that the earliest the proposal would come to council would be at a planning meeting on Oct. 1 followed by a council meeting on Oct. 9. Those dates are not yet confirmed.
A Telus spokesperson, meanwhile, says the location is not set in stone and the company will explore other suggested locations, some of which were already investigated when the current site proposed was chosen.
Lyman Hill is on the opposite side of the highway from the town and Federated Co-operatives, just north of Hidden Valley Campground.
About 35 people from the neighbourhood have signed a petition opposing what Telus calls a radio-communications facility, and several will be taking their views to city council.
Paul Verney lives next to the prosed tower site, which is located on private land. He, like others, is concerned about the location, which he says will block views and reduce property values in the neighbourhood made up of rural acreages. He says his home will be closer to the tower than the owner of the property in question, who couldn’t be reached by press time.
Verney points out that cedar trees nearby are about 60 feet tall, while the tower – at 45 metres or about 147 feet – will be well over twice that height.
The first call he made upon hearing of the proposal was to a realtor.
“He said your property value will devalue,” reports Verney, noting that where people now drive up and say, ‘what a beautiful place,’ the response will change with the addition of a huge tower nearby. “Everyone will say, ‘that’s a neighbourhood to avoid.’”
He says the location chosen is easily accessible for Telus given that it’s 100 yards off the highway and will be plowed in the winter, thanks to taxpayer dollars. He points to Crown land above an acreage farther away from the highway that would not ruin anyone’s view or property values.
“This is all about Telus making money… They make enormous amounts of money…,” he said. “If the neighbourhood is going to suffer, that’s not fair.”
Telus spokesperson Shawn Hall disagrees.
“The key thing to emphasize is why we are bringing this site in the first place. We received dozens and dozens of calls from Salmon Arm and surrounding area asking us to improve service…,” he said, noting that the tower would improve spotty service in Canoe as well as to a stretch of highway nearby. “We’re prepared to invest about a half-million dollars… to meet demand from local residents.”
He said many potential sites have been reviewed, with a number of criteria in mind. If they’re too far away, Canoe wouldn’t be covered, and ‘line of sight’ must be considered because a dip in the land would affect coverage.
However, the opposition was unexpected, he said, given that Telus has erected towers thousands of times without complaint.
“We’re a bit surprised by the opposition. We’re going to step back and look at what our options are and go from there.”
He said doing engineering reviews and looking at other sites could take a few weeks.
Hall also contends health concerns about cell phone towers are unfounded.
“What’s being put out by Health Canada and the World Health Organization is that these things are safe.”
Lyman Hill residents Debbie Miyashita, Ernie Smith and Carmen Teixeira spoke to the Observer with concerns similar to Verney’s.
Teixeira runs a horse breeding and training facility on property her family has owned for 44 years. She said people don’t want their livestock exposed to such towers. She also notes that people purchase on Lyman Hill because of the view.
“This is a multi-million dollar, 25-acre, lakeview property. There will be a massive tower instead of a lakeview.”
Smith would like to see the city step in, and notes the issue would be different if there was nowhere else to put the tower.
“There are millions of places to put it.”
Miyashita is concerned both about the loss of view and effects on health, particularly when exposure is constant.
