By Mike Anderson
A proposal for a 35-metre monopole 5G cell tower at 20898 Dalton Rd in Sutton, near two local schools, faced pushback at the Town Council meeting on August 12, as councillors questioned whether the proponent, Shared Tower Inc., had adequately notified school boards, school staff, and parents.
Mayor Margaret Quirk and Coun. Dale Genge also asked Shared Tower to provide more information to address health and safety concerns, as the tower will be erected near a playground and less than 130 metres from Black River P.S. and St. Bernadette Catholic Elementary School.
During her presentation, Cheyenne Zierler, a senior planning manager with Shared Tower, said the company spent two years looking for a location for the tower, which is needed to address a gap in cell coverage in the area, and settled on the north-west corner of the property, behind the Salvation Army Youth Shelter.
According to Zierler, the Sutton Water Tower, owned and operated by York Region, was given a pass because it doesn’t have enough space on top to accommodate the necessary telecommunication antennas and is due to be rebuilt anyway.
While Shared Tower is seeking a letter of concurrence, basically municipal approval, to proceed, Zierler admitted that the company’s attempts at public consultation, while meeting the Town’s statutory requirements, had fallen flat: no one attended the virtual public open house and information session held on June 4, and there were no comments or questions received about the proposal by the June 5 deadline.
This didn’t sit well with Coun. Genge, who questioned how the company had notified residents in the area, including the local schools.
Zierler said the public information session was posted on the site at 20898 Dalton Rd, and a notice was mailed to homes within a prescribed area, including the schools.
Genge also expressed concern about the amount of radiofrequency (RF) emissions children might be exposed to, with the tower located near a playground and elementary schools.
“The little bit of research I did shows that children tend to be more affected by radio waves. So, I am concerned about that location,” Genge said.
But Zierler defended Shared Tower’s decision to locate cell towers near schools.
“When it comes to this infrastructure and the antennas being placed, it’s very similar in terms of the other types of wireless technology that we have in building systems, like Wi-Fi. It’s all using radio frequencies, and it all needs to abide by Safety Code 6,” Zierler responded.
Safety Code 6 is a Health Canada guideline that sets safe limits for human exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic energy, which covers 3 kHz to 300 GHz.
“There is a 50 times safety margin built into the regulated amount. And typically, towers are well below 20 percent of the allowable limit. So, this tower would be completely safe being operated 24/7,” she added.
Despite the lack of public engagement, Coun. Lee Dale said he had received comments from parents in Ward 5 whose children attend Black River P.S., a catchment school for rural residents near Sutton. He said parents were worried about the cell tower being too close to the school.
“I think they deserve to be able to have a comment on this, as well, before we provide any letter of recommendation,” Dale said.
Regional Coun. Naomi Davison also stressed that parents need to be informed.
“We have parents around this table. I’m a mom. And, if this went up and I hadn’t been advised and I hadn’t had all the safety information in front of me, I would lose my mind as a mom at that school. So we need to make sure that we serve our community,” Davison said.
Council postponed its decision on the new cell tower, directing Share Tower to return at a later date with comments from YRDSB, YCDSB, school staff and parents. Council also directed Share Tower to provide additional information about the tower’s impact on health and safety. However, council is expected to decide during the next term, as there are only a few meetings before the municipal election on October 26.
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