Report to: General Committee Report
Date:
SUBJECT: Telecommunication Facilities on Town Owned Property
PREPARED BY: Jamie Bosomworth, Manager of Strategy and Innovation
David Pearce, Manager of Real Property
RECOMMENDATION:
That the Report titled “Telecommunication Facilities on Town Owned Property” dated January 12, 2009 be received;
That Staff report back to Development Services Committee updating the existing Policy for Establishing Telecommunication Tower/Antenna Facilities to include guidelines for considering these facilities on Town Owned Property;
That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
1. Purpose 2. Background 3. Discussion 4. Financial 5. Others (Strategic, Affected Units) 6. Attachment(s)
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to provide some background information on the opportunity for telecommunication facilities on Town owned property, and to discuss the next steps in establishing guidelines for considering these facilities on Town owned properties.
BACKGROUND:
Existing Town Policy for Establishing
Telecommunication Tower/Antenna Facilities in the Town of
Consumer demand for cellular phones, paging
devices, and other wireless telecommunication services is rapidly increasing.
The fast-paced wireless communications industry has presented local governments
with the challenge of guiding the industry’s antennae and support structures to
appropriate locations. Telecommunication
facilities are federally regulated by Industry
In 2002 the Town established a policy
framework and processes for reviewing, commenting on and generally providing
guidance to proponents and the general public in respect to proposals to erect
telecommunication facilities (Attachment “A”).
The main objective of the policy is to encourage proponents to use
existing structures or towers wherever possible and to balance the need for a
high caliber wireless network in the Town with the desire to preserve the
natural and cultural landscape, and to minimize community impacts. This policy has worked well for
|
Type
of Infrastructure |
Approval Authority |
||
|
None ¹ |
Staff ² |
DSC ³ |
|
|
Co-location on existing structures |
X |
|
|
|
Replacement/Modification of existing towers as long
as proposed height does not exceed original height by more then 10% and tower
replacement remains within development envelope/leased area |
X |
|
|
|
Facilities located on any building where the tower
height does not exceed 25% of the height of the building or 16.6 metres above
grade, whichever is the greater, and a municipal building permit is not
required |
X |
|
|
|
Ground supported towers less than 16.6 metres above
ground |
|
X |
|
|
Replacement of or modifications to existing ground
supported towers where the proposed height does not exceed the existing height
by more than 25% |
|
X |
|
|
Rooftop facilities not exceeding 25% the height of
the building or facilities exceeding 16.5 metres above grade |
|
X |
|
|
Facilities located on any building where the tower
height does not exceed 25% of the height of the building or 16.6 metres above
grade, whichever is the greater |
|
X |
|
|
Ground supported towers greater then 16.6 metres
above ground within an industrial and commercial zone, where the tower base
is located a minimum of 120 metres or a distance of 3 times the height of the
proposed tower, whichever is greater, to residential |
|
X |
|
|
Ground supported towers greater then 16.6 metres
above ground within any zone, where the tower base is located a minimum of
120 metres or a distance of 3 times the height of the proposed tower, whichever
is less, to residential |
|
|
X |
|
Rooftop facilities exceeding 25% the height of the
building or facilities exceeding 16.5 metres above grade |
|
|
X |
Notes:
1)
Where
no approval is required, the proponent is exempt from municipal review and is
not required to apply for site plan application
2)
Where
staff approval is permitted the applicant is required to apply for an
application but is not required to consult
3)
Where Development
Services Committee approval is required, the applicant is required to apply for
an application and is required to consult with the public as identified in Town
policy
Service
providers are interested in potentially locating on Town owned lands
The Town continues to receive inquiries from telecommunication providers to have these facilities potentially located on Town owned lands. Service providers have typically inquired about potential locations on parks or open space (3 inquiries so far in 2008). To date, the Town has not established a policy framework or practice to permit the use of public lands, and telecom providers have been locating their facilities on privately owned sites, typically under a multi year lease arrangement. As telecommunication companies are moving toward designing facilities that are more innovative, discreet and in harmony with the surrounding environment, it may be time for the Town to start considering these facilities at appropriate locations on Town owned lands.
There are currently three major service
providers in the GTA market:
OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:
Consider revising existing Policy to establish a process for
considering telecommunication Facilities on Town Owned Properties
To move forward with this opportunity, the existing telecommunication policy needs to be revisited to consider which Town owned properties may be suitable for siting a telecommunication facility (e.g. parks , open space, works yard, building roof tops, road allowances, etc…) and under what arrangements and design criteria. The revised policy will also address process steps and design guidelines associated with facilities specific to each property type and approval authority (e.g. staff approval versus Council approval depending on type and location of proposed facility). Staff will report back with a draft policy framework.
Once a policy framework has been established and endorsed by Council, staff would be in a position to meet with service providers to discuss their specific needs in relation to our land inventory and policies. The location requirements for telecom facilities can be very precise and very site specific to the needs of each service provider. To that end, detailed discussion with the service providers will be required in future to determine the number of sites required and the potential match with Town sites and policy criteria.
It is expected that each facility can provide revenue of between $10,000 and $15,000 annually (plus annual rent indexation). It is forecast that between 4-8 facilities may be secured per year. This financial opportunity has been identified as an E3 program revenue initiative, with approximately $70,000 forecast in 2009.
DEPARTMENTS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The Development Services Commission and the Legal Department (Real Property) have jointly prepared this report. Departments within the Community Services Commission that manage Town owned properties have also been consulted. The proposal has been presented to the E3 Steering Committee of Council, and was well received. Town staff support the proposal in principle, subject to identifying appropriate locations, design criteria and process requirements. No actions will be taken without Council approval of a policy framework and process requirements.
RECOMMENDED
BY: ________________________ ________________________
Jim Baird, MCIP, RPP Catherine Conrad
Commissioner, Development Town Solicitor
Services
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment “A” Existing Policy for Establishing Telecommunication Tower/Antenna Facilities
Q:\Development\Planning\Telecommunications\General Committee Report December 2008.doc