Residents of a Swift Current neighbourhood are pushing back on a 35-metre SaskTel cell tower planned near their homes, and many left a recent open house feeling unheard, according to SWBooster.
The Crown corporation held the come-and-go session at the Legion Hall in downtown Swift Current from 6 to 8 p.m. on October 29. Poster boards laid out details of the proposed tower and its equipment building, and SaskTel subject matter experts were on hand to answer questions.
SaskTel wants to build on City-owned land in the 200 block of 3rd Avenue SE, just north of the south side outdoor rink. A surveyed site plan shown at the event put the distance from the centre of the tower to the nearest property line at 10.54 metres.
Greg Jacobs, external communications manager at SaskTel, said the company already holds a letter of concurrence from the City of Swift Current and has submitted it to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), the federal regulator for antenna sites. “We have not heard any negative feedback from ISED,” he said.
According to Jacobs, a town hall is usually requested by the land use authority, and the City did not ask for one. SaskTel decided to host the event anyway because residents kept contacting it after the letter was issued, and the feedback gathered will be passed along to ISED as additional information.
“The regulator will intervene if they have a concern,” Jacobs said. “If they do not intervene, it’s approval to proceed.” He added that when a municipality backs a project, “there has to be some very significant issue for ISED to weigh in.”
Under ISED’s consultation rules, information packages must be mailed to property owners within three times the height of the proposed structure. SaskTel sent 34 packages, but some of its correspondence with the City listed a higher number. Jacobs called it “a miscommunication” that was corrected before the City made its decision.
Kris and Mat Green own two homes directly beside the site, one they live in and one they rent out, and they helped launch a petition against the tower. Kris said residents had asked for a public meeting with a question-and-answer period and instead got “more propaganda.”
She also said SaskTel President and CEO Charlene Gavel and Dylan Storle, the company’s corporate services manager for real estate and towers, should have attended. Seeing how close the structure would sit to her rental property “just enraged me,” she said.
SaskTel’s display listed alternate sites it had explored, including the exhibition grounds at Kinetic Park, the S3 Arena grounds, the Windscape kite festival site and the nearby southview reservoir, and land between Riverside Park and the railway line. The company concluded 225 3rd Avenue SE was the best spot for improving coverage. “I’m not an engineer, but you can’t tell me that a couple of blocks make a difference,” Kris said, adding that she believes ISED rules were not followed.
Valerie Tienkamp, another nearby homeowner, said she remains worried about health effects even though information at the event pointed to Health Canada’s Safety Code 6 exposure limits for radiofrequency energy. She also doubted the need for better coverage, saying neighbours have not had dropped calls, and raised concerns about property values and the absence of city councillors at the session.
Pastor Travis Heide of Mt. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, a block north of the site, said he attended in a private capacity and with an open mind. In his view, SaskTel’s reasons for choosing this site over the alternatives were not clear, and building so close to homes could set a bad precedent.
Carriers across the country are adding sites to close coverage gaps, from Rogers in eastern Ontario to federally funded connectivity projects in Saskatchewan, and placement often sparks local debate. For now, SaskTel says it is reviewing what it heard before deciding on next steps.
Should municipalities have stricter rules on how close cell towers can be built to homes?
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