Concerns over a proposed 35-metre high cell tower in Banff are ringing loud.
Rogers Communications Inc. wants to put in a cellular tower on Canadian Pacific Railway lands near the northwest entrance to the townsite to improve customer service, but Parks Canada and the Town of Banff are concerned.
Municipal officials say the site forms part of a number of iconic views, including the federally recognized heritage train station, and is also set against the majestic backdrop of the Fairholme mountain range.
“Banff relies on aesthetic values. We’re one big photo opportunity and we have to be careful to find uses that mesh with that,” said Darren Enns, a senior planner with the Town of Banff.
“The thing we have to remember in Banff is the great need to protect our critical views. That’s what draws visitors here at the end of the day. It’s simply so tall when compared to the surrounding tree cover.”
The proposal was before Banff’s Municipal Planning Commission Wednesday (Aug. 14), however, the commision refused the application for various reasons, including it did not conform with the Banff National Park management plan.
Town administration had recommended the commission turn down the application for a development permit to install the cell tower. The planning department seldom makes recommendations for denial.
The proposed cellular tower, hosting five microwave antennae, lightning rod and aircraft warning lights, is 4.5 times the allowed height in the CR-Railway land use district and is about 15 metres taller than surrounding trees.
The proposed site for the Rogers cell tower is within CP’s land holdings on the north side of the tracks, adjacent to the Fenlands recreation centre parking lot.
Enns said Rogers Communications has worked with the Town of Banff for many months on different proposals. He said a smaller tower height in the same location would significantly improve the application.
“We’re empathetic to Rogers and we recognize better wireless service in the town of Banff is critical to businesses, residents and visitors, but this is about saying this isn’t the right piece of infrastructure,” he said.
“There’s things like microcell installation, Nano cell installation, and our feeling is we need to explore solutions that fit for all wireless providers and where we don’t have everyone doing their own thing.”
Canadian Pacific Railway has a 24-metre high tower about 370 metres to the east of Rogers Communications’ proposed location. Telus has antennas on that tower.
Rogers Communications presently has several building based sites – at the Inns of Banff, Rimrock Resort, Brewster Gondola, Cascade Plaza, as well as the Norquay repeater.
Rogers Communications spokesperson Luiza Staniec said the tower is a crucial component of their network, adding it would provide higher bandwidth to support future technologies for the market, including LTE (long-term evolution).
“The one that’s currently discussed is directly in Banff and considered a hub site, which would tie in all the four existing sites together,” said Staniec, noting those four existing sites are on the ski hills in Banff.
“The events that took place with the flooding in Canmore impacted the fibre networks and this installation would allow for redundancy to ensure the network robustness is achieved for the community of Banff.”
Parks Canada also has concerns.
The federal agency shares the Town of Banff planning department’s concerns about height and aesthetics, noting a 2011 survey showed people had about aesthetics of communication towers on views, picnic areas and trails.
“Obviously we have a special connection here you might not find in some urban areas,” said Sheila Luey, Parks Canada’s manager of land use, planning and policy for Banff National Park.
“This is not just an issue in Banff National Park or the mountain parks – it’s a worldwide issue, including places like Australia where they don’t want towers in national parks or in the back of the Outback.”
Although Rogers has advised they are unable to use the existing Telus tower, policy still suggests that approvals for cellular towers focus on co-location with existing towers and service providers.
Parks officials say before building a new antenna-supporting structure, Industry Canada requires proponents first consider sharing an existing antenna system, modifying or replacing a structure, and locating, analyzing and attempting to use any existing infrastructure such as rooftops.
“I didn’t see anything in proposal that spoke well as to how the proponent had done that,” said Luey.
Parks Canada is also worried about aircraft safety with a 35-metre high tower, noting the helipad at Mineral Springs Hospital, a heliport at the warden office and aerodrome below Cascade Mountain are all in close proximity.
In other jurisdictions, Industry Canada requires proponents ensure their proposals for any antenna system are first reviewed and cleared by Transport Canada.
“If this process does not apply in the national park, then Parks Canada would expect a similar level of expert review is obtained and provided as part of the proposal,” said Luey.
“The helipad at the hospital is almost within spitting distance of this proposed site.”
In light of past requests for cell towers, Parks also indicated they were concerned that Rogers was not presenting the whole picture for future planned upgrades as part of this proposal to the townsite.
“Cell towers are rarely planned in isolation because towers work with other towers,” said Luey. “It’s important to know the whole picture, and not doing one tower at a time, so we understand all the implications.”
Banff National Park’s management plan states changes to the existing communication services could be permitted if they improve efficiency and safety, yield environmental benefits and provide aesthetic improvements to make visitor experience better – yet the proposal fails to address most elements of this statement.
“The thing for us is the rationale for this project as planned isn’t sufficient,” said Luey.
