THREE new cell towers along the Upper Levels highway measuring 117 feet may rise into West Vancouver's skyline if a new proposal from Rogers is approved by council - and possibly even if it isn't.
Vaguely resembling pristine cigarettes, the towers would line two kilometres of the Trans-Canada Highway by Taylor Way, 15th and 26th Streets. Measuring 36 metres, the top third of the towers house microwave and radio antennae and will be lined with fibreglass or polycarbonate panels. By having three levels of antennae, the towers can accommodate three service providers, according to a release from Rogers.
Federal rules leave local governments with very little authority regarding the locations of cell towers. In the event of an impasse between a telecommunications company and a municipal government, Industry Canada can act as an arbiter with the option to overrule the mayor and council, a situation that doesn't sit well with Coun. Bill Soprovich.
"We have to look at those ugly towers all the time," he said. "Why aren't we ending up with a consideration?"
The Rogers proposal is a departure from previous tower designs, according to project architect Vance Harris.
While other towers are a gimcrackery of steel and antennae, these "clean, slim-profile" towers have their power and radio equipment packed inside a smooth exoskeleton, according to Harris.
The bases of the towers are approximately six feet by four feet, tapering nearer the top.
Built to last for between 50 and 100 years, the towers will fill in the patchwork of West Vancouver's spotty cellular network, according to Harris.
"They intensify and fill in those dead areas and allow the whole system to work better," he said.
Many West Vancouverites use Vancouver's increasingly overworked cell sites, which may soon leave the higher elevations of West Van offline, according to a release from Rogers.
During a May 27 council discussion about the district's cell tower policy, Soprovich took exception to the notion the district was poorly served.
"I object to any provider coming to a municipality and saying 'We're putting 14 towers in your municipality because we have some dropped calls.' When asked by the design review committee in fact, 'Was it for dropped calls?' 'Oh no, it's for somebody in a basement with an iPad,'" he said.
Except for a few places in the western region of West Vancouver, Soprovich said the community's wireless needs are met.
The prospect of new technology pushing the Rogers towers into obsolescence was considered in the design, according to Harris. "These towers are a balance between future-proofing the technology, allowing enough space to accommodate everything that all of the intelligent people around the table can envision coming down the pipe," he said.
Rogers will likely have one tower built by the end of the year, according to Harris, who added that installation is contingent on government approval.
If approved, the Rogers towers would be situated on land controlled by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, excluding the district from any taxation benefits.
The trend of placing towers along the highway could be remedied by building the infrastructure in rural areas of the community, according to Soprovich.
Installing cell towers on district land may be unlikely, according to the district's manager of community planning Geri Boyle. "The Ministry of Transportation has the big swath of land that seems to support the towers," she said.
The district recently passed a new policy on cellular towers and antennae, despite Soprovich's lingering questions about health concerns.
The councillor called on the federal government to sponsor an educational program on how to live with microwave radiation. Soprovich advocated for microwave radiation testing on the top two floors of any building equipped with a rooftop antenna.
"We're very limited in our ability to deal with health issues," said Coun. Nora Gambioli. "Because, as you say, it's federal jurisdiction."
Representatives from Telus have also approached the district about possible towers, but those meetings were very preliminary, according to district communications manager Jeff McDonald.
An open house on the Rogers proposal is scheduled for June 18 at 5 p.m. at St. David's Church on Taylor Way.
