A proposed telecommunications tower that has divided residents in the village of St. George received the County of Brant’s blessing last week.
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Seven councilors voted in support of telecommunications developer Shared Tower’s application to install a 25-meter structure in the core of the village, with four opposed.
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“I was shocked,” Mayor David Bailey told The Spectator, noting that at the planning and development committee meeting two weeks earlier, all but one councilor accepted the staff recommendation that the tower is not in accordance with the county’s telecommunications location guidelines.
Residents came out both in favor and opposed to the application at a public hearing earlier this month, and hundreds of locals signed a petition against the tower. Some see it as crucial to improving reception in the rural area, while others worry about the potential impact the project could have on their health.
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“All we could do for the 700 people who signed a petition that they didn’t want it, was… say that it didn’t fit and then let (Shared Tower) go to the federal government,” Bailey said.
The county is not able to approve or deny the application, rather offer comment on Shared Tower’s application process with federal regulators.
But while Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) is the approval body for the project, council’s support means the tower can move forward now, rather than going through a lengthy review process.
“If they don’t get municipal support, it ties it up — it could be up to two years,” Coun. David Miller said. “The need is there now.”
On Nov. 28, Nilou Nezhat, a representative for Shared Tower, asked advisors for their support, even though the tower falls 25 meters short of the county’s preferred location setback.
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“If we have a set of protocols, and something doesn’t meet them, it doesn’t meet them,” Coun. Robert Chambers said, before voting to uphold the original staff recommendation. “And now we’re saying … it doesn’t matter what our protocols are.”
The tower will be located at 9 Main St. N. on land owned by Royal Canadian Legion Branch 605.
In a Facebook post from Nov. 13, the branch wrote it has received threats as a result of its support of the project.
A spokesperson told The Spectator in a message “we believe in the process that is in place and hope that those with the power to make the decision, make it for all the citizens of St. George not just a vocal few.”
Celeste Percy-Beauregard is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter based at the Hamilton Spectator. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
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