This simulated photograph, sent by Doncrest residents to the City of Richmond Hill, shows how a cell tower at 120 West Beaver Creek Rd. might be seen in the neighbourhood.
Residents of Richmond Hill’s Doncrest area are continuing a campaign to keep a proposed cell tower out of their neighbourhood.
City councillors, while not agreeing with their claims, are willing to see if the tower can be moved somewhere nearby.
Forbes Bros. Ltd, a company representing Rogers, said a 27-metre monopole tower must be built at 120 West Beaver Creek Dr. because the neighbourhood has “very limited” coverage.
“The communication within homes and within buildings is not adequate,” Sarah Duncan, a Forbes representative, told Richmond Hill City Council’s Committee of the Whole on Sept. 18.
Forbes applied in 2022 to install the tower at 120 West Beaver Creek, an industrial mall buffered by woodland and 100 metres from the closest homes.
Homeowner Jack Tai, however, told councillors the tower “will dominate the view from the nearby homes” and almost no one in the neighbourhood wants it there.
“Doncaster residents do not want this view from their backyards,” he said, holding up a simulated illustration showing the tower behind homes.
Tai said 171 residents and 22 commercial tenants signed a petition against the application, as have 513 people online. They want council to refuse the application and submit a letter of nonconcurrence to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, a federal agency in charge of approving cell towers.
Donna Chan, another resident, said the tower will change the area’s look, diminishing its charm and lower property values.
Jack Tai, centre, and Donna Chan, right, were among residents of Richmond Hill’s Doncrest neighbourhood who brought their objections to a proposed cell tower to city councillors.
People in Doncrest also suggested the city could be liable for any illnesses a cell tower could cause with the electromagnetic waves they emit. In a letter to council, the petitioners argued there is “ample evidence that if the proposed cell tower is installed and activated, people will be harmed.”
Also speaking on behalf of the residents was Shelley Wright, director of a group called Canadian Educators for Safe Technology. Wright said she works with teachers and children “injured” by cell tower emissions and noted Doncrest Public School’s playground would be 350 metres from the tower site.
Mayor David West, however, said the science around the health effects of cell towers “is not conclusive” and in any case is not in municipal jurisdiction.
West and other council members listened to a suggestion from Michael Shiu, Doncrest’s local councillor, who said he has been speaking to residents about their objections to the tower for more than a year.
Is 120 West Beaver Creek the only option? asked Shiu, who suggested the tower could be sited at 121 or on a property further away.
“There’s nobody living there,” he said.
City staff were directed to study the proposal to see whether another location is possible before council makes its decision.
Mike Adler is a reporter for YorkRegion.com. Reach him at [email protected]
