{"id":18079,"date":"2020-05-24T09:44:04","date_gmt":"2020-05-24T16:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=18079"},"modified":"2020-09-24T09:50:51","modified_gmt":"2020-09-24T16:50:51","slug":"riondel-protests-proposed-cell-phone-tower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=18079","title":{"rendered":"Riondel protests proposed cell phone tower"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.grandforksgazette.ca\/news\/riondel-protests-proposed-cell-phone-tower\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-18080 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Riondel-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Riondel-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Riondel-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Riondel-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Riondel.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-attachment\" style=\"font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5rem; padding: 0px; display: block; caret-color: #0a0a0a; color: #0a0a0a; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;\">\n<p><strong>A group of concerned residents gathered Friday to protest the planned location of a Telus cell phone tower in Riondel. Photo submitted<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-2\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-2\" class=\"gpt-ad\" data-google-query-id=\"COCi4seeguwCFUryYgodcfMEDA\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/1036919\/adunit2_0__container__\">\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"lead\">Telus wants to construct a new tower within the village<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"author-meta\">\n<li><a class=\"byline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.grandforksgazette.ca\/author\/tyler-harper\/\" rel=\"author\">TYLER HARPER<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0May. 20, 2020 1:19 p.m.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Riondel residents are protesting the location of a planned Telus cellphone tower they say will be a blight on the idyllic town.<\/p>\n<p>Telus is preparing to construct a 30-metre tower at 315 Fowler St. in response to what the company says have been requests for improved wireless services.<\/p>\n<p>On that point there is no opposition. But residents who live in the East Shore village of just 253 people, according to the 2016 census, want Telus to place the tower further away from their homes.<\/p>\n<p>Ben Johnson, who has lived in Riondel since 2007, said the tower will stick out in the central location.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is kind of an eyesore to have a [30-metre] steel tower right next to a bunch of houses and a pub,\u201d said Johnson, who helped organize a demonstration Friday next to the site.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you are thinking from an aesthetics point of view, Riondel is in the middle of a forest. It\u2019s a quiet little village. I think part of the charm is it\u2019s kind of retro and it has a lot of natural beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson\u2019s cell phone reception meanwhile cut out several times during his conversation with a <em>Star<\/em> reporter.<\/p>\n<p>Harreson Tanner has lived in the Riondel area for nearly 30 years. His home is next door to the proposed tower site, which he wants moved outside the town.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re just trying to make a statement here and Telus, they have communicated nothing,\u201d said Tanner. \u201cYou know, they are a huge corporation and we know they\u2019ve got billions of dollars so if they have to move it down the road it\u2019s not really a money issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Telus has towers throughout the West Kootenay, but also has a history of backing down when faced by public pressure. The company <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nelsonstar.com\/news\/slocan-valley-group-asks-for-local-cell-tower-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ditched a plan to put a tower in Winlaw<\/a> following local protests.<\/p>\n<p>Telus first approached Riondel residents last June as part of a public consultation process required by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada\u2019s Antenna Tower Siting Policy.<\/p>\n<p>That policy, which along with Health Canada\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/health-canada\/services\/environmental-workplace-health\/reports-publications\/radiation\/safety-code-6-health-canada-radiofrequency-exposure-guidelines-environmental-workplace-health-health-canada.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Safety Code 6<\/a> radio frequency guidelines regulates where cell towers can be placed, says companies must consider community feedback and attain municipal support.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson said half the people who attended last summer\u2019s meeting with Telus did not approve the proposed location. In a statement to the <em>Star<\/em>, a Telus spokesperson said it received approval from \u201cthe relevant authorities\u201d on Sept. 19 after meeting with residents.<\/p>\n<p>The spokesperson added there is no set completion date for the tower. \u201cConstruction on it has been paused while our resources are supporting healthcare facilities around the province in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Regional District of Central Kootenay Area A director Garry Jackman, whose electoral district includes Riondel, said one issue faced by the tower\u2019s opponents is the village isn\u2019t zoned. That in turn means Telus doesn\u2019t require a land-use change from the RDCK, which would have required a public hearing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut this is not that case,\u201d said Jackman. \u201cIt\u2019s not zoned. Even if it was zoned, they wouldn\u2019t be asking for anything different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson said he also has concerns about the health impact of having the tower in Riondel.<\/p>\n<p>Safety Code 6 sets the limit for human exposure to radiofrequency fields in the frequency range from three kilohertz to 300 gigahertz, which includes cell phones and towers. The current limit set by Canada and also used in the United States, European Union and elsewhere is 50-fold less than the threshold for potential health effects.<\/p>\n<p>But Johnson is critical of those standards, which he says are lax and backed by industry research.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost of the people concerned here were parents as well, and we just don\u2019t want the tower in the location Telus is planning to put it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>A Telus-commissioned report on the proposed tower requested by Jackman, which is attached to the bottom of this story, shows radiofrequency emissions will be just 2.56 per cent of the Health Canada limit at two metres above the roof of the nearest building.<\/p>\n<p>Another house 25 metres away will be exposed to the highest emissions from the tower, but even that is just 2.85 per cent of the Safety Code 6 limit according to the report.<\/p>\n<p>If the tower were to be relocated on nearby land owned by Teck Resources, Jackman said it would still require a stronger signal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is still an irrelevant discussion in terms of Health Canada, because Telus is well below those limits,\u201d said Jackman. \u201cSo I won\u2019t be able to help people who don\u2019t want to go with or accept Health Canada\u2019s guidelines.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jackman allowed for one possibility that might derail Telus\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n<p>The company said it contacted 48 houses last year and asked for comment. It was obligated to reply to those comments, but Jackman said some residents say they have not received any further communication despite being obligated by federal regulations to do so.<\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-5\" class=\"gpt-ad horizontal\" data-google-query-id=\"CJaJ-seeguwCFdf8Ygod8IIG1Q\">\n<p>\u201cIf Telus\u2019s land agent failed to close the loop on communications, then I think there\u2019s a discussion to be had about public process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But even if the tower is safe and eventually constructed, it will still change the look of Riondel.<\/p>\n<p>Jackman said the plan for the tower is to have it set back from Fowler Street behind some vegetation. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ic.gc.ca\/eic\/site\/smt-gst.nsf\/eng\/sf08353.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2012 federal report<\/a> on the placement of antenna towers meanwhile found examples of nearby residential property values dropping, but it also stated those concerns should not be weighed in planning debates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGenerally, land-use planning authorities are not required to take such impacts into account when siting urban and rural infrastructure that concerned members of the public may find objectionable,\u201d the report found. \u201cAlmost every planning decision will produce positive and negative impacts upon the value of land located in the immediate vicinity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That doesn\u2019t appease Tanner, who may have to live next to a new unsightly neighbour.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe main concern is just how ugly this thing is right in the middle of town.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nelsonstar.com\/news\/no-immediate-plan-to-install-5g-in-nelson-says-telus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">No immediate plan to install 5G in Nelson, says Telus<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>grandforksgazette.ca\/news\/riondel-protests-proposed-cell-phone-tower\/<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.grandforksgazette.ca\/news\/riondel-protests-proposed-cell-phone-tower\/<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A group of concerned residents gathered Friday to protest the planned location of a Telus cell phone tower in Riondel. Photo submitted Telus wants to construct a new tower within the village TYLER HARPER\u00a0\u00a0May. 20, 2020 1:19 p.m. &nbsp; Riondel residents are protesting the location of a planned Telus cellphone tower they say will be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,28,830,831],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bc","category-cell-tower","category-grand-forks-bc","category-riondel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18079"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18083,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18079\/revisions\/18083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}