Plan to improve communications quality with a new cell tower near Woodgrove Centre is a step closer despite objections from the owner of an adjacent rental property.
City council, at a meeting Monday, March 17, voted to approve a request from Rogers Communications for a letter supporting land use for a 31-metre cellular tower in a small wooded area adjacent to the Woodgrove Crossing shopping centre on Mary Ellen Drive.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the federal agency that reviews and approves cellular communications towers, requires communications companies to engage in public consultation and obtain letters of support from local governments as part of the approval process.
The cell tower facility will include a 31-metre monopole tower with seven flush-mounted antennas inside a 100-square-metre compound, partially screened with a 2.4 metre cedar fence; a 4.4-square-metre equipment shelter, and a right-of-way to access the compound.
Public consultation for the project took place a little over a year ago.
“With feedback and concerns received in early 2024, Rogers moved the proposed location of the tower farther away from the North Grove Apartments, along with other site improvements,” said Lisa Brinkman, assistant director of planning and development, adding that the designs and plans are now complete.
Brian Gregg, president of SitePath Consulting, working on behalf of Rogers, said he has worked on identifying and getting approval for the site since 2018.
“It’s 2025 now and that’s seven years, so that … gives you maybe some sense of how challenging it can be in some areas to find the right site for a proposed piece of infrastructure like this,” he said. “There’s a lot of technical factors, but also sometimes it can be a sincere challenge to find a willing property owner that’s prepared to agree to certain business terms and host the infrastructure for the long term, and indeed that was the case here in the Woodgrove Centre area. It’s an evolving area. We’d think we would be having a positive discussion and then the property would sell. That happened to me numerous times.”
Gregg noted the area is growing with commercial activity and residential densification and requires data infrastructure enhancement.
He noted about 70 per cent of public consultation respondents supported the project, mostly due to public safety concerns and the need to improve emergency response services.
“We feel that we’ve kind of gone above and beyond and tried, in earnest, to work with the neighbouring apartment building owners,” Gregg said.
Edward Hulshof, an associate with Bennet Jones representing North Grove Apartments owner Skyline Capital Investment, which is opposed to the tower placement, said the area already receives adequate 3G, 4G, 5G and LTE coverage. There are “numerous” alternative locations for the cell tower at different nearby shopping centres, he said.
Hulshof said the tower abuts a residential property which the residents will wake up and see every morning.
“In hearing my client’s objections regarding location of the tower, I’d ask yourself whether you would want to wake up to the silhouette of a 31-metre monopole tower backlit by the sunrise coming through the Nanaimo skyline,” Hulshof said.
He also said the height of the proposed cell tower exceeds the 28-metre structure height limit bylaw for the area and he said SitePath did not answer some of his client’s questions posed in a series of e-mails.
Coun. Sheryl Armstrong noted that when she reviewed the results of SitePath’s community consultation survey, nine respondents were in favour of the tower and two against.
“We never received multiple e-mails or anything on this,” Armstrong said. “I know it’s supported by emergency services and people for connectivity, so I’ll be supporting.”
The motion to have staff provide a letter of concurrence to Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada pass with Coun. Ben Geselbracht opposed.
