December 3, 2013
City of St. John’s
10 New Gower Street
P.O. Box 908
St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador A1C 5M2
RE: Draft Siting Protocol for Wireless Facilities in the City of St. John’s
1. The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) is the recognized authority on wireless issues,
developments and trends in Canada. It represents cellular, PCS, messaging, mobile radio, fixed wireless and
mobile satellite carriers as well as companies that develop and produce products and services for the industry,
including handset and equipment manufacturers, content and application creators and business-to-business
service providers. CWTA is pleased to file its comments with respect to the City’s draft wireless facility
protocol.
2. CWTA is keenly aware of the challenges involved in siting wireless infrastructure in a timely manner to address
increasing network capacity and coverage demands, while simultaneously respecting municipal sensitivities.
We welcome the efforts of all municipalities that develop custom antenna siting protocols that directly
express their local siting preferences.
3. CWTA has also, in cooperation with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, developed a joint Antenna
System Siting Protocol Template that identifies consistent, common sense siting guidelines that respect local
land use preferences and respond to community concerns. The contents of the FCM/CWTA Joint Protocol,
once adopted, allow the municipality to increase its knowledge of antenna system siting in the City and
increase its right to request consultation by taking advantage of commitments made by CWTA members that
go well beyond what is required under federal regulation.
4. CWTA hosted a forum in St. John’s last April to discuss antenna siting and present the contents of the protocol
to City staff and councillors. We encouraged the City to adopt measures found in the FCM/CWTA Joint
Protocol Template, and continue to do so, particularly those that best address in a collaborative manner some
of the more contentious issues that may occur during the siting process. Specifically, there are two aspects of
St. John’s draft protocol that we believe could be improved by using language from the FCM/CWTA Joint
Protocol Template. We are pleased to address these below.
Clarify how the protocol applies to structure-mounted antenna systems versus freestanding towers
5. St. John’s draft protocol presently refers only to wireless communication facilities without making a distinction
between those antenna systems that are mounted on existing structures (e.g. buildings, water towers and
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utility poles) and those that require a purpose-built, freestanding tower. These two categories of antenna
systems differ greatly in terms of visual aesthetics, installation requirements and cost. Structure-mounted
antenna systems are almost always less obtrusive than freestanding towers. As such, most municipalities
encourage structure-mounted antenna systems and provide an expedited procedure installing them.
6. In drafting the Joint Protocol Template, FCM and CWTA recognized the benefits to municipalities and wireless
carriers of establishing clearly-defined siting processes specific to structure-mounted antenna systems, even
though such systems are exempt from consultation under Industry Canada regulations. By including some
minimal notification requirements for such systems, municipalities can help reduce the proliferation of new
freestanding towers, while still having a voice in the antenna system siting process.
7. The FCM/CWTA Joint Protocol Template provides the following process for structure-mounted antenna
systems (Section 4.2.1 of the appended Protocol Template):
The Proponent will in all cases provide the following information for all new Antenna Systems or
modifications to existing Antenna Systems that are mounted to an existing structure, including (but
not limited to) a building/rooftop, water tower, utility pole or light standard:
(1) The location of the Antenna System (address, name of building, rooftop or wall mounted, etc.);
(2) Description of proposed screening or stealth design measures with respect to the measures used
by existing systems on that site and/or the preferences expressed in Section 6;
(3) The height of the Antenna System;
(4) The height of any modifications to existing systems.
The Municipality may notify the Proponent of any inconsistency with the preferences and sensitivities
expressed in Section 6 and the parties will work towards a mutually agreeable solution.
8. CWTA and its members have heard from St. John’s staff both that the City’s siting consultation requirements
will and will not apply to structure-mounted antenna systems. We encourage the City to provide clarity to the
wireless industry through its protocol by adopting the process above that has been endorsed by both wireless
service providers and municipalities.
Remove the 200 metre set-back preference in favour of a more collaborative antenna system siting process
9. The City’s draft protocol notes that “the City’s preferred location is to have wireless facilities located at least
200 metres from a residential zone, apartment zone, school property or recreational facility.” While the City is
entitled to communicate preferences to wireless service providers, we feel that the preferred 200 metre setback sets unrealistic expectations that cannot be met.
10. Technically, it would be impossible to build and expand a world-class wireless network in a metropolitan
centre like St. John’s without siting antenna systems within 200 metres of residential or apartment zones.
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Indeed, there are few residential areas in any municipality that have adequate space to allow wireless antenna
systems to be sited the equivalent of two football fields away from every home, school or recreational facility
without seriously compromising the quality of service that so many Canadian consumers demand. Wireless
antennas are designed to be low-power, short-range radio systems and need to be sited close to where the
network is being used, particularly as demand increases.
11. The latest research from Statistics Canada shows that Canadians accessing the internet from the home on
wireless devices jumped from 35% in 2010 to 59% in 2012. Wireless is no longer just an on-the-go service;
antenna systems must be sited in residential zones to ensure networks can meet demand. Most often, such
systems are either structure-mounted or are on freestanding towers that are less than 15 metres in height.
Recognizing the increased need for smaller towers in residential areas, wireless carriers and municipalities
worked together to identify the following notification and consultation process for the previously-exempt sub
15 metre towers (Section 4.2.2 of the appended Protocol Template):
The Proponent will confirm to the Municipality that the Freestanding Antenna System to be erected,
or an addition to an existing Freestanding Antenna System as defined in Section 4.1(3), meets the
exclusion criteria in Section 4.1 by providing the following:
(1) The proposed location, including its address and location on the lot or structure;
(2) A short summary of the proposed Antenna System including a preliminary set of drawings or visual
rendering of the proposed system; and
(3) A description of how the proposal meets one of the Section 4.1 exclusion criteria.
The Municipality will review the documentation and will contact the Proponent where there is a sitespecific basis for modifying the exemption criteria based on the preferences and sensitivities
expressed in Section 6 of this Protocol. In such cases, the Municipality and the Proponent will work
toward a mutually agreeable solution, which may include the Municipality requesting the proposal be
subject to all or part of the pre-consultation, proposal submission and public consultation process
defined in Sections 5, 7 and 8 of this protocol, as applicable, concluding with a letter of concurrence or
non-concurrence.
Proponents should anticipate that the Municipality will request that all proposals for new
Freestanding Antenna Systems and additions to existing Freestanding Antenna Systems that are
proposed within the Prescribed Distance from the nearest Residential Area be subject to the preconsultation, proposal submission and public consultation process. For this reason, Proponents are
strongly encouraged to initiate this process before investing in a final design or site.
12. CWTA encourages St. John’s to remove its 200 metre set-back preference and replace it with the above
process for siting antenna systems less than 15 metres in height. Our greatest concern is that the City would
attempt to strictly enforce this 200 metre preference. Quotes from Council in the St. John’s media indicated
the possibility that the City would issue a letter of non-compliance to Industry Canada for any antenna system
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proposal within this 200 metre zone. It would be very unfortunate if this approach is adopted as it identifies
the outcome for antenna siting proposals before they have been submitted.
13. As such a requirement is not enforceable under federal law, it would represent a hurdle, but not a roadblock
to antenna siting. The issue, however, is that the presence of that hurdle could greatly undermine any
meaningful consultation between the City and proponents siting antenna systems within St. John’s. The goal
of public consultation in the antenna system siting process is to respond to, and address where possible,
municipal questions, preferences and concerns, and to ultimately result in a letter of concurrence or nonconcurrence from the municipality.
14. Pre-determining a result of non-concurrence in all cases would render the consultation processes useless and
proponents would likely seek to initiate the Industry Canada dispute resolution process as quickly as possible.
As a result, antenna system siting in St. John’s would be unnecessarily adversarial, local preferences and
guidelines will have little meaning, and network expansion will almost certainly be delayed.
15. When CWTA held our antenna siting forum in April, we heard from municipal staff and elected officials
regarding the need for more advanced wireless service across Newfoundland, including in St. John’s. Indeed,
Canadian consumers, businesses, charities and governments everywhere, who are increasingly migrating from
wireline networks to wireless networks to keep families in touch with each other, to manage inventories,
transportation and sales, to dispatch emergency first responders, to connect with citizens and voters, to
operate fundraisers, to deliver health care services, and to do virtually everything else that used to be done
using a telephone or landline internet connection. If service providers cannot keep up with exploding network
demand in a timely manner, St. John’s consumers and businesses will suffer.
Conclusion
16. CWTA and its members continue to work with municipalities to find consistent, common sense siting
guidelines that respect local land‐use preferences and respond to community concerns. In doing so, we have
developed options that will allow municipalities to receive more information on the antenna siting process
within their region. The joint FCM/CWTA Protocol Template provides municipalities with a resource they can
use to ensure there is notification and meaningful local consultation on the location and visual aesthetics of
antenna systems before they are installed. Through the Joint Protocol Template, wireless service providers
have committed to undertake certain antenna siting procedures beyond the minimums mandated by federal
regulation.
17. CWTA welcomes St. John’s initiative to develop a custom protocol for siting antenna systems in the City. We
believe a few minor changes will ensure the protocol results in network upgrades that ensure St. John’s
residents have access to the most advanced wireless services available. We encourage the City to adopt the
two amendments we propose above and to adopt any other measures in the FCM/CWTA Joint Protocol
Template that it feels would be beneficial.
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18. We appreciate the opportunity to provide comments on this matter and would also be pleased to discuss this
issue with the City in greater length any time.
Attached: FCM/CWTA Antenna System Siting Protocol Template
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