milton town hall
UPDATE Report on Cell Tower Application
Please find attached a copy of the report that will be presented to the Administration & Planning Standing Committee this coming Monday. Essentially its an update for information report on the status of the application for the cell tower at Thompson and Clark Blvd in Milton.
Subject: Telecommunication Tower Proposal at 824 Thompson Road (New Life Church) – Update Report
RECOMMENDATION: THAT Report PD-053-12 be received for information;
AND THAT the Town Clerk be instructed to forward a copy of Report PD-053-12 to Lisa Raitt, Halton MP, for information
purposes;
AND FURTHER THAT staff be directed to report back to Council upon receiving any new information on the New Life Church tower proposal and/or the status of the investigations relating to alternative locations for tower infrastructure in the area of Louis St. Laurent Avenue and Thompson Road.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Town’s experiences with applications over the past few years, has brought about public awareness and highlighted issues and concerns in relation to the establishment of telecommunication facilities within the Milton community. Upon completion of a
review of the Town’s telecommunication related policies in early 2012, the Town revised its Telecommunications Facility Policy (Protocol) in May 2012.
At the same time that Council adopted the revised Protocol, Staff and Council took a position of non-concurrence in relation to a proposal for a free standing 29.9 m cross style tower on the New Life Church property at 824 Thompson Road. This proposal
raised a number of concerns with neighbouring residents during the public consultation phase of the application and brought about questions relating to the appropriateness of the proposed location. Staff and Industry Canada encouraged the Proponents to
investigate other alternatives prior to filing an impasse.
Since it has been several months since the public and Council have heard anything on this site specific matter, staff would like to provide an update on the application.
REPORT Background
In May 2012, Planning staff brought forward Report PD-026-12, which outlined the purpose and results of the Telecommunication Policy Review that staff had been undertaking for several months in consultation with industry representatives, area municipalities, and Industry Canada. Recommendations for revisions to the existing Protocol were outlined in a series of appendices to the report and a new Telecommunications Facility Policy (Protocol) was adopted by Council.
In addition to the above, the report also discussed an application for a proposed 29.9 m cross style telecommunications tower (with co-location opportunities for Bell and Public Mobile) on the New Life Church property located at 824 Thompson Road. This proposal raised a number of concerns during the public consultation phase for the proposal in relation to health, aesthetics and visual impact, and the proximity of the tower in relation to two daycares on the site and several residential dwellings in the adjacent neighbourhoods.
Staff evaluated the proposal and requested that Council consider and endorse the directions as set out in a draft letter of non-concurrence, attached as an appendix to the report. Council adopted the position of non-concurrence as discussed by staff and directed staff to provide the correspondence to the Proponent and Industry Canada to complete the consultation process associated with the tower proposal on at 824 Thompson Road.
Upon receipt of the Town’s position, the Proponent indicated their interest in filing an impasse with Industry Canada. Staff and Industry Canada encouraged the Proponents to investigate other alternatives prior to filing an impasse.
Discussion
Over the past few months, members of the public who took a significant interest in the tower proposal on the New Life Church property have contacted staff for an update on the application as the matter has seemed rather dormant. Both the public and the
affected Ward 6 and 7 Councillors are aware that staff and Industry Canada were encouraging the Proponents to look at alternative locations before filing an impasse.
Staff would like to note that prior to considering the subject site for the proposal, the Proponent (Bell) and other service providers who have a great need to provide service in this area, had explored opportunities with the commercial plaza at the northeast
corner of Louis St. Laurent Ave. and Thompson Rd., as well as the Town owned park across the street. Since they were unsuccessful in acquiring a willing landlord on these sites, Bell looked for other alternatives (i.e. the church property).
Since the May meeting, staff has continued its contact with Industry Canada, Bell and Public Mobile (carriers looking to establish on the New Life Church site) and Rogers (carrier looking for opportunities in the area) regarding the investigation of alternatives
for tower infrastructure closer to the intersection of Louis St. Laurent Avenue and Thompson Road. Staff is aware of the following activities since the Town provided its letter of non-concurrence on the New Life Church tower proposal:
• Bell is still pressing to move forward with the establishment of the cross style telecommunications tower on the New Life Church site;
• Bell tried to file an impasse with Industry Canada, however, Industry Canada will only accept an impasse request once all feasible siting alternatives in the area have been reviewed and exhausted, prior to reviewing and providing a decision on such matters (e.g. lands at the intersection of Louis St. Laurent Ave. and Thompson Rd. and other surrounding opportunities, if any).
• Public Mobile, who currently has a temporary tower on the New Life Church site, has investigated the feasibility of relocating the proposed joint tower with Bell to planned Tim Horton’s site (i.e. the northwest corner of Louis St. Laurent Ave. and Thompson Rd.). Public Mobile was advised through their site acquisition consultant that the landlord of the Tim Horton’s site is not willing to move
forward with a lease at this location in a timely manner. Public Mobile has indicated that they cannot wait any longer with respect to providing much needed coverage to the community. Resulting from the failure to find a site to relocate to, Public Mobile has requested through correspondence, that the Town give approval of the existing application proposed for 824 Thompson Road.
• Rogers has shown an interest in the area of Louis St. Laurent Ave. and Thompson Rd. for quite some time and has continued to work with the commercial plaza at the northeast corner of the above noted intersection to establish an agreement. Rogers and Bell have been in touch with one another to discuss opportunities in the past and more recently for co-location at this location. Rogers has noted that they have been unsuccessful in finalizing an agreement to date with the landowner and they do not have an estimate on
when they will have a concrete proposal to move forward with. They will keep Bell, the Town, and Industry Canada apprised of their progress.
• All options in the area, with a focus at this point on the intersection of Louis St. Laurent Ave. and Thompson Rd. are under review.
Even some of the alternatives mentioned above may be viable, Staff is uncertain at this point whether delays in securing a landlord would have any effect on Industry Canada’s decision to overturn the Town’s position, should a formal impasse be filed and accepted.
Members of the Public who have continued their contact with Planning staff on this matter have also been discussing their concerns with the New Life Church tower proposal with Halton MP Lisa Raitt. To ensure that Ms. Raitt continues to be informed, this report will be forwarded to her office.
Staff will endeavour to continue discussions with all parties involved and provide an update to Council as new information is available.
If you have any questions after reading the report, please let me know.
Have Your Say On Milton Transit
If you are interested in providing some input towards our Milton Transit Master Plan Study, here is a date and some times to keep in mind and mark on your calendar.
Wednesday October 24th at Milton Seniors Activity Centre 500 Childs Drive from 1:30PM to 4:00PM and at Milton Town Hall Main Foyer 150 Mary Street from 6:00PM to 9:00PM
Your voice counts and your input is important. If you’re already an active user of Milton Transit or if you’ve wanted to try it out, please let us know. If you can’t make this date, please forward your questions or concerns to mike.cluett@milton.ca
Quick update on CKSS situation
Im just getting ready to head out to our council meeting tonight but I wanted to update those of you who have emailed or called me in the last few days regarding the situation on Louis St Laurent, the new high school and about 1,200 new students in town.
Here’s an update on the new Craig Kielburger School situation in Ward 6. As many of you know there have been a few issues since the new school has opened up.
The cafeteria not being available for students has left them with few options and one of those options being walking up Louis St Laurent, hanging out at the Metro mall, and then making their way back to school….leaving a huge mess behind. The principal will continue to let them know that behaviour should stop going forward, so lets hope the kids listen.
There are also a number of traffic issues we’re facing and town staff has informed me a number of counts for traffic, pedestrians etc will be done very soon to assess what can be done along that route (ie traffic stops, stop signs, lights, etc) I’ll keep everyone posted when the results come in and this is now a top priority of staff!
Thanks to everyone who emailed/call me with their concerns.
Boyne Survey Moves Forward
With the approval of the Boyne Survey financial agreements, we are moving closer to adding another estimated 50,000 new people to the town of Milton. I have some concerns about the estimated total however. Municipalities have been burned in the past underestimating the number of people projected for each area, which can lead to under servicing of the area, not just by the town or region, but by the province of Ontario as well.
We don’t have to look very far in the Greater Milton Area (GMA) to see problems that the Region of Peel had to endure over the past several years. There is a new reality to home ownership in many parts of Canada and Halton isn’t immune to this…multiple families per home.
With the prices of homes on the rise, the cost of home ownership is also increasing. There are families who have difficulty paying day to day bills in our economy with both parents working. It is apparent that this new reality of home ownership will mean more people living in areas than planned for. This can affect many services including water and waste as well as provincial services like education.
Its important to keep in mind our estimations going forward when site plans are submitted to council for review and approval. When our reports state that 50,000 new residents will move into the Boyne Survey when its all said and done, I worry that it might be a lot more. I would be more comfortable planning for a higher total in the range of 60-70,000 so that we can over estimate instead of under estimate when it comes to servicing of the new survey.
More on this to come, but here’s the story by Julia Le from the Milton Canadian Champion.
Council approves agreement to develop Boyne Survey
The Town of Milton is one step closer to developing 2,300 acres area of land bounded by Louis St. Laurent Avenue to the north, James Snow Parkway to the east, Britannia Road to the south and Tremaine Road to the west.
During a special meeting Monday night, councillors unanimously approved the Boyne financial agreement between the Town and the Boyne Landowners Group to develop the Boyne Survey Secondary Plan area.
It’s the third residential growth area located in the Milton urban expansion area. The other two growth areas are the Bristol and Sherwood surveys, which have been under construction for most of the past decade.
The Boyne Survey Secondary Plan area is planned to accommodate an additional 50,000 residents when fully developed. It’s intended to integrate with the existing urban area.
The report outlines the deal agreed upon by the Town’s negotiation team, which met with representatives of the Boyne Landowners Group over the past several months to iron out the details of the planning and financial requirements associated with developing the Boyne Survey.
The landowners group has agreed to pay a capital contribution on a per unit basis in addition to development charges when residential building permits are issued.
The contribution is expected to generate about $38 to $40 million, which will be used to finance infrastructure required to support the growth of the area. This in turn, will minimize the impact on property taxes and assist in keeping dept capacity within legislative and policy limits.
Town Treasurer Linda Leeds said the Boyne Landowners Group has also agreed to provide, at no cost to the Town, a total of 105 acres of parkland within the secondary plan area.
“In addition, the landowners have agreed to acquire and transfer to the Town at no cost lands that are known as the CMHL (Central Milton Holdings) lands,” she said.
This additional 158.4 acres of parkland is located just outside the secondary plan area. The acquisition of the CMHL, located on the north side of Main Street, west of the CN Rail line and the 43.7 Ha (108 acres) of parkland known as the Jannock lands, is expected to be finalized now that council has approved the financial agreement. It will accommodate the community-scale facilities required to serve not only future residents of the Boyne Survey, but also the broader community.
“The CMHL lands are strategically located. They’ll be joining onto the Jannock lands that overall will create the largest urban park in Canada, which is a real legacy for this town council to be able to secure,” said Leeds.
Other agreements include the early dedication of lands so that the Town can construct roads and plan for the appropriate infrastructure in accordance with the Town’s capital program.
Council heard from delegate Glen Schnarr of the Boyne Landowners Group, who expressed his personal satisfaction with the agreement.
“In our minds since we conceived the notion of the off-site parkland dedication of the CMHL lands so close to the core of downtown Milton, at the end of the day personally I am very proud to be a part of that,” said Schnarr, president of land development consulting firm Glen Schnarr & Associates Inc. “I know that the landowners group feels it’s a monumental accomplishment and I believe through working with your staff what we have achieved if the agreement is approved this evening is a major moment in the history of Milton.”
Mayor Gord Krantz thanked the Town staff and the landowners for spending a considerable amount of hours pulling together the agreement.
He told The Milton Canadian Champion that growth should pay for itself and the town is well on track of making it happen.
Bill Mann, the Town’s director of planning and development, used the analogy of the agreement being the first domino in a set of dominoes ready to fall into place.
Now that the agreement has been approved by town council, he said secondary plan , with minor medications made, will go before them again in the fall. It will then be passed to Halton Region’s director of planning, the delegated authority to give final approval.
If all goes according to plan, the developers will then enter an agreement with the Region and be part of the Region’s infrastructure staging plan and allocation program. A part of this process will be the planning of subdivisions through the town. By 2014, the Town can expect to issue building permits for the expected 17,500 residential units to be built in the Boyne Survey area.
Mann said the Town is on the right track to building a balanced community within Milton.
“Non-residential growth is a direct result of residential growth,” he said, adding that big companies are looking for a local employment base that’s growing because of affordable housing.
Mann said the Town has been making a conscious effort at providing a full range of retail shops while maintaining the downtown core as the centre focus. With the anticipated addition of the CHML lands, Mann said residents can look forward to 1,200 acres of green space that connects to the Jannock lands, Kelso Conservation Area, Country Heritage Park and is a gateway to the Niagara Escarpment.
The town is in its third phase of residential and employment growth originally designated in the 1997 Official Plan. The plan anticipated Halton Region’s delivery in 2000 of ‘The Big Pipe’, carrying Lake Ontario water up from Oakville to Milton, and a population that would grow to about 165,000 people by 2021.
Milton Town Council Meeting July 16, 2012
The next meeting of Milton Town Council is on Monday July 16, 2012 starting at 7pm at Milton Town Hall.
The governing body of the Town of Milton is Town Council, consisting of the Mayor and 10 Councillors who represent Milton’s eight wards. Milton residents elect members of Council for a four-year term of office. You can find a link to watch the Town Council meetings here. The meetings are also broadcast on TV Cogeco (Channel 14).
Town Council deals with:
- Matters requiring policy direction
- By-laws or by-law amendments
- Responses or actions to pertinent issues
Council also makes decisions on the recommendations of Milton’s two Standing Committees of Council:
- Administration & Planning Committee
- Community Services Committee
The link to the agenda can be found here.
Some of the highlites in the agenda are as follows:
- Public Meeting – Amendments to official plan re: property being developed for the velodrome/community centre
- Staff Report – Transit Route Modifications
- Technical Report – Amendment to zoning bylaw for property located at 6810 Main Street West
- 2013 Budget Call Report
- Notices of Motion: Relocation of Canada Post outlet in Downtown Milton, School Funding
If you have any questions, please feel free to call or email me mike@mikecluett.ca You can also go to the Watch Online link on my page to view from the comfort of your home. I look forward to seeing you there.