A discretionary use application for a new 52-meter 4G/5G cell tower was approved by city council on April 22 after Rogers made changes to bring its proposal in line with the city’s bylaws.
“This is a reapplication from 2018,” explained Michelle Sanson, director of Moose Jaw’s department of planning and development. “It was applied for in 2018 and approved by council with some requirements, and at that time Rogers didn’t move forward with their cell tower proposal.
“But (they) did come back and they’ve met all the requirements that were asked of them in 2018.”
Rogers had originally proposed a 60-meter tower at the location they are renting from the Moose Jaw Inn at 45 North Service Road. The maximum building or structure height for the zoned area is 15 meters, so the city had some concerns — particularly since municipal bylaws require a setback from adjacent property lines of 20 per cent of the height of the structure.
Sanson noted in her communication to city council that antenna structures are exempt from height requirements, and Industry Canada has the actual say on final approval of antennas through The Radiocommunication Act if a municipality and company cannot come to an agreement.
Nevertheless, Rogers went back and re-worked their proposal. The company rejected the idea of sharing space with a nearby SaskTel tower (about 350 meters away), because the top ten meters of the SaskTel tower were already being used.
The new tower will be the highest structure in the surrounding area, but the setback requirement with the new height is only 10.4 meters, and the tower is at least 17 meters from the nearest property lines, thus meeting the most important municipal ask. The requirement ensures that if a tower fails, it will not strike another structure as it falls.
The 52-meter height includes antennas, a lightning rod, and a warning light. The tower will supplement 4G and 5G coverage in the Moose Jaw area.
The next regular meeting of city council is May 13.
Fri, May 3, 1:00 PM
Labour, Seasonal
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