A concerned resident wants the city to change its process in how it deals with cell towers.
Paula Adams said she learned of a 50-metre tbaytel tower going up 190 metres from her Hazlewood Drive home only after a deal had been reached, land had been cleared and a road was built. Then a consultation meeting was held.
"Any consultation at this point was purely for optics," she told city council Monday night.
Adams said it's wrong that the city has more control over the height of fences than it does a 50-metre tower being put up in a neighbourhood.
Coun. Andrew Foulds said the city has seen telecommunications companies change heights and locations of towers when concerns are raised.
"It seems strange to me that they would clear a lot at their expense and sign a contract," he said.
But development and emergency services manager Mark Smith said sometimes it's prudent for a company to have some sort of agreement in place before moving to consultation. The city's process has been reviewed and updated several times.
"If companies want to assume those types of risk it’s certainly up to them,” he said.
The decision rests with Industry Canada. The city provides a letter of concurrence stating whether a company has adhered to the consultation process.
