Item - 2013.PG29.8

City Council on December 16, 17 and 18, 2013, adopted the following:

1.         City Council amend the City of Toronto Telecommunications Tower Protocol by:

a.         Amending the first sentence in Section 3(a) titled, "Preliminary Consultation" to read:

"A preliminary consultation meeting between the proponent and the district

Planning Consultant and/or City Planning Staff and Toronto Building Division

staff is required for all telecommunication tower and telecommunication antenna

proposals not exempted from consultation by Industry Canada, (but including all

towers less than 15m. in height), before a Telecommunication Tower Review

Application and/or Building Permit application is submitted."

b.         Amending Section 9 titled, "Exemptions to Telecommunication Tower

Application Review", to read:

"Telecommunications antennas and towers, which are exempted from the

requirement to consult with the City under the provision of Industry Canada's

CPC-2-0-03 ("Radiocommunication and Broadcasting Antenna Systems", June

2007, effective January 1, 2008) will be exempt from a Telecommunications

Review Application. However, notwithstanding the above, telecommunications

towers less than 15 m. in height will be required to submit a Telecommunications Tower Review Application.

c.         Adding a new subsection (k) to Section 4. D titled, "Design and Landscaping" to read:

"(k)     In addition to the above, in the location and design of new towers and antennas, proponents should have regard to the following:

i)          Locations directly in front of doors, windows, balconies or residential frontages should be avoided.

ii)         Cable trays should generally not be run up the exterior faces of

buildings.

iii)        Antennas that extend above the top of a supporting utility pole or light standard should appear (e.g. in colour, shape and size) to be a natural extension of the pole.

iv)        Individual wall-mounted antennas should be fixed as close to the wall as possible and should not project above the height of the wall face they are mounted on, in order to avoid visual clutter, and should be painted to match the wall colour for stealth.

v)         Parking spaces, where provided at each new Antenna System site, should have direct access to a public right-of-way at a private approach that does not unduly interfere with traffic flow or create safety hazards.

vi)        Cabinets shall be designed in a manner which integrates them into their surroundings, including use of decorative wraps that are graffiti resistant.

vii)       Cabinet dimensions shall be as minimal as possible.

viii)      Cables and wires must be concealed or covered.

ix)        Where Transport Canada and/or NAV Canada requires a structure to be lit, the lighting should be limited to the minimum number of lights and the lowest illumination allowable, and any required strobe lighting should be set to the maximum strobe interval allowed by Transport Canada.

x)         The lighting of equipment shelters for security purposes shall be

shielded from adjacent residential properties and kept to a minimum number of lights and a minimum illumination intensity. Lights shall only be permitted where controlled by a motion detector system.

xi)        Telecommunications towers located within a public road allowance should conform to the City's "Vibrant Streets" guidelines."

2.         City Council direct that a sign be posted on any telecommunications tower that would inform the public that the Federal Government has granted permission for the tower and that concerns should be directed to the local Member of Parliament and/or the appropriate federal authority, and to include the name and telephone number of the owning company.

3.         City Council instruct the City Clerk to inform the Canadian Wireless Telecommunication Association of the changes to the City of Toronto's Telecommunications Tower Protocol and to request it to inform its members of the changes to the Protocol.

4.         City Council instruct the City Clerk to inform Mobilicity, Public Mobile and Wind Mobile of the changes to the City of Toronto's Telecommunications Tower Protocol.

5.         City Council renew its request to Industry Canada to amend its client procedure circular to require public consultation and consultation with the local land use authority for telecommunications towers which are less than 15 metres in height in the City of Toronto.

6.         City Council encourage Health Canada to actively review health evidence, including the most recent scientific research and studies, related to human exposure to radiofrequencies and to revise Safety Code 6 to meet international best practices, in consultation with the public and appropriate experts.

7.         City Council request Toronto Hydro to adopt the City of Toronto's best practices, including the City of Toronto's Telecommunications Tower Protocol, for any antenna mounted on Toronto Hydro poles.