Simon Fraser University will have to do some more work before Burnaby city council will allow it to stick 10-metre antennas atop any of its buildings.
The university has asked the city to vary existing bylaw regulations so it can put more communications equipment, including antennas up to 10-metre long, onto its old water tower and south sciences building.
The extra infrastructure would improve “critical communication services to the Burnaby Mountain area and the Metro Vancouver region,” according to staff reports.
Antennas currently attached to the two buildings belong to EComm, Rogers, Telus and Freedom, according to the reports.
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But the application sparked a flurry of letters from residents opposed to more hardware being attached to the buildings, especially the water tower, which is located next to a number of residential buildings.
CORNELIA NAYLOR/FRESHET NEWS The SFU water tower on Burnaby Mountain.
Homeowners raised concerns about health effects from increased radio-frequency exposure and impacts on property value because of the “visual dominance” of “oversized antenna structures.”
They noted SFU is asking the city for triple the allowable building face the equipment is allowed to cover as well as for five-fold and 10-fold increases respectively to how much an individual antenna can cover of any building and how high an antenna is allowed to extend above a building.
At a meeting last Tuesday, Feb. 24, council voted to refer the matter to staff.
Given the “fair amount of correspondence” opposing the application, Coun. Sav Dhaliwal said it needed “more work,” especially in relation to the water tower because of its proximity to residential buildings.
CORNELIA NAYLOR/FRESHET NEWS Rogers, Telus and Freedom all own antennas currently attached to SFU’s south sciences building.
“I’m just looking for some guidance because I think we need to have some other options here for what possible thing can be done,” Dhaliwal said.
While staff told council all installations would have to comply with Health Canada’s radio-frequency guidelines, Mayor Mike Hurley said he was concerned about health impacts and encouraged staff to request SFU provide “expertise” from an independent consultant on the matter.
No date was set for staff to report back to council.
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