Fraser-Fort George board asked to renew support for cell tower

A three-year deadline imposed by ISED Canada is about to expire

Almost three years after the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George board of directors issued a letter to the federal government expressing approval of the installation of a telecommunications tower south of Valemount, it will be asked to extend its support at a meeting on Thursday, July 16. On July 21, 2023, the board approved sending a letter of concurrence to Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada regarding a 60-metre-tall tower that telecommunications giant Rogers wanted to place in Cedarside, an unincorporated community just south of Valemount in the regional district’s Electoral Area H. A report attached to the agenda for the July 16 meeting said that as construction of the tower at 555 Cedarside Rd. won’t be completed within the three-year timeline enforced by ISED, a renewal has been requested.

However, since the original letter was submitted, the report said that another party called Shared Tower Inc. has taken over development and ownership of carrier-neutral telecommunications infrastructure that Rogers uses for its operations. A letter from Shared Tower planning co-ordinator Pauline Alamay dated June 12 of this year said that no material changes to the approved proposal have been made since 2023. Shared Tower is requesting that the concurrence be renewed without any further public consultation as the details have not changed since the original round.

“Construction of the approved facility has not yet commenced; however, the project remains active and Shared Tower intends to proceed with construction once deployment schedules are finalized,” Alamay said. District staff’s report said that renewing the concurrence would be reasonable given the reasoning submitted by Shared Tower. The July 16 board meeting will kick off at 1:30 p.m. in a second-floor boardroom at the regional district’s main offices at 155 George St. in Prince George.

For those who can’t attend in person, meetings are livestreamed but not archived on the district’s YouTube page.