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Building Permits For
Communication Towers
(Updated November 25,
2008)
- Building
Permits are issued by the local Land-Use Authority
(LUA), typically the local municipality or
township. Even though issues concerning
communication towers are regulated and addressed by
the federal government through Industry Canada and
are technically exempted from the jurisdiction of
provincial governments, Industry Canada now
nevertheless requires the local LUA to play a
part.
- Most
municipalities require a detailed lot plan that
shows plan and lot number as well as the precise
longitude and latitude where the proposed tower is
to be erected. In most cases, a geotechnical audit
will be required to enable a certified engineer to
design the base and anchor foundations that then
will have to be submitted as certified and stamped
drawings to the local Planning Department or
Building Inspector. A signed letter of the actual
property owner should be part of the package filed
with the municipality, stating that permission is
given to erect the proposed communication tower on
the property as identified.
- Typically,
the local LUA will charge a percentage of the
construction cost as fee for the building
permit.
- As of
January 1, 2008, proponents of communication
and broadcasting towers are now required to submit
a copy of a building permit from the local LUA as
well as a Letter of Support. This letter of
concurrence/support has to state, that the local
LUA has no objection to the proposed tower and its
height from being erected at the location
identified in the building permit.
- Some
local LUA's may also require proof that Transport
Canada has been notified regarding compliance with
the Aeronautical
Aviation
Regulations
and that NavCan
has been advised about the proposed tower
construction.
Industry
Canada
- Industry
Canada's new antenna siting and approval procedures
entitled CPC-2-0-03
Radiocommunication and Broadcasting Antenna
Systems,
Issue 4 are now in effect. These new procedures aim
at ensuring greater community consultation before
new communication towers can be erected. A
Preliminary Environmental Information And
Municipal/Land-Use Consultation Attestation
form has to be submitted and a Radio
Communication And Broadcasting Antenna Systems
Attestation application has to be
filed.
- If the
local LUA does not follow the public consultation
process as required by Industry Canada, it is then
the responsibility of the tower proponent(s) to
ensure that all parties within the identified
radius of the tower site are informed.
Federal Jurisdiction versus Provincial Authority
Broadcasting
and Telecommunications are governed by federal
jurisdiction subject to s.91 (1) and 92 (1) (a) of
the Constitution Act, 1867. Integral parts
of Federally regulated undertakings are not subject
to provincial legislation. The Ontario Building
Code, in particular clauses 2.1.2.1. (1) (c)
suggest that communication towers of a height
greater than 16.6 meters (55 ft) above ground level
are designated structures and therefore have to be
designed in accordance with part 4 of the Ontario
Building Code. This appears to conflict directly
with the federal jurisdiction of federal
undertakings.
In
a ruling of the Town of Grimsby vs. Her Majesty
in right of Canada the court held that the
installation of federally regulated communication
towers were not subject to municipal
bylaws.
In
1978 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the
details of the design, dimensions and materials to
be used as well as other specifications of
structures that are under federal jurisdiction, are
from a legislative point of view, generally taken
to be matters of exclusive federal concern.
(Montcalm Construction Inc. vs. Minimum Wage
Commission 1978, 93 D.L.R (3d) 641 at
654.)
A
more recent ruling in 1994 by the Ontario Court of
Appeal in R. vs. Royle & Leblanc Telecom
Inc. 18 O.R. (3rd) 737 made reference to the
Montcalm case and determined that also the health
and safety of workers employed by companies
involved in the design, construction and
maintenance of telecommunication towers for
federally regulated operators was a sufficiently
integral and vital part of the operation of the
federal telecommunications undertaking and
therefore, the Ontario Occupational Health and
Safety Act had no application to these
operations.
Industry
Canada is authorized under the
Radiocommunications Act to approve the location of
radiocommunications facilities. Details can be
found in its publication Environment Process,
Radio Frequency Fields and Land-Use Consultation.
The three main criteria Industry Canada is
concerned about relate to the
following:
- Environment
- Land
-Use
- Health
Canada's Safety Code 6
Environmental
impact is usually rather limited since it concerns
mostly the tower's impact on water and soil,
national parks and historic sites, the impact on
flora and fauna, etc. The Exclusion List
Regulations of the Canadian Environmental
Assessment Act (CEAA) usually include radio
communication towers but nevertheless, the
proponents of tower installation must submit an
attestation to that effect to Industry
Canada.
Land-Use:
Industry Canada is supporting the consultive
approach between the erectors of communication
towers and the people in its vicinity most
effected.
Health
Canada's Safety Code 6 concerns the
electromagnetic radiation transmitted from antennas
and its effect on people. It identifies acceptable
radiation levels and precautions that have to be
exercised when in close proximity of excessively
high radiation levels.