Who wants an 82m tower?

The red bar shows the location and height of the proposed tower.
(If you have Google Earth installed, click here to see it on your computer.)

Update: Videotron proposal to Install an 82m tower on Elm Road

Many of you may have already seen the public notice on page 46 of the Pontiac Journal (March 23) where Videotron proposes to erect an 82-meter tower on Hurdman Heights Farm near the corner of Elm Road and Highway 148. This proposal has been re-published because the federal government determined that in their September 8, 2010 notice Videotron did not adequately identify the site. If you recall, Videotron identified the proposed site with the lot number.

Since the September 8 proposal by Videotron the following has taken place:

1. On September 10, 2010, Municipal Council passed a unanimous resolution opposing the installation of the tower on the proposed site. The resolution states: “That the Municipality of Pontiac notify Videotron of its firm opposition to the installation of a telecommunication tower in the Breckenridge sector as requested by this company.”

2. A number of local people wrote letters to Videotron stating their reasons for opposing the installation of the tower on the proposed site.

3. An article was published in three newspapers calling citizens to action in opposing the installation of a tower with a height equivalent to a 25-storey building that would be constructed in one of the most valuable landscapes in our community, “The Gateway to the Pontiac”.

4. A petition opposing the tower on the proposed site was signed by the majority of residents on Elm Road and nearly every household along Highway 148 for 1.5 km in each direction of Elm Road.

5. The Mayor of the Municipality of Pontiac informed Videotron that municipal council could support the tower on another, more isolated, site.

6. There has been a technological breakthrough that can make traditional towers obsolete. (See article entitled: “Cell “cubes” could replace cell phone towers” page 35 of the Pontiac Journal). The Pontiac could be one of the first communities to have the new technology installed rather than the last to have the old, soon to be obsolete, tower technology.

Despite all the opposition and the opportunity of new technology, Videotron continues to press its case to install the tower on the proposed site at Elm Road.

What happens next: The public has 30 days to respond to the proposal and Videotron has 60 days to reply to questions and concerns. Videotron must also ask the Municipality for approval to proceed to the Quebec Commission for the Protection of Agricultural Land (CPTAQ) for a change of zoning from agricultural to commercial. (The CPTAQ has rejected many requests by local people for changes to zoning from agricultural to residential and to commercial on properties near the proposed site.) In the end, it is likely that Industry Canada will make a final decision based on available information, including your written concerns. That is what happened in Aylmer.

What you can do: Write to Videotron stating your concerns about the impact this proposal would have on our community. Videotron now has an email address to which your comments can be sent: CPC_GA612@videotron.com

Please note that you must send your concerns within 30 days of the notice which means before April 22, 2011.

[Content for this article was provided by a group
of local residents in opposition to the tower.]