Hold up a minute, says Laurie

The application was for development approval of a 40-metre-high stealth monopole telecommunications tower off O’Brien’s Way, a heavily wooded area off St. Thomas Line.

Monopole cell towers are designed to be less intrusive than typical cell towers and are the usual choice in urban areas.

The zone is a comprehensive development area, which means that discretionary notice is required.

Alton Glenn, the Town of Paradise’s director of planning and protective services, noted that his committee was recommending approval, subject to no objections.

Deputy Mayor Elizabeth Laurie noted that due to the time of year, and because of the nature of the application, council ought to take a second look at the application, even if there were no objections.

“I would like it to come back regardless of if there are no comments or not,” she said. “I think this time of year, everybody’s really busy, and there may be a missed opportunity here for some input from some residents. I would like to see it come back to us, because right now it’s set for approval if there are no objections. We had an application like this several years ago, and I know that a lot of residents had a lot of concerns and questions about it. I think there are going to be a lot of questions. I have some myself.”

Glenn noted that the motion could be changed to advertise the application for comments from the public, and then have it return to council.

Councillor Sterling Willis noted that if the application was approved, it could increase cell phone service in the area.

Council voted unanimously to approve the modified motion.