A new telecommunications antenna will soon tower over the Moose Jaw Inn as Rogers Communications Inc. installs a new monopole that it had hoped to erect nearly six years ago.
During its April 22 regular meeting, city council voted 6-1 to approve a discretionary use application (DUA) from contactor LandSolutions Inc. — on behalf of Rogers — to construct a new communications antenna support structure at 45 North Service Road.
Coun. Kim Robinson was opposed.
The tower will be 52 metres tall and include a small equipment building on a privately owned commercial parcel adjacent to the Moose Jaw Inn parking lot; the infrastructure is expected to support the expansion of wireless services.
Rogers had submitted a DUA in November 2018 asking to construct a 60-metre self-supported telecommunications tower and equipment building at that location, a council report said. The city was prepared to approve it as long as Rogers recognized that:
- The proposed development did not meet zoning bylaw requirements, so the tower needed a minimum setback from the property lines equal to 20 per cent of the structure’s total height
- The tower’s height would have been much taller than any structure or building allowed within that zoning district; the maximum height is 15 metres
- The city wanted Rogers to suitably landscape the development
City hall had also suggested to Rogers nearly six years ago that it co-locate its antenna with SaskTel’s 45-metre-tall pole about 350 metres east, but the national company said the provincial Crown corporation had equipment taking up the top 10 metres of the tower, the report said. The 35 metres below that would not have been viable for Rogers’ needs.
The national telecommunications company did not proceed with its project then, but contacted city hall in 2023 with a new application for a shorter tower.
North of the site are privately owned commercial and industrial parcels, while Highway 2 is east by roughly 45 metres, Highway 1 is south by roughly 50 metres and a residential parcel for manufactured homes is about 150 metres to the west.
The Moose Jaw Inn has leased 625 square metres of its property to Rogers for the communications tower while this area will be fenced, with minimal traffic to and from the site, the report added.
This area is also zoned as a C3 vehicle-oriented commercial district, which has a maximum building height of 15 metres. However, the zoning bylaw exempts this structure from the height standards based on the required setback.
Michelle Sanson, director of planning and development, told council that approved discretionary use applications expire after one year if proponents do not proceed with the development of their projects — as was the case with Rogers six years ago.
Meanwhile, administration is looking at the fact Moose Jaw does not have any landscaping regulations around new developments and plans to put such rules into the new zoning bylaw and potentially create a new policy, she added.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, May 13.
