Mayor and Members of Council Cynthia Beach, Commissioner, Corporate & Strategic Initiatives

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1 CITY OF KINGSTON REPORT TO COUNCIL Report No.: TO: FROM: RESOURCE STAFF: Mayor and Members of Council Cynthia Beach, Commissioner, Corporate & Strategic Initiatives Peter Huigenbos, Manager, Real Estate & Land Development DATE OF MEETING: SUBJECT: Bell Mobility Lease 70 St. Remy Place EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Bell Mobility ( Bell ) is seeking a land lease from the City of Kingston for property at 70 St. Remy Place for the purposes of erecting a communications tower. 70 St. Remy Place is an 8 acre parcel of land located in the City s Clyde Industrial Park that is almost entirely made up of wetlands. The City s property has frontage on Dalton Avenue to the north and Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard to the west however access is not practical from either because of steep elevation changes and the wetlands. Access to the property is by way of easement over a neighbouring property on St. Remy Place. In addition to leasing the City s property for the tower, Bell requires rights to use the access road on private property that leads to the tower site. Bell first came to the City in 2008 with interest in a handful of City-owned properties. Staff was instructed to bring individual land lease proposals back to Council once public consultation and site plan approval had been achieved for each site. In 2011, Council approved a lease for a tower at 100 Days Road after Bell had completed the necessary public consultation and planning process. Bell has now achieved similar progress for the site at 70 St. Remy Place. Bell Mobility has completed the site plan review process with the City s Planning Department and the project has been presented to the Planning Committee. The proposed tower will be located in the southeast corner of the City s property adjacent to the abutting WMI lands (Exhibit A ). The tower will be a 45.7 meter monopole mounted on a fenced concrete base. The St. Remy location is a desirable location for a tower as it has very limited development potential and it is located away from residential areas and is close to the 401 corridor. Any other requests for communication antennas in this area will be directed to Bell Mobility who is required by Industry Canada to accommodate such requests for co-location. The negotiated rate for the proposed lease is $15,300 per year plus 50% for any co-locate fees. The co-locate fee means that the City will also receive 50% of the lease rate which is $7,650 per Council Meeting 5 25

2 - Page 2 annum for any co-locates that Bell accommodates on the tower in accordance with Industry Canada s policies. The negotiated agreement also requires Bell to pay taxes on the property as well as allow the City the right to locate one antenna on the tower for municipal purposes. Staff research into comparable municipalities and public agencies show that the negotiated terms provide the City fair market value for the land lease. Staff has consulted with Waste Management Inc. (WMI) who has agreed to amend the City s easement to allow the City to grant access to other utility companies such as Bell that need access to the City s lands at the discretion of the City. RECOMMENDATION: THAT Council authorize the Mayor and the Clerk to execute all necessary agreements and other documents as may be required to finalize a lease with Bell Mobility Inc. for a portion of the property at 70 St. Remy Place as shown in Exhibit A for the annual rate of $15,300 per annum, increasing by 2% per year, plus 50% of any co-locate fees for a period of five (5) years with three (3) successive five (5) year options to renew in a form satisfactory to the Director of Legal Services for the purposes of installing a telecommunications tower; and THAT Council authorize the Mayor and the Clerk to execute all necessary agreements and other documents as may be required to amend/replace the easement agreement with Waste Management Inc. over its property at 62 St. Remy Place to include the granting of access for utility companies in a form satisfactory to the Director of Legal Services. AUTHORIZING SIGNATURES: Cynthia Beach, Commissioner, Corporate & Strategic Initiatives Gerard Hunt, Chief Administrative Officer CONSULTATION WITH THE FOLLOWING COMMISSIONERS: Denis Leger, Transportation, Facilities & Emergency Services N/R Lanie Hurdle, Community Services Group Jim Keech, President and CEO, Utilities Kingston (N/R indicates consultation not required) Council Meeting 5 26

3 - Page 3 OPTIONS/DISCUSSION: Bell Mobility ( Bell ) is seeking a land lease from the City of Kingston for property at 70 St. Remy Place for the purposes of erecting a communications tower. Bell first came to the City in 2008 with interest in a handful of City-owned properties. Staff was instructed to bring individual land lease proposals back to Council once public and site plan consultation had been achieved for each site. In 2011, Council approved a lease for a tower at 100 Days Road after Bell had completed the necessary public consultation and planning process. Bell has now achieved similar progress for the site at 70 St. Remy Place. Consideration of the St. Remy site has taken longer in part because it required additional consultation with the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority ( CRCA ) regarding the impact to the wetland adjacent to the tower site and the access road. Additionally, Bell requires rights to use the access road that leads to the tower site. The access road was originally constructed by the City and Utilities Kingston over a sanitary trunk sewer easement on the neighbouring Waste Management Inc. (WMI) lands. The existing easement does not give the City permission to grant others access over it. Bell inadvertently commenced construction at the St. Remy site in the spring of Bell improved the access road by expanding the road bed and elevating the gravel surface, installed service conduits along the length of the road and poured a concrete pad on the site of the tower on City land. They had not applied for a building permit and did not have Industry Canada approval. Once the mistake was realized, Bell ceased work immediately until outstanding concerns could be addressed, the prerequisite public consultation process had been completed and approval, in the form of a Council approved lease, an amended easement with WMI and the approval of Industry Canada, could be obtained. Bell proceeded to subsequently construct the approved tower at 100 Days Road in accordance with the lease and site plans approved by Council and license granted by Industry Canada. Bell Mobility reinitiated the site plan review process with the City s Planning Department, started in 2010, for the St. Remy site. 70 St. Remy Place is an 8 acre parcel of land located in the City s Clyde Industrial Park that is almost entirely made up of wetlands. The City s property has frontage on Dalton Avenue to the north and Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard to the west. Access is not practical however from either of the public roads because of steep elevation changes and the wetlands. Although there were no issues with the small portion of land for the tower site itself Bell s initial access road improvements needed to be redesigned to prevent flooding onto WMI s property, correct the grade of a sanitary sewer maintenance manhole in the centre of the road and to address the loss of flood plain volume created by the improper drainage design. Bell has now made all of these corrections to the satisfaction of WMI, Utilities Kingston and the CRCA. Staff has consulted with WMI who has agreed to amend the City s easement to allow the City to grant access to other utility companies such as Bell that need access to the City s lands at the discretion of the City. Council Meeting 5 27

4 - Page 4 A public meeting was held November 21, 2013 with final report PC provided to Planning Committee on November 21, Report PC can be found on the website Planning Committee made the following recommendation: Pursuant to the requirements of Industry Canada for consultation with the City of Kingston prior to the comments received at the Public Forum, that the Planning Committee advise Industry Canada that is has no objections to the location of the 45.7 metre communications tower located on the lands known as 70 St. Remy Place, subject to the submission of the as-built drawings provided to Utilities Kingston for the existing sanitary manhole locations, elevations for the alignment and finished grade of access road, a lease with the City and the amendment of the City s easement with Waste Management to provide access to the tower location. The proposed tower will be located in the southeast corner of the City s property adjacent to the abutting WMI lands (Exhibit A ). The tower will be a 45.7 meter monopole mounted on a fenced concrete base. The St. Remy location is a desirable location for a tower as it has very limited development potential and it is located away from residential areas and is close to the 401 corridor. Any other requests for communication antennas in this area will be directed to Bell Mobility who is required by Industry Canada to accommodate such requests for co-location. The negotiated rate for the proposed lease is $15,300 per year plus 50% for any co-locate fees. The co-locate fee means that the City will receive an additional 50% of the lease rate which is currently $7,650 per annum for any co-locates that Bell accommodates on the tower in accordance with Industry Canada s policies. Research undertaken by staff prior to the approval of the Days Road lease with other municipalities and public agencies indicates a wide range of rates and terms and conditions for similar towers. The $15,300 annual rate is less than more dense urban areas which have higher capture zones for the towers but is more than for towers of similar height in rural area. The proposed rate is the same as the City of Ottawa s rate for areas other than downtown Ottawa. Standard terms for these types of leases are five (5) years with successive renewal options at five (5) year intervals. Staff has negotiated an initial 5 year lease with annual increases of 2% which represents an average CPI increase trend over 10 years. Three (3) successive five (5) year renewal options are recommended however the City retains the right to adjust rates at the five year intervals to market rates in addition to annual 2% increases to keep pace with prevailing market rates. Staff has also negotiated the right to locate one antenna on the tower for municipal purposes at no cost to the City save and except the cost recovery for Bell Mobility for any installation costs, Council Meeting 5 28

5 - Page 5 engineering review and ongoing maintenance and utility costs. This may have benefit at a future date for the City s emergency, communications and data management system needs. 70 St. Remy Place is currently a tax exempt property of the City, however any portion of the site leased for cellular towers by third parties will be subject to property taxes. MPAC will determine the appropriate level of assessment for the tower once installed. Under the terms of the agreement, Bell Mobility will pay property taxes in addition to the annual rent. Bell Mobility has indicated a desire to complete construction as soon as possible. While not required by Industry Canada, Bell Mobility will also make application for a building permit and pay any associated fees in the continuing spirit of the local consultation process. EXISTING POLICY/BY LAW: The proposal was reviewed in accordance with the City s 1999 policy and guidelines with respect to cell towers. The applicant went through the site plan process, a public meeting was held and comments were provided to Industry Canada. The recommendations comply with the City s Revenue Leasing and Licensing Policy approved by Council in May The lease is at market rates and the property will be subject to property taxes to be determined by MPAC. NOTICE PROVISIONS: N/A ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS: N/A FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS: The annual revenue from this lease will be included in future operating budgets and will be directed to the Employment Land Reserve Fund as the land is in the employment land portfolio. CONTACTS: Peter Huigenbos, Director, Real Estate & Land Development ext Kathy Gray, Property Specialist, Real Estate & Land Development ext OTHER CITY OF KINGSTON STAFF CONSULTED: Trudy Gravel, Planner, Planning and Development Council Meeting 5 29

6 - Page 6 Stephen Dickey, Deputy Treasurer Mark McLaughlin, Senior Legal Counsel Chantal Chiddle, Utilities Engineer, Utilities Kingston EXHIBITS ATTACHED: Exhibit A Tower Location Council Meeting 5 30

7 Tower Location City Property Waste Management Property ST. REMY PL Waste Management Property Real Estate & Land Development a division of Corporate and Strategic Initiatives Prepared by: Mike Wong Date: 28/01/14 THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF KINGSTON Report Key Map St. Remy Communication Tower Location Legend Tower Site Easement for Access Road Waste Management Property City Property Declaimer: this document is subject to copyright and may only be used for your personal, noncommercial use provided you keep intact the copyright notice. The City of Kingston assumes no responsibility for any errors, and is not liable for any damages of any kind from the use of or reliance on, the information contained in this document. The City of Kingston does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, concerning the accuracy, quality, or reliability of the use of the information contained in this document The Corporation of the City Kingston. Council Meeting 5 31