CITY CLERK

Clause embodied in Report No. 18 of the Administration Committee, as adopted by the Council of the City of at its meeting held on December 4, 5 and 6, 2001.

4

Lease of Radio Transmitter Towers on Toronto Island (Ward 28 - Toronto Centre-Rosedale)

(City Council on December 4, 5 and 6, 2001, adopted this Clause, without amendment.)

The Administration Committee recommends the adoption of the following joint report (October 25, 2001) from the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism, the Commissioner of Corporate Services and the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services, subject to a clause being included in the final lease document that if a suitable City-owned transmitter site becomes available during the term of the Agreement CHIN Radio and Fairchild Communications be requested to relocate to these sites at no cost to the City of Toronto:

Purpose: To direct staff to negotiate and execute a lease on to CHIN Radio, AM 1540, and Fairchild Communications, AM 1430 for the continued location of radio transmitter towers on City of Toronto Property.

Financial Implications and Impact Statement: The existing leases on the two subject properties on Toronto Island generate a rental revenue of $209,500 per annum. Should Council approve the new leases, a new rental rate for these locations will be developed on the basis of appraisal reports, and be the subject of negotiations with the two Radio Networks. There are no other financial implications of the proposed lease renewals.

The Acting Chief Financial Officer and Acting Treasurer has reviewed this report and concurs with the financial impact statement.

Recommendations: It is recommended that: (1) staff be directed to negotiate and execute an agreement in a form and content, satisfactory to the City Solicitor, the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism, the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services and the Commissioner of Corporate Services with CHIN Radio, AM 1540, for the continued use of an approximate 10 acre site on Toronto Islands for the purpose of the operation of an AM Radio Transmitter all in accordance with the regulations of the Canadian Radio and Telecommunication Commission; 2 Administration Committee December 4, 5 and 6, 2001 Report No. 18, Clause No. 4

(2) staff be directed to negotiate and execute an agreement in a form and content satisfactory to the City Solicitor, the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism, the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services and the Commissioner of Corporate Services with Fairchild Communications, AM 1430, for the continued use of an approximate 6 acre site on Toronto Islands for the purpose of the operation of an AM Radio Transmitter all in accordance with the regulations of the Canadian Radio and Telecommunication Commission;

(3) these licensees be required to operate their radio transmitters within the safety guidelines as outlined in Industry Canada Safety Code Six Regulations, and that the licensees be required to conform to all current and future guidelines on the emission of Radio Frequency (RF) Radiation adopted by Industry Canada; and

(4) the appropriate City officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.

Background:

Both CHIN Radio AM 1540 and Fairchild Communications AM 1430 have leases on City of Toronto property located on Toronto Island which expire at the end of December 2001. Both Radio Stations have requested new lease contracts to allow them to continue to operate their radio transmitters and service the City of Toronto market in the AM Radio sector.

CHIN Radio AM 1540 occupies a site measuring approximately 10 acres located on the Island Water Treatment Plant owned by the City and operated by the Works and Emergency Services Department. CHIN serves a large multicultural audience and broadcasts in 23 languages to their primary market within the City of Toronto and the . Their installation on the Toronto Island has been located there since 1984 and complies with all current CRTC and Industry Canada Regulations.

Fairchild Communications AM 1430 occupies a site measuring approximately six acres located on the Parks and Recreation Property adjacent to the Bird Sanctuary near the Island Water Treatment Plant owned by the City. Fairchild also serves a large multicultural audience and broadcasts in 21 languages to their primary market within the City of Toronto and the GTA. Their installation on the Toronto Island has been located there since 1970 and complies with all current CRTC and Industry Canada Regulations.

The Toronto Board of Education leases a site near both of these transmitters and in 1997/1998 constructed a new school facility to accommodate the Island Residents and the Island Natural Science School. This facility was constructed at substantial cost to the former Board of Education for the City of Toronto.

While the school site in this area was being finalized and the design of the school was proceeding, the issue of Radio Frequency (RF) Emissions from the two radio transmitter sites was raised as a potential public health issue. In response, the Toronto Board of Education commissioned studies on the RF Emissions from these installations and determined that the site and the radio transmitters conformed with all relevant legislation and the Industry Canada Safety Toronto City Council 3 Administration Committee December 4, 5 and 6, 2001 Report No. 18, Clause No. 4

Code Six. Despite the concerns of some parents and other Island Residents, the Board proceeded to make a substantial investment in the construction of the new school. Since the school has been opened, there are some Toronto Island Residents that do not send their children to this School due to their concerns of RF Emissions and their potential impact on human health.

A group of concerned Toronto Island Residents formed a Radio Tower Committee and have requested that the City of Toronto not grant new leases for the Radio Transmitters and that the installations be removed at the conclusion of the current lease period on December 31, 2001. As a result of this request, City of Toronto staff have conducted a more rigorous process in evaluating the lease renewals and involved staff from the Public Health Division in the process.

Comments:

Radio Frequency Emissions (RF Emissions):

In Canada, RF Emissions from broadcasting and telecommunication systems are regulated by Safety Code Six: Limits of Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields as administered by Industry Canada. All Broadcasters and other communications companies are required to comply with Safety Code Six regulations on their RF Emissions.

While the citizens in a large urban area are constantly exposed to a range of RF Emissions, there is much debate over the impacts on human health of RF Emissions. In 1999, the Board of Health considered the siting of antennas for cellular telephones, and recommended a “prudent avoidance” policy with respect to the siting of such antennas. This recommendation calls for emission levels to be kept 100 times below those permitted under Safety Code Six.

The Medical Officer of Health was asked to provide an opinion on the renewal of the subject leases and noted the leases meet the standards under Industry Canada’s Safety Code Six. Further, the Medical Officer of Health noted that the City has not yet adopted a policy of “prudent avoidance” in the siting of cellular telephone antennas, nor has the Board of Health considered a “prudent avoidance” policy on RF Emissions from AM Radio Transmitters. Although the City cannot require adhesion to a policy of prudent avoidance, the Medical Officer of Health has recommended that, where possible, RF Exposure levels should be minimized and kept well below the limits set out in Safety Code Six.

Emission levels from these two transmitters are well below Safety Code Six levels, with peak electric field emission levels at 27.5 percent of the current Safety Code Six limits, while average electric field emission levels are at 20.2 percent of the Safety Code Six limit. On Magnetic field measurements, the peak and average levels were identical at 8.5 percent of the Safety Code Six limits.

Given that there are concerns over the RF Emission levels from both Toronto Island Residents and the Island Water Plant, staff will include the requirement for annual testing of RF Emissions by both CHIN and Fairchild to ensure that they remain in compliance with RF Emission levels as stipulated within Safety Code Six. Toronto City Council 4 Administration Committee December 4, 5 and 6, 2001 Report No. 18, Clause No. 4

Mitigation of RF Emission Levels: As a part of the investigation of these issues, the broadcast engineers from CHIN and Fairchild Communications were asked to investigate mitigation measures that could be employed to reduce the level of RF Emissions from these transmitter facilities. The potential mitigation measures included shielding of the towers, landscaping, berming, tree planting or other measures that would further reduce the RF Emission levels. The broadcast engineers concluded that there was no useful mitigation measures that could be employed on these sites that would reduce the level of RF Emissions without drastically affecting the power levels and coverage area of the two radio stations which would make them non-compliant with their CRTC approvals.

Alternate Site Locations: The Broadcast Engineers were also requested to review other potential sites within the Greater Toronto Area for these broadcast facilities and also other sites on the Toronto Islands, further removed from the School Site. An extensive alternate site investigation was conducted in February 2000 by Fairchild Communications as part of their licence application for another frequency. They concluded that no other viable transmitter location was available within the Greater Toronto Area. Further, they also investigated the potential of a lake site with towers and a below water grid on the lake floor and concluded that this was not economically feasible, or technically reliable to locate the transmitters over water adjacent to the . Staff from the Parks and Recreation Division also investigated other sites on the Toronto Islands and found that there were no other appropriate sites that would not interfere with the operation of the Toronto City Centre Airport, or be in further conflict with other land uses on the Toronto Islands.

Impact of Non-Renewal of Leases: Both CHIN Radio AM1540 and Fairchild Communications AM 1430 have indicated that they will be forced off the air if their leases are not continued since there are no suitable transmission facilities available to them in the Greater Toronto Area without serious and strongly negative impacts on their subscribers. Further, both of these stations serve largely multicultural audiences and broadcast in a large number of languages that serve a specialized market. The multicultural mosaic of the City of Toronto would be seriously damaged by the loss of these two broadcasters. Both stations are important employers with CHIN Radio 1540 employing 111 staff while Fairchild Communications AM 1430 employs 210 staff. The loss of these sites would also result in the loss of approximately $209,500 in current revenues to the Economic Development, Culture and Tourism and Works and Emergency Services Departments. It is expected that the new lease rates will increase in the new contract period.

Public Consultation Process: As part of the investigation of these issues a public consultation meeting was held on Toronto Island on September 11, 2001. Approximately 12 Island residents were present and a wide ranging discussion was held with the relevant staff, the proponents and their broadcast engineers. It is evident from the discussions that many Toronto Island Residents do not favour the continuation of these leases and would prefer that these transmission facilities be removed. Toronto City Council 5 Administration Committee December 4, 5 and 6, 2001 Report No. 18, Clause No. 4

At the public consultation meeting, staff agreed to further investigate alternative locations for the transmitters and to investigate the potential relocation or further shielding of a portion of the children’s playground area at the Toronto Island School. As indicated in this report, there are no feasible alternate locations available. The investigation on the further shielding of the playground areas is still underway.

Conclusions: It is evident that both CHIN Radio AM 1540 and Fairchild Communications AM 1430 provide an important public service and have been excellent tenants in these established locations for many years. Both operators are well in compliance with Industry Canada’s Safety Code Six regulations, and staff will include the requirement for regular testing to ensure that the RF Emission levels remain in compliance. The Medical Officer of Health has recommended that where possible, RF Exposure levels should be minimized and be below the level of Safety Code Six. Further, these installations are long standing and were in place well prior to the Toronto Board of Education developing a new school on the site adjacent to these existing radio transmission towers.

Based on all the investigation by the relevant staff, the recommendations to negotiate with the inclusion of all appropriate conditions, and execute a new lease of a ten year duration, with appropriate renewal options, is prudent and should be undertaken prior to the expiration of the current leases on December 31, 2001. Should the lease negotiations not be completed prior to December 31, 2001, the existing leases will continue on a holdover basis until the process is completed.

This report has the concurrence of the Medical Officer of Health and other relevant staff.

Contact: John A. Macintyre Doug Stewart Director, Parks and Recreation Division Director, Real Estate Division 416 397-4451 416 392-7202 [email protected] [email protected]

Ronald MacFarlane Hiroshi Taniguchi Toronto Public Health Director, Water Supply 416 338-8097 416 392-8220 [email protected] [email protected] ______

The following Members of Council appeared before the Administration Committee in connection with the foregoing matter: - Councillor Olivia Chow, Trinity Spadina; - Councillor Pam McConnell, Toronto Centre-Rosedale; and - Councillor Joe Pantalone, Trinity Spadina.