There is a storm brewing over Bell Mobility’s proposal to erect a cell tower in Unionville.

More than 200 signatures were collected from residents in the Village Parkway and Carlton Road corridor by Crystal Chen and a group of volunteers.

The group is against a proposed cell tower at 100 Carlton Rd., and have sent letters to Bell Mobility, elected officials and city staff.

According to the city’s telecommunications policy, new antenna systems that are less than 15 metres tall are exempt from public consultation, as are towers or poles within an industrial or commercial area where the tower base is a minimum of 120 metres from lands with sensitive land uses including residential, schools and daycares.

Public consultation is also exempt for maintenance, additions or modifications to an existing cell system when the replacement height does not exceed 25 per cent of the original tower height.

The proposed Bell tower, atop of an existing light post, would be 14.9 metres – just shy of the public consultation benchmark.

William Berczy Public School also sits just outside the 120-metre radius.

“You can’t ignore the school just because it is outside the circle,” Ms Chen said. “This is an unnecessary health risk for our kids.”

Local residents are adamant they don’t want the tower, Councillor Don Hamilton said.

“Parents are opposed to this because of the health concerns,” he said. “I certainly can’t support it being this close to the school.”