Erect cell phone towers on church property. This has two benefits: an influx of cash and irradiated parishioners emerge from church with a brightly glowing halo.
From here:
One more church, Roxboro United, has decided to allow Telus to erect a cell tower on its property, joining St. Barnabus Anglican Church, in a pitched battle against the city of Pierrefonds that is determined to prevent it.
Pierrefonds had threatened to fine or take legal action against St. Barnabus Church should it go ahead with plans for a Rogers cell tower on its property. City councillor Christian Dubois said the same policy would apply to Roxboro United. “We are the local authority and we can refuse to have cell towers erected,” said Dubois, who attended a recent Canadian Federation of Mayors conference in Halifax where he introduced a motion urging the federal government to re-evaluate its current cell tower policies. As it stands now, Canadian municipalities are caught in the middle of a federal regulation that involves Industry Canada and communications companies like Rogers and Telus.
Dubois, however, did add that if people in the area or the parishioners of either Roxboro United or St. Barnabus wanted the cell towers, then the city would support the decision. Which muddies the waters for both churches and the city of Pierrefonds as the congregations of both churches have given their support to the projects.
Erik Mathieson of the United Church of Canada in Toronto said there are no firm guidelines for churches wanting to have cell towers on their property but added that many churches are looking for additional revenue sources and cell companies know this. “Some churches are well-located for cell towers,” said Mathieson. “The general idea is to run the idea by the congregation, taking into account the safety concerns and the aesthetics of the tower.” He said cell tower installations are an “incremental” source of income for a church, bringing in anywhere from $5,000-$30,000 per year of the lease taken out. Mathieson admitted that some churches have balked at the idea of having a cell tower on site and that cell companies then move on.
