Would-be builders of cellphone towers will be required to survey people living near the proposed antennas, under a new policy adopted by Langley Township council on Monday.
Under the new rules, cell companies will have to pay the cost of polling residents within a 500 metre radius of the proposed towers.
If less than 80 per cent approve, the Township won’t support the proposed tower when it goes to Industry Canada, the federal regulator with the final word on tower placements.
The policy is a response to recent controversies over the placement of cell phone towers within Langley Township boundaries.
It will not be applied to the next six cell phone towers that go up, because the applications were filed before the Township started working on new rules.
The measures were quietly approved during a nighttime public hearing that drew no comments from residents, either written or in person.