A last-ditch effort by residents of four Copper Ridge households to convince city council not to go ahead with a lease to Bell Canada for a new cell tower did not work Monday evening.

In the end, council was unanimous in its decision to lease the 15 m-by-15 m piece of land off Falcon Drive to Bell Canada for an approximately 27-m cell tower. (Coun. Kirk Cameron was absent from the meeting.)

Council's decision came with a condition that if Transport Canada requires the tower to have lights or be painted, council can revisit its decision.

Coun. John Streicker proposed the condition. It isn't yet clear whether lights or paint will be required, he noted.

Council had postponed third reading, largely to look at those requirements that still remain unknown.

Streicker also pointed out that following the postponement, a conference call had been held with concerned residents and Bell representatives to look at alternative locations, given the concerns expressed by residents about the location off Falcon Drive.

A number of different scenarios were looked at, with the single tower at Falcon being the best single tower location for a variety of reasons.

Another option would see two towers closer to area homes – one at Adit and another at the intersection of Lazulite and Hamilton Boulevard. That idea, council heard last night from one resident, is not appealing either.

Brock Enderton, Bell's manager of real estate and government relations, reiterated Bell's position that the Falcon location would provide the best coverage for the Copper Ridge area to deal with the mounting demand largely for data services coming from the onset of smart phones.

A number of residents in the area have spoken out against the tower.

They have argued they didn't want to look at it day in and day out, it would decrease property values, it would take away from a recreational area used by kids, there are detrimental health effects from living nearby a cell tower and there should have been more consultation on the proposal.

Last night those arguments came forward once again.

Tracey Twa presented council with the 224 signatures of residents living in the approximately 1,200 to 1,500 homes in the neighbourhood.

Twa has been a vocal opponent since she became aware of the proposed lease through an email circulated by the Copper Ridge Neighbourhood Association.

She led a door-to-door campaign to make residents aware of the situation and gain signatures on her petition. On doorsteps, she heard many of the concerns expressed throughout the approval process for the lease.

Meanwhile, John Maisson told council he has spent "tens of thousands of dollars” since moving to Copper Ridge from Riverdale in 2007 to renovate his retirement home.

If the tower is built, he told council, he would have to look at it every time he glances out his living room window.

A lot of money has been spent on putting in underground infrastructure in the neighbourhood, he aded, and now it seems that's being reversed.

Sherry Young also told council that she has already experienced the negative health impacts of energy emitted from infrastructure like cell towers.

While she hasn't dealt with her doctor on the issue, she noted she has experienced numbness in her hand, trouble concentrating and other issues when she's near infrastructure or dealing with a cell phone, which she only uses for work purposes.

Another resident, Dennis Senger, suggested there needs to be a consultation process in place for such leases.

Before voting to go ahead with the lease, Mayor Dan Curtis said that while he understands the concerns expressed by some residents of the neighbourhood, he was looking at the city as a whole in voting for the lease.

"We have to look at what's best for the vast majority,” he said, adding it's a hard decision.

Both Streicker and Coun. Betty Irwin noted that cell service has come to be seen as essential by many.

Residents often choose to get rid of their landlines in favour of their cell phones, as evidenced by the rising number of calls coming into 911 from cells.

Coun. Jocelyn Curteanu acknowledged the concerns around recreational use of the area.

She said she had visited the site and is confident the densely forested area will still provide enough space for residents to enjoy.

The lease will see Bell pay the city $12,000 for the land use in the first year with gradual increases up to $15,657 in the final, 10th year of the lease.