Steinbach city council has denied a request from the owners of a home at 4 Fernwood Bay to enlarge their back yard by purchasing a piece of back yard from the owners of a residence 275 Third Street. The two properties partly abut each other but the subdivision plan would have created several irregular lot lines. Councillor Jac Siemens moved to deny the proposal. He says one reason is that drainage is sensitive in that area and any potential changes could have a ripple effect on neighbours. He outlines some of his other concerns.

"The lot lines don't line up. But even more so, council's role is long term visioning and looking at potentially what could be. And, when you take a look at the bigger picture, those properties, in 25 years, are probably going to turn over. Either we're going to have new housing built there or there will be other opportunities. We need to leave room for a developer potentially coming in and developing those lots all adjoining."

Siemens adds, by taking a chunk of back yard from a Third Street home and transferring it to be part of the rear yard of a Fernwood Street residence, the irregular lot lines could prohibit orderly development in the future.

Council voted 5-2 in favour of a motion to deny the plan with councillor Michael Zwaagstra and Mayor Chris Goertzen voting against the motion. They feel the plan would have been workable with the right conditions attached to the subdivision plan.

Siemens noted that such conditions can be an issue in the future. He says the city has had situations before where, as properties are bought and sold, the new owners are not always aware of the previous conditions on the property and that has then led to problems.