A homeowner on Coral Crescent in Steinbach will need to tear down or move a newly constructed house addition.

In September of 2020, the homeowner pulled a permit for a detached building. However, upon inspection, it was discovered that an addition to the house was built instead, and it is only 1.9 feet from the property line even though the minimum setback allowed in a Residential Low-Density zone is four feet.

The house addition can be seen between the two properties.The homeowner then retrospectively applied for a variance to have a reduced side yard setback. Councillor Michael Zwaagstra moved to deny the variance.

“Our staff has raised significant issues with that, they have pointed out that this will likely cause drainage problems and could be a fire hazard because now the houses are much closer together than they are supposed to be. I think it is obvious that if this had been applied for in advance, we would have denied it. There is no way that we would have approved a variance like this with our staff saying 'this will cause drainage problems and it's a fire hazard'.”

This is not the first time the city has dealt with an issue like this. In 2018, a homeowner on Edgewood Street built a sunroom without a permit and was forced to take it down shortly thereafter. Zwaagstra says it is important that residents build within the zoning bylaws.

“The fact that it was built without the proper permit means obviously we didn't catch it until it was built but that doesn't change the fact that the right thing to do is deny it,” adds Zwaagstra. “When you have construction that has the potential to have a significant impact on the neighbouring property and that goes against our bylaws and was not built with the proper permit, we do have the ability to deny and require that this be fixed.”

Read more: Steinbach Homeowner Must Remove Sunroom Built Without A Permit

Councillor Jac Siemens agreed with the issues raised by Zwaagstra in his motion to deny the request, however, he expressed concerns about this solution to the problem.

“I think the piece that I struggle with is a lot of effort went into construction and in the past, while we do have precedent in taking down a sunroom, that was somewhat different as there was no permit taken out at all. I think that a substantial fine would have been favourable, that is how I have been thinking it but I also struggle with exactly how to respond.”

Council voted 6 to 1 to deny the variance, with Siemens voting against. The homeowner will now need to remove or move the addition.