The builder of a house south of Mitchell will not need to move the structure, even though it is located much closer to the street than what the municipality's bylaw allows.

The house is being built in a treed urban area on a two-acre lot. Hanover Council was told on Wednesday that during construction, the building inspector noticed that the house appeared to be considerably closer to the road than the other homes in the neighbourhood.

A building location certificate was requested, which confirmed that the house was built less than 58 feet from the property line, where 75 feet is the minimum front yard setback. Hanover Planning Manager Jeremy Neufeld says it is the understanding of the municipality that the builder erroneously measured the setback from the road and not the property line.

According to the municipality, the house is well under construction. Inspection reports show that it is past the insulation and vapour barrier stage. It says, to fix the issue would be extremely difficult and costly. In his report, Neufeld indicated that though it is less than desirable, it is unlikely that allowing this home to remain in this location will create an undue hardship for neighbours.

A $500 penalty was assessed.

At Wednesday's Council meeting, the builder requested to vary the front yard from 75 feet to 57 feet. Councillors debated the matter, with Councillor Travis Doerksen suggesting that a $500 penalty is less money than what the builder will have saved by building a driveway that is now 17 feet shorter than it needs to be.

Councillor Brian Esau questioned whether they should rethink what they charge in penalties. However, he indicated that this mistake would be much more noticeable down a residential street that has no trees. Neufeld also noted that the builder was one of the first, if not the first to build a house along that street and so the mistake will only have become noticeable once construction started on other homes.

In the end, Hanover Council was unanimous in approving the variance request. But, that did not stop Reeve Stan Toews from offering a building tip to both this builder and other contractors.

"I'd say check where you are supposed to measure from," says Toews. "His tape measurer was a little short I guess."

Toews says this happens so seldom in Hanover that at this point he does not think they need to revisit their penalty fees.