City hall plans to submit an appeal to the Saskatchewan Municipal Board over a decision that the local development appeals board made to approve a project at 955 Oasis Street.
During its Sept. 15 meeting, the local board approved a detached garage project, in which property owner Reece Barrett asked that he be allowed to add a 123-square-metre (1,368-square-foot) addition to his existing 71-square-metre (784-square-foot) garage, for total square footage of 2,152 square feet.
Barrett planned to use the building to store vintage vehicles.
City hall argued that the existing house is 2,141 square feet, which would make the garage the principal building on the property. It would also be 18.6 feet in height, which is 11 feet taller than the house.
Background
In a report submitted to city council’s Oct. 5 regular meeting, city administration explained that it believes the appeals board erred when considering the approval criteria based on section 221 of The Planning and Development Act, 2007. Specifically, the section states that the decision should not:
• Grant to the applicant a special privilege inconsistent with the restrictions on the neighbouring properties in the same zoning district
• Amount to a relaxation that defeats the intent of the zoning bylaw
• Injuriously affects the neighbouring properties
While the difference in floor space between the house and garage is 10 square feet, the intent of restricting accessory building size is to main a clear visual difference between primary and secondary buildings, the report explained.
As a residentially-zoned property, the house must remain the primary building to avoid contravening the zoning bylaw, the document continued. Furthermore, larger accessory buildings could look out of place in residential areas and are sometimes used for purposes that are better suited in commercial or industrial districts.
The bylaw allows a combined floor space of 81 square metres (900 square feet) for accessory buildings in these areas. City administration believed the appeals board’s decision set a precedent in the R6 district for future appeals. It also believed the board erred when considering the three tests necessary to override the zoning bylaw.
“This would be the largest detached accessory building for any residential district granted to a property owner,” the report added. “The largest single detached building has been 1,840 square feet located on an acreage in the R5 (district) at 2945 Caribou Street West. The largest combined floor area (multiple buildings) has been 2,052 square feet located at 901 Normandy Drive in the R1 district.”
Council discussion
Mayor Fraser Tolmie explained that he recently drove past the property and noticed that it had many trees that provided much privacy, which made him think this wasn’t that big of an issue. In particular, he considered making a motion to receive and file the report instead of having city administration appeal the decision.
There are residential and mobile homes adjacent to the property, said Michelle Sanson, director of planning and development. While trees surround 955 Oasis Street, Barrett did say he planned to chop down some of them.
Sanson added that city administration is concerned that this project would set a precedent due to the proposed garage’s size and the existing home’s size.
Council then voted 4-3 in favour to file an appeal to the Saskatchewan Municipal Board. Tolmie and councillors Brian Swanson and Dawn Luhning were opposed.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Oct. 19.
