Rules are rules.
That’s what the Saskatoon development appeals board ultimately decided about a house that’s taller than regulations allow in the city’s Nutana neighbourhood.
In its decision issued Thursday, the board found a “relaxation” of standards for the house “would defeat the intent of the zoning bylaw.”
The three-storey home on University Drive, which has been assessed at a value of $1.6 million, exceeds the maximum allowable height of 8.5 metres for homes in established neighbourhoods by 1.4 metres. It is also wider than allowed.
The violations were noted during an inspection in May, when the home was nearly complete, and the city issued a stop work order.
The current owners appealed. Curtis and Rachelle Kelln bought the home a year ago from the estate of developer Karl Miller, who died in a highway collision in 2023.
They said they were unaware the home exceeded the size limits.
City staff also were previously unaware of the violation. They conducted nine inspections during the construction of the house while Miller was still alive, and two more after the Kellns hired another company to complete the work — none of which uncovered the discrepancies.
Jonathan Naylor is president of the Varsity View Community Association, which neighbours Nutana.
He said he sympathizes with the owners for the “terrible position” they find themselves in, but that the board came to the right decision.
“It affirms regulations that prevent overly large houses, which can adversely affect the privacy, shading and drainage of neighbouring properties, and also these very large houses leave little space for trees,” Naylor said in an interview.
“So I was pleased with the decision, because it could have been a precedent for development throughout Nutana and Varsity View and other areas of the city.”
But Naylor still has a lot of questions.
“I’m surprised that the previous owner/developer, building their own personal home, would have not noticed that the walls were too high,” he said. “I’m surprised that the city inspectors failed to detect the change.”
Construction halted on million-dollar Saskatoon home deemed too large
Douglas Tompson, whose mother Margaret Tompson lives near the property on University Drive, also lives a few blocks away on Temperance Street.
He said he was pleased with the board’s decision, but is concerned that it didn’t address all of the issues that were raised.
“I think that the current homeowners are, first of all … certainly blameless in this mess,” he said. “They had nothing to do with it and they’re victims in this whole business.”
Tompson said he thinks they were trying to navigate the system as best as they could and that a successful appeal to the board would have been the “easiest path forward” for them, but that it would have set a “very bad precedent.”
Both Tompson and Naylor speculated that the issue may end up before the courts, due to its complexity.
The development appeals board’s decision, signed by its chair Nick Sackville, can be appealed to the Saskatchewan Municipal Board within the next 30 days.
The Kellns declined to comment “because we are now trying to decide on the next steps,” Rachelle Kelln said in an email.
An affidavit submitted by Curtis Kelln to the board said they explored removing the house’s third storey and found it could not be done without completely demolishing the structure. Then, it would need to be redesigned and rebuilt at considerable extra cost.
