RM admits it messed up; couple told to demolish suite anyway

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This article was published 01/03/2023 (1278 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Being right doesn’t cut it when fighting city hall.

Even though politicians admit the municipality was in the wrong, a rural couple has lost the battle to keep a basement suite in their newly built home.

Chantelle Dueck, and her husband Favio, built the house last year in New Bothwell, 50 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg in the RM of Hanover, after getting approval for a single-family home with a basement suite in Dec. 2021.

Dueck said Hanover officials say the approval was in error because they failed to see the home had a basement suite in the building permit documents.

The Duecks have been told to remove the suite.

“We are feeling very let down and disappointed,” she said on Wednesday. “We had applied for our building permit with a basement suite and Hanover has admitted to the error of missing that and issuing our permit.

“It’s just hard to undo what has been done.”

‘He did everything absolutely right’: reeve

The matter was put before the RM of Hanover council on Feb. 22. Despite municipal administration recommending approval — and saying it’s the same recommendation it would have given if the planned suite had been caught by them in 2021 — council unanimously rejected it.

Reeve Jim Funk said they take full responsibility for the error and have advised the couple to go to the planning department’s manager “to see what steps we can take to make life easier for them.

“Mr. Dueck didn’t do anything wrong,” Funk said. “He did everything absolutely right.”

Funk said the secondary suite was found during an inspection. Only then did the municipality discover that part of the plan had been missed during the permit process.

“But you don’t want to do two wrongs to make a right,” he said. “It was wrong from the get-go. It is unfortunate.

“It was a very hard call to make by council… I feel for this family.”

Funk said council’s decision is final and cannot be challenged.

Would have built smaller house: Dueck

Dueck said if their plan had been rejected in 2021, they would have built a smaller house, which would have cost less and be subject to lower property taxes.

“All the planning for the house, size of the house, and layout was based on a basement suite with two bedrooms, full kitchen, laundry and its own side entrance,” she said.

Dueck added that even the basement ceiling has two layers of drywall and special insulation to create a fire barrier between the main and basement levels.

“We have spent a lot of extra money into the home than we would have… it is a big blow when you find this out after the fact.”

What’s more, Dueck said part of the reason for the rejection was a letter from the New Bothwell Local Urban District, a body made up of a local councillor and citizens which didn’t exist when the building permit was approved.

The urban district expressed concern the house had been built closer to the street than nearby homes, with the shorter driveway “ultimately forcing the rental unit to likely park on the street. The likelihood of the renter having two vehicles is highly probable.”

As well, the district said limited street parking would lead to problems for snow clearing. The member who sent the letter could not be reached for comment.

No compensation offered

Dueck said she is baffled by the district’s comments because their house is no closer to the street than the others in the cul de sac and there’s enough room in the driveway for four vehicles.

She said they decided to build the suite because of the shortage of rental housing.

“New Bothwell is a small town and doesn’t have many options for young people to stay in town,” she said.

“There is also almost no option for older people who want to downsize and rent, but still live in the community they have been in all their life.”

Dueck said the RM hasn’t offered compensation other than telling them to speak with the local planning manager.

“We are figuring out what our costs have been so we can figure out how to proceed,” she said.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca