When it comes to lake development one of the most stressful parts for ratepayers is determining exactly where to place their building within their lot. You’re making a big investment to build that cabin, garage or gazebo, or landscape your property to create that perfect piece of paradise that you will enjoy for generations. Do you know that you’ve built within your property boundaries? What happens if you don’t?
The fact of the matter is, if you don’t get a Saskatchewan land surveyor (SLS) to lay out your building, you don’t know exactly where your building will be lying, or if the structure will be within your property boundaries. I’ve had cases where ratepayers found three of the four pins, or all four pins, and they still built too close to property lines. We all know that hiring a SLS isn’t cheap, and you feel as though they were only there for half an hour because that’s the only time you saw them around your lot. Each job typically takes at minimum half a day as SLS’s verify the correct pins. Nonetheless, spending the money on the SLS means that you have peace of mind that the building is in the right place – before you build.
I can guarantee the cost of hiring an SLS to lay out your cabin or garage is going to be cheaper than the cost to move that building if it’s found to be too close to the property line.
Depending on your municipality, some require that an SLS lays out the building and then comes back to do a Real Property Surveyor’s Report (RPSR) afterwards. Other municipalities require the RPSR after time of foundation to verify the building is in the right place before you build your structure, others require it after construction is all finished and some don’t require an RPSR at all. For those municipalities that do require an RPSR, if the RPSR verifies your building is too close to the property lines, then council is bound to upholding their zoning bylaw and they will be forced to begin enforcement on your structure.
According to section 79 of the Planning and Development Act of 2007, council is bound to uphold their zoning bylaw. Enforcement typically includes the landowner moving the building, altering the building so it abides by the setbacks, or removing the building entirely. In every case I’ve seen, the municipality has reluctantly proceeded with enforcement, but unfortunately, they are legislatively required to.
Unfortunately, out at the lakes, there have been many times my municipalities proceeded to the local Development Appeals Board (DAB) and the Saskatchewan Municipal Board (SMB) because someone has built too close to the property line. The DAB and SMB are quasi-judicial boards that review these cases to evaluate the facts and stories of the parties involved to determine whether the person needs to move the building or not. They evaluate the cases on three items, does the infraction: (i) grant to the applicant a special privilege inconsistent with the restrictions on the neighbouring properties in the same zoning district; (ii) amount to a relaxation so as to defeat the intent of the zoning bylaw; and (iii) injuriously affect the neighbouring properties.
This board will decide to uphold the municipality’s enforcement, or to side with the landowner that the infraction is minor and shouldn’t affect any surrounding landowners.
It’s a tough decision for the board, and enforcement is stressful for all parties involved. What is interesting is that after each of these setback violation appeals, every landowner has stated they should have just spent the money on the SLS to get the building laid out beforehand, because the money it would have cost for the SLS is minor compared to the time and stress involved in the appeal.
— S. Yvonne Prusak, BASc, MA, MCIP, RPP, is a Municipal Planner with municipalities and communities in Northwest Saskatchewan. She specializes in land use planning and development.
S. Yvonne Prusak, Municipal Planner
