Steinbach city council this week reinforced its support for the city's Zoning Bylaw and rejected a request for a variance.

Michael and Jodi Unger were seeking a variance for a 16-unit apartment block they own at 29 Cambridge Way. They purchased the property and the building plans for the project just over a year ago and went ahead with construction last February. It turns out the plan they were given in the sale was not the final design approved by the city and they missed some street edge landscaping features. They asked for a variance to forego those features. They noted a landscaper has told them it is unlikely the required trees and shrubs would last long there considering all the concrete and asphalt nearby.

City councillors Susan Penner and Jac Siemens spoke in favour of allowing the variance noting this was truly an 'honest' mistake. Penner adds this would not necessarily have set a precedent.

"When somebody comes for a variance, their situation is unique. So, just because we approve something in one situation, does not automatically mean it is setting a precedent for every other (similar) scenario that comes to us. There are always various circumstances and differing circumstances that we have to weigh on an individual basis. Hence, the reason for the variance to begin with."

But Deputy Mayor Michael Zwaagstra disagreed, noting this is a difficult situation.

"There's no question that the applicant had good intentions and that this was an honest error on their part in regards to having an error in the plans that they went ahead with. At the end of the day though, this was an after-the-fact variance request. There is a clear requirement in city policy for multi-family housing, a requirement for a certain type of curbing and for trees and shrubs and that is a standard that we hold consistently. We believe that it's a good standard to hold to. If we'd approved the variance, we opened up this becoming a precedent that, now, anyone who didn't want to put in the trees and shrubs, could potentially build what they wanted and then apply, after the fact, and get it approved. That's not a precedent that we want to set."

In the end, council voted 5-2 to deny the variance which means the Ungers will need to complete the street edge landscaping that is required by the city.