Fate of million-dollar, over-height Saskatoon home to be decided by city

Saskatoon’s development appeals board has about three weeks to come to a decision on whether to grant an appeal of a construction permit denial for a million-dollar home in the Nutana neighbourhood.

The house, located in the 800 Block of University Drive, was bought by Curtis and Rachelle Kelln in July 2025, from the estate of Karl Miller.

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“This residence was originally designed, permitted, and substantially constructed by one of the principal owners of Meridian Developments. It was intended to be the residence for his family,” a city report noted.

The city said a building and development permit was granted to the original builder on May 31, 2022.

Miller and his family were killed in October 2023, in a collision with a semi-truck near Aberdeen, while construction on the home was underway.

According to an affidavit submitted to the board by the Kellns, the home designs were approved by the City of Saskatoon, and inspectors came to the property at least nine times before Miller and his family passed away.

“None of the inspections identified any issues with building height, ceiling height sidewall areas or wall stepbacks,” the affidavit read.

After the collision, construction on the home stopped until the Kellns bought the property from the Miller estate. At that time, a new builder, Lexis Homes, was hired and construction continued until May 2026.

“On May 13, 2026, the City conducted a further inspection, following which I (Curtis Kelln) was informed that the ceiling heights in the Home, which accorded with the plans we had been given by the estate, exceeded those shown on the plans submitted to the City and approved by way of the development and building permits. This difference was not noted on any of the prior inspection reports,” Kelln’s affidavit continued.

A side wall of the home was also bigger than it was supposed to be, along with some other walls that were not noted by the city at the time the plans were submitted.

“This news took us by complete surprise. At no time were we aware of the discrepancy between the plans provided to us by the estate and those that had been submitted to the City,” Kelln added.

Kelln is hoping the city will make an exception to its rules in this case, because construction was nearly complete before the violations were noted, and because the cost of trying to remedy the height and width issues would be financially prohibitive.

“Demolition and reconstruction would result in significant financial consequences for me and my family and would require substantial additional time, effort and financial resources to address that loss,” he said.

He noted that he’d spoken with some of his neighbours, who he said were surprised the home didn’t conform to the zoning bylaws and supported a variance grant request.

Neighbourhood and Community Reaction

During the July 14 development appeal board meeting, 14 letters to the city were submitted in relation to the home in question on University Drive, including eight in support of the Kellns.

Rex and Gwen Beaton wrote that the current owners are “clearly not responsible for the circumstances that led to the house being non-compliant. In our opinion, denial of the requested relief would result in senseless demolition or re-construction over a relatively small height difference.”

Others cited a “rare and exceptional” circumstance that the city failed to address on nine separate occasions.

However, others, like Margaret Tompson, while expressing some sympathy for the current owners, cautioned that allowing the bylaw infractions could influence future developers’ actions. If the appeal is approved, Tompson said it could set a precedent that developers could potentially use to skirt the rules.

She added that the approval could also give builders grounds to appeal any denials based on the ground that there are similar buildings to their designs in existence in the city.

Robert Clipperton, representing the Nutana Community Association, wrote that whether the initial development permit was issued by “Fraud with criminal intent, sloppy procedures or something else, adjudication of this matter belongs in a different forum.”

He suggested that approving the variances in the home could set a precedent, noting that “such precedents have the potential to impact not just adjoining properties but the entire neighbourhood, if not beyond.”

Jonathan Naylor, with the Varsity View Community Association, also asked that any members of the Development Appeal Board with close ties to the the Saskatoon and Region Home Builders Association recuse themselves from board’s ultimate decision and declare a conflict of interest.

The board had 30 days from the July 14 meeting to issue a decision.