Winnipeg judge upholds decision to keep oversized garage built without permit

Oversized garage on Liberty Street on May 5, 2024 (CTV News/Jeff Keele)

An oversized garage built without a permit and approved by a city committee has cut through another strip of red tape.

Last month, a Manitoba Court of King’s Bench justice dismissed an application for judicial review submitted by a next-door neighbour.

The garage on Liberty Street, south of Wilkes Avenue, is 4,200 square feet—more than four times the allowable limit.

The owner, Tylan Unruh, built the garage without a permit. He applied for a variance, but his application was rejected by city planners. Unruh then went to the city’s appeal committee, which voted to let the garage stand.

However, his neighbour, Darren Van Wynsberghe, applied for a judicial review of the city committee’s decision.

"Basically, you do not need a permit. Just build it and ask for forgiveness later,” Van Wynsberghe previously told CTV News.

In his application, Van Wynsberghe argued the garage is “too large” and doesn’t meet the legislative criteria set out by The City of Winnipeg Charter.

However, the justice dismissed Van Wynsberghe’s claims, calling the committee’s decision to keep the garage “discernable and reasonable.”

Unruh had previously said he built the garage to store a motor home, camper, snowmobile trailer, and a watercraft.

The neighbourhood is zoned rural residential and has large homes and lots.

- With files from CTV’s Jeff Keele.