Civics

HOW TO: City of Saskatoon Development Appeals Board

The function of the Development Appeals Board is to hear appeals under various sections of The Planning and Development Act. Appeals include minor variances, demolition control districts, architectural control districts, misapplication of The Zoning Bylaw in issuing a development permit, refusal to issue a development permit that would contravene The Zoning Bylaw, refusal of subdivision application and any of the conditions of a Zoning Order issued on the property.

LINK: https://bm-public-saskatoon.escribemeetings.com/BoardDetails/BoardInformation/5

Finding information on a development appeal can be less than intuitive, so VVCA has provided the following guide and steps to assist. Information such as bylaw variance appeals, letters from the general public in support or against an appeal, and board decisions can be found here. NOTE that a direct website address to the hearing or documents changes every time it is updated with new information, which creates a dead link. Therefore it is recommended to follow the process beginning at the home page each time.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

PROCEDURE:

  • Go to website (linked above)
  • Scroll down to the calendar.
  • Find the date of the appeal hearing.
  • Click on that date for hearing details.
  • Choose the Agenda html or pdf document from the pop-up box. Download and/or read the document. NOTE that selecting HTML will bring up a window where a list of the submitted documents of the appeal will be listed in the upper right — you can choose which ones to read. PDF will provide one large document that contains all the documents.
  • To discover the findings of the board, keep monitoring the original date of the hearing.   Once the decision has been made, the agenda will show a new item called “Board”.  When you click on this item, you will find a document entitled “Record of Decision”. 
STEP ONE: At the Development Appeals Board home page, scroll down until you find the calendar.
STEP TWO: Find the hearing date on the calendar. Click on it.
STEP THREE: From the pop-up box that appears, choose the Agenda HTML or PDF document to read and/or download.

Varsity View Community Association (VVCA) Guidelines on Rezoning and Up-zoning Applications

May 2026 — These guidelines sets out the formal position of the Varsity View Community Association (VVCA) and Grosvenor Park regarding amendments to the Zoning Bylaw, Official Community Plan (OCP), Local Area Plans (LAPs), corridor plans, and other regulatory instruments that increase permitted density, height, lot coverage, dwelling units, or intensity of use (“Up-Zoning”).

The VVCA supports responsible, plan-led growth. It opposes speculative, ad-hoc, parcelbyparcel, or blanket up-zoning that undermines adopted planning frameworks, infrastructure capacity, environmental sustainability, neighbourhood character, or procedural fairness.

These guidelines guides City Council, Administration, and applicants on when the VVCA will support or oppose zoning amendments. 

View or download Guidelines document here: VVCA Upzoning Guidelines 2026.pdf

Rezoning Requests

March 2, 2026

The VVCA board has been asked to develop a new policy statement, on behalf of the Association, to respond to requests by developers for changes in existing zoning. At the February 2026 board meeting, members of the VVCA civics committee submitted a document outlining its objection to upzoning requests beyond what is currently in the city bylaws.  

The civic committee’s opinion is that by allowing the zoning changes, it will create more harm to the surrounding community and its citizens than the perceived benefit for the city. We believe the current bylaws allow for appropriate growth and development.  

Before finalizing a policy, the board has asked for feedback from the community. Below is the civics committee’s opinion in objecting to the requests for changes in zoning. Additional information related to this policy can be read in the president’s letter (Spring 2026 issue of the VVCA ‘The View’ newsletter). 

Two questions to be considered:
a) Should VVCA respond to each rezoning request on its own merits? 
b) Or should one blanket policy be sufficient to reply to each instance, because existing zoning should always be upheld?
If you approve 1b), do you also approve the draft position or policy statement?

Please send your feedback either for or against these zoning requests by developers to civics@vvcasaskatoon.com.

We will compile the responses to present to the Board at its next meeting. There will be no in-person submissions allowed. If possible, include factual information to substantiate your opinion.

Thank you,
Varsity View Community Association — Civics committee
March 2026

DRAFT POLICY STATEMENT:
Rezoning Requests for Additional Density for Land within Varsity View/Grosvenor Park

Background
Varsity View, along with other core neighbourhoods, underwent blanket rezoning in 2024 as part of the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) initiative. The objective is to approximately double the number of residential units built in Saskatoon to a total of just over 25,000 over a 10 year period. The added density is almost entirely multi-unit housing. The additional housing is intentionally concentrated along Bus Rapid Transit Routes (BRT/Link), a $250 million project to enhance public transit.

Rezoning requests for higher density (upzoning) occur when a developer buys a property and then asks City Council for a larger building with more units than permitted under current zoning regulations. This type of request is sometimes termed non-conforming development. However, once approved the Official Community Plan is updated to reflect the new zoning and the development becomes conforming. Developers benefit from upzoning financially. Land is typically purchased at low density prices, but enjoys an increase in value once zoned for higher density. Also, they typically choose desirable locations close to parks or the Meewasin trail, so the units are easier to sell.

Consequences of Upzoning
Consequences of upzoning can include:

  • Loss of trees. There may be additional removal of trees present on the lot. Also, there is a less favorable environment of adjacent city trees due to shading and loss of soil surface area.
  • Reduced enjoyment by neighbors, mainly due to shading and reduced privacy. There may be also additional stress on street parking from visitors to the development.
  • Damage to neighboring properties. High density buildings, and infill projects, often require substantial excavation and compaction. Vibration from this can damage neighboring structures.  The city provides no current construction bylaws requiring low impact methods to be used by developers and contractors.  Adjacent property owners are responsible for identifying damage and litigation if required.  
  • Reduced city efficiency/increased transportation inefficiency. Labor limits development in Saskatoon. Moving development to unintended locations reduces the ability to develop on locations where density is permitted. These locations are mainly close to water, sewer and BRT routes. In consequence efficient use of the transit system will suffer. The lack of density on 8th St, which is zoned for medium rise buildings, may in part be because developers have been allowed to upzone areas that they deem more profitable even though they are further from transit.
  • Planning Problems. When a neighborhood is rezoned as part of a city-wide plan, requirements for parks, transit, water, sewer and schools are all considered. However, adding additional density means that these needs should be reconsidered. This is a time consuming and costly process. The temptation is to say the changes are too small to be important. However, changes can add up over time The other problem is that there is no certainty for owners of low-density residential properties. Owners are disincentivized from making improvements because there is a risk their investment will be damaged by the unexpected appearance of unwelcome density.
  • Lack of community benefit. Most upzoning requests put additional strains on our parks, schools and other community facilities. Requests should have a clear benefit to our local community.

Action
This document should from the basis of considering future upzoning requests.