Michael Bublé's new house in Burnaby is getting a lot of attention
Superstar Michael Bublé is building a giant mansion across the street from his old elementary school and it's going to have a wall that is double the size typically allowed in the city.
The wall which according to a rezoning application is for 'security purposes' is 8-feet tall, whereas city by-laws limit a fence to 3.28 feet.
But the City of Burnaby insists Bublé wasn't granted special treatment.
"It was irrelevant who the owner was. It was based on the facts of the application and size of the property," said Dennis Back, Burnaby city clerk.
Once construction finishes, the house will be 27,625 square feet and it will have a swimming pool, a tennis court and two driveways. There's also an ice rink — which he talked about to Kelly Ripa on Live with Kelly last week.
There were other variances given for the building's height and width, which are allowed to be wider and taller than typically allowed.
Back says the extraordinary size of the property — because it is on two lots — made sense for these variances. He also says the public had been notified about both the rezoning and the variances before the city gave it the go ahead.
The application also states that the fence will have hedges and greenery added to soften the look.
Opinions in the neighbourhood seem to be split on whether the wall is too high.
"Twice higher? It's outrageous, and definitely I'm not happy about it," said Boris Prykhopko.
"I thought it was great because he's actually coming to where he grew up," said Ellen Hsu.
"He can afford it, that's fine ... if city hall is okay with it, I'm fine with it. He's a superstar, right? He has to protect his family."
