A brand new restaurant on Harbour Drive in St. John's is facing a major setback, after the city said its courtyard patio was too close to residences downtown.

Despite the fact there are no fewer than 15 restaurants between Vic Lawlor's new place, the Dockyard, and those residences on Cathedral Street and Victoria Street, the courtyard was shut down.

Until those residents can weigh in, the city said it must stay shuttered.

"All you can do really is laugh at it," Lawlor told CBC's On The Go. "Nobody in their right mind would sit there and say this is a residential zone. I'm on the waterfront."

Vic Lawlor is a developer and restaurateur in St. John's. (CBC)

The city said because Harbour Drive is zoned as a commercial central retail zone, any nearby residents must have a chance to be consulted before a liquor licence can be granted to an outdoor restaurant.

"Within this particular commercial central retail zone, it is discretionary. So that means we do have to go out to the public on that," said Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O'Leary. "The zone is there for a very good reason."

Lawlor said he probably won't bother to go through the proper process, because by the time it's over, patio season will be over, too.

History between the two

The developer and the city have had a rocky relationship when it comes to zoning and permits.

In 2017, Lawlor accused the city of withholding permits for a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant on Ropewalk Lane until he paid for a $70,000 crosswalk in front of the building.

Despite his insistence that nobody was walking to get fried chicken, Lawlor put up $50,000 as a deposit, but the crosswalk was never built and his money wasn't returned.

At the time, Lawlor said his feud with the city was about 10 years old.

One process for everyone, O'Leary says

While he believes the latest kerfuffle might be related to his past, the deputy mayor disagrees.

"I want to see business thrive, but we do have processes in place to ensure public safety and a proper process that is applicable to all and equitable to all," she said.

Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O'Leary says the City of St. John's has the same process for every business operating in a commercial central retail zone. (Eddy Kennedy/CBC)

O'Leary said she couldn't say with certainty whether each business with a patio in the area of Harbour Drive, Water Street and Duckworth Street followed the appropriate process, but said all of them should have.

Lawlor, though, doesn't feel like he's being treated the same as everyone else.

"If they had to follow it, then great, I'll do it.… I want to be treated exactly the same as anyone else."

The view from the Dockyard looks out at the St. John's harbour. (The Dockyard/Facebook)

O'Leary said the city takes every opportunity it can to learn how to streamline processes.

"We're undergoing continuous improvement all the time to try to facilitate opening businesses in a faster, more expedient way."

But for now, the deck stays closed.

"I don't know where to go from here," Lawlor said. "Hopefully it will be corrected. But if not, people in this city are going to walk by a beautiful courtyard that nobody is using."

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