City inspector says the sheltered sidewalk patio doesn’t comply with the rules
Maurice Bridge
Sun
VANCOUVER – He smoked the Iron Chef, but Rob Feenie, Vancouver‘s international celebrity chef, could be facing an even tougher fight against the bureaucrats at Vancouver city hall.
Earlier this year Feenie triumphed over high-ranked Japanese chef Masaharu Morimoto in a television showdown on Iron Chef America, the highest-rated series in the history of the Food Network. But now Darren Joseph, large sidewalk patio coordinator for the City of Vancouver, has Feenie pinned, and ready to cry “Ojisan” — uncle in Japanese.
The fight is all about the patio outside Lumiere, Feenie’s renowned restaurant at 2551 W. Broadway. Sheltered behind chest-high trees in concrete planters, diners can enjoy their meals al fresco, with a green barrier between them and the traffic on the street and sidewalk.
The patio was installed seven years ago, and Feenie says it has worked just fine ever since, with nary a complaint from anyone.
“For me, the frustrating part is to have a patio that’s been the same for seven years and no one notices it, and then seven years later wanting us to redo it,” Feenie said Wednesday, adding that he has been paying the city a regular patio fee since it was installed.
“I think in this city — and it’s just my own opinion, with having to pay this money — I think there’s a lot of other things they can worry about instead of clamping down on patios.”
Feenie even wonders if he was ratted out by someone jealous of his success, but Joseph says Lumiere is just one of a number of establishments caught in the net when the city recently decided to check the 250 or so large patios on city property for compliance.
When it got to Lumiere in February, the city found the patio wasn’t exactly the same as the design that had been approved back in 1998.
Feenie doesn’t argue that point, but says the current arrangement works well for his customers and adds a pleasant green touch to the streetscape — just the kind of thing a recent city-sponsored contest called 21 Places for the 21st Century seems to encourage.
But rules, says Joseph, are rules.
“Businesses are expected to be in compliance with the legal agreement that they’ve all signed that clearly states what the regulations are,” he said.
He adds Lumiere’s patio is not living up to the city’s philosophy for allowing sidewalk patios in the first place.
“They’re supposed to provide life and vibrancy to the property,” he said. “What [they’re] not supposed to do is provide an enclosure, or an extension of the building, or a private setting for patrons.”
He says Feenie is welcome to appeal his case to city council, but he doesn’t think he stands much of a chance.
Feenie’s not folding his hand just yet, but admits he and his partner are reluctantly looking at Plan B, a compromise that would see some of the planters removed and replaced with open railings, and nothing higher than the city-mandated 101 centimetres — 40 inches.
He has a month to comply, but he’s not going without a parting shot.
“… It’s just sad to see something so minute when there are so many other issues.”
© The Vancouver Sun 2005
