A local business owner is taking the City of St. John’s to court as the battle continues over a permit for a courtyard patio in the downtown.

Vic Lawlor, owner of the Dockyard on Harbour Drive which is off the back of the Salt House restaurant, says basically the city is not following the standard process for developers.

The problem started with the City saying he was within 500 feet of a residential zone on Cathedral Street, but Lawlor got his own architect and engineers to measure and the closest residential area is 960 feet away.

Lawlor says he has provided everything the city has asked for more than once, and every time he talks to them, they want something different.

He says the issue is that the standards tend to change based on who is supplying and who you know. Lawlor says there are courtyards downtown that are 300 feet from residential areas.

Lawlor says it will probably be a two-year process before a court date, so you are going to see an empty courtyard for two years.