The pile of boulders placed in front of the entrance of D-Jay’s & Ichabod’s in St. James does not contravene city fire codes, city officials say.

The Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service said it was asked to evaluate whether the boulders cut off fire and emergency access to the popular Portage Avenue restaurant.

"I’m not saying it’s not inconvenient for us, but there’s no violation," said Alan Hill, acting director of the WFPS fire prevention branch.

Last fall, the boulders were placed after an apparent business dispute between DJ’s and Superior Management, owners of the Westwood Village Shopping Centre.

Superior has said it was only defining its property lines as well as parking areas for the businesses it held under lease.

 The boulders give DJ’s, one of three private landowners in the mall, only a sliver of space for patrons to access the restaurant.

But because DJ’s front door is less than 45 metres (or 150 feet) from Portage Avenue, firefighters still can access the building in the event of an emergency, Hill said.

"If they park on Portage, it works out," he said.

Still, some patrons say the boulders amount to an unnecessary safety hazard for both vehicles and pedestrians.

However, any personal and physical damage caused by the boulders might not hold up in court, according to one civil lawyer.

"If you don’t exercise caution, you can’t expect (someone) to pay," said Lyle Smordin of Smordin Pauls & Associates.

"It’s one thing if the boulder comes rolling onto somebody, but another thing if the boulders are sitting there.

"If someone were to climb over the boulders and hurt themselves, you can argue the danger or potential danger was there, so why did you climb over the? You could go around."

Smordin likened the situation to a woman wearing high heels outside on a slippery winter day, and called for people to exercise a sense of reasonableness.

"A judge would say its Winnipeg in the winter. It’s nice to claim the owner of the sidewalk, whether it’s a private sidewalk or owned by the city, is responsible, but you’re facing a danger."

DJ’s, however, could have a case for the boulders being a deliberate deterrent to drive away business, Smordin said.

DJ’s may also ammunition in the city’s neighbourhood livability bylaw.

The bylaw states "properties must be maintained so as to prevent the existence of objects and conditions that pose health, safety, fire or accident hazards to people, animals or neighbouring properties."

It also states "properties must be maintained so that they do not substantially depreciate the value of other land and buildings in the vicinity."

Facebook.com/TheMetroWPG
Twitter: @metroWPG

matt.preprost@canstarnews.com