Biltmore owner fights city with Facebook

I have recently been threatened by Peter Ladner that I should not speak publicly about this issue. He has asked me to wait 6 more days of being locked down and has given me no solid assurances that we will be open (he actually asked for 7 more days initially- yesterday). Instead he is regurgitating what his bureaucracy tells him. I think he is not the right candidate for mayor and when I get back I will seek out who I think a qualified mayor will be and make a recommendation.

I am hoping that someone on council steps up and shows Ron Dyck that he is not Stalin- as much as he may think he is.

Please read my last note to Vancouver City Councillors to get some context on this note.

Vancouver City Council has got the message- but they seem to be enforcing the bureaucratic holding pattern the Biltmore is locked in.

Now is more important than ever to get the media involved. City council has now heard loud and clear that people are angry about this. They, however, are currently echoing the BS coming from the city inspectors. Today Peter Ladner assured us we would be open in 7 days. Why 7 days? Who knows. I think it is the same delay tactic they have been using all along. They told us 24 hours when they shut us down for being over capacity (what bar in Vancouver does not go over capacity?- have you ever heard of one getting shut down for it?). Then it was one more day possibly. Then 3 days. Then 10 days. What they (a possibly a small few- or possibly just Ron Dykes) are doing is passing the issue around from department to department while our business dries up and our hourly staff have no jobs and get work elsewhere- meanwhile all the thousands and thousands of dollars I have paid for permits and licenses is wasted- and I am paying rent on an empty space, while still paying salaries to my managers. The Councillors need to come down on the city workers who abuse their power like this. The way Peter Ladner is acting suggests that he does not know what goes on in this city. He seems to think that Vancouver inspectors go out and make sure everything is good and up to code and then if they see something that is wrong they follow procedure. This is not at all what happens. The inspectors enforce different rules for different places. It's highly arguable that we broke any rule to begin with. Minor stage expansions do not need permits (which is what they are claiming- even though we have been open for 6 months with this stage and passed our previous inspection). So we run a tight ship and get our doors locked, for weeks, over a minor, or probably nonexistent issue, and meanwhile there are countless violations all over the city that actually are dangerous (or fronts for organized crime, or flat our illegal operations). These inspectors don't keep Vancouver safe- and isn't this what their job is supposed to be about?- they try to meddle in people's business, calling in personal favors for 'friends' and recklessly abusing power. They go after anyone that they want. This is not at all about public safety. The Biltmore is an honest business that was made to support the local arts scene. Why do we get the heaviest possible action taken against us? I think this is a really important question that needs to be answered by someone. Lord knows there are far sketchier places in Vancouver. So why is the Biltmore getting the harshest possible treatment- treatment that is quite likely not even legal?

The worst thing is that the city councillors seem to be subject to the will of these bureaucrats- and they are showing that they won't stand up to them. If our elected representatives won't stand up to these gangster civil servants- then who will? City Council knows what to do but they are toeing the line. I believe that this issue must be brought to the media and it must be carefully considered by anyone who wants to see the local arts and small independent businesses have a chance in Vancouver.