Knucklebones Closing

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Knucklebones is apparently being forced to close. Does anyone have more insight into the situation?

Letter from the owner explaining:

Date: Wed, May 30, 2012 at 9:09 AM
Subject: Important Epicenter News


Hello Loyal Knucklebones Followers,

Before news spreads we wanted to share with you directly, we will be
closing the Epicenter on June 30th. As many have already heard, three
weeks before we were to open in December our investor backed out.
This forced us to alter our original plan of "Interactive Toy Store"
to "Play Space with a Toy Store" because we simply did not have the
funds for shelving, inventory, check out system, etc. Our vision had
to be put on hold but we moved forward with what we could afford and
what we thought would be successful. As you have helped to prove,
this concept has been a success and a lot of fun!

For the past few months we’ve been in discussions with the City of
Cambridge due to a neighbor complaining about our backyard use.
Although we have only used the yard for three parties (from
October-May) for a total of 1 hour and 15 minutes, this neighbor
contacted the police and filed a formal complaint. After coming to an
agreement with the City that we will no longer use the backyard for
paid activities, we thought our troubles had come to an end. However,
a week later the City placed a Cease and Desist Order on all paid
activities essentially ending ‘Open Play’ and any classes due to
zoning regulations. Although we had hoped to be a functioning Toy
Store by this time we know that testing products is what makes our
store unique and we are not willing to give up that portion of our
vision and become ‘just another toy store’.

Although the Epicenter will be closing you can still get your KB fix
as we will continue traveling to our clients for play services and
we're looking to run a weekly ‘Open Play’ at the Arts at the Armory.
Of course, you still have the entire month of June to enjoy the
Epicenter’s Open Play, Creative Movement class and purchase remaining
inventory. Beginning Friday, June 1st we will have a Flash Sale of
our current inventory, priced better than Amazon. We will also be
offering reduced rate memberships for $55 (one child) and $50 for
siblings as a Thank You closeout for the month. Open Play will remain
at $7 for the day and we will still host parties through the end of
the month.

I know this news may come as a shock to many of you, it did to us as
well. It has been a fantastic six months and you have been an
integral part of it! Of course, we're excited to move forward to find
a new space, with the correct zoning, for our unique vision of an
interactive toy store. Feel free to provide us any information to
help us locate our next "perfect" location. Thank you for your
support and remember to think of us anytime you need fun and healthy
athletics, retail, consultation, etc...for love of play!

Mitch

Founder | CVO
Knucklebones
196 Elm Street North
Cambridge, MA 02140
617-851-2928
www.Knucklebones.us

Comments

[ron_newman]

But without the complaint from the neighbor, I doubt that the city would have noticed the zoning violation and shut them down. This is why I compare the situation to the Dilboy Post VFW.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

Nothing in that message implied that the neighbor's complaint had anything to do with the city's order. My husband owns Pandemonium in Cambridge, and when he moved his store from one Cambridge location to the current Cambridge location, he had to close the store for months because the city took that amount of time to issue the proper permit, instead of the expected 5-7 days. And when the permit was granted, it forced him to change construction plans, which had his store closed for the entire time. The city of Cambridge has inspectors who ensure that all businesses comply with city regulations, who actually visit his store occasionally.

Tyler says he actually wanted to have an "after school" or "noon - 6 pm" childrens program for kids ages 10+ at his store. When he looked into this, he discovered a massive amount of city and state regulations that he had a difficult time deciphering. When he found that, since it was not "full time child care" there was a murky morass of rules/permits/etc which applied, he decided it was not worth his time and money to institute the program. I can just imagine the rules for toddlers are even more stringent.

If the neighbor complained "I don't think this area is zoned for children" that might have been passed from the police department to the zoning department. However, the city and state inspectors would have eventually discovered this issue. City taxes are paid twice annually (but that's a different department from zoning). Noone here knows what caused the city to explore the store's zoning status.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Zoning laws exist for a reason. I don't know if I have sympathy for a business that set up shop in a location it was not legal to do so. I reviewed the zoning laws for my street and the neighboring streets before I bought my house. I am open zoning amendments, but I also think I have rights as someone living in the area to have a say in the matter.

I personally think the VFW is quite different since it's an established institution being attacked from all sides. This was a legitimate noise/activity complaint (perhaps a bit harsher an action than I'd take).

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Speaking as a supporter of the VFW (though not shady developers), I don't see why that complaint was more legitimate than the other. The VFW was shut down for actual violations, too. In both cases, nobody would have done anything about it without the complaint calling it to someone's attention. (And in the case of the VFW, it was a potential actual safety issue, not simply a zoning thing.)

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

You make a good point, though I was under the impression that the VFW was in a more legally gray area with grandfather clauses and the such.

[tim-sackton.livejournal.com]

Zoning laws exist for a reason, yes, but often (usually?) are very mismatched with the actual historical use of an area. Knucklebones is in a Residence B zone in Cambridge. The only uses permitted by right in a Res B zone are one and two family houses and townhouses. I assume the reason why Knucklebones could open in the first place was that there was a retail store there before them (The Caning Shop), which grandfathered in the 'retail store' use. I presume Knucklebones ran into trouble because 'running a play area' and 'running a retail store' are not close enough in the Zoning Code for the 'play area' use to be allowed under The Caning Shop grandfather clause.

This is what drives me crazy about zoning laws. I understand the desire to set some general limits on the kinds of activities that are permitted in an area, but when you zone a city in a way that does not reflect the underlying reality on the ground, you introduce tons of arbitrary constraints about what businesses can and cannot open, since what you are essentially doing is locking in the historical use (which is grandfathered in) but disallowing (without time consuming and expensive variances) related activities that might be more viable currently. Davis Square has enough vacancies as it is, we don't need arbitrary and thoughtless zoning rules making things more difficult for people trying to run a business. Why a busy street a few blocks from a T stop is a restrictive residential zone is a whole separate question.