Northampton fire chief rescinds cease-and-desist on Bombyx

May 31, 2023 | Ryan Feyre
rfeyre@thereminder.com

Bombyx leaders conducted a press conference on May 23 to discuss the recent cease-and-desist order issued by the city, which temporarily paused the center’s live music activities.
Reminder Publishing photo by Ryan Feyre

NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton Fire Department has rescinded its cease-and-desist order against Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity, as long as the centers files for a “Change of Use” with the city’s Building Department by May 30.

If the center does this, they will be able to continue their live performances.

The timeline

The venue received a cease-and-desist order on May 19 from Fire Chief Jon Davine, which stated that indoor music had to pause until automatic sprinklers are installed and reviewed by the Fire Department.

On May 11, Fire Rescue Captain Mark Curtin and Kevin Ross from the Building Department visited Bombyx due to reported noise complaints from surrounding neighbors. While visiting, the city officials learned that certain events were exceeding 100 people, as Bombyx was reportedly selling up to 330 tickets to the general public for events.

The cease-and-desist order also stated that the center was moving pews to create a bigger dance floor, dimming the lighting and serving alcohol on the premises. Because of this, Davine characterizes Bombyx in his letter as a “nightclub,” while Building Commissioner Jonathan Flagg wrote a letter saying that the center was hosting larger events than what was previously discussed.

Because Bombyx was determined to be a nightclub, it was ordered to install an adequate system of automatic sprinklers as a fire prevention requirement.

In an interview with Reminder Publishing, Alan Wolf, the mayor’s chief of staff, said that the city told Bombyx staff members that in order to host live music, they would need to apply to change the zoning of the center from residential to office industrial. Wolf said the center made this change last September but never notified the Building Department afterward.

“Coming back would’ve triggered an inspection and the Fire Department going out to take a look, and would’ve precluded [Bombyx] from having events,” Wolf said. Because Bombyx did not complete this change of use application, Wolf said the Fire Department was asked to go out and speak with them, which then lead to the cease-and-desist order.

“It’s really clear,” Wolf said. “They can’t do what they’re doing, whether you call it a nightclub, a dancehall, an entertainment venue … there’s not a safe way currently to get 350 people out of that room if a fire starts.”

But now, the fire department is giving the center a chance to mend this issue by filing for a Change of Use with the deparment by May 30. By doing this, the center will solve this issue that has permeated throughout the past couple weeks.

Bombyx leaders’ response

Bombyx staff and board members, along with the current and former minister of the Florence Congregational Church, met for a press conference on May 23 to discuss the city’s initial cease-and-deisst order decision.

During the conference, Bombyx leaders said they were concerned that the cease-and-desist order unexpectedly inverted the approval that Bombyx thought they already acquired from the city regarding long-term plans to renovate the center, which they said they shared with the city right from the beginning when Bombyx began managing the property in 2021. They said they have been transparent with the city from the start.

“We have raised an incredible amount of money, around half a million dollars for this building so far, and our strategy has been informed through a very collaborative and positive relationship that we have had with the planning departments in the city,” said Kyle Homestead, one of Bombyx’s co-founders. “Since day one, we have been addressing code-related issues and safety issues.”

The leaders of Bombyx said that they had developed a multi-year plan with the city’s Planning and Building departments that included approximately $5 million of renovations that would allow the center to be in full compliance with code. An automatic sprinkler system alone would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Bombyx’s board President Elizabeth Dunaway said that Bombyx was told that automatic sprinklers would only have to be installed if more than 50% of their operations included live music, if there was a change of ownership or if there was some type of major renovation. According to Bombyx, none of that criteria have been met, as Bombyx does not plan to take full ownership of the building until 2028.

Regardless of who has jurisdiction, Bombyx officials argued that there are customary procedures that must be followed before shutting a venue down, and after talking to several former fire chiefs, Bombyx believes that what the original cease-and-desist order was “highly irregular.”

Bombyx believed that the justifications for the cease-and-desist was unreasonable and that their nightclub designation falsely represents their center. According to Cassandra Holden, the center’s executive director, all their live music events end around 9 or 10 p.m., and they currently do not have a liquor license, which contradicts the criteria for a nightclub.

“I feel like the Fire Department didn’t know what we were before a designation occurred,” Dunaway said.

Aside from hosting live music, the Bombyx Center, which took over management of the property in 2021, is a nonprofit organization that hosts a myriad of activities including religious services, drawing classes, art exhibitions, educational workshops, talks and culinary preparation. The center also houses and supports other organizations within the space including the Beit Ahavah Reform Synagogue, the Florence Congregational Church and Cloverdale Cooperative Preschool.

Bombyx leaders said that moving scheduled shows or canceling them altogether due to a cease-and-desist orderis economically unviable as a nonprofit organization and could sink the entire operation. Other non-music activities can continue in the meantime.

“The bottom line is, if Bombyx goes down, the church goes down,” said Rev. Marisa Egerstorm. “If the church goes down, the synagogue and the preschool go down.”

What’s next

Bombyx leaders met on May 23 to discuss a cease-and-desist order from the fire department that temporarily paused live music at the center. The city rescinded the order a few days later.

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