S&M sex club and zoning laws collide in Maryland. No one wins. - Polidicks

[url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020303456.html[/url] [release]To understand how Paul Pickthorne got cross-wise with Montgomery County's land-use regulations, you'll need a glossary: "R-60" is a zoning classification for subdivisions of single-family houses where commercial activity generally isn't permitted. The 6300 block of Tone Drive in Bethesda is such a place, a tidy street of mostly 1950s brick ranchers just across River Road from Walt Whitman High School. "BDSM" is short for "bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism." Velvet whips, leather hoods, six-inch stiletto heels, that kind of thing. If you were into the BDSM scene and periodically threw BDSM parties in your home -- as Pickthorne, a burly, jovial Briton, does in the castlelike 3,600-square-foot McMansion he rents at 6304 Tone Dr. -- you'd attract quite a crowd. "Section 59-C-1.31" is the zoning code provision you'd be violating by having said parties in an R-60 zone if the guests pay to get in, as they do (or used to) at Pickthorne's nocturnal get-togethers. His events draw dozens of people. The cost: $20 for a basic ticket, $50 for VIP treatment. "Kinky people" is the accepted term for folks who derive erotic pleasure from BDSM. "An amazing cross-section of humanity," says Pickthorne's friend Susan Wright, founder of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom. "Men, women, transgender, heterosexuals, gays, bisexuals. Every ethnicity. White-collar and blue-collar. It's really very, very diverse -- though we do have an unusually high percentage of lawyers. I don't know why." Anyway, you can imagine what Pickthorne's non-kinky neighbors think of all this. Fed up, they convened a meeting in someone's living room last week, then fired off indignant e-mails to County Council member Roger Berliner (D), whose district includes their Merrimack Park subdivision. "I share your sense of outrage that a sex club is operating in your lovely neighborhood," Berliner wrote back. "I want you to know that my office has been advised that our County has moved aggressively to put an end to this blight on your community." The county moved, all right. Pickthorne received a written warning from a zoning inspector Monday. But hold on. Suppose Pickthorne stops charging admission, as he says he might? Suppose he complies with the inspector and holds all BDSM gatherings as strictly noncommercial functions in accordance with Section 59-C-1.31? What then? "Well," Berliner says on the phone, hesitating. "Certainly one has to respect everyone's constitutional rights." In other words, if no money changes hands, and the kinky people don't cause a noise or traffic nuisance, the First Amendment would ring clear: Party on! [/release] Looks like the county is going to beat him into submission.

I know what place they are talking about. I drove past it millions of times.

[QUOTE=PrismatexV8;21438169] Looks like the county is going to beat him into submission.[/QUOTE] More like whip him into submission. :smug:

[QUOTE=Lambeth;21438208]I know what place they are talking about. I drove past it millions of times.[/QUOTE] Sure that's all you did? :q:

They seem like good people who just happen to a kind of messed up fetish. Their sense of humor is great.

[QUOTE=The_Fly56556;21438360]They seem like good people who just happen to a kind of messed up fetish. Their sense of humor is great.[/QUOTE] Eh,BDSM isn't that weird compared to some of the other fetishes there are.

[QUOTE=The_Fly56556;21438360]They seem like good people who just happen to a kind of messed up fetish.[/QUOTE] Not a good attitude to have if you truly believe in equality

[QUOTE=Acesarge;21438408]Eh,BDSM isn't that weird compared to some of the other fetishes there are.[/QUOTE] Yeah, Hollywood blows it out of proportion.

[QUOTE=The_Fly56556;21438360]They seem like good people who just happen to a kind of messed up fetish. Their sense of humor is great.[/QUOTE] Don't knock it till you've tried it.

[img]http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/4926/drivei.png[/img] Found a picture on google maps. It's a very nice house. I've always wanted one made of stone. I love how they provided the address in the article. Very useful. [quote]He and four roommates, all kinksters, moved in and equipped the house with an array of dungeon apparatus, he says.[/quote] [quote]The dungeon is too crowded and the cracks sound like gunfire to the neighbors who may call 911."[/quote] [quote]His next party is later this month. Its theme: "Dark Odyssey Winter Fire."[/quote] Ok.

[QUOTE=Madman_Andre;21438291][QUOTE=Lambeth;21438208]I know what place they are talking about. I drove past it millions of times.[/QUOTE] Sure that's all you did? :q:[/QUOTE] Yes

Looks like they're a bit tied up on what to do.

Even if he stops charging and complies fully with the law, the neighbors and local government will find some bullshit reason to kick him out of the neighborhood. Happens all the time, removing undesirables are the kind of thing zoning laws are made for.

As I read this, a CSI episode featuring Lady Heather ran on the T.V.