We can get clarification from the architect, but we will need to swear him in first.
Why don't you state your name and spell for the court sidocopher?
Absolutely. Thank you.
Ivano Dangella, I-V-A-N-O, D-apostrophe-A-N-G-E-L-L-A.
We're referring to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
I do. I do.
The statement that's being made by counsel, I was wondering if that could be an amendment after the fact, and this could be just heard.
no we need to vote we need to vote on what's being proposed and if a personal cares home
is not being proposed we can't vote on the refusal as it is okay uh so i i guess i'm we're back to
the client making that decision if he would go forward with a personal care or if he wants to
change it back to uh if he goes if he goes with personal care there's got to be different drawings
right the drawings don't match what the needs are right so and in reference to bringing it back to
you um that procedure i can just inquire on on an email of some sort does it have to go to zone uh
rco yes you can inquire on the same emails where you submitted your exhibits okay all right thank
you sir thank you guys thank you guys thank you guys yes mr chair i would suggest bringing this
back for a resumption hearing once there's clarification and once once you figure out
where you're going to go then we'll have a resumptive hearing okay then we can take public
testimony as well as the recommendation of the planning commission yep yep all right thank you
thank you have a good night guys is there anyone in the virtual audience whose 2 p.m case has not
and heard. No hands, Chair. All right. We're going to take a five-minute break, and then when we come
back, we only have, I think, one case to hear. Okay? Yes. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, everyone.
My name is Bill Bergman. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing
this afternoon meeting. With me is our Vice Chair, Ismail Shahid. Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board Member Cheryl L. Gaston.
Present Mr. Chairman.
Board Member Michael Johns.
Also here is our attorney, Hillary Emerson.
The proceedings are being recorded.
With your participation, you agree to be recorded.
Video will be available by contacting ZBA Executive Director at phila.gov.
For our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before a test finding.
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Here's our schedule for the afternoon.
Number one, MI 2021-003-878-6019-35 North 15th Street.
That case is continued.
Number two, MI 2022-
Mr. Chair, that was a Crest for Continuance Attorney Moving Party.
Oh, okay.
Thank you.
Number two, MI 2022-004-033-2235 Cecil B. Moore Avenue.
That's also a request for Attorney Moving Party.
Number three, MI 2024-003-872-150 East Champlose Avenue.
That case is continued.
Number five, MI 2024-003-930-11101 Academy Road.
That case is continued.
Attorney moving party.
Number six, MI 2024-003-936-8132 Lister Street.
That case is continued.
Attorney moving party.
And number four, MI 2024-003-924-917 West Somerset.
four zero zero three nine two four nine seventeen west somerset street alga rosado
and renee rosado are the listed owners no exhibits first listing
do we see any hands
i see no hands at this time chair thank you so mi 2024 003 924 917 west summer street
that case is continuing mark must be heard and then number seven mi 2024 003 951 5518 morton
Street. David Upta is the listed owner applicant. Devin, I actually think he's an attorney. No
exhibits, first listing. Chair, I don't see his name in the virtual audience. He is an attorney.
Okay, so MI 2024-003-951, first listing. This case is continued. Mark must be heard.
And our case number eight, MI 2024-003-966-919 South 8th Street.
Michael Mattione is the attorney for the owner.
Non-opposition from Bella Vista Neighbors and non-opposition from Council Member Squill.
He's coming back in as a panelist now, Chair.
Hi, Mr. Mattione.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.
Hold on.
I'm trying to turn on my video.
My video is not working.
Oh, there it goes.
No, hold on.
There.
Thank you.
Sorry about that.
There you go.
Could you please state your name and spell for the court sonographer?
Michael Matteoni, M-A-T-T-I-O-N-I.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, the relationship to this property?
It's Bella 7 LLC, and they are the owner of the property.
Vice Chair has a few questions, sir.
Good afternoon, Counselor.
Do you agree to read by the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, I do.
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, I did, sir.
Thank you, Counselor. Please proceed and share your screen.
Thank you.
All right. Good afternoon, everyone.
Again, I'm Michael Mattione, and I represent Bella 7 LLC.
and they're represented by a member Allison Hinman-Harvey, who is also on today. And we
presented exhibits in advance, the tax clearance refusal, the RCO letter of non-opposition. And
that letter includes an acknowledgement that we work with the immediate neighbor and they now
support the project. The letter of non-oppositional council member Squilla, again, correspondence from
neighbors in support, the zoning site plan, floor plans, and photographs.
Client purchased this property. It was originally three units, and they got a variance to have four
units. There were four units, three legal units, and then when they purchased it, they got a
variance to get a fourth unit. After they obtained the variance from this board for the fourth unit,
they then went to get a CO. When they tried to obtain the CO, they were told, well, you have a
rooftop deck, and that's not legal. So now we're back trying to legalize this rooftop deck that's
been there for many, many, many years. My client bought this property in July of 2022. They bought
it with the deck. The refusal, there were actually three refusals, but they all relate back to the
deck. And that's because this is a very unique property. They have a refusal because they
have a zero setback from Montrose Street and a five-foot setback is required for the
pilot house. They have two-foot, six-inch setback, 10-foot is required. And because
they're expanding a property that already has a variance, they got a refusal for that as well.
And just to get some context, this property is at the corner of 8th and Montrose.
I just want to show you where it is real quick. There it is at 8th and Montrose.
I just want to show you where it is real quick. There it is at 8th and Montrose.
It's on the southeast corner of 8th and Montrose, and it's multifamily. There's all multifamily around.
And here's some pictures of the deck we're talking about.
This is a very tiny deck. It only has about 66 square feet of area.
As you can see, when you walk out from the pilot house, you almost walk into the railing.
There's a little bit of room there.
And then when you look down here, you will see there's about three or four chairs on the deck.
and that's all that there is um again it's a really tiny deck and you can tell from the wood
that it's been there a long time and to put it in the context of the surrounding properties
okay this this is this is the deck in question as you can see this property is about nine feet
11 inches wide on the inside so you can't even have 10 foot setback from montrose street it'd
be on the neighboring property. So you can't build the pilot house, the existing pilot house.
You just couldn't build it. And then to have a five foot setback, you'd cut the deck in half,
you only have a five foot wide deck. Again, this has been here a long time. If you look over here
at 917 South 8th, they don't have any setback on their deck either. You look at 735 Montrose Street,
they really don't have any setback. 730 Montrose has no setback on their deck. And this is 921.
While they don't have any setback, they're not required to have a setback because they're not on the corner.
They do have the required front setback from A Street.
And these neighbors originally opposed it, but after meeting with them, they supported it.
It's noted in the RCO letter, and it's also, I have a correspondence of support from them as well.
Just to give a little bit of additional view of the other decks that surround us.
We're building in conformity with these other decks.
That's the 730 Montrose deck, 735 Montrose deck, and the 917 Southeast Street deck.
So when you look at this project, and I want to show the site plan, this is the deck.
I mean, it's a tiny deck.
And as you can see, the stairs come up.
You have the two-foot, six-inch clearance when you come up the steps.
And this is the deck.
And this is only about 66 square feet.
The deck itself, totally, including the pilot house, is about 100 square feet.
You actually do have a little bit of setback because of the bay window here, but you can't
possibly have a five foot setback and you can't, it's utterly impossible given that
it's only a nine foot, 11 inch wide roof to have a pilot house with a 10 foot setback.
You'd be building it over here on the neighboring property.
So it's a unique situation.
It's in conformity with the other decks in the area.
It's impossible.
And this is a preexisting deck.
It's been here probably 30 years, if not longer, long before my client owned it.
They're trying to legalize it so that the unit that has access to it, it's only one unit in the building, has a little outdoor area.
Again, given the dimensions of the property, it's really impossible to comply with the dimensional requirements for this deck area.
You can't have a smaller deck.
It can fit four chairs like it's shown in the photos.
You benefit the public health, safety and welfare, though, by legalizing the deck so it's properly reflected on public records.
So if there ever was an emergency, the records would reflect that there is a deck up there rather than not reflecting a deck.
So it does make things safer. It doesn't have any adverse impact on light and air.
It's been here for a long time. It's on the roof. It's not bothering anybody else.
There's no windows that it would darken or anything like that.
We're only seeking to legalize this deck. And again, it won't have any adverse impact on environmental conditions.
And we do believe that we really meet the requirements for the requested variances.
Mr. Chairman, I'd like to call on Allison Hinman-Harvey.
Allison Hinman-Harvey has been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Could you please state your name as spelled for the stenographer?
My name is Allison Hinman-Harvey. That is A-L-L-I-S-O-N-H-I-N-D-M-A-N hyphen H-A-R-V-E-Y.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do. Please proceed, Council. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And Allison, did you hear my statements?
I did. And are they true and correct? Yes. And do you dot them as your testimony? Yes.
Mr. Chairman, I have nothing further to present at this time.
Questions from the board? I have no questions.
I have no questions.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Questions or comments?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands at this time, Chair.
Planning Commission.
This is Ron Bednar, City Planning.
The property is indicated for residential use on a city plan,
given the physical circumstances of the site and documented use history.
We recommend that requested legalization variants be granted.
MI 2024-003-966-919 South 88th Street, I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
is there anyone in the virtual audience
whose 330 case has not been called
I've seen no handshare
thanks everybody
a lot of work done
that one case went a little bit longer than expected
but I appreciate everybody's work
thank you
take care