That position, I'm sorry.
We're in opposition.
One of them was that this was a very well attended Zoom meeting. I don't think I've ever been to a neighborhood Zoom meeting that had quite that many people on it.
and in both instances,
and the individuals change meeting to meeting.
I know this is a judgment call.
Mr. Patterson probably counts differently than I do.
But the opposition seemed to us in both cases
to really be unmoved.
I didn't hear people at the end of this
being persuaded by the offer of provisives.
Additionally, we based our decision on our experience that provisos are really very weak protection for neighbors in cases where a variance is granted.
It really puts all the burden on them of having to go back and say that this proviso or that proviso is not being met.
And frankly, it's our experience that, you know, people at L&I who might have to oversee these things, you know, have a really hard time getting interested in something that's sort of a little bit out of their lane.
Thank you, Mr. Thank you very much, Mr. Rossi.
Thank you for calling in. We appreciate it.
Is there anyone else that can offer something different so that we can move on?
New and different.
we have vincent last name beginning with l okay
vincent proceed yes how are you hi could you state your name and spell it please
vincent liuti v-i-n-c-e-n-t l-e-u-c-z-i right do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole
truth nothing but the truth yes proceed uh i myself have a family business in the
neighborhood i live on 18th of retner which is about two and a half blocks away from this building
uh i am for the location uh we we need more businesses like boldino's in the neighborhood
i worked at the steak shop when i was younger i know how clean they are i can't see this place
being a mess i know the process i mean i mean that's really it i mean it's a it's a very good
mr luisi thank you very much for calling in i i ron i think we have a good okay yeah planning
commission mr chair and members of the board uh this is mason austin from the representing the
planning commission this property is designated for single-family residential use in the comprehensive
plan and its rsa5 zoning matches that designation while this block of woodstock street is primarily
residential in character this corner property is directly across the street from a commercial
property that has frontage on pass junk avenue further because this property was constructed
with no windows on the ground floor is poorly suited to the residential uses permitted under
the zoning code consequently staff of the planning commission recommend granting the request
experiences with provisos limiting the operations as described thank you very much put their hand up
as the planning commission was speaking who's that france pierre okay councilman right sure
thank you mason hello good afternoon hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
yes that's france pierre that's f-r-a-n-t-z last name pierre p-i-e-r-r-e all right do you swear
affirms tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes i do proceed yes thank you
mr chairman and uh good afternoon fellow board members uh due to the uh the business's long
standing relationship with the community as well as the petition and the support of the coordinating
rco council council member johnson's office does support uh the appeal uh to uh this particular
address. Thank you very much for your testimony. Mr. Patterson, what we're going to do is we're
going to put this off till next week and see by then we have the tax issues straightened out,
and it'll also give the board a chance to discuss this topic, which had things on both sides of it.
Sure, and I understand, and I'll work as well to try and get the tax certification.
That's good. Thank you very much, Mr. Patterson.
Thank you so much. Thank you.
Okay. MI 2022-001-699-3501 on Civic Center Boulevard.
Letter of support from the 27th Ward Republican RCO.
Letter of support from the 27th Ward Republican RCO.
Civic Design Review also approved it.
Peter Kelsen is the attorney.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the board, Peter Kelsen.
That's P-E-T-E-R-K-E-L-S-E-N.
I am here on behalf of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
do you swear do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do mr chairman vice chair has a few questions hi mr kelson do you agree to waive the reading
of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy madam vice chair i would be pleased to uh
waive the reading and stipulate it's good to see you again have you emailed the exhibit packet with
proof of ownership tax compliance a copy of the refusal or referral photos under plans of the
property five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the RCO and do you have a letter
yes to all of the above okay great you may proceed and share your screen great I'm going
to ask my colleague Mr. Klein to share his screen and we can go through the exhibits
and while he is doing that so once again members of the board
on behalf of the children's hospital of philadelphia we are requesting the zoning
board to grant a variance to allow for the use of this property that you'll see in a few moments
as a brand new state-of-the-art new patient tower.
You have a copy of the Notice of Refusal.
The only issue before the board with regard to variance requests
is the provision of off-street loading.
L&I indicates that we are required to provide 35 off-street loading spaces.
The plan is providing 19. In a few minutes, you'll hear me describe why that is more than adequate and also why the providing of 16 additional spaces will ironically work a hardship to the subject property of the surrounding area.
Jared, let's keep going a little bit.
This slide is intended to give you an illustration of the area.
The subject property that we are proposing, and that's before the board today, is within the heart of CHOP's main campus.
If you will look at this slide, you'll indicate our surrounding properties.
properties. Let me pause for a second. Could you promote Mr. Klein if you would?
Thank you. So what you'll see on this slide is the surrounding properties to the subject
that is before you today. The subject property where the new patient tower will be constructed,
you can see highlighted in red in these three different focal points. And surrounding the
new patient tower are other supportive properties by CHOP, owned by CHOP, operated by CHOP,
as well as University of Pennsylvania. Exhibit 5 gives you a zoning plan overview of the proposed
development. Keep going. Let's pause here for a second. This slide is intended to show how the
new patient tower will fit into, if you will, the existing campus. So this elevation shows the
new patient tower in context with the rest of the campus.
These elevations, which are intended to show the character and quality of this structure,
I would point out to the board, we're talking about 1,400,000 square feet of gross floor area
in 29 stories. There will be below-grade parking specifically for the patient tower of about 150
spaces. You can see that indicated. And there will be an additional parking garage that's
under construction, replacement of a garage that formerly existed. And the total amount of parking
provided within this campus area will be approximately 450 cars. This will give you
an illustration of how the parking will be oriented below grade as well as access points
for patients and their families into this new facility.
and their families into this new facility.
Again, scrolling down, just giving you a sense of the connectivity between the new patient tower,
the main hospital, and the balance of the campus. I will describe this in more detail in my
testimony members of the board in a moment. Jared, let's keep going, please. This is an
illustration that I think will provide the board with the context of how the campus will look and
feel after the construction of the new patient tower. This is intended to create a significant
amount of open space, plaza area, connective space between the various components of the
campus, including the University of Pennsylvania, and afford our patients, our visitors, our staff
with the opportunity to have a pastoral setting on this side of Civic Center Boulevard.
On the opposite side, we have additional plaza areas supporting those buildings.
You can see the care and attention that CHOP has given to its overall surroundings, and just a little money shot to show you what this will look like at night.
So members of the board, let me delve into some specifics if I could.
The subject property is zoned CMX 5 commercial. The use itself is permitted. The site itself is about 130 square feet of lot area.
In terms of the proposal itself, we will demolish the existing wood building and in its place, as I indicated, construct an approximately 29-story brand new structure that will be used as a state-of-the-art medical facility,
which will allow CHOP to expand its ability to serve critical care patients, children, inpatient, as well as diagnostic.
We are critically in need of additional beds, members of the board.
And this facility will help make a significant impact, positive impact, with regard to that issue.
The additions, and I'll show you in a few minutes, the stacking plan again, will provide 500 more beds.
These will be oriented as private works for the patients and will allow for critical care, diagnostic care throughout the building.
building, but also remember the connectivity to the main hospital, which will be created,
as well as to the other facilities immediately surrounding the new patient tower. When I say
connectivity, I mean literally through bridges and physical connections, as well as campus
connections. The loading issue that's before you, let me delve right into it, because that's
really the heart of the case. The zoning code requires, again, as I mentioned, 35 loading spaces
to service the proposed new patient tower. We are providing 19. Deliveries are controlled by CHOP
through a variety of mechanisms. Primarily, CHOP has established a supply and logistics facility
that will be utilized and is being utilized to provide deliveries real-time as needed
to the new patient tower. That eliminates the need for excessive loading area. In addition,
the loading will be carried out in most cases with much smaller vehicles, box vans,
box, as the code is demanding, semis, you know, tractor trailers. I mentioned a little bit a
while ago, this is a situation where if you don't grant the variance, you're working a hardship
on the property and the surrounding community. What do I mean by that? Well, by adding another
16 loading spaces with tractor trailer spaces, you're unnecessarily creating traffic congestion
in this already congested area for no reason. Equally importantly, by adding
for no reason. Equally importantly, by adding that additional loading, you are degrading the
environmental condition of the area. You're generating unnecessary pollution for no reason.
I would also point out to the board, this plan, the loading plan, has been extensively reviewed
by the City Streets Department, Planning Commission, and they are supportive, I'll let Mason speak to
that later, supportive of the reduction in loading spaces. We were before the Civic Design Review
Committee last Tuesday, June 7th, and received a conclusion and their support for Civic Design
review. It was a one-on and one-done. I believe you will note that there is significant public
and RCO support for this project. I have Madam Vice Chair and members of the Board
shown at Exhibit 2 in front of the screen. The support of the convening RCO, that's the 27th
board Republican RCO, both for the civic design review component, but also, if you know, to the
ZBA, very emphatic support for the variance request. And Jared, if we could go back to the
stacking plan for one moment. Members of the board, let me give you a simple scoping, if you
will, of what's going to be in the new patient tower. That's perfect. The patient tower will
contain eight diagnostic treatment floors, eight floors of treatment facility. We will have 12
inpatient floors with 40, as I said, private rooms per floor, equaling about 500, precisely 480 beds
brand new provided. Building will be LEED Silver certified. As I said, the connectivity
amongst the campus and the main hospital will be extensive and allow CHOP to deliver the highest
quality of medical care to its critically needed population. And finally, if you look at the
arrival and lobby configuration. We have one more slide to show you about that. We're facilitating
our patient, there you go, our patient drop-off, family drop-off, visitor drop-off
in a much more sophisticated manner than we are able to do now. There will be lay-by lanes created,
But most importantly, it will allow for a much more positive experience to our visitors, patients and their families.
And unfortunately, a very, very difficult time for most of them.
And with that, members of the board, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.
I would like to promote, if I could, Patrick Montgomery from Children's Hospital to have him affirm my statements.
Thank you. Mr. Montgomery, please raise your hand. And when you come on, please state your name and spell for the court reporter.
Hi, this is Patrick Montgomery, P-A-T-R-I-C-K-M-O-N-T-G-O-M-E-R-Y.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do. Proceed, sir. Thank you. Mr. Montgomery, are you employed by the Children's Hospital
of Philadelphia? Yes, I am. And what is your position at CHOP? I'm a project manager. And are
you a project manager associated with the New Patient Tower project that I described to the
board today? Yes, that's correct. And Mr. Montgomery, you heard me offer quite a bit of
factual information and testimony to the board regarding the development of the new patient
tower. Is that correct? Yes. And if you were to make your own testimony, would you adopt the
testimony that I gave as yours for the board? Yes, I would. Is everything that I said to the
board true and correct to the best of your knowledge? Yes, it is. Mr. Chairman, members
of the board, I have no further questions of Mr. Montgomery. Mr. Kelson, just one question. So the
6,400 block of market is going to be the logistic center for CHOP, right? And they will control how
things are go back and forth and things of that nature. So all this will be controlled from there.
so all this will be controlled from there is that right well that that's the main control that is
Is that right? Well, that's the main control.
correct in addition to the 19 loading spaces that's right that will be coordinated through
chop yes that's fine any other questions from the board no mr
questions questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands chair planning commission
hi mr chair and members of the board uh this is mason austin representing the planning commission
this property is designated for commercial misuse in the comprehensive plan and its cmx5 zoning
matches that designation the required 35 zoning required 35 loading spaces uh is excessive for
the site and use of the proposed project and that project received very positive comments from civic
design review committee staff of the planning commission recommend granting this variance
Thank you. MI 2022-001-699-3501-Civic Center Boulevard, I vote yes.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes.
Thomas Howland, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Council.
Thank you, all members of the board. Good to see you again.
Good, thank you.
Thank you. Be well.
MI-2022-001-675-3523 Haverford Avenue. Meredith Ferliger is the attorney.
Letter of support from coordinating RCO Mantua Civic Association.
Mr. Chair, are we hearing five with that?
Yeah, we will. I just want to get her on first.
Ms. Ferlinger is coming back in as a panelist.
Hi, Mr. Chairman.
Hi, Meredith.
How are you?
Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Meredith Ferlinger, F-E-R-L-E-G-E-R, 1500 Market Street Suite, 3500E.
And if you could also call 3513.
I will.