Thank you.
Good morning. My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this morning's meeting
of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. With me is our Vice Chair, Ismael Shahid.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our Board Member, Cheryl L. Gaston.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our Board Member, Tanetta Graham.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
board member Michael Johns. President, Mr. Chairman. Our board member
Taya Nguyen. Taya
will be on very shortly. Also here is our
attorney, Matthew Webster, our
zoning board executive director, Ian Haggerty, and our zoning
board administrator, Lakeisha Dandy. Recording of this hearing will be
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Let's look at our schedule.
Number two.
MI 20, MI.
What's that one?
Okay. Number two, 2105 South Simpson Street, that case is continued.
Number three, MI 2024 -001 -273, 2000 South 21st Street, that case is continued.
And number six, MI 2024 -004 -304 -2001 Kinsey Street, that case is continued.
Are there any other requests for continuances?
Good morning, Chair. This is Yvette Benton. I'll be your co -host for this morning.
We have Vern Anastasio with his hand up. He has been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Good morning, Mr. Chair.
Good morning, Vern. Please state your name. It's spelled for the stenographer.
Yes, sir. It's Vern Anastasio, A -N -A -S -T -A -S -I -O, on behalf of my client, Mr. Jerry Lee.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Counselor, could you, which case?
549 -51 North 10th. I'd like to withdraw the appeal.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
um okay yeah we had we are verne we do have that withdrawal thank you i'm getting ready
to call that thank you thank you appreciate it okay any other requests for continuance
here we have someone with their hand up by the name of lisa they have been unmuted and allowed
to speak hi could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer hi my name is lisa last
name t -h -e -t -s in tango h -s in harry e -s in network do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes i do what case are you involved with um it's a 2000
south 21st street um it's just been in the continuance for like a while so i just want to
make sure that it is continued because um it was first assigned to west past young neighborhood
associations but then the leadership never like responded to me since like july that case is
continue and the date for that case will be 12 3 25 at 9 30 a .m 9 30 a .m perfect thank you so much
i appreciate it thank you any other requests for continuance here i've seen all the hands of this
time so number seven mi 2024 004 865 39 11 to 19th north 5th street judas santiago is the listed
applicant. We have no
exhibits. This is the second listing.
Chair, I see no hands at this time.
So MI 2024
836 -865
3911 to 19
North Fish Street. Second listing.
No one appeared the first time. I
vote to dismiss. Michael Johns.
My vote is to dismiss. Cheryl
Gaston. My vote is to dismiss.
Tanetta Graham. My vote is to dismiss.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is to dismiss.
Thank you.
Number 14, MI 2024 -007 -515 -1929 -35 East Clearfield Street.
No exhibits.
This is the first listing.
The owner is Alvaro Alvarez Rosario.
Hey, I see no heads at this time.
Okay, so this is the first listing. So MI 2024 -007 -515 -1929 to 35 East Clearfield Street.
This case is continued to 12 -325 at 9 .30 a .m. Mark must be heard.
And number one, MI 2022 -002 -928 -549 to 51 North 10th Street. This case has been withdrawn.
We're going to go to our add -on list. Number one, MI 2024 -007 -299 -609 Annan Street. The board will vote on this matter once it receives amended refusal from the applicant listed both of the required uses discussed at the hearing.
Number two, MI 2024 -007 -354 -1432 South 49th Street.
The vote in this matter has been rescheduled to May 21st at 9 .30 a .m.
And number three, MI 2024 -003 -268 -3501 G Street.
The vote in this matter has been rescheduled to Wednesday, May 21st at 9 .30 a .m.
We're going to go to our main list.
Number 8, MI 2024 -007 -498, 1808 Wiley Street.
Adam Laver is the attorney.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the board.
Adam Laver of Blank Room, 1 Logan Square.
Just for the record, could you spell your name?
I mean, everybody, but just could you please spell your name?
Quite all right.
Laver, L -A, V as in Victor, E -R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Blank Rome represents 1808 Wiley LLC, which does business as eclipse development.
uh principals ryan kalili and colin conway are sitting in the actual hearing room behind me
today our vice chair has a few questions sir good morning council do you agree to wave the
reason of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy good morning mr vice chairman yes i do have you
emailed in all the required documents and exhibits as needed to proceed for this case five days in
advance of this hearing yes sir we have thank you council please proceed and you may share your
Thank you.
Thank you and counsel for a point of information there's a recommendation support from United
Thank you.
Council, for a point of information,
there's a recommendation of support
from United France.
Francisville Civic Association the applicant also gave us a petition of non -opposition
with 38 signatures five from the immediate block correct thank you for noting that Mr. Chairman
as I stated members of the board in the hearing room today are Ryan Khalili and Colin Conway
who are local philadelphians who have previously appeared before this board
this team has consistently been recognized for high quality transformative projects
throughout our city also with us in the hearing room is architect paul lorenz of the common
practice on the screen before you is a conceptual rendering of the proposed development that we seek
to bring to you today. And here is a aerial image of the subject property, which is in the lower
half of the screen. It is a garage, actually, it looks from this photograph, you see a black roof,
it's a one -story garage and I'll show you some more images shortly. The subject property is
located in Francisville, which is a neighborhood that I know is known to this board. We are one
property off of Cameron Street across from the Francisville Playground and Recreation Center.
It's truly an ideal location in a vibrant community and even in this aerial photograph
that you can see, which is dated because it wasn't taken yesterday. The neighborhood is
changing so fast. It's a wonderful mix of longstanding, beautiful housing and new, vibrant
additions as well. So you get a sense of that vibrancy of the neighborhood, of the diversity
of the neighborhood going back to the conceptual rendering that i had shared with you the development
team has proposed a new four -story residential building to include 12 homes five off street
automobile parking spaces which you can see in the rendering to the right or to the east
directionally and class 1a bicycle spaces as well
the subject property is owned rm1 which as the board knows permits multifamily residential
the refusal itself is a little bit confusing as noted by the recommendation of board council
we'll get to that shortly and the last permitted use was for a garage and auto repair shop
here are those photos that i had promised you so moving from left to right uh on the left of the
screen where it says project location you can see uh on the uh right of the photograph the
location of the garage. You can see it better in the middle of the screen. It's the one -story brick
structure with the pull -down garage door. And I'd also like to note that to the left of that
one -story brick structure, the open area is the subject property. So what appears to be a breezeway
is the developable property right up to that stucco party wall. And then on the far right
right of the screen, you can see the subject property on the left and a streetscape on the
right. Why do I share that with you to give you a sense of the feel of the true diversity in all
respects of the block and of the neighborhood? And it speaks quite frankly to the proposal and
the refusals that we will get to in a moment. Here is a closer image of the unfortunate
state of the property which was purchased not so long ago by my clients
and then moving to the refusals if i may so refusal number one as i mentioned at the outset
mr chairman and members of the board 12 residences are proposed multi -family residential is permitted
in the district based on the size of this lot 11 homes would be permitted we are proposing
12 density is determined based on lot size this is one of the most de minimis uh cases that that
Cases that that I can recall bringing before the board, we are approximately 33 square feet short of being able to permit 12 units, and I would respectfully suggest members of the board that we have a known need for housing in the city of Philadelphia, and that to be able to provide.
i can recall bringing before the board we are approximately
not only adequate but generously sized residences uh that meet the needs of philadelphians when
we're 33 square feet short is an appropriate uh variance to to grant the least minimum necessary
to fulfill the uh the objectives of of the of the city and the known needs the second and third
refusals concern the proposed height. The code limit for height in the zoning district is 38 feet.
The proposed development for the four -story structure is 45 feet to the roof, which is
clearly a seven -foot variance. The height requests would allow for us to also meet
a known parking demand uh in the neighborhood and to maintain the parking that is there
although upgraded of course and to provide off -street parking for multiple cars we are not
taking away a public space and providing a private space we are maintaining existing condition and
providing multiple spaces which i believe is part of why the coordinating rco which knows the
neighborhood best has offered its support. Also on the issue of height, as you may have picked out,
although it's hard to see in some of the photographs, the proposed height is not
uncommon in the neighborhood. You'll see that there is a mix. There's quite a mix from two
stories to three stories to four stories, et cetera. But in fact, right across the street
from the subject property is a four -story home immediately around and actually touching the
property at the rear off of Cameron you have four stories and once again in terms of the scale
it meets the diversity of the neighborhood here's an example of what you would see if you're standing
at our property looking across the street I think respectfully that the proposed design that Paul
has put together is much more elegant but in terms of massing this this gives you an example
and and yes there's a a variety of heights along the block
as you can see actually in the elevations that we show right here
we are proposing a four -story brick structure with juliet balconies overlooking wiley street
preservation of that existing curb cut that I mentioned to accommodate the off -street parking.
Moving to the floor plans, if I may, and starting with the ground floor,
the ground floor accommodates for, you'll see, four standard parking spaces, and then to the right,
there's a little niche there for a fifth space that's fully handicapped accessible.
also class 1a bicycle parking spaces are provided and i'll get to the multi -family as we go through
the plan shortly you see multi -family residential use shown but i'd like to point out on this plan
the garden areas in the back additionally there is
we meet and or exceed code requirements when it comes to egress for all proposed units.
Here's another view of the ground floor space showing a little bit more detail for the
residential units one, two, and three. We see on this level, which is the ground floor level,
the living and dining spaces in the upper left hand corner in the yellowish beige is unit one
showing main living and dining. You'll see in a moment for these three units that they're
bi -level units and the lower level unit has the sleeping areas. Towards the rear of the property
in the upper right hand corner is unit two and unit three. For these bi -level units
You can see the bedrooms that I mentioned, all with the egress that I had described.
And moving, if I may, then to the next set of homes from floors two through three, we can see similar gracious layout.
two through three we can see similar gracious layout of your living and dining spaces in an
open format plan and bedrooms as well juliet balconies surrounding fourth floor the the top
floor similar type of proposal and private roof decks for these units up at the top of the property
just as the units towards the bottom have their private gardens for example
the coordinating rco fully reviewed the project in two meetings the zoning committee and full
uh full um open community meeting which was very well attended and offered its support and the uh
the uh developers uh have gone and spoken with their neighbors uh and shown the plans
and asked for their support which so many have provided for which we are appreciative
so we really believe uh mr chairman and members of the board that the project that we're presenting
to you today is uh appropriate of variance relief for the reasons outlined that the project
furthermore meets the scope and scale of the neighborhood and the diversity of housing
opportunities in the neighborhood that the authorization of variance relief will not alter
the character or the neighborhood or district or be detrimental to the public welfare
and that the proposal fits into the surrounding neighborhood primarily as evidenced by the
coordinating rco's expression of support and individual neighbors expressions of support
not only would this project be of benefit to the neighborhood but to the city of as a whole
The variances requested, the three variances, I would even say actually that the last two variances are quite similar in nature and address the height issue.
So I might respectfully suggest that it's one bucket of variances, two sort of merging into one, plus that very small variance on the density, represent the minimum variance to afford relief and the least modification possible of the regulations at issue to permit a reasonable use of a burden property,
a property that is non -conforming and not in line uh under today's standards of the philadelphia
code the grant of variance relief will not substantially increase congestion in the public
streets increase the danger of fire or otherwise endanger the public health safety or general
welfare the professionally designed plans represent the highest and best use for the site
and the proposed development appropriately respects a changing neighborhood with a mix of
long existing neighbors uses and new projects dotting the neighborhood this will not adversely
affect transportation or unduly burden water school sewer park or other public facilities
the full team is here and prepared to answer questions speak to any concerns that the board
may have i'll pause at this moment why don't you have your uh owner ryan please come up take a
seat and adopt the testimony. Thank you. Ryan Khalili has moved to the front of the hearing
room. Okay. Sir, could you please, is your mic one? Press. Press. And one of you pulled close to you.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the stenographer? Ryan Khalili, R -Y -A -N,
last name K -A -L -I -L -I. Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth,
nothing but the truth i do counsel mr kalili i know that you've been here in the hearing room
uh have you heard the testimony that i've offered this morning i have and would you adopt and affirm
it as your own i do thank you thank you um uh council uh my understanding is we're going to
hold this is that correct yes sir okay all right so questions from the board
I have a couple questions. My first question is, I know there was some opposition to the project. Do you know if that opposition came from any of the two adjacent homes that are adjacent to the project? There's two houses that are.
Yes, Ms. Graham, I was present at both of the meetings, and I've engaged with several neighbors. I'm not aware of immediately adjacent opposition.
And what would you say the opposition generally to the project was if it was expressed?
The opposition that I have heard regarding this project
The opposition that that I that I have heard regarding this project relates primarily to a feeling of neighbor voices not being heard regarding new development and generally that more general concerns.
And we've tried very hard to be responsive to that.
And I think that this team has, by showing up and meeting with people, we have spent a lot of time and are prepared to continue to do so no matter what happens to engage with people.
There are some who said during the course of conversation, why don't you do single family homes. And we explained that this is RM1 and that it's a higher density district and we just don't see that as practicable, although we understand the importance and one of the attractions to this property is actually that there are single family homes
in the area. And it's a mix. We engaged in some discussion on that. There were a couple comments,
but I wouldn't say that it was the overwhelming majority who said build to code and keep it that
way. Stay at 38 feet. And others who responded from the community and said, well, look at what's
across the street, look at what's around,
we're a mix in this community.
So I hope that that gives you a sense of what occurred.
My second question is, given that it was prior use
as a garage auto repair,
is there any environmental issues
that you guys have found on site?
Please, please speak directly.
We conducted a phase one
and there were no environmental issues on the site.
Okay, and last question is, where's trash?
Inside, right inside off of the parking.
Can you show me on the plants?
Thank you.
Within the property line.
It's to the right.
One moment.
so uh the trash is uh in uh sealed containers within the property line and it would be moved
out by commercial trash pickup i'd also i'm sorry go ahead go ahead i also wanted to respond further
to something ms graham that you asked regarding potential environmental issues i did review the
full files of lni and uh i believe that there was no auto body work so it was a more limited type
of um auto repair that was going on which is good for this reason other questions from the board
yes um can you tell me um how many bicycle spaces are there i understand there are five
parking spaces how many bicycle spaces i'm not sure if i heard one moment miss gaston
so here we have the um proposed plan showing the bicycle storage paul do you know offhand what
our architect just confirmed that there are four class 1a bicycle parking spaces miss gaston
okay and then with respect to the garage yes is there going to be some sort of i don't know
venting whatever um to make sure that you know there aren't any gasoline fumes and things like
that that might somehow migrate into the units that actually is a question miss gaston that came
up at the community meeting and uh i forgot to mention it yes uh paul has designed our architect
the garage to have air coming through the east side of the proposal and what's the mix of the
units? Sure. How many? One bedroom, two bedrooms? All of the proposed residences are two bedrooms
and at least two bathrooms. There are three, two and a half bathrooms, so they would have
the additional powder room. And the square footage is, for most of them, ranging in the low 1200s to the
to a little bit higher, plus or minus.
I could go through it specifically,
but that's why we really have been speaking
about these are homes.
These are homes.
And then accessibility.
What do we...
I see there's an elevator.
Yeah, it's fully accessible.
It's fully accessible.
fully accessible yes ma 'am all right uh i think that's it for me all the questions from the board
including the one parking space
questions or comments from our attorney matthew webster board council filling in for hillary
emerson um out of an abundance of caution would you be willing to have your architect
adopt your testimony on the record you you spoke to the number of spaces most most certainly ryan
please be seated paul would you kindly come up please state your name for the record my name is
paul lorenz paul could you please spell it for the court stenographer sure my last name is l -o -r -e -n -z
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do please proceed counsel thank you good morning mr lorenz uh i know that you've been
present during the pendency of the hearing before the zoning board of adjustment this morning would
you adopt and affirm the testimony that I've offered as your own, sir? Yes, I would. Thank
you. Questions or comments from the virtual audience? I see no hands, Chair. Planning
Commission. Someone just put up their hand. So that's okay. Rochelle Reddy has been unmuted
and allowed to speak. Good morning. Good morning. Hi, could you please state your name and spell
for the stenographer and if you would please turn on your video uh wait a minute
so she can turn on her video okay thank you
good morning my name is rochelle ready my spell your last name r -e -d -d -y
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Rochelle, are you a neighbor?
Yes, I am.
I'm at 1806 Wiley.
Okay, please proceed.
No one actually have actually been out to speak to myself or my neighbor on the corner at the other two -story home.
I actually heard about the plans at the meeting.
And at the meeting, we were informed about the plans, the 12 units, and the meeting that was held at the playground was,
it it was a i believe a 18 to 17 vote which the the room was filled with developers who voted
who they had vote come in and vote developers don't have a right to vote for what goes on
in your neighborhood the residents do no one actually if you look at the addresses
they have not spoken to any of the close neighbors none of those neighbors has even
they have not we actually all found out at the meeting what was being done there um also
the the garage was an auto body repair shop the latest miss williams was the owner
she evicted him a cup the guys the guy that was um working in there repairing cars she evicted him
like a year prior to her taking ownership of the property back um it was an auto body
it was an auto body repair shop and it was a um mechanic shop at one time and
And the chemicals were actually being dumped in the lot, the lot, which is connected to the property.
No, I'm home every day because I'm retired.
No one from life, I have not seen anybody do any soil.
No one from life, I have not seen anybody do any soil samples.
I have not seen anybody do any EPA testing or anything.
Only thing I actually seen was guys come out and dig to see how far they can go down.
And that was an unpleasant experience.
because it was done early in the morning, and it was, the reason why I'm saying it's unpleasant,
the guy that was hired popped up with a truck, with a head of a, the guy popped up with a head
of a mannequin head of a black woman with a hair flying all over her head with a butterfly in her
nose i did take pictures of it i informed mr lavers he contacted me immediately um i spoke to
i also spoke to the guy that the contractors hired because he called me and he didn't he
didn't even think nothing was wrong with it he is like they find stuff on the side of the road
and attach it to their trucks i spoke to one of the owners um about the situation and they
told assured me that that's not how they do business and that it shouldn't happen again
But getting back to, we actually, the neighbors actually was not informed of the situation until the meeting.
The ones, they spoke to neighbors that were not direct, that would not be directly affected by this project being built.
All right.
Thank you for taking the time to call us.
We appreciate it. Mr. Labor, do you have questions?
A statement, if I may, I think.
What's that?
A few words that I'd like to say.
Thank you. Thank you, ma 'am.
Thank you, Ms. Reddy.
I'm glad Ms. Reddy mentioned that she and I spoke
and that she spoke with the direct owners of the property
because a lot was said, and obviously this is not a court of law,
But some of the things that were were a little bit off topic, but I respect them and everything that she said. There was a terrible, terrible incident that occurred with a subcontractor, which was addressed very promptly and with with full attention from all parties with cell phone numbers shared.
and it was addressed in the way that it should have been addressed uh and and ms ready i think
would agree with that and uh i think that also some of what ms ready said speaks ms graham um
to to some of the uh comments that we heard early on from this community about not being heard uh
with so much that's occurring in the neighborhood and we really tried to change that and i don't
think that members of the board you heard differently I think what you heard was that
there there was no knowledge until the meeting and then the and then the dialogue opened up and
it and it opened in a positive way and I really did not hear any direct issues with the proposal
before you but more that we've been here for a long time we deserve to be respected and yes
uh everyone does and uh that this team has provided all the contact information to make
that happen so we didn't get into construction plans and and how things should work moving
forward but even getting to um i can't remember maybe it was member gaston asking about trash or
somebody else like even in the plan is mid -morning pickup so that you're not woken up at 5 30 in the
morning to do things the right way wherever possible. Thank you for indulging me with that
response. Is there anyone else in the virtual audience? I see no hands, Chair. Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chair Bergman. Sarah Bond with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
S -A -R -A -H -B -A -N -H. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes, sir.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing residential multifamily zoning.
The proposed residential multifamily use is consistent with nearby properties.
However, the appellant has not supported their hardship claim for a height variance without a setback.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the zoning board grant the variance with the following conditions.
the city planning commission recommends that the zoning board grant the variance with the following
conditions building height of 38 feet max or comply with the required eight foot setback
thank you we are scheduling this to next week would be the 21st am i correct and we'll vote on
this at 9 30. thank you mr chairman and members of the board have a good day okay thank you what
was the what was the height difference? Seven feet. Okay. Seven feet, Mr. Johns. Thank you.
Which is comparable to immediately across the street and adjoining rear off of Cameron.
Thank you, counsel. Thank you. All right. So number four, and we're going to try to
have number five heard with it. So number four is MI 2024 -001 -571 -809 North 42nd Street.
And number five is MI 2024 -001 -591 -803 North 42nd Street. Zen Jin is the attorney.
He's coming back in as a panelist now, Chair.
Good morning.
Good morning, counsel.
Could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer?
Yes, my name is Zen Jin, Z -H -E -N, last name J -I -N.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your clients and their relationship to the property?
For 803, it's 803 North 42nd Street, LLC.
And for 809, it is 809 North 42nd Street, LLC.
Ellie Seidenfeld is the representative for 809.
And Newcomb Maring would be, Nick would be a representative for 803.
Our counsel, do you want to respond to this?
Yes, I'm sorry.
Our counsel, our counsel.
Sorry.
Matthew Webster, board counsel.
Mr. Jen, is the principal in each LLC the same?
Yes, it's the same two partners.
it is so essentially there are two people they're both on both llc's okay thank you okay all right
um our vice our vice chair has a few questions good morning counsel do you agree to wait the
reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy i do have you emailed in all the
required documents and exhibits that's needed to and required to uh proceed with this case
five days in advance of this hearing. We did. Thank you, counsel. Please proceed. And counsel,
could you present for both at the same time, please? Yes, they're very, they're basically
similar cases. So I will try to make one presentation for both. Thank you. I'm going
to share with the board one of the two first, but it's essentially the same case. I'm going to give
the board the 80, I think 809 was called first. So I'm going to go ahead and put that up on the
screen? I did call 809 first, yep. Thank you. Can the board see my screen on theirs? It's coming up
now. Great. So this is an application for use for a new construction at the location of 803 and 809
North 42nd Street. The application refusals are very similar in the sense that essentially the
The area has been rezoned from RM1 to RSA5, and the application is refused for the multifamily use, as well as a 1 % occupied area difference.
What I would like to first tell the board is that when my client purchased the lot, it was still zoned RM1.
So these plans, the proposals were kind of in the works at the time, but they didn't get the applications in.
And then the area was rezoned to RSA 5 while everything was still being worked on to be designed.
So my client did go to the community and also told the community a similar background situation.
Plus, given the proximity of these large lots to Lancaster Avenue and also further down 42nd Street between Lancaster and Brown,
where these two lots are actually located and abutting to, the properties in those areas are
CMX2 as well as existing both a mix of single and multifamily. So the multifamily use isn't
really out of character with what's already there. In fact, most of the original zoning was RM1 and
therefore there were a lot of existing RM1s. Now, the community made it very clear that they wanted
to change everything to RSA -5 in the area
to kind of regulate the amount of RM1s that's coming in.
the amount of RM1s that's coming in, but given our location proximity to Lancaster, given the
But given our location,
size of the lot and what's around us, the community ultimately voted unanimously in favor of what we
are requesting. Now, the community did ask us to make sure that from the plan side that we are
matching the design style of the buildings nearby in the sense that we're providing
a front porch with roof, that the building is set back appropriately to match what is
essentially front porch designed buildings in the area, and that we are doing that in
this case.
And that's one of the factors that led to their favorable review.
The 1 % difference really is because of the setback and pushing back the building to have
essentially a similar depth to the neighboring properties.
And it depends on the properties are all different depths in the area.
But we have kind of a slanted rear lot line.
And that's what took away the 1%.
The one side actually meets the requirement.
It's the shorter side that gets calculated.
And that kind of took away the open space 1%.
that is the second part of the refusal, but the primary refusal is, again, for the use itself.
The other piece I wanted to make it clear to the board is that as part of our negotiation with the
community, they wanted us to reduce it from a three -unit to a duplex, and we are in agreement
of that. So any decision from the board would be for a duplex, not for a triplex at this point.
and part of the reason the duplex is more accepted is because there are duplexes in the area and
they feel that duplexes are a fair number of units to be used in this particular case given
the newer construction and given the style changes to meet what the community is looking for
so that is why we're before the board today to request the amendment to duplexes for both
both properties with the variance still in place for that 1 % coverage difference due to the shape
of the lot being the main cause of that. I'm happy to, oh, I'm sorry. Let me show the board the
floor plans so that it is clear how it's laid out with the duplex. So this is the first floor
layout. Let me zoom out slightly because it's actually easier to see this way. There is no
living in the basement is basically storage and utilities. We have the first floor being the
kitchen, living room, bathroom. The second and third floor will be one unit, a much larger unit
with a larger master bedroom in the back, bedroom in the front, and then the first floor being the
living room, kitchen, and one bedroom in the back. So the second unit is three bedrooms,
and the first floor unit is two bedrooms.
That encompasses the two units altogether.
There is no roof deck.
That is not part of the request here.
So that is essentially what we're here before the board today,
two new developments with the style of the existing buildings
to be used as duplexes.
I'm happy to try to answer any additional questions from the board
and redirect to any part of the exhibit as needed.
So why don't you bring your client on first?
Okay, let me see, is Nick here or is, let me see who's here so I can have him raise
their hand virtually.
Nick Mayring is here and he'll be promoted to panelists.
Great, thank you.
He'll be coming back in shortly, Chair.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you.
hi nick merrick hi could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
yeah hi my name is nick merrick n -i -c -k my legal name is actually no him let me give you that
spelling n -u -c -h -e -m last name merring m -e -h -r -i -n -g do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the
whole truth, nothing but the truth. I do. Please proceed, counsel. Thank you. Nick, for the board
counsel's information, can you first verify that you are, in fact, a partner on both properties,
LLCs? Yes, I am. Thank you. And you are authorized to represent for both properties, correct?
Correct, I am. Thank you. So I'm going to ask you the questions relating to what I've just
presented to the board for both properties. Can you verify what I have represented to the board
Can you verify what I have represented to the board to be true and correct, and my testimony to be true and correct as well, and adopt it as your own testimony?
to be true and correct.
Yes, it is.
Thank you.
And, counsel, both of these are duplexes, am I correct?
Both are going to be duplexes, correct.
Questions from the board?
Yeah, I do have a comment.
I think people are finally hearing me that you're not going through the bedroom to get to the backyard, so thank God for that.
um yeah it's horrible when when when it's designed that way um so what was the opposition
so the the opposition initially was our original design had a flat front
um and with a triplex request the neighborhood felt that with the adjustment to a porch design
and a duplex use they are that is consistent to what they see in the neighborhood and therefore
they supported it so you've got trash room in each one of the units all right thank you yes
other questions yeah i have a question about the facade so i know that you all added the porch
to sort of meet the other visual cues from the neighborhood my question is why is the porch so
much higher than the surrounding porches given that the basement is not really being used so
So typically when a porch is that high, it's to give you full door egress from the basement.
And I feel like the way the plans are laid out now makes it look like the basement is, although it's not shown on the plans, actually intended for more specific use.
Nick, correct me if I'm wrong, but there's an existing building next door to you.
I think part of the issue here is you were trying to avoid underpinning by digging deeper than the next door property.
is that part of the reason for the elevated look yes i believe so yeah because my my understanding
speaking to the architect before is that there is an existing building at least for 803 that was uh
that is next door and they we can't if we go down more we would have to essentially um underpin
all right questions
yes um for 803 north 42nd street there's a refusal for the minimum yard rear yard
yes okay and you didn't really talk about it that much you said something about the
uh lot line being uh yes yes i'm sorry i should have addressed both as the same
The reason for both refusals being triggered, and I'm going to put that back up on the screen for the board real quick for 803.
If you look at a site plan, the issue is that the rear property line, rear access alley and the way these lots are situated, it's a slanted, slightly slanted path.
and that it cuts off that corner which triggered both the rear yard depth as well as the um the
one that the coverage percentage uh refusals okay thank you you're welcome other questions from the
board questions for our attorney no sir questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see the kids at this time chair planning commission
thank you chair bergman sarah bomb with the philadelphia city planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa 5 residential single -family zoning at
this location the city rezoned this neighborhood in 2023 in a community supported map change
at that time this property was zoned rm1 residential multi -family the proposed
dimensional variances from maximum occupied area and rear yard depth are minor and in keeping with
the purpose and spirit of the zoning code. However, there is no unique physical condition
or circumstance of this property that would prevent it from being used in conformity with
the use provision in RSA 5. The City Planning Commission recommends that the board grant the
proposed dimensional variances for rear yard depth and occupied area, but deny the proposed
use variance for three dwelling units. Thank you. So I'm going to do four and five together. Number
four, MI 2024, 001 -571 -809 North 42nd Street. And number five, MI 2024, 001 -591 -803 North 42nd
Street. I vote yes to both, proviso for both, maximum two dwelling units. My vote is yes to
both with proviso. Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes to both with proviso. Tanetta Graham, my vote is
yes to both with provisos for both.
Iowyn, my vote is yes to both with
provisos. Ishmael Shaheed, my vote
Ishmael Shahid, my board is just to both with proviso.
is yes to both with provisos. Thank you,
Thank you, counsel.
counsel. Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay, so I'm going to call, I believe it's a total of five cases.
Am I correct, counsel?
We're fine.
Yes, sir.
Okay, so number nine, MI 2024 -007 -502 -2507 East Elkhart Street.
Number 10, MI 2024 -007 -508 -2509 East Elkhart Street. Number 11, MI 2024 -007 -509 -2511 East Elkhart
Street, number 12, MI 2024, 007 -511 -2513 East Elkhart Street, and number 13, MI 2024, 007 -512 -2515 East Elkhart Street.
Bern Anastasio is the attorney.
There's a letter of support from the South Port Richmond Civic Association,
and a letter of non -opposition from council member squilla mr anastasio
thank you mr chair uh verne you've already been sworn could you uh just state your name for the
record yep it's verne anastasio on behalf of uh nataniel levy who is the owner of the
uh a single owner of the llc and question today okay and our vice chair has a few questions
thank you good morning council do you agree to wait to read another refusal or stipulate to
his actress i do have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits as needed and
required to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing i have thank you council
please proceed thank you mr chair as you said we're going to take these all at the same time
because it was one large parcel that was subdivided a while back
for single -family home development.
I first want to – you did mention –
Yeah, the only thing is, Vern, I think we've talked about this earlier today.
Number 10 is just a little bit different.
There's no proviso.
Am I correct?
Correct.
Right?
One property is –
That's right.
Property F is situated differently than the other four.
Right.
Okay. All right. Just so we know. And the architect will go through why that is. Sure. Okay. But I'm sharing right now, just for the record, the Southport Richmond Civic Association. That's fine. These are the five ZP numbers. The project was initially under 3003 Gaul. But as you said, once the subdivision happened, they all now have Elkhart Street addresses.
So I'm moving this into evidence, and I'm only doing this because these came late and not in my packet, but just bear with me just for one second.
And the letter dated this morning from council member Mark Squilla, supporting the RCO's
position to have the appeal for the front -loading garages approved.
That's why we're here.
We're here for front -loading garages, and we're going to get to that in a minute here.
But we only have, ostensibly, there's a refusal for front -loading garages and the setback
that would create the front -loading garages.
But we're here at the request of the RCO.
Let there be no misunderstanding.
My clients made an initial meeting with the community.
They have by right single family home development, which you'll see that's already in progress and has been done on several of the homes.
The community asked in order to alleviate some parking congestion, since there was no legal parking on that side of the street, that we in fact give the community some off -street parking to alleviate some of the vehicular congestion.
And of course, my clients would like to oblige.
So we're going to get to, this is the property in question here.
This is the corner of Elkhart and Gaul, right there.
This is the corner of Elkhart and Gall.
I'm going to pull out for a minute, but we'll be happy to zoom back in if any of the board members would like.
So these are built, A, B, C, D, E, during the process.
All of this is by right, single -family home development.
Community asked that we set F, G, H, I, and J back and provide some much -needed parking relief.
This street here would not have legal parking otherwise, so putting these curb cuts here would not adversely impact, in fact, compliance in this case,
which would be single -family home development, like we did here on the left, would actually be
a hardship for the community. And as a result, the community had asked that we put these
five front loaders in. As you can see, the G through J set back a little bit more than F,
and that's why there's a little difference in that. But all of them have been refused for the
same thing, ostensibly, which is the off -street parking, the front -loading parking on these
properties. I'm going to zoom out a little bit. These are the interiors that I am going to bring
on the architect to walk you through design, if you'd like, and answer any design questions.
Here's the first, second, and third floor plans. Beautiful single -family home.
all with materials that reflect the brick history of Philadelphia.
Here's the rear elevations. Here's some renderings.
So these are the front loading spots.
this is the subdivision plan also entered into evidence
and here are the homes that have been built already by right
As you can see, they're fairly reflective of the materials that were presented.
This is the letter that went out to all interested parties.
The meeting was extremely well attended.
239 people were mailed.
Overwhelming majority support.
There was a little bit of opposition.
um some of it had to do with some of the construction issues during the the first phase
uh those have been addressed we and we have of course offered to even enter into a construction
agreement if that made some folks happy leadership of the rco didn't seem to be too concerned about
it but we certainly are still willing to to talk to any immediate neighbor who might have any issue
with that. Of the handful of people that were opposed, about 80 percent of them were opposed
because they park illegally on that sidewalk. So they're going to be losing their illegal
parking spots, which is understandable, and I respect that. But the larger community had asked
us actually to provide this relief so that overall it will, in fact, be a net positive for the
community with that i'd like to call first uh bar levy who is the architect on the project
he'll be coming back in as a panelist chair thank you
hello everyone can you hear me all right council i mean architect please
This is the architect, Mr. Chair, Mr. Levy.
Hi, Mr. Levy. Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
My name is Bar Levy, B -A -R, last name L -E -V -Y.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you. Bar, do you have anything to add to the initial presentation prior to opening the question?
um i think you did a great job really discussing the front uh the front parking and it was uh
i think you did a great job really discussing the front uh the front parking and it was uh
requested by the community uh what i would say is that it's not only helping the community in terms
request
of alleviating the parking uh but if you go uh if you go forward into the um into the light diagram
what happens there is that uh we are widening the actual sidewalk stay there go one slide
after this for a second and if you look at this green um at this green storage structure uh what
these structures what they do they they limit the side the sidewalk width and the sidewalk width
kind of moves between five to six feet um mostly five for it for as it's existing with the new
design we are enlarging it into six feet so very walkable um and also we're setting back the
structures farther more from that North Elkhart. If you go up one slide, or to the, yep, upwards,
so that street is really to our north, it's our northeast side of the structures. Pushing the
front side of those buildings 18 feet from the streets allows for more light to travel from the
south onto the street and have a more kind of a happier experience on the street. Not only that,
besides the parking, it allows for some greenery, some front garden, some flowers, really to make
the experience of Elkhart that seems to be, it is a slow -paced street, but it's narrow as it stands
currently. That widening of the street and widening of the light, allowing more light to travel into
the street, will create that experience a little bit more friendly. But that's really, I think,
is what I would
like to talk about in terms of
the width of the buildings
and the setbacks.
Yeah, if you have any other
questions, we could go through.
Why don't we, Vern, why don't we leave him there?
I need to bring on my client.
Why don't you bring your client on?
Nataniel, leave you, please. Levy?
Nataniel Levy is coming back in as a
panelist, Sheriff. Thank you.
hi can you hear me good morning could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
netanel levy n -e -t -a -n -e -l levy l -e -v -i right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the
whole truth and nothing but the truth i do please proceed counsel thank you mr chair
netanel did you hear my presentation and bars to the to the board today yeah i did thank you
Is it true and accurate?
It is.
Do you adopt it as your own?
Thank you very much, Mr. Levy.
Question is from the board.
Can you go back to the floor plans for the houses, please?
And kind of...
Okay, thank you.
Any other questions?
Yeah, I have two questions.
One, why is the first unit not including the parking space?
Or it's already built into it somewhere here, right?
Well, yeah, but I didn't see a plan that showed that, which is why.
Bar. Yeah. So you're talking about it said it on the site plan, but there was no floor plan that showed that. So I'm just, yeah, we have, we have five separate binders. Okay.
All of that has been submitted.
I understand that, but it was not shown in this presentation. So I was just trying to clarify.
That's cool.
so the first unit does have a parking space so then my second question is then why what was the
reason to not set it back similarly to the other four that now face Eckhart street Elkhart street
good that's a question for bar go ahead yeah so the uh the main reason is the last size
if you'd see the four um the four last uh g to j uh which are the right side of this plan
are all deeper. So they're deeper, they have much more depth to allow for a backyard that is
sufficient, even with the setback of the 18 foot up front. Now, we are setting back the first floor
to allow for that front parking, but it is the second floor that kind of goes above it.
In order to get a three -bedroom, two -bed structure, very Philadelphian kind of, you know, single family for a family, we needed a square footage.
We didn't want to get rid of the entire backyard and just have a tiny little backyard.
We didn't want to get rid of the entire backyard and just have a tiny little backyard.
So we have set back the first floor, but built on top.
And then what is the depth of the basement below grade?
So it's a semi -submerged basement.
It's at 410 to the lowest part.
And so it will receive some light via window.
I would say that if you go into the floor plan of the other four, you go down one more.
So the developer requested one more down that the basement is utilitarian kind of Philadelphia investment.
There is not a real program to it.
It will be unfinished, but it will receive light.
It would have all of the mechanical systems and such.
And maybe in the future, if the homeowner would have their will to go and finish it, that's a different permit, that's a different design on its own.
But the building as it stands is a three -bedroom, three -bedroom, while we have the master parent room all the way at the top.
And the second floor is a two -bedroom, kind of the kids area, or if it's a small family, a kid and an home office, one bedroom on the second floor.
and the washer dryer on the second floor to kind of have it in the middle of the structure
as you don't have to go all the way to the basement. There is no way I can read the rest
of the plans, but thank you. Any other questions? Questions for our attorney? No, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience? I see no answer this time, Chair.
planning commission
thank you chair bergman
comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing residential single family zoning
the appellant has not shown that the property cannot possibly be used in strict conformity
with the zoning code and that the variance is therefore necessary to enable the viable economic
use of the property city planning commission recommends that the zoning board deny the
variance for accessory surface parking, excuse me, accessory surface parking, proposed rear
yard depth, and proposed setback. Thank you. I'm going to vote this 9, 11, 12, and 13,
and then I'll come back for 10. Okay. All right. So number 9, MI 2024, 007, 502, 2507 East Elkhart
Street. Number 11, MI 2024 -007 -509 -2511 East Elkhart Street. Number 12, MI 2024 -007 -511 -2513
East Elkhart Street. And number 13, MI 2024 -007 -512 -2515 East Elkhart Street.
I wrote yes to all four with proviso. Approved use is single family household living with one
accessory service parking space. My vote is yes with proviso. Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes to
all four with proviso. Taneta Graham, my vote is yes to all four with proviso. Taya Nguyen,
my vote is yes to all four with proviso ishmael shaheed my vote is yes to all four with proviso
and number 10 mi 2024 007 508 2509 east helcourt street i vote yes
my vote is yes gerald gaster my vote is yes it's not a gram my vote is yes i win my vote is yes
ishmael shaheed my vote is yes thank you counsel thank you all all right is there anyone in the
audience whose um 9 30 case has not been called just break it right no hands please here thank
you um see everybody two o 'clock everyone my name is bill bergman and i will be chairing this
afternoon's meeting with me is our vice chair ismail shaheed president mr true our board member
Sheryl L. Gaston. Present, Mr. Chairman. Our board member, Tanetta Graham. Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board member, Michael Johns. Present, Mr. Chairman. Our board member, Taya Nguyen. Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also, here is our attorney, Matthew Webster, our executive director of the zoning board,
Ian Hagerty, and our board administrator, Lakeisha Dandy. A recording of this hearing will be posted
on the ZBA website. By participating, you consent to be recorded. This is an in -person meeting with
remote capabilities. Whether remote or in person, if you're called to speak, you must state and spell
Whether remote or in person, if you're called to speak, you must state and spell your name
your name and the
and the wait to be sworn in. Once you've been sworn in, please state your name each time before
beginning your testimony. Any person may enter their appearance to become an interested party
to a case. There are three ways. You can identify the case property on your Zoom webinar. You can
see a staff member, or you can call the ZBA appearance line by the close of business tomorrow.
call 267 -270 -5548 leave a message that includes your email address and the address of the property
of the appeal the following guidance is remote are remote attendees first when directed you must
raise your hand in order to be recognized to speak second if you're called to testify you'll
be prompted to join as a panelist please accept the request and turn on your camera third the
webinar Q &A is for questions about the hearing. Do not comment on cases in the Q &A. Fourth, if
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In the event of an emergency, please follow the directions given over the public address
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Please remain here so you can be accounted for.
So let's look at our schedule for this afternoon.
number six mi 2025 000 462 2842 south franklin street scott cloney is the owner applicant
this case is being continued at the request of council member squilla
is mr cloney here oh mr cloney could you step forward a minute please
yep yep 2041 yeah why don't you want to turn on the mic and we'll tell you where we stand with
this so the mic what you gotta press the button yeah pull it a little closer to you state your
name and spell for the stenographer uh scott cloney uh c -o -t -t -c -l -o -n -e -y right do you
swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth mr cloney we have a request
to continue this it has to do with the rco yes we didn't have enough time um apparently it was sent
to one of the rcos in center city and we just got it sent back to the rco in south philadelphia
last week so the letters are actually out already um i've been working on those um that we have a
date of the 27th for the rco board so we're just asking to have this good for like okay or two
All right. So we're going to continue this case till October 15th, 2025 at 2 p .m.
Now, I know that's not what you were looking for.
Give us a call and we'll see if we can move that to a quicker date.
OK, how well, pardon me, how fast, though?
I mean, I paid for the habit expedited. I know. I know. I know.
That's what I'm saying. We're going to take all that into consideration.
But right now, that's the dates that were listed.
We're going to see if we can find one for you.
So call those staff and we'll see what we can do.
Thank you, sir.
So MI 2025, 000462, 2841 South Franklin Street.
That case is continued at this point to 1015 2025 at 2 p .m.
number seven mi 2025 000 464 42 30 main street this case is continued attorney moving party
number eight mi 2025 000 469 1618 webster street cases continued attorney moving party
And number 12, MI -2025 -000 -492 -6515 Ridge Avenue.
continue. This case is continued until 10, 15, 20, 25 at 2 p .m. Are there any other requests
Are there any other requests for continuances?
for continuances?
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.
This is Jason Hand.
I will be your callers for the session.
I don't see any hands raised right now.
Thank you.
So here's our add -on list.
Number one, MI 2024 -002 -120 -963 North Lawrence Street.
This case has been rescheduled to Wednesday, May 21st at 2 p .m.
Number two, MI 2024 -006 -733 -4045 -61 Main Street.
This case has been continued until Wednesday, May 21st at 2 p .m.
number three
mi 2025 000456 3715 to 33 north 19th street i vote yes revised plans four pages
stamp by zba on may 14th 2025. michael johnson my vote is yes
with proviso
with a
revised
proviso michael
revised plans four pages stamped by gba
may 14th 2025
yes with proviso
thank you sir
my vote is yes with proviso
my vote is yes with proviso
my vote is yes with proviso
Ishmael Shahidi my vote is yes with proviso
number four
MI 2025
25, 000, 457, 1434 to 36 Federal Street. This case has been continued to Wednesday, May 21st, at 2 p .m.
next next case number five mi 2024 839 mi 2024 005 357 839 airedale road the of this case
I vote yes with Proviso.
Revised plans, one page, stamped by CBA on May 14, 2025.
Two accessory off -street parking spaces approved.
Updated earth moving plan must be provided to L &I prior to permit.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Taya Nguyen, my vote is yes with Proviso.
And number six, MI 2024, 004 -320 -6560 North Bouvier Street.
The vote in this matter has been rescheduled to Wednesday, May 21st at 2 p .m.
I'm going to start with case number 14.
number 14 mi 2025 001 343 249 south warnock street
um samuel trombley is the listed owner and the applicant
Do we see Mr. Trombley?
I see him now.
I will promote him to panelists at once, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Trombley, please accept the invitation to become a panelist.
All right, thank you.
Thank you.
Mr. Trombley?
You should be coming back in now, sir.
yes i'm here sorry about that what's up could you please state your name and spell for the
stenographer samuel trombley s -a -m -u -e -l -t -r -o -m -e -l -e -y you swear or firm to tell
the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes okay for this is for the erection of an
addition at the rear of an existing attached structure and roof deck access from the third
floor for no change of use from the single family household living. Where a rear wall does not meet
a rear yard minimum depth requirement, a vertical extension of that wall is an increase of the
specific nonconformity and is not permitted. The required rear yard depth in the RSA 5 zoning
district is 7 feet, whereas this is 6 feet 4 inches, whereas the horizontal extension
of a sidewall into a rear yard is permitted, provided an extension complies with an applicable
provided an extension complies with an applicable rear setback and open space requirement the rear
rear setback and open space.
yard's depth is seven foot and six foot four inches existing our our vice chair has a few
questions for you sir good afternoon um sir have you emailed in all the required documents and
exhibits as needed and to perceive this case five days in advance of this hearing yes i have
Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen and start the presentation.
Can you say that again? Sorry.
You can proceed and share your screen and you can start your presentation.
Yes. Sorry, I'm at work, so joining from my phone, but my fiance is also online and should be able to share the materials.
Do we have her name so we can promote her to a panelist?
Anthony Palmer.
Ms. Palmer, can you please raise your hand so we can promote you?
Okay, they should be coming in as a panel. Thank you, Mr. Han.
Hi, everyone. Hi. So, Anthony, my understanding is Samuel will do the presentation and you'll
just share the screen, okay? Correct. So, could you start sharing the screen? Sure.
Okay, Mr. Trombley, could you start your presentation?
Yeah, so go to the next slide.
uh this just shows the location of the home um it is on ornock between spruce and irving okay next
this is an overview of the current zoning um it's rsa5 go ahead
so want to explain this yeah so this is the um
the explanation of what it looks like currently so the the gray areas are um kind of the existing
structure so you can see there's a an easement the white part on the side there yeah um and that
is essentially like a small outdoor alleyway that goes back to the kind of back courtyard
Aaron. Okay. Uh, what we're proposing to do is expand over into that little alleyway up against
the neighbor's house and then go up from there. So right now there's, um, basically nothing above
the kitchen on the first floor until you get to a third, third floor roof deck. So the proposal
would be to add a second floor on top of the kitchen and then take up that small alleyway
there. Why don't you show us drawings for that? Yep. So this gives a better idea of the two
variances that we'll need. So one variance to go over to the neighbor's house and then the other
variances to go up. Um, we need two variances because, uh, I guess both are, um, too close
to that, that back easement as you read. Okay. You can skip that. That's just, uh,
that's your mailing. So, thank you. Uh, this is kind of, yep. So this is basically, uh,
a view of the front and then the back of it, of the house. So the front from Warnock Street,
there'll be no change. The back, this is kind of a, again, the gray view is what's proposed to be
added. So right now that white box on the first floor would be the kitchen. So we would expand
the kitchen over against the neighbor's house and then fill in the second floor, which right now is
empty and then replace the roof deck on the third floor which is existing um but it would
you know also fill that uh that gray hatched area
do you have photos what the rear looks like now yep so this is what it looks like now okay um
the picture on the left is of that uh small alleyway next to the kitchen so those
small windows that would go into the kitchen and then you can see the roof deck is is basically on
stilts uh above the kitchen and then there's no second floor there you're saying right that's right
above the kitchen and then there's no second floor there you're saying right that's right yeah and
you can see on the right hand side picture the roof of the kitchen kind of slopes up so there's
a you know there's a gap underneath that roof deck in the kitchen so we would basically be filling in
that that empty space um and then expanding over into the alley to go up against the neighbor's
house the middle picture is from the third floor roof deck you can see it's
in we don't use it currently it's in pretty bad shape so it needs to be
replaced you know the next slide this is just another view of you know basically
taking that back right picture and then showing you in blue where we would be
filling in. This is showing our house compared to some of the neighbor's houses. So if you look at
the left picture, 249, which would be our house, is the one with the green shutters. The one with
the red shutters is 251. That's our neighbor's house. And they've done essentially the same
renovations that we're proposing. And you can see that in kind of that middle picture.
So they'd be, they fill in the, you know, the gap, the full footprint, and then they have the
roof deck on the third floor. So we'd be proposing, you know, doing something similar.
This is just showing 247. So that's the neighbor on the other side. They had to go for a similar
variants uh to add to their third floor um so this is basically just showing where that would be
um relative to our house um i think you can skip that
so this is the rco right that's right yeah we don't have a copy of this do we
no i don't yeah this is the the rco okay so do me a favor i want you to uh email this to as soon
as you can and when we're done okay okay so it was seven non -opposed one abstained am i correct
uh yeah and the the one who abstained is my fiance because he uh recused himself okay all right and
let me ask you neighbors on both sides are in favor of this yep both uh both of them attended
the rco meeting and were supportive like i said the one neighbor has done a similar renovation and
um you know thinks it would be a good idea they used to actually own the house before me um and
so they you know it's it's kind of logical that someone would do it they just never got around to
doing it okay mr chair yes this is matthew webster board council we do have a copy of that okay thank
Thank you. Anything else you have, sir?
No. All right. That's it.
Questions from the board?
Yes. So what size room is this going to be on the second floor? And what's it going to be used for?
so you're gonna yeah so it would be a sorry what i'm seeing is you're gonna extend the kitchen
just a tad it looks like but then yeah over top there'll be this room and what's that going to
be used for that would be a a bedroom and a bathroom okay so what how many square feet are
we talking about here uh it's about 500 square feet so right now the house is a thousand square
feet and we'd be moving it to 1500. Okay. And you're going to put a bedroom and a bathroom
in that space? Yeah, that's right. So on the first floor, it would be just an expansion of the
kitchen. So, you know, the same kitchen we have just a bit more space down there. And then the
second floor would be a bedroom and a bathroom okay and then what the the deck
that is there now what room is that attached to so the the third floor is
all just kind of open it's just one big room and there are kind of glass doors
off the back that open onto that deck and you're gonna redo the deck as part of
yeah we would replace the deck yes okay all right thank you questions from our attorney who i'm
sorry no no questions sir questions or comments from the virtual audience or this present audience
here yeah there are no hands raised at this time planning commission amy board with the planning
Planning Commission. Amy Wood with the Planning Commission, AYBOID. Do you swear or affirm that tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Please proceed. The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location from the existing RSA 5 residential single family. The proposed variances are diminished and will have minimal impacts on adjoining properties. The Planning Commission recommends that the board grant the requested variances for rear yard depth and open space.
commission a y b o y d
Thank you. MI 2025 -001 -343 -249 -South Warnock Street, I vote yes.
What's up, Michael Johns? My vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Tywin, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Cheryl. You have your votes.
Thank you.
Okay. Number one, MI 2024 -005 -747 -3513 North 23rd Street. This is a resumptive hearing. Alan
knockamson could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer yes uh alan knockamson
a -l -a -n last name knockamson n -o -c -h -u -m -s -o -n do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the
whole truth and nothing but the truth i do knock us and this is a resumptive hearing
um the way we'd like to schedule this is we'd have updates from you questions from the board
public testimony and then the planning commission so could you um please give us an update as to
what's happened since the last election and where you stand now yes uh let me just share my screen
if i may yeah sure one second let me get to the right screen
just as a reminder uh we are originally seeking uh 12 uh unit uh family household living at this
property um we did get community support at that time um and you know just looking at the situation
we thought it made more sense to have nine units with no basement living okay so what we did was
we sought authorization from the zba to amend our zoning appeal to extend the building structure a
little further out to give more room for some of the units and we have an updated refusal because
of that um so if you look at my screen here we have the amended refusal which is dated
uh february 18th of 2025 which shows nine house family household living we did add a refusal
because of that um originally we did not have an occupied area refusal now we do of is de minimis
in nature um provided more living for the the residents um everyone has access to uh the backyard
as well um because of the garbage that remains the same but there's no living at all in the basement
now um and you know we met with the community again and they're in support i will say this that
we asked them many many times to please provide a letter confirming that support we have not
received it i don't know if you have um but you know as an officer to court i will tell you that
we had the same result at the community meeting we all need to see you know that
hold on a second trying to get rid of that stop sharing um but like you know so that's that's
where we are so they were in support of 12 units they're in support of nine units i think this is
a better project because of the input of the zba where we now have no basement living which i think
is appropriate i think nine units is more appropriate and it forced us to actually expand
the size of the units, which makes it a more viable project for everyone involved.
And now on those nine units are in the amended refusal.
That is right.
So if the board feels so inclined to grant this appeal, I would say grant it with the
proviso with the date of the refusal.
Thank you.
All right.
Questions from the board?
Questions from our attorney?
No, sir.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Yes, sir. I have a hand up from Charles Richardson. I will promote them, and they should be back in shortly.
I'm in.
Hi, Mr. Richardson. Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Thank you, sir. Charles Richardson, R -I -C -H -A -R -D -S -O -N, Office of Councilwoman Cindy Bass, room 508 City Hall.
Thank you, sir. Charles Richardson, R -I -C -H -A -R -D -S -O -N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, sir.
We also did not receive a letter from the RCO, but I did receive a text today because I reached out to find out what the situation was.
and due to illness, it was not, the letter was not composed and sent.
35 -13, they are fine.
Also, the two other RCOs that were involved are also fine with it,
but they would like a proviso that they have commercial trash pickup three times weekly.
That, you know, is the proviso that they're requesting.
And if so inclined, the councilwoman is non -opposition to this project.
okay thank you we have no objection to that provider anyone else in the virtual audience
yes mr chair i have a hand up from uh 3552 this is must be miss uh fernandez i will
allow her to speak adrian
hello hi adrian could you please state your name as bell for the stenographer
yes adrian fernandez my last name is spelled f -e -r -n -a -n -d -e -z
swear or firm that tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yeah please proceed okay um we submitted an amended letter of support with provisos
and the five provisos we're asking for are first is a limit of three units because this the zoning
here is going to be changed to RTA per the planning commission. Next is no basement living,
which I understand is going to be honored, and trash and recycling stored indoors,
and childproof windows to prevent the young children who may be living there from
dropping objects out of the windows or hanging their bodies out of windows,
which we've had a problem with, with subsidized rent properties, and also certificate of occupancy.
The reason for the request for amendment is we've been having increasing problems with subsidized rent units, even right now competing with very loud music in my background coming from one of those units near us.
And the burden on the neighborhood and the police with trash, drug use, drug sales, and other nuisances has just been overwhelming.
PHA is losing ability to control these scattered site properties,
and we are asking if the number of units can be reduced.
Also, this is overuse of the multifamily variance.
We do understand it's near transportation.
And also what I stated about the fact that planning said
that the zoning here is going to be changed to RTA, and it's currently RSA -3.
And that's everything.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Do you have comments?
Yeah, I do.
We have no objection to a proviso for no basement living, because that's the intent.
That's in the permitted room.
And then we do have a trash room on each floor.
There's always a balancing act.
you know do you store the trash in the indoors in a trash room or do you store it outside
this is a rather large lot it's um almost 5 000 square feet there's ample room in the back for
trash um i defer to the board in that respect um in terms of the amount of units again this community
wanted uh that type of density they wanted 12 units i understand no i understand so i think
three units would be would not be would be out of character in a lot of ways given that we're
are surrounded by public transportation as miss fernandez stated as well all right thank you um
planning commission amy boy with the planning commission um planning testified during the
last hearing however there is a new refusal that i can comment on for the occupied area
okay so mi 2024 i'm sorry did you want me to comment on that no i thought i thought you were
done i'm sorry go ahead good yeah so during the last hearing we commented but we commented on a
on one missing refusal because the plans were revised okay so um the plan has not shown that
their unique physical circumstances or conditions of the property that prevents it from being used
in conformance of the zoning code for occupied area the planning commission recommends that the
board deny the requested variance for occupied area thank you mr chair just briefly kind of
respond? Sure. The reason why we have the additional refusal is because we eliminated
all the basement use and then to give more room for those units in there and that's why we're
and then to give more room for those units in there,
and that's why we're seeking that occupied area refusal.
seeking that occupied area.
That's de minimis in nature.
Thank you.
All right, thank you.
So MI 2024, 005 -747 -3513 North 23rd Street,
I vote yes per amended refusal dated 2 -18 -25,
commercial trash pickup three times a week.
I vote, John.
My vote is yes with Proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with provisos.
Senator Graham, my vote is yes with provisos.
I know when my vote is yes with provisos.
Okay, good.
Okay, number two, MI 2024 -007 -378 -3447 to 53 Frankfurt Avenue.
Al Noxemson is the attorney.
It's a resumptive hearing.
I understand where we stand with this.
you'll give us a presentation of supplemental information the board will make con will have
questions council will have questions public testimony and planning commission recommendation
so again it's still alan knockamson of knockamson pc right uh i will say this that i took over this
matter midstream so i do not have the benefit of what was stated at the at the original hearing
I will be brief in my presentation just to go over, you know, generally the project and then answer any questions the board may have.
So this is 3447 -53 Frankfurt Avenue.
To my left is Elise DeJesus, the operator of this, or hopefully the operator of this location for Hope Rising Child Learning Center.
this would be their fifth child care facility in philadelphia so they're a known quantity here
this is an rm1 property that's approximately 12 500 square feet in loss size uh some housekeeping
items we have 11 exhibits here the community meeting consisted of a mailing of 137 addresses
and this is a lease arrangement where the lease uh term goes until september 26th
um september of 2026 but there are multiple uh lease option extensions which we installed so one
of the things to help you a little bit is what was said at the last hearing the applicant has
provided plans that clearly depict how someone who is accessible how someone who is accessible
would get around the property ideally plans that are easier to understand interior photos
uh so again this was a former community center so we provided much more detailed plans uh lebanon
level nine architects has these plans now and that's in front of you right here so we go street
to street from frankfurt avenue to coral street which is on your screen um there's two entrances
here uh there's an entrance here on on frankfurt avenue and there's an entrance here on frankfurt
avenue this would be the main entrance on the left the one on frankfurt avenue where you have the
waiting area. We have eight classrooms who are all specifically delineated. We have the kitchen
area here, which is specifically delineated with a dining area as well. There's no cooking on the
premises. This is just for reheating purposes. You can see the accessibility in terms of here's
the one bathroom that's accessible, and there's actually a lift. So what happens is that there's
steps that are leading down here. So it's on two levels. But I hopefully these plans are much more
clear of what's going to happen here. But there's a lift for accessibility in terms for those three
steps that are there. But someone who is not, you know, able to go down those steps, there's
accessibility. And there's one accessible bathroom as well. There is a second floor here, which is
for the staff. There's an office in the staff lounge. Again, I can restate what the hours of
operation are. My client, again, would be the hours of operation are from 6 a .m. to 10 a .m.
for drop -off, but the general operation hours are 6 a .m. to 6 p .m. Again, as you know, as a daycare,
we're required to meet certain state regulations in terms of the facility itself, in terms of
accessibility and safety, in terms of the physical safety of the structure itself, as well as the
safety of the children that's inside in terms of certifications and you know oversight so there's
much oversight in here in addition to when hopefully we leave here with a zoning variance
you know every year we have to pass inspections so i don't know if that and and by the way here's
the exterior of the uh rendering as well which shows the accessible ramp that is on frankfort
avenue uh as well so i don't know if that answered the board's questions in terms of showing much
clearer floor plans. Questions from the board? It answered mine. That answered all of my questions.
and answer it answered mine and answered all of my questions thank you for the
Thank you for the advice.
right thank you questions or comments from our attorney no sir questions or
comments from the virtual audience okay do you want to have your testimony yes
yeah sure yes can can you stay tuned well I think she has to be sworn in well
she should state her name first right yes state your name and spell for the
stenographer elisa jesus e -l -i -s -e d -e -j -e -s -u -s you pull that a little closer to you and make
it just a little bit louder okay do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing
but the truth yes sir please proceed counsel uh yes uh you heard everything i had to state today
about your zoning matter yes is it true and correct yes and do you adopt it as your own
testimony thank you planning amy boyd with the planning commission the comprehensive plan
recommends no change in zoning at this location
from the current residential
multifamily RM1. The proposed
use is consistent with documented prior use.
The Planning Commission recommends a board grant
requested variance for Child Care Center.
Thank you. MI 2024
007 -378 -3447
Frankfurt Avenue. I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Beston, my vote is yes.
Tynetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Iowyn, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
Okay, thank you.
You have your vote.
Okay, thank you.
I have one more for you.
Well, I have, I think, a couple more, but I'll take one more than I'll take a little break from you.
Not that, you know, just a little bit of a break.
Sound like my wife.
And my 2024 -007 -431 -633 North 33rd Street.
This is a resumptive hearing.
So, a couple things.
So, we're going to see revised updated posting photo, revised photos of the rear of the property, received interior photos, applicant provide a petition of support, 12 signatures, 11 from the media block, no proof of tax compliance, but they will provide to hearing properties compliant.
and also this will be your presentation of supplemental information the board public
testimony and then planning uh yes alan occamson okay and i'm going to share my screen
again did not have the benefit of being at the original hearing here so uh i heard what you
you need to look at just you know some housekeeping items uh this this presentation
include 11 exhibits we mailed notice of the community meeting to 114 addresses and we have
proof of mailing that address let's just go from back to front it's just maybe easier
um here's proof of the tax compliance yep uh then we have the posting photos let's go to the
posting photos posting photo boom right there and then picture the back of the property we have a
picture of the back of the property i do think we have some interior photographs so just a little
bit of background uh my this is a family owned home my my client's family has owned this property
for some time uh it did get transferred to her uh you know recently and it's you know it's an
r1 property where two units are allowed as a right we're asking for a third unit by increasing uh the
the building massing by doing a little bit in the back and as well as adding a third story but here
interior photos no guarantee but my client is looking to like um like potentially live in one
of the units um it will help her like you know like live um and you know in in the property and
and be able to afford that as well um you know this is uh you know the refusal is just to go
as a matter of background kind of going to the front you know we have three refusals again the
use refusal uh two units is allowed uh three units are proposed um we're you know we're right
next to arm two which would allow this as a right we're bordering like a parking lot which you know
by having some of these dimensional refusals of like you know rear yard uh like uh you know area
as well as rear yard depth we're not taking anyone's light and air away from us to the person
to the right of us where there's a parking lot um you'll see here we do have a petition by the way
so that's also helpful but you can see here and you'll see in the pictures in the presentation
this parking lot kind of goes from wallace street to mount vernon to where we are on 33rd street so
the only person that would be affected would be the party to left of us that's a family friend
like well we don't have that that petition signed by them verbally my understanding is that that
person is in support of our project as well i mean they these these families have known each other for
person is in support of our project as well i mean they these these families have known each
other for a generation at least so why don't why don't we yeah we'll get when we swear in
well okay okay so but yeah so this is the only person that would be affected again the the use
is not like we're not going really any deeper um you know then you know what is there on the first
floor it's already a non -conforming building all we're trying to do is uh through the you know
through the massing is to like increase the the second floor here in the back and then add a third
story here um again this is our own property and we believe that the requested variances
are de minimis in nature thank you is that a deck there too m uh i do believe yes there is a deck
as well as part of a part of that uh of those plans yes do we have a refusal for the deck
uh we do not okay uh questions from the board
yes do you know the height of the addition compares to the other buildings on that block
face uh so our height according to my notes is 36 feet which we are below the 38 feet so we're
not trying to be greedy about it um and i would ask my client to speak as to uh surrounding
properties and let me just take a look and see if we have let's let's look at the street view
photos and see if we can look at that
there are three -story structures on this street if you look on 33rd street to the left of the
property and there are you know in in some parts like going down the street a little bit
the next block over especially but you know there's a corner property obviously we know
you know that doesn't really count but like if there are you know some three -story structures
not out of character in order to put the work in that's needed for this family -owned house we do
need that extra unit and instead of trying to squeeze it into two stories it makes more sense
to make it into a three -story and we hope that the board defines the same
in the renovation of the building are we having active use in the basement
let me take a look at that other thing is to note by going to three stories everyone knows now we
have to put a sprinkler system is in the next next level of building code here so that's even
you know makes it a safer uh building um but let's take a look
it does not look like it it looks like from my notes there is no basement living
previously i think there was a bathroom in the basement yeah so i think that these updated plans
does do not show basement living um i do think that there's mechanicals down there
um and maybe laundry but there's there's nothing living down there the bathroom that we had
commented on the last time is still on the plans though so oh yeah i guess uh when we start and
that's a question for her how does she see the basement being used yeah well maybe you can talk
to your client as we bring her on okay all the questions what's the hardship for the dupe um
not having a duplex and sticking with the RM1? Well, yeah, we were allowed a duplex. I think
just the amount of work that needs to be done on this property would be cost prohibitive to just
keep it as a duplex. We really need to make it into a triplex for it to make sense. And again,
my client, while no guarantees, is thinking about potentially moving back to the neighborhood that
her family lived in for some time. And are there triplexes on that block or multi -duplexes?
You know, our office did not look at that.
I mean, this is solidly an RM1 block, and next door is RM2.
So if we were RM2, that goes based on FAR and not based on the lot size per unit.
So we think that this fits comfortably within what we're asking for.
And Alan, the RCO was in favor of this?
That is my understanding.
It was overwhelming support.
that was the mantua civic association nine to one yeah so it was well attended meeting too
other questions um i'm i'm still having problems with why three units instead of two considering
that the lot area is what the the normal lot area is 144 square feet whereas this one has
90 .03 square feet and you're not meeting the minimum rear yard depth so
what is the hardship here for three units well we're so going back to the dimensional refusals
we're building on a non -conforming uh building structure right now the building structure
doesn't meet the the zoning code requirements because on the first floor it doesn't all we're
it doesn't all we're doing is building on essentially on top of it and squaring that
doing is building on essentially on top of it and squaring that off to
off to create more functional floor plans like even the second floor right now you know is it's
not functional um you know given its configuration um as far as have whether to have two or three
units again just the condition of the property it just would be so it's gonna be so expensive
to renovate this property in order to do it the right way we believe that three units is
appropriate again it's making it more expensive for my client some ways because again she would
have to put a sprinkler system in there there are higher building code requirements from going to
two to three but she embraces that that's a self -imposed hardship though right that's a
self -imposed hardship no no it is but like again i think it's just you wouldn't need them that's
true but i'm saying just to condition the building right now it's not functional on the second floor
the building structure how it's being it's it's set back and it's just there's those two units
would not like the second unit would not make sense so we're we're hoping that the board sees
it that way given the overwhelming support of not just the rco who voted with the people in the
community who showed up to the meeting voted in favor but also nearby neighbors plus i will have
my client testify that the only person who's being impacted with any light and air is in support of
this as well so i think development in in in renovating properties is it has a positive
impact on why don't we um bring your client on to adopt your testimony in yeah please state your
name is spelled for the stenographer i'm sorry cooplin paul c -o -o -p -l -y -n do you swear we're
referring to tell the truth told truth nothing but truth yes mr nackamson uh yes uh you heard
everything i had to state today about your zoning matter yes is it true and correct yes do you adopt
this your own testimony yes uh specifically you did speak to the uh individual who lives next door
to left of you yes and um are they in support of the proposed uh variances that we're requesting
yes okay would you have any objection to having a proviso no basement living no so you would have
no objection so we would agree to a proviso no living in the basement okay any other questions
for you yeah so real quick can you just tell me what will the configuration be if there was the
three units what's the configuration yeah we can go over the floor plans um every unit every unit
it's on its own floor so we can go over those really quick bedrooms each one uh the first floor
is a one bedroom one bath second unit on the second floor is one bedroom one bath and then
on the third floor it's a two -bedroom one bath with the roof deck right with the with the roof
deck that's right do you want you want me to show your floor plans yes they're right here so you
walk in uh to you know the vestibule area you make a left um and again just to look and make sure
like you know we made sure there's enough light in there for the residents themselves so you know
if you look at the living room there's a breezeway so we have three windows on that left wall where
the kitchen is and where the where the living room is and then obviously they have access to
the outdoor area and then you see the bedrooms that also are we purposely put that in the front
to give a little bit more light in there for those bedrooms if you go on the second floor again just
to make sure we have enough light in there for the residents who live there so it's not considered a
dungeon you have the living room in the front there's actually i think three windows here
there's again because of the breezeway we're able to have windows in the bathroom and two sets of
windows uh in the bedroom on the second floor and then the third floor is just mimicking what's on
the second floor the only difference is that the third floor also has access to a roof deck
there's definitely a need in mantua for these smaller type of units you know not everyone wants
like there are a lot of single individuals who are living in many parts of philadelphia and i
think it's helpful to have these more compact units there, rather than forcing people to have
to rent larger units if they don't want to. Questions for our attorney? Actually, if the
board is willing, I'd like to have a quick conversation off of the record. Sure. Okay.
Let me go.
Thank you.
No questions, Mr. Chair.
Alan, can you pull the plan up again really quickly?
Let me go this way for a minute.
And then, so there's a full, there's a full walkway up to the roof deck.
It's like a full stairwell.
Yeah, I believe it's an internal staircase.
Yep. Okay. Okay. Questions from the virtual audience?
I do not see any hands, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location
from existing RM -run residential multifamily. The appellant has not demonstrated that the property
cannot be used in conformance with the zoning code. The Planning Commission recommends the
board to neither requested variances for number of
dwelling units, rear yard minimum, and rear yard depth.
Number three, MI 2024 -007 -431 -633 North 33rd Street.
I vote yes with proviso, no basement living.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is no.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with proviso.
Iowen, my vote is yes with proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes, we're proviso. Thank you. Thank you so much. Sure. Sure. Thank you.
Alan, I'll bring you back shortly, but I want to bring up Mr. Phillips.
Good afternoon, Mr. Phillips. Good afternoon, Chairman Burbank, members of the board.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Michael Phillips, M -I -C -H -A -E -L -P -H -I -L -L -I -P -S, Claire Harrison, 1835 Market Street.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client in relationship to the property?
Here on behalf of 415 to 19 South 15th Street, LLC, which is the owner of the property at 415 to 17 and 419 South 15th Street.
And I would note that the Center City Residents Association are non -opposition.
There's a letter of approval from the Philadelphia Historical Commission.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel.
Do you agree to waive the reason of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
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, we did, and we supplemented it with, I believe, the survey last night that was missing.
thank you council please proceed thank you um we're here on behalf of 415 to 19 south 15th
street this is a property on the southeast corner uh 15th and waverly streets it's a
about an 8600 square foot lot with an existing four -story building that is on the historic
register uh you can see a an overview of the existing property right now as well as the zoning
its own cmx one the property was most recently used as offices for pennsylvania society protect
children from cruelty and then turning points for children it has been vacant since my client's
acquisition the proposal is to consolidate these two lots and adaptively reuse the existing historic
structure by erecting additions and overbuilds and for use as 32 dwelling units which utilizes
the cmx3 use regulations for historic structures the application originally said 36 based on the
floor plans that i'll discuss it we are actually going to only use 32 units there are three
refusals that we received and we will go through each of them but the first is for roof deck
setback five feet is required for one of our roof decks we are not proposing a setback and we'll
go into that. Many of these are guided by the Historic Commission and the changes in ensuring
that the new overbuild, while it remains consistent with the façade, can...
the new overbuild uh while it remains consistent with the facade and can uh consistent with the
massing uh does not uh uh over uh you know overemphasize is not overemphasized in that um
it's uh more uh conspicuous inconspicuous uh second we have a height uh refusal we have a 38 foot
limit we are proposing 52 feet one inch but again i'll pull up the site plan that is on a very uh
minor area it's just limited to a portion of the roof monitor um where i will show right
here so you'll see this is the existing building that is about 49 feet uh there is one area where
We're going to 52 -1, and it is just this roof monitor, as I'll have our architects, Evan Lipvin and Leah Lipvin from Elo Design, discuss the step downs and the reason for those refusals.
Lastly is the minimum open area. 20 % is required. We're proposing 13, and that is largely guided by the need to connect the 419 property to the 415 property and have those units at the rear with double -wide corridors.
we are maintaining the courtyard here you will see this is the over build we are maintaining
a courtyard and there will be ample light and air still to all of the units
i will ask that evan litvin from lo design be promoted as panelist and he will walk the board
through uh the uh the proposed uh additions okay they will be coming back in shortly thank you
and just to orient everyone this is the view from um 15th the property uh has about 79 feet
frontage along 15th and then goes along for about 108 feet down Waverly. Michael, what was the vote
of the RCO? It was unanimous. How many people? They didn't provide me with the number, but I
believe there were about maybe 15 people in attendance, including the individual who lives
directly behind this was in support. I can, as an officer of the court, represent that I have my
clients own the former uh pierce college building across the street as well as 1500 pine which is
caddy corner mm partners who have advised that they are in support of this as well all right
good thank you um evan evan are you with us i am all right sir could you please state your name
and spell for the stenographer sure it's evan litvin e -v -a -n -l -i -t -v -i -n you swear or affirm
to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do please please proceed counsel
evan just tell me next page but i'll let you uh run through these quickly
perfect um you can leave it on that one um as mike mentioned this is an adaptive reuse
of a historic property consisting of several existing buildings at the corner of waverly and
15th street uh they were combined and repurposed nearly a century ago for commercial use
There were two full review processes with the historical commission that included an in -concept review at the beginning of the design process and a full review at the end, totaling four meetings and a walkthrough of the site with the commission staff member.
The process was productive and it was collaborative.
Significant input was received and incorporated into this project.
Though we believe this input has created a better, richer project, it did trigger several of these zoning refusals that we're discussing today.
Next slide.
There are three refusals for this project, as Mike mentioned, building height, open area, the roof deck setback at Waverly Street.
These were all a direct result of the shape, form, and configuration of the existing historic structures.
Next, please.
To briefly address building height first, our goal is to minimize demolition of the existing building material and preserve as much of the original building as possible.
The new components of the building are finely calibrated to respond to the existing building without overpowering it.
The refusal notes a building height of 52 feet 1 inch, however.
The refusal notes a building height of 52 feet 1 inch. However, it's very important to note that this is only the one very small area where a roof monitor window is proposed at the 419 South 15th Street portion.
It's intended to assist with the transition between existing and new roof heights and provides daylight to that unit.
Further, it's out of view of the public way.
After working closely with the Historical Commission, much of the original framing of the building will remain intact.
The floor levels already stepped down to the rear of the structure along Waverly Street, with the existing floor framing of levels 2 and 3 largely dictating the height of the rear addition.
Level 4 and the roof heights are also driven by two existing conditions.
The sill and parapet heights in the newly restored carriage house limit adjustment to lower floor levels.
Also, the historic cornice forms a key alignment with the new fourth floor windows that creates a clear relationship between the new addition and the existing buildings, again, setting floor heights.
It is also important to note that the heights are generally in keeping with the surrounding context, and by design, much of the new addition is largely out of view of the public way.
Next slide, please.
To speak to open area, while the code requires 20%, as Mike mentioned, we are proposing 13%.
The general configuration of the historic buildings make this minimum very difficult to achieve.
For instance, the historic carriage house on Waverly Street extends all the way to the rear property line.
And while the new construction maintains the appropriate minimum setbacks, this area would otherwise be open.
And that's roughly 370 square feet of space.
Considering that the area setbacks meet code requirements, or sorry, the rear setbacks meet code requirements,
the other opportunity for open area on this site is within the inner courtyard.
You can go to the next slide.
um however the courtyard were were it to be hypothetically or were the open area to be
hypothetically increased here this would one make the double loaded corridor configuration
at the rear for the new construction part non -workable and the and two the change would
not be visible from the street or have any impact on neighboring buildings next slide please
Lastly, within the courtyard, the actual open area is a bit more generous than the technical calculation would lead you to believe because of overhangs and jogs in both the existing and the new building.
Next slide.
It's also worth noting that this is a very dense block, and 13 % open area is largely in keeping with the density of the surrounding properties.
Next slide, please.
I'm sorry. Last is the roof deck setback on Waverly Street. There are, next slide, please.
That's fine. Yeah, there are two decks that caused this refusal, one at level three and one at level
four. Both decks are in locations within buildable zoning envelope. As part of the
historical commission process, we incorporated setbacks where the new buildings meet the old
building. Because of these massing decisions that came out of the historical commission process,
the interior spaces were made deliberately smaller. These modest outdoor spaces are private
to their respective units and are a way to add back a small amount of living space that would
otherwise be interior. The two decks that fall within the five -foot setback face the relatively
low -traffic block of Waverly Street between Carlisle and 15th. The property across the street
is a large multifamily building that itself contains five large projecting balconies.
The rest of the block includes a single -story garage structure.
Thank you and happy to answer any questions at the end.
uh you want to bring your uh client on sure
all right just take a seat please and get close to the mic if you would
please state your name and spell for this photographer
keith aliats k -e -i -t -h -a -l -l -i -o -t -t -s do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth. I do. Counsel, please proceed. Keith, you heard my testimony earlier today.
I do. Council, please proceed. Keith, you heard my testimony earlier today. Is that correct?
Yes. And do you agree that everything I stated is true and correct to the best of your knowledge,
information, and belief? Yes. And do you agree to adopt my testimony as if it were your own?
Yes, I do. I have additional renderings, including some floor plans. Sure. Why don't you show them?
yeah just run to the floor plans right now these are just some more of the
um overview and just for one more bit of context that additional roof deck is where i'm highlighting
right here that was that um the one where we don't have the setback here five feet right um
and then for the floor plans uh we also have some shade studies on here showed really no impact
um and then lastly the floor these are the floor plans um mix of ones and twos uh we're not seeing
the floor plans right here is this the floor plans here it's a shadow study a second behind
here here how's that yep i didn't touch my thing it's just a few seconds behind i guess okay sure
thank you um so here are the floor plans and you can see the circulation as well as you know there
is a little bit of an additional open area on that first floor as as you lead in but
a lot of this was guided by the double loaded corridor here in the rear and ensuring that
we had good unit sizes in the back and I'm happy to answer any questions the board might
have questions from the board what was the what was the uh the vote the rco vote it was unanimous
for the roof deck at the fourth level or above the fourth level are these only accessible through
the individual units attached to them yes yes okay other questions
Questions from our attorney?
No, sir.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Mr. Chair, I have a hand up from Amir Day.
I will promote them and involve them when I speak.
They'll be back in shortly.
Good afternoon.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
My name is Amir Day.
That's A -H -M -I -R -D -A -Y.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Mr. Day, are you a neighbor?
I am not.
Okay, please proceed.
So I'm here to say for the record that Council President Johnson is not opposed to this property.
Thank you very much for taking the time to call us. We appreciate it.
No problem. You have a good one.
Okay, you too. Anyone else in the virtual audience?
I don't see any further hands, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning at this location from the existing CMX1 commercial mix use to R1 residential multifamily.
The proposed variance for rear yard depth and building height are existing conditions.
The appellant has demonstrated that there are unique physical conditions or circumstances that would prevent the property from being used in conformance with zoning code for roof deck setback
and unit count but not for a minimum open area the planning commission recommends that the board
grant the requested variances for building height rear yard setback unit count per lot area and
roof deck setback but deny the requested variance for minimum open area thank you um mi 2025 0 0 0
4 8 1 4 15 to 17 south 15 street i vote yes michael johns my vote is yes cheryl gaston my vote is
yes. Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Iowyn, my vote is yes.
Dishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you. Thank you very much,
members of the board. Thank you.
Thank you.
Number
nine, MI2025
000470
3110 Aramingo Avenue.
Henry Clinton is the attorney.
There's a letter of support
from Southport Richmond Civic Association.
Vote was
26 in support, 6 in
opposition. Letter of non -opposition
from Councilmember Squilla.
We'll be coming back in
at the panel show, Mr. Chan. Thank you.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chan. I'm the members of the
board. Hi.
Council, could you please state your name and spell
for the stenographer? Sure. Henry
Sure. Henry Clinton, H -E -N -R -Y, Clinton, C -L -I -N -T -O -N.
Clinton, H -E -N -R -Y, Clinton, C -L -I -N -T -O -N.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Mr. Clinton, could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Sure. My client is Claudio, K -L -A -D -I -O, Byless, B as in Boyd, Y, L as in Larry, I -S.
Thank you. Our vice chair has just a few questions.
Good afternoon, Councilor. Do you agree to either read another refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
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?
We have what we supplemented today with a letter from Councilman Squilla, as well as very rough plans that my client put together, as you will see on the presentation.
Thank you, Council. Please proceed.
Thank you.
is that visible mr chairman it is sir okay uh again good afternoon henry clinton on behalf of
uh claudio bilis um for 3110 aramingo by way of background this was a physician's office on the
first floor for 50 years and a two -bedroom apartment on the second floor. We're requesting
that the commercial floor, which was a doctor's office, be residential so that you have two
two -bedroom apartments rather than a doctor's office on the first floor and one apartment
on the second. These are the table of contents A1 through A10. Here's the refusal. It is in
RSA 5 zoning district and refusal proposed use to family household living is prohibited
in this residential district.
We do have an RCO letter of overwhelming support as Chairman mentioned from Southport Richmond
Civic Association and also a letter of non -opposition from Councilman Squillett.
So this is the property right here, a two -story property on a 3100 block of Aramingo.
At the corner, there's two corner stores with apartments above, and we are right off the corner.
Doctor's office used to be on the first floor, and I don't know whether he lived above or not.
The zoning records don't indicate.
In fact, I couldn't find any zoning records.
I found some publications that I had at the end of my presentation indicating that Dr. Frank Herbert, H -E -R -B -E -R -T, had a doctor's office on the first floor.
An aerial view of 3110, just showing you the depth of the property, and there's a little outbuilding on the back.
Two gas meters. Well, actually, there's one gas meter with a hookup for a second gas meter in the basement because the commercial space is not occupied.
Again, these are shots of the basement indicating there were two hot water heaters here.
You can see the hookup for the second gas hot water here.
The one does remain.
Just some more photographs of the outside of the building.
This is a photograph of the breezeway showing you the two electric meters on the side,
and I have a close -up view of that also.
This is the first floor.
There was a powder room for the doctor's office.
This is the hallway.
um now my client just has some materials in there he's not doing any work on that
first floor at all some cabinets remaining for when the doctor was there
this is the second floor two -bedroom apartment bathroom full bath uh with the tub
toilet and vanity kitchen area
the hallway one bedroom to the right there's another bedroom in the front of the building
closer view of the front of the property postings of the placards
the plans were originally started by the architect and there was something went on
between the architect and the client so my client actually has prepared floor plans which
you'll see are very rough, but this is the site plan. Try to blow that up a little bit.
About 14 and a half wide, and the building itself is 71 deep, so it's a rather deep property.
These are the elevations as is. I showed you photographs, which basically outline what the
front of the property and the rear of the property look like. And then these are the homemade
And then these are the homemade floor plans, which my client was forced to put together on short notice.
floor plans, which my client was forced to put.
This is the waiting room of the first floor doctor's office.
There's three rooms on the first floor, and there was a half bath in the rear with a hallway.
This is existing.
And then this is the second floor apartment.
I did show you a photograph, stairs coming up, and then kitchen in the rear, and bedrooms, bathroom, excuse me, and then two bedrooms.
Let me try to blow these back up.
This is the appeal for application.
Tax clearance indicating there's zero balance on real estate taxes.
Zony map.
we're right here in the purple outline
and CMX1 is on the corner
as I said that's just two stores
with apartments above
deed indicating ownership
a notice letter to everyone in the community
and certificate
we mailed out 207 pieces of mail
and the past use of the property
Dr. Frank Herbert
And Aramingo, people told me about him.
Again, I couldn't find anything in the zoning records,
but when I went online, I was able to find out
Dr. Frank, in fact, did occupy that property.
He was a family doctor, a DO,
graduated from Des Moines University in Iowa.
So that is the presentation.
We're asking that the commercial space on the first floor basically be switched to residential because there's no commercial use there and it hasn't been.
We have no impact of light and air on any adjacent properties.
We're generally in conformance with the code.
It is a residential district.
We're going to try to maintain two uses but for the commercial.
We provided evidence of past use of the first floor, indicating that there were two uses in play.
And we're basically in harmony with the code and in harmony with the desires of the community group.
That is the presentation.
And Mr. Byless, if you're on the call.
Mr. Clint, do we know where the next door neighbor is on this?
I think Mr. Byless can talk to that, Mr. Chairman.
Why don't you bring him on?
Okay. Mr. Bailas, can you raise your hand?
Claudio?
You should be coming back in as a panel shortly.
Thank you.
You hear me?
Yes, we can. Sir, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Hi, my name is Claudio Bylis, K -L -A -U -D -I -O, and last name Bylis, B -Y -L -I -S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, Mr. Clinton.
Yeah, Mr. Bylis, were you on the call when I presented the project?
And did you hear the chairman's question about your neighbor next to you, adjacent to the property?
okay and uh do you know what the position of your neighbor is
you indicate you talk to the neighbor um yeah i talked to the neighbor she rented out the place
she's not living there anymore okay and was she okay with the continued use of this property
Yes, she was okay.
And when did you talk to her?
She moved to Delaware.
I talked to her.
I don't remember.
It's been some months.
I don't remember exactly.
If you had the opportunity, Mr. Biles, to testify,
would you adopt my testimony as your own?
And that's true and correct.
Thank you, Mr. Biles.
questions from the board
yeah what are i'll go ahead mike no no go ahead what are the number of bedrooms on each of the
floors that are going to be proposed uh we're going to keep the two bedrooms on the second
floor and there'll be two bedrooms on the first floor is there going to be a similar layout to
the second floor yes except on the first floor to the left uh there's going to be a another half
bath in the back in the back of the building uh this diagram here was prepared by an
And this diagram here was prepared by an architect because there was a make -safe payment, excuse me, make -safe permit required for the rear wall.
And the architect only went this far, and that's why my client had to draw those handmade plans that I presented.
Not what I usually like to present, but that's what we were left with.
So to answer your question, two bedrooms on the first floor.
The handmade plans are also trying to report on existing conditions and not proposed.
Well, basically, this is existing, and the proposed will be two bedrooms and a kitchen similar to up here.
I guess my question is around the division between the commercial space and the current residence,
and how does the current resident
get to the second floor residential space?
Okay, so there is the front door
and then it would come down the hallway
to the stairs
and the stairs will bring you up to the second floor
and there's going to be a door
at the top of the stairs.
So what's the separation
for the commercial space?
this right right now you're showing a waiting room and then the hallway for the commercial space
i would have to walk through it to get to the stairway to get to the residential unit so how
are we separating these two legally separating these two residential units so that the two
tenants um one person isn't walking through the other person's apartment can i can i talk
Yeah, the first door is the main door that both they go inside,
and it's a little hallway.
And on the left side is the door that you go to the first floor,
and in the front is the door that you go upstairs.
So is this existing?
Because you're speaking about it.
Existing.
It's an existing vestibule that's not shown in this diary.
Yeah, it's existing, yes.
And then does the existing doctor's office already have
like a kitchenette or something that has has a water access yes where is that kitchenette
can you no that is not kitchen only only uh only a half bath that's all it's only a half bath
currently in the office correct yes where what so what is your plan for like the kitchen for this
new apartment?
We're going to
demo the interior
and build
the kitchen, build it
in the back.
Where the bathroom
is? Correct. Near to
the bathroom. Near to the bathroom.
It's going to be the same layout like the
second floor. Same layout.
And the
second floor is
is already laid out as an apartment correct correct um do you have photos of the second floor yes
this is the the front bedroom the second floor this is the middle bedroom this is the hallway
so one photograph was of the front one photograph was all of the bedroom there
went the wrong way sorry kitchen
two shots of the kitchen and then the bathroom and and then now i'm back to the first floor so
there are the four or five photographs from the second floor so where's the living room
of the apartment on the second floor there is no living room there's no living room in a two -bedroom
apartment correct just two bedroom apartments and one kitchen it was an existing so it's like him
all right so so henry um i i think what we need to do with this we we need to go back to the
drawing board a little bit and um i i know you we had a little bit of a hard time here with
an architect or whatever but i i think he's got to do the drawings better that will express what
the first floor is going to look like and then what's on the second floor and and i i do think
it's kind of hard to say well i got a two -bedroom apartment but there's no living room so i i think
you got to go back and take a look at everything you have and come back for a resumptive hearing
and then and then present it again that's fair i think specifically you need to show how you're
getting light and air into the bedrooms because the photos you showed don't look like they meet
current code. Okay. Will do. Understand.
will do
I understand
we're going to have a resumptive hearing on 8 -19
at 9 -30 a .m
and I appreciate
you hearing this case
thank you
thank you
I have one more case I want to hear before you
number 10
MI 2025
000481
1507 West Tioga Street
Joseph Consul is the attorney.
Okay, they should be coming back in as a panelist now, sir.
Good afternoon.
Mr. Consul, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Yes, it's Joseph Consul, J -O -S -E -P -H, last name C -O -N -S -O -L -E.
Do you swear we're referring to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Mr. Consul, could you identify your client, a relationship to this property?
My client is Harrington Holdings, LLC.
Its principal representative, Igor Avrantiner, is going to be on the call.
and could you um our vice chair has just a few questions good afternoon counsel do you agree to
waive the read another refusal or stipulate to attack proceed yes 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 thank you counsel please proceed please proceed all right that should be my packet
for 1507 West Tioga Street.
My client, Harrington Holdings LLC,
purchased this property in 2024.
The property is not occupied.
However, if you go back into the record,
you'll see that in 1951,
the property was approved for, built,
and got a CO for three units.
There's no further updates in the record since then.
That's the only thing that this property has ever been approved for.
However, with the lack of keeping up with any rental license and the property being zoned as RSA 3, in order to re -legalize the three -unit use, we need to get this refusal.
And by virtue of it being RSA 3, it also generated a second refusal regarding an off -street parking space.
but as you'll see in in the photos there's no that that's not something that is able to be
created here so our request is to approve the three unit space here we went in front of the
nice town tioga rco we got their full support they issued a number of things they called provisos
though i don't believe they're enforceable but i i do believe to the extent we can we've we've
worked with all of their requests
it's a proof of mailing
is the outside of the property see it's got a small alley uh that leads to the back but um
nothing that could accommodate a motor vehicle
another angle
is that a three -story home right yes okay you can see the third story yeah yep thank you and
it matches the other properties
our tax clearance certificate um these are some things we had sent to the rco regarding the
request they made to clean up the yard coming along. And here's
interior photos. These are mockups. They wanted to see
proposed finished interiors. And we kind of my client used what
was there and sort of mocked it up as to how he envisions it.
looking upon approval and completion, but these are the actual
rooms just with some additional post finishes.
Here's the layout.
RCO really wanted stacked washer dryers in each unit, and this is the plan we sent them
that points out my client has plans that anticipate including them in each unit and where they are.
plans that anticipate including them in each unit and where they are. We've got a ground floor unit
with two bedrooms, living room, kitchen. Second floor unit, two bedrooms, living room, kitchen.
Third floor is one bedroom, living room, and kitchen in it. There's a small roof deck off
the back of the third floor. The basement has no living in it.
and these are a few least things we had sent to the rco that is not really relevant for
the zba today they wanted us to us to install motion sensor lights my client did that
they're the property manager information we did that as well we tried to just really go down their
list and comply with everything here's the side alley looks leading into the backyard that i'll
obviously be um touched up and made nicer upon my clients work being performed here's the deed
showing harrington holdings llc took possession i'm sorry it's the end of 2023 i said 2024 that was my
mistake. Tax clearance. And just some things from our application. We already showed that.
We showed the tax clearance. All right. With that, I'll call my client, Igor, to raise his hand.
They should be coming back into the panel as well.
hi sir could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
sure igor avrotner i -g -o -r -a -v -r -a -t -i -n -e -r do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the
whole truth nothing but the truth yes sir please proceed counsel mr avrotner did you hear my
testimony just now regarding your property at 1507 West
Tioga Street? Yes. Do you adopt it as your own?
Yes. I have nothing further. Questions from the
board.
Yes, where's the trash being stored?
Igor? So the trash is going to be on the side of the house.
I can. Yes.
uh we had a better alley photo when he's gonna get to it sorry to make everyone sick this that
might do it go and we'll have the um trash uh lockers essentially for the for the three units
other questions
questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair. Just, Mr. Consul, the zoning archive information that you just showed that that wasn't in the exhibit packet that was submitted. So if you'd like to include that for the record, please submit that by close of business tomorrow. Thank you.
Absolutely.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience or the present audience?
chair i see a hand up from charles richardson i have allowed them to uh
speak they'll be back in short last panel hi mr richardson you've already been sworn to state
your name for the record good afternoon again mr chair sure just state your name mr richardson
charles richardson r -i -c -h -r -d -s -o -n office of councilwoman cindy bass room 508 city hall
the councilwoman has no opposition to granting the variance thank you very much is there anyone
else in the audience i see no further than that mr chairman commission amy boyd with the planning
commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location from the current
rsa3 residential single family the proposed use is consistent with documents of prior use
planning commission recommends that the board grant the request of variance for multifamily
Thank you. MI2025 -000481 -1507 -West Tioga Street, I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Tiohwin, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shahid, my vote is yes.
Thank you. Mr. Nockamson.
Thank you.
For our council, Mr. Nockamson has already finished one, two, and three.
we have four and then there's two more he has after that
so mi2025 000 453 3440 north 18th street
four five three thirty four forty north 18th street um just for the record state your name
alan knockamson and mr knockamson could you um identify your client the relationship to this
property uh yes my client is wise holdings group llc and in the virtual audience is brian wise
one of its members and do we have an rco letter as of yet so this is the same rco um that for
35 13 or 23rd so we had i met with them the same day in the same community meeting for separate
projects for separate clients again as an officer of the court i would say that they were supportive
of this project i've asked for a letter multiple occasions i have not received one our vice chair
has a couple of questions good afternoon counsel do you agree to weigh the reading of the refusal
or stipulate towards accuracy i do have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits
as needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing yes thank you council
please proceed all right so you'll see the front of this property on the front page of my
presentation materials we have been here before regarding this property at 3440 north 18th street
we have approval from the zba for four units unfortunately given the current market uh
conditions of rising interest rates and and and the construction costs they couldn't afford to
build it was too big so they have reduced the size of it but kept the four units um and so we're
seeking you know essentially re -approval of of this matter um there are 12 exhibits uh that are
my presentation materials we sent a notice to the community which included 96 affected properties
and we do have revised plans so if this board feels so inclined to grant the variance i would
ask with revised plans again we tried to we did meet with the community they were supportive of
this project just like they were supportive last time they understood that we just couldn't build
it you know based on the size of the building structure uh so again the one refusal we have
is the fact that this is an rsa 5 property um and we're seeking four units again this board
has granted four units in the past for this property um and um this is a rather large lot
is 2315 square feet again we try to get a letter from the community group for whatever reason we
have not received it but again as an officer of the court i will tell you that they i i heard them
vote uh in favor of this project and i believe there were two other affected rcos similar to my
project on north 23rd street um where they also voted the same way and and so alan this was
approved in 22 uh yes it's right here all right and then and then you just didn't get a chance to
build it we couldn't build it honestly it's just it was just too big it was just it just could we
could not get financing um and the numbers didn't like work so we're going to build it now yeah
yeah hopefully i mean they're paying me they're paying me twice for this so all right please
proceed uh so again not out of character anyway um just to go rehash the presentation from last
time but you'll see there are multiple instances on on uh 18th street where there's multifamily
uh which is consistent with what you're seeing here for multifamily for rsa5 properties actually
across the streets arm one as well and then photographs of the property you know front
and it's been vacant since you know 2008 you know you can see our plans and drawings we try
to mimic the architecture of the nearby property so this is a porch neighborhood so it's very
important to make sure that that's what we did here you know there's a cornice line that's
pronounced there's lentils for each of the windows and there's a flat building facade with you know
bricks what is different from this project is from the previous iteration is that it was important
for the community to see a way for light in there for the basement level uh so this isn't a rendering
of the what would the front and the back would be like um but it's fully glassed up on the lower
level where someone can actually have nice light in there and it's not window wells like again to
try to put as much light in there in the lower level and i think the community was very appreciative
of that but again the floor plans are pretty basic um you go you know front you know front porch
you have unit one which is a first floor and lower level unit number two is first floor in the rear
lower level unit numbers three and four you come from the second floor it's third floor second
floor and third floor by levels same thing front and rear but let's go back so the first time was
no basement living right there was no basement living but this is a different plan this is all
right yeah and i and i we we because we knew how the board reacted last time and by the way the
and i and i we we because we knew how the board reacted last time and by the way the community
community
reacted last time the community was the one who dictated that they wanted no basement living
you know as part of that plan that's why we you know we collaborated with christopher johnson the
architects representative of 24 7 design and we again just to highlight this it's a pronounced
almost lower level where there's a lot of light and air um down there and i think all right and
that's basically it um you know we can go through you know we have the deed we have everything else
but uh you know i'd be more than happy to take any questions from the board and so let me just
show so shows the all four units right i did show them could you do one more time okay sure
oh yeah yeah all right so again if you want if you go through the porch area yeah yeah you have
a vestibule area well not vestibule hallway right um and here's unit number one which is a two
bedroom one bath you have the first floor kitchen right and then living area and then you have
downstairs you have a bedroom and an office down there okay uh that's i would say unit one right
the front unit number two is in the rear again you have a open floor plan here with lower level
you have a bedroom and an office again these pronounced areas of instead of heavy window
wells you have a lot of light in there down there with basically a sliding glass door for both of
them instead of going to the first floor and lower level you go up the flight of steps to unit number
two uh which is in on the landing to left i mean excuse me unit number three and that is also two
bedrooms and that's two and a half baths and these are by levels going from the second floor okay to
the third floor and that's you know you know front and back why don't you bring a client on all right
so um there should be a brian wise in the virtual audience
they should be coming back in as a panel shortly thank you
is accepted invite to become panelists
good afternoon hi could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer and if you
would would you please turn on your uh video yes thank you uh brian b -r -i -a -n wise w -i -s -e
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes i do please proceed counsel uh yes brian you heard everything i had to say today about
your zoning matter? Yes, I did. Is it true and correct? Yes, it is. And do you adopt as your
own testimony? Yes, I do. And then specifically, there was a long discussion at the community
meeting about the fact that there was a proviso for a lack of basement living for the original
project, and a discussion about how you modified your plans significantly to provide that light
in air in the front and in the back for units one and two is that correct correct and the community
has no objection to allowing this basement living uh for this project right no thank you all right
questions from the board yeah house um how large is the rear yard uh the rear yard is nine feet
and then do there's only that one i'm sorry i'm sorry it's not an IP that's the requirement
it's 40 feet 10 inches it's large who has access to the rear yard i believe that would be a site
plan um that's my fault if there was no site plan let me just take a look um i would and
brian correct me if i'm wrong that would only be the the rear unit on the first floor is that
correct yes that would be one f i'm sorry one r yes here it is i just glossed over it can you see
it i can increase oops and they're exiting through what is it the kitchen that's at the rear uh yes
i believe let me just take a look at the corresponding floor plans oops that's way small
all right let's go
let's see
okay and then
for the two
egress walkouts and for that
courtyard the light well
is there any sort of security
grading that's anticipated
to be covering the opening
yes a metal
railing around those
openings
things a railing around them or covering around it like on on grade level so so someone doesn't
obviously fall into it yeah okay yeah protection great yeah okay any other questions then yeah
okay any other questions then yeah one more the sound separation between the two units
one more the sound separation between
on every floor do you know if anything like what provisions have been included in the wall
so i would if christopher johnson from 24 7 design we can wait for chris to come on if he's on
Mr. Chair of Council, I do not say that name in a virtual audience.
Okay. So I will say this, that Mr. Wise is a very experienced
developer and builder of new construction, and
is very aware of the issues of
living in close proximity. Why don't we ask Mr. Wise the question?
I'm sorry, Chair. There's going to be a certain factor on insulation
between the floors. I just can't remember what the factor is, so I don't want to mislead you guys, but there is
of soundproof insulation that we usually
put in between those floors.
Do you know if what you're putting in is above code?
Oh, of course,
because it has to pass with the city.
Above code, not
meeting code. Oh, above, not at all. I'm sorry.
It should be at or above.
One I would suggest you do above, typically
bedrooms like this don't touch in
most buildings of this size and scale,
so it is a little dense
for typical
row house block.
So that was just one thing I'd like to add out. And then, Mr. Weiss, how many tenants are you sort of anticipating having in each unit?
No more, hopefully no more than two. I know that the third unit, fourth unit are two bedrooms apiece.
And then the first floor units are one bedroom.
Yep. OK. Other questions from the board?
I have a question. So the footprint, the original footprint that you showed us for the first time that was approved, that has been shortened, correct, on this time?
Significantly.
Okay. But the unit number has not been shortened?
No, it hasn't. I think there were larger units in the sense of more bedrooms for the units.
Okay. And the other question was, did we talk about the trash?
uh we would we would agree to a proviso for trash to be stored indoors i believe there's
accommodations for each of the units i have to take a closer look at the floor plans but typically
when we're working with mr wise and mr johnson's architecture firm we typically have trash closets
in the kitchen areas in each unit yeah okay other questions yes um in the last plan you had
no basement living no bathroom in the basement now you're gonna have basement living and
so why did it change i think the design was more appetizing to the community like it's the same
community um they even remember the project i mean this was when we were doing them during the
pandemic i think it was one of the first community meetings we had in person um during the pandemic
And we met many times. And I think the community was a little bit concerned about the living in the basement, given, you know, the degraded window wells. And here we made a significant effort to add a lot of light and air for those individuals. So it wasn't dark. And there was a there was an honest conversation during the community meeting about that, because we showed them the zoning permit. And, you know, it's the provisos on there. Just, again, the same presentation.
When I speak as well, Alan, it was also because the window wells were windows that people had to climb out of, whereas these are ones they can walk out of.
So that's why we revised it, which made it more convenient for people to get out.
So then what is the height, then, of this basement?
Or what do we...
I'm going to take a look.
Let me share my screen.
It could be nine feet, but you can check.
uh it is nine feet two inches based on this calculation five feet six inches and three feet
six inches right here so we're like three and a half feet out of the ground on the lower level
yeah okay all right thank you
okay all right thank you questions from our attorney
i just wanted to know mr chair we did receive one page of revised plans for this case i
didn't include that in your notes revised plans yes one page if the board decides the grant thank
you today's date may 14th actually i do have one more question for mr wise given that the
the rear yard is so big are you going to be doing maintenance on the rear yard or is that going to
be assessed to the tenant in that fourth unit well that the rear yard is going to be concrete so it's
not like it's going to have grass for um landscaping so it's going to be you know concrete
so it's very um effective economically for for them to maintain it got it okay and were there
any other RCOs present besides
Allegheny, Wes?
Nicetown, Tioga,
names escaping me, but he was there
and he was very vocal and
he's the individual who remembered
that we had like four community
meetings previously and about
the proviso previously about the
no basement. Yeah, that's what's concerned
to me that they provide no basement
living and then you shorten the building
and you still put basement living and still
number so um and i don't have we don't have a letter so my concern is that yeah i again i i
think i heard charles richardson before you know we've been trying to get a hold of of the rco
maybe he spoke to them about this project as well okay questions or comments from the virtual audience
yes chair i have a hand up from charles richardson i will promote them again
okay i'm back um i don't think you ever leave but that's besides the point
just for the record state your name charles richardson the office of councilwoman cindy
bass please uh yes sir uh same situation uh as with the last the uh the the um
Um, our CEO was not able to get the letter out to you guys.
And, uh, you know, they are, they are supportive, uh, with regard to that.
Now, Mr. Stevenson, who was with Tioga United also sent in, uh, a, uh, text to me as well.
And he said, I don't, I really don't like basement living for 3440.
But now let me ask a question.
Was there some kind of aspect with regard, and Alan, you can answer this,
whether there was some aspect of handicap because he said but if he did change the handicap
portion we can support now and i didn't hear any any uh statement made with regard to a
handicap portion of this or uh involvement with this project uh but you know he's still saying
he doesn't really like the basement living for 30 for 34 40 yeah all i can say is that we spoke
to to don at the meeting and he's he stated the same thing like i i typically don't like
basement living here he said i understood i don't know what that means um but he understood that we
you know that we couldn't do it because we have these bi -level uh units um it's just the economic
realities i mean you know if if we're forced to have no basement living here i just don't know
if this is a viable project um and you know that's for the board to charles the original uh
rco is in favor he she said that they they're there for it yes allegheny west all right thank
you other questions or comments from the virtual audience i see no further answer mr chair planning
commission amy boyd with the planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change in
zoning at this location from the existing RSA 5 residential single family the appellant has
demonstrated the requested variance is the least minimum the planning commission recommends that
the board grant their requested variance for multifamily thank you MI 2025 000453 3440
north 18th street I vote yes proviso revised plans one page stamped 51425 Michael Johns my vote is
yes with proviso. Cheryl Gaston, my
vote is yes with proviso. Taneta Graham, my
vote is yes with proviso. Tywin, my vote is yes with proviso.
Mishmel Shahid, my vote is yes with proviso.
We have
11 and 13 together. Thank you, boy.
Pardon me? Oh, thank you, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. I'm sorry. Oh, sure. Thank you very much for
participating. So number 11 is 2025, zero, zero.
participating. So number 11 is 2025 -000 -483 -2611 Catherine Street and number 13 is MI -2025 -000 -533 -2613
Catherine Street. There's a letter of non -opposition from South of South Neighborhood Association,
a letter of support from north washington avenue coalition um also a petition signed by 24
signatures but we do have a letter of opposition from a gentleman who i believe lives nearby yes
i don't have that letter so if if you can send me that letter i would appreciate just for our
records it's a pretty lengthy okay so some of the so we have a letter and we have a couple people
that submitted things via the comment section in the upload tool so i will copy and paste that into
an email for you thank you i appreciate it mr knockamson could you identify your client
and the relationship to the properties yes my clients are vincent and yardice jones the owners
of the property or and our vice chair has a few questions good afternoon council do you agree to
way to read another refusal or stipulate to its accuracy 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
i have thank you counsel please proceed all right thank you um in my opinion this is the most benign
of the projects i presented today um if you you know you'll see you want to go back and look at
the other ones or i think those are the heavier lifts these are two single family homes okay in
graduate hospital the only variant and by the way this uh package has 12 exhibits uh we mailed uh
283 uh notices for 26 11 for the community meeting and for we mailed 280 283 notices uh for the
community meeting for 26 11 286 notices for the community meeting for 26 13 they were heard
together like they're being heard together today for purposes of efficiency here i'm making one
combined presentation I do have these are separate zoning matters and I do have separate
presentation matters that were submitted to the board again we have 12 exhibits here so the notice
of refusal these are small lots you know each lot is 560 square feet these are RSA 5 lots
all we're trying to do is put a single family house on both and we're getting a refusal due
due to the rear yard setback 2613 is we're actually going closer in conformance to the code
right now there's a building structure there that has almost no rear yard setback 2611 is
a vacant lot 2615 basically has no rear yard setback and 2609 we're matching the rear yard
setback of 2609 for 2611 2613 so we're mimicking you know what 2609 has um we like the board
chairman stated we have a letter of non -opposition from sasna we have a letter of support uh from the
other coordinating rco north of washington avenue coalition there is also another letter like that
they sent i just want to recognize it they have a letter seeking to dismiss our our appeal because
they uh noah was not part of the community input process with sasna so i think there's some
infighting between them and they said we we weren't we weren't like given the invitation
to participate with you internally so this this appeal should be dismissed that's either neither
here nor there but again well attended meeting um we do have revised plans so this is at the request
of sasana we are mirroring the um the steps the front steps and also we're mirroring the the um
the pilot houses so it's actually a better project in this way the pilot houses are now
combined in the middle like for 26 and 11 and 13. they're further away from 26 15 and 2609 so it's
less likely we would affect anyone's light in there in that respect and that was at the request
of sasna petition that was there um ariel mr knockamson just to clarify there's only revised
plans for um 26 11 right not for 26 13 right yeah let me take a look at that you you're it's only
for one so let me just clarify that i think it's only the one that was getting uh that's right
because 2613 the pilot house was a certain way the steps were a certain way they wanted us to
they wanted us to mirror it so we changed it for 26 11. that's correct thank you for the clarification
mirror it so we changed it for 2611 that's correct
um aerial views and this these pictures aren't the best but like i just wanted to highlight this
this is 2609 based on our calculation theory yard setbacks five feet which is similar to what we're
requesting 26 11 that's our property it's a vacant lot we're mimicking their their but
their back of their building structure 2613 you really can't see it this well but like our building
structure kind of goes out to here so by demolishing 20 the building structure for 2613
and building this three -story single -family home we're we're going closer in conformance with the
code from the rear yard setback situation and then 2615 again you really can't see it but their
building structure goes much further you know back here too um so again i think this is a project
that's the minimus in nature um and this is from a street uh perspective these were the issues at
the community meeting for the people who did have issues um first there was concern that we're going
to add a fourth story and then convert it into a duplex and as i stated during the hearing i mean
community meeting if we were going to do that we have to come back we have to get a height variance
and we have to get multi you know multi -family variance second thing is and i think this had to
deal with one of the neighbors was like okay now you're building a three -story structure which is
next to my three -story structure wants to stop you or your or the person who's living on on the
at that property from jumping from one roof deck to the next we all live in row at least i live in
the row home in philadelphia like you know what's stopping it is it would be illegal to trespass
and you know it just didn't make sense to me but that was their concern like someone's going to be
able to go on to his deck and vice versa so that was the other issue and then the third issue was
during construction you know what's to stop you from coming on to our properties there's a there's
a little bit of a wild west back here um in you know the city owns this land but it's really open
back there there's not a lot of fencing back there and you know there was concern that we're going to
leverage this additional land like you know in a way that was going to affect their property
rights and we're not going to do that there was also concern even the letter how are you going
these are smaller lots like how are you going to deal with construction well you would deal with
construction like you would deal with any construction what you know and this these
are single family homes and obviously we'd be respectful and we indicated to the owners of
2609 and 2615 that you know there are rights that they have under the philadelphia code in terms of
notice in terms of additional insurance requirements and things like that this is
this is for zoning and you know based on you know what we're requesting these are de minimis
variances so i'll just quickly go through um the plans um again if you see here this is the site
plan but what we did at the request of sasna is to now mimic the pilot house as i believe the
pilot house for 2611 that's here was originally here which to the person at 2609 they may have
appreciated that the pilot house was here to kind of give them privacy you know from what was here
you know with their house you know and maybe that was their concern that we can jump from place to
place but from a light and air perspective and from a design perspective sasna wanted this pilot
house to be there and we accommodated them if the board doesn't feel inclined you know to grant
with the proviso well at very least they should grant it uh period with no proviso
and then in terms of the height our height is in line with you know properties on that block
where 33 feet 8 inches again there's a mix between two stories and three story structures
and then again this is a single family uh situation here you walk into a common uh well
you walk into your front door you have a living room dining room kitchen not the biggest backyard
but no one has a really big backyard lower level you have like some additional living
second floor you have two bedrooms and a bathroom and a washer and dryer and in in the primary and
the third floor you have a primary suite with a roof deck the other accommodations we made besides
you know transitioning to the pilot house on 2611 and marrying the steps as well is we
we accommodated sasna in terms of the color of materials as well as having metal cladding for
the pilot house also what was asked of us again because it's a smaller block in a smaller neighborhood
was to make the parapet see -through and clear um you know again we're allowed to have a pair
see -through and clear um you know again we're allowed to have a parrot we're required to have
we're required to have a parapet of three and a half
a parapet of three and a half feet instead of having brick now it's see -through so it meets you
know the um safety requirements but also now it's lighter to the look of the property so it doesn't
look as high but again we're only 33 feet eight inches from the roof line anyway and then you can
see here how we kind of blend in this is a rendering of our properties and how we blend
into the community um so there are three story structures on that block and um i think that's
the extent of my presentation obviously we have the other documents the deed proof of mailing of
the community notice and the tax clearance certificate why don't you bring your client
yeah um so i would ask that either your niece or or vincent uh to uh appear um and be sworn in i
will say this my clients are were lived on the property at 26 13 for some time they moved down
to florida their their intentions to move back to philadelphia live in one of the single family
structures and sell the others sell the other one sure okay
do we see a hand
I'm here. I'm here. I don't know why you please video. All right. Could you please state your name
and spell for the stenographer? Yes. My name is Yardis Jones. That's Y -A -R -D -I -S -E Jones,
J -O -N -E -S. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do, yes.
Please proceed, counsel.
Yes, you heard everything I had to state today about your zoning matters.
And what I stated, is that true and correct?
That is correct.
And do you adopt it as your own testimony?
Yes, I do.
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
Questions or comments from our attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Yes, Chair, I have a hand up from a Tom Gibbons.
I promoted them.
They should be back in shortly.
Tom Gibbons, please accept the invitation for panelists.
Hi, Mr. Gibbons.
Hi, everybody.
Hi, Mr. Gibbons.
uh do i have to say my name uh tom yeah please could you please turn on your video if you have
a video there yeah yeah of course uh hi mr gibbons could you please stay your name and spell for the
stenographer uh no problem tom gibbons g -i -b -b -o -n -s right do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yeah mr gibbons you live uh right next to one of
these properties am I correct yes okay please start your presentation yeah no problem I don't
have much of a presentation it's more of just like a comment that I wanted to like circle back
and highlight briefly on like what one of the issues on the previous community meeting was
and similarly what to what Alan kind of talked about but just to add more clarity to the statement
like there are fences that separate all the houses between you know 26 21 26 19 26 17 26 15 myself
and 2609 um so that's like my only point from the project planning perspective is that you know the
execution the project would like to keep in mind or you know i personally and selfishly would like
to keep in mind that if there were plans to go through people's backyards i understand that we
would probably get some kind of notification but that would be my only like point is that you know
a lot of these families do have kids a lot of these families have pets we like utilize our backyard
You know, I bought my house in 2020. They've been there since then. So I'm not really sure what that point's talking about. A lot of us work remotely. Some of us work remotely that like project plan would highly disrupt my day to day life. That's really about it. I know I submitted a written testimony with pictures to kind of.
I saw I have your letter. Yeah, no, that's but that's about it. I don't have any opposition as to like execution of, you know, updating houses. That's everyone's prerogative. But my only, you know, quarrel would be if people were to go through people's backyards without kind of consideration. But, you know, that's it. I appreciate the time. And thank you for taking the time, Nicole. We appreciate it. Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
I do not see any further answer, Mr. Chair.
Plenty, Commission.
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission. This testimony will be both for 2611 and 2613 Catherine Street. The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location within the current RSA 5.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location within the current RSA -5 residential single family.
The plan has demonstrated that the requested setback would not injure the use of adjoining properties and is in character with the surrounding properties.
The Planning Commission recommends that the board grant the requested variance for rear yard setback.
Thank you.
Hillary, so number 2611 is revised plans?
Yes, Mr. Chair.
So I'm going to vote them separately.
Yes, we do.
We vote them separately.
Thank you.
11 MI 2025 000 483 2611 Catherine Street. I vote yes. Revised plans stamp 51425.
Michael Charles, my vote is yes with proviso.
Gerald Gaston, my vote is yes with proviso.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with proviso.
Tywin, my vote is yes with proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with proviso.
And number 13, MI2025 -000533 -2613,
Castle Street, I vote yes.
John, my vote is yes.
Gerald Gaston, my vote is yes.
Taneta Graham, my vote is yes.
Tywin, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Have a great day.
All right.
We're going to take a five -minute break,
and we'll be right back.
And then we only have, pardon me?
oh is there anyone i don't think is there anyone in the audience that the case is not
going to call for the two o 'clock list chair i do not see any hands raised
good afternoon everyone my name is bill bergman and i will be chairing this zoning board hearing
With me is our Vice Chair, Ismail Shahid.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our Board Member, Cheryl L. Gaston.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our Board Member, Tanetta Graham.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board Member, Michael Johns.
If not, he'll be right in need.
I'm probably less than five minutes.
That's why the problem is.
And our Board Member, Tyah Wynn.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also, here is Hillary Emerson, our Attorney,
our Executive Director of the Zoning Board,
Ian Haggerty,
and our Board Administrator, Lakeisha Dandy.
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So let's look at our schedule for this afternoon.
number one mi 2024 004050 2155 castor avenue that case is continued
what's the date mr chair um 12 325 at 3 30 p .m thank you number five mi 2024 007 587
what's the date mr chair um 12 -3 -20
1402 1408 to 12 north 50 street that case is continued to 12 325 at 330 and number six
MI 2024 -007 -588 -4361 -63 North 9th Street.
That case is continued to 12 -325 -330.
Are there any other requests for continuances?
Mr. Chair, can we see if there's anyone here
for 4361 -63 North 9th Street?
Anyone for the applicant?
We are just a little unclear
who the applicant is here.
We have a couple of names
of llc okay as well as someone who's committed an email all right so mi 2024 007 588 4361 to 63
north knight street quality real estate quality real estate inc is the listed applicant hunting
accuracy acquisitions is the listed owner anyone in the audience
good evening mr chair this is jason hand i will be your calls for the session
I do not see any hands raised for the matter.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I just wanted to note for the record, we believe that an attorney is probably needed in this case.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Is there a Portuguese interpreter in the virtual audience?
Well, Mr. Chair, again, I do not see any hands raised.
Okay, so MI 2024 -007 -544 -7001 -35, Caster Avenue. Daniel Silva is the listed applicant. Caster Gas is the listed owner. We have no exhibits. This is the first listing.
Yeah, I do not see that name in the audience, but I have a hand up from a Monica Aguiar. I can allow them to speak very briefly.
Monica Aguiar please unmute
yes I am
a Portuguese interpreter
okay sure so could you stand by
could you please see if Daniel
Silva or
Caster Gas is in the
audience
Daniel Silva
está na audiência
and by the way let me
Daniel Silva
interpreter could you do me a favor yes all right
do you soundly swear or affirm that you will interpret accurately completely
and impartially from english to portuguese and from portuguese to english to the best of your
ability yes i do thank you very much and could you state your name for us my name is monica
aguiar m -o -n -i -c -a aguiar a -g -u -i -a -r thank you very much is there a do do we see anyone
daniel silva at all respond daniel silva daniel silva está presente
the interpreter doesn't hear anybody okay okay so there's no hands okay so this is the first
listing, MI 2024 -007 -544 -701 -35, Castro Avenue. This case will be continued. Mark must be heard.
The case is continued to 12 -3 -2025 at 3 .30 p .m. And Interpreter, thank you very much.
Thank you very much for having me.
Could you put it on record, but there's no one answered, but okay. Interpreter,
could you do me a favor could you please state the date 12 -3 -20 -25 at 3 30 will be the next hearing
okay a próxima audiência será no no dia 3 de dezembro de 2025
thank you very much interpreter thank you for your help thank you very much for having me
The interpreter will now leave. Okay, thank you very much. Number three, MI 2024 -007 -541 -4329
Glendale Avenue. William O 'Brien is the attorney.
so brian could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer
yes good afternoon yes good afternoon william w -y -l -l -i -a -m o 'brien
yes good afternoon william w -y -l -l -i -a -m o 'brien o -b -r -i -e -n in the manioc law office
i'm here on behalf of teodosio santiago all right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth nothing but the truth i do our vice chair has a few questions sir
good afternoon counsel do you agree to wait to read another refusal or stipulate towards accuracy
i do have you emailed them all the required documents and exhibits as needed
to proceed with this case five days
in advance of this hearing. Yes, I did.
Thank you, counsel. Please proceed.
Thank you. May I share my screen?
Please.
Mr. O 'Brien,
could you address the issue of the RCO?
Yes. On
April 8th, Mr.
Santiago, who's sitting to my left,
and I attended the meeting of the
Juniata Park Civic Association. There are
approximately 28 people there.
Ms. Kate
Clark is their
president. We received their support. However, the letter has not been received. I did speak
to the Councilman Lizardo's office. They're aware of the support, and they say the letter
will come, but they're just not sure. Okay, thank you very much.
I'm looking on my screen as to how I can share my screen, and I don't see it.
There we go. Thank you.
Let me give a brief introduction and narrative as to why we're here.
And it's unfortunate. I think it's a mistake.
Nothing's come up though, by the way.
Now I can.
Here it's coming up now.
A brief narrative just to introduce why we're here. And I,
I think it's, it's an unfortunate mistake.
um mr santiago bought this property as a triplex in 2008 the deed is attached to page 29 of the
exhibits um it was a triplex it was three three apartments he had they were all occupied he got
leases when he bought the building in 2016 he was issued a permit over the counter for a three -family
dwelling. That's also in the documents. It's on page 18. In 2023, Mr. Santiago found out that he
needed a rental license for these three units. So he went to the concourse level to get a rental
license. He met the person at the counter. The person at the counter told him, well, you can't
get a rental license because this is zoned single family. You need to get a variant. You need to go
to the zoning. You're going to have to file a zoning application, which will wind up taking you
to the zoning board. He did that. He contacted me in the beginning of 2024 when he was on the cusp
of coming to the board on that application, that refusal. I reviewed the file, reviewed the atlas.
I saw the 2016 zoning permit and I said, this is a mistake. You don't need a zoning permit. You have
a valid zoning permit. So I withdrew that action, that appeal. We then filed an appeal or an
application with LNI for a certificate of occupancy to make sure that the three units were fire code
safety, fire code compliant. And I'll go through that briefly in the package. After the original
submission of the plan, the request for an affidavit of continuous use was submitted,
um the plan examiner issued a final statement i think it was in
maybe august or october of last year mr o 'brien after discussion with unit supervisors
it's been confirmed your project is required to obtain zoning and building permits this
application will not advance and no refusal will be issued since this is not the correct permit
type the application will be allowed to expire if it's not withdrawn so um an application was
filed for three family use it was refused and we're here today um the uh refusal
there's only one refusal and that's the the use um if the property is is the area is now
zone, RS a five, uh, and three family use is not permitted.
So this, uh, was refused, uh, the permit, the applicator, the, uh,
letter from this, the RCO is not here yet. Um,
the property itself, I have both interior and exterior photographs.
They were taken with different cameras. So they're a little bit difficult to,
you're a little bit difficult to uh center okay so that's the facade of the property 20
Okay, so that's the facade of the property, 4329 Glendale Street.
That is a side view.
It's two stories from the front, three stories from the back, and the rear view.
Now, following photographs, it's a little creative here.
so there's the entrance to the ground level apartment in the evening uh it's well lit
uh the next photograph is uh the living room of the first of the ground floor apartment
uh hallway showing uh the laundry entrance to the bathroom uh the bathroom
and the bedroom this is the second floor unit um hallway showing the entrance to the bedroom
and bathroom uh the kitchen and the bathroom this is the third floor unit
which I believe is the longest tenured tenant she's been there or he's been there 10 years
the kitchen and the bathroom so as I said in 2016 Mr. Santiago went down to get a permit
FILED AN APPLICATION, APPLICATION R -26744, INDICATING THE CURRENT USE WAS THREE FAMILY AND THE PROPOSED USE WAS THREE FAMILY, STATED 10 -4 -16, THE SAME DAY A THREE FAMILY PERMIT WAS ISSUED, SAME PERMIT NUMBER 726744, FOR MULTIFAMILY HOUSING, LIVING, THREE DWELLING UNITS IN AN EXISTING STRUCTURE.
um they also as this is also part of the atlas record this is a uh an assessment record from
back in 2016 i've highlighted the date again it's the same date the address 4329 glendale
and office of property assessment has it as apartment two to four units
um so this is the application was filed march 7th of 24 to get a certificate of occupancy which
would have been a required element to get a rental license. The next page is the plan,
which goes through the exit routes, the exit distances, the fire separations,
the window sizes to demonstrate that the units are fire code compliant. And if not,
what needs to be done to make them fire code compliant. The next
page is a certificate
or an affidavit of continuous use that
the plan examiner requested. And I can read that
briefly.
It is signed and notarized, signed by Mr.
Santiago and notarized. And it says
I acquired title in 4329
Glendale Street
May 29th, 2008
At the time I purchased the property
it was configured as a three -family dwelling
and each of the units was occupied
Since 2008, each of the three units
has been continuously occupied
The three -family use of the property
has not been interrupted
nor has the three -unit configuration
of the property been modified or changed
Last year, I learned that the property
requires a rental license
I made the appointment with MSB concourse to apply for the rental license. The LNI representatives informed me that because the property is zoned for single family use, the zoning application for three family must be submitted. On July 11, 2023, I submitted the zoning application.
I contacted William O 'Brien Esquire for assistance in satisfying the public hearing requirements for the Zoning Board.
Based on the history and use of the zoning permit, Mr. O 'Brien advised me that no additional zoning authorization is necessary.
The then pending appeal, which is referenced, was withdrawn.
And then in response to this affidavit, the department decided to abandon the application for a certificate of occupancy and compel Mr. Santiago to go back to go and start all over again and file a zoning application.
If the board grants the zoning variance and allows this use to continue beyond the 18 years it already has existed, or more, Mr. Santiago will go back to where he was in March of
or more uh mr santiago will go back to where he was in march of 24 and file an application for a
certificate of occupancy and we have the documents to get hopefully get that moving soon um mr
santiago uh you heard my test could i swear him in first could mr santiago could you turn that
mic on and if he could get real close state your name and spell for the stenographer
Teodosio Santiago, T -E -O -D -O -S -I -O, Santiago, S -A -N -T -I -H -E -O.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Mr. Santiago, you were here, of course, you heard my testimony. Is it truthful and accurate?
Yes, sir.
And you adopt it as your own?
Yes, sir.
And how long have the tenants been in, say, the ground floor tenant, how long has that tenant been there?
I would say approximately three years.
okay and uh the second the first floor tenant
first will be approximately a little over four years and the top unit since 2017
about eight years okay eight years and and what are the rents for each unit top unit it's kind of
kept original top units 650 uh first unit would be east of thousand dollars and the lower level
would be 653.
Thank you. I have no further questions.
Questions from the board.
Has any
changes been made to any of the units since you
purchased the property
in 2008? No.
No? No.
And I guess
where are you currently storing trash
in the units? Or how
are you managing trash?
They have their own receptacles.
Try to keep two or three
recyclables and for trash
so they have in the front
and on the side and then they place it out
for trash on the night before
and then do all of the
tenants have access to the backyard
other questions
questions or comments from our attorney
not at this time Mr. Chair
questions or comments from the virtual audience
Mr. Chair I do not see any hand
planning commission amy board with the planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no
change in zoning at this location from the current rsa 5 residential single family the proposed use
is documented with prior use namely 2016 zoning permit for three family the planning commission
recommends the board grant the request for three family thank you mi2024 007 541 43 29 glendale
Street, I vote yes.
John, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Taneta Graham, my vote is yes.
Iowan, my vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you. All right.
MI 2024
007 -516 -823
Earp Street,
Selena and Marina
Leong.
and I think I think Ian's gonna handle this Hillary I think Ian's gonna handle this right
could you first state your name and spell for the court stenographer my name is Marina
Leong, M -A -R -I -N -A, last name Leong, L -E -O -N -G.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Our vice chair has just a few questions right here.
Good afternoon.
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed and required to
proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Thank you.
Please proceed.
I believe we're going to pull your stuff up shortly.
One second.
So it'll come up here. We're going to work your computer. It'll be up here.
Thank you. Thank you.
Why don't you start off by saying what you're trying to do?
My name is Marina. Good afternoon. I would like to present my case regarding to 823
Earp Street. My elderly parents have been living in this property for over 40, almost 40 years.
However, the past couple years, their health has been declining significantly, so we're here to request to have an additional bathroom installed in the backyard space.
All right. And just for your point, this is for the legalization of a rear addition to an existing structure, no change in the original structure height or use.
The maximum occupied area for development on intermediate lot in the RSA 5 zoning district is 75%, whereas 82 % is proposed.
is 75 percent whereas 82 percent is proposed the minimum rear yard depth for development is nine
feet whereas zero is proposed there's a letter of non -opposition from the passion square civic
association and a letter of non -opposition from council member squill so why don't you start your
presentation uh we're requesting to approve approval to install the additional bathroom
in the backyard space located on the ground floor um so that's where my parents stay most of their
time uh we're not doing this out of greed or to profit or specifically um we're just responding
to our parents declining the health and safety um we they have a hardship of going up and down
the stairs so we're trying to have a bathroom installed downstairs to reduce so do you have
drawings for what you want to do or do you have pictures um yes the architect the architecture
let's see the architectural picture um it's right there so he i do have a architecture he is
he's on zoom um to answer any like related questions good so we'll you you make the
presentation if there's something we need we'll bring him on okay um so we're trying to install
a bathroom downstairs um in the yard so that my parents have access to it to reduce the amount
of times that they go up and down the stairs um so and it we're expecting the doors to be wide
enough so that could be the walkers or wheelchairs to go in right and there's like bathroom access
for okay so that this is the back of the house correct is that adding on to the kitchen is that
where the kitchen is no that's half the backyard okay so there is a lot of other um houses that
have these additions i have one directly behind my house there's one that's next to our house
and then there's few houses there's pictures too as well um when he shows some photos um so that's
the notice that we posted um next page next page next page so here we go so these so this is like
i think to the left or the right of the house um there's a lot of additions um added as well
the neighbors yep and then a next picture also to the right or left um have additional added to
the yard. Some even have fancy decks and rooftop. We're not requesting any of that.
So somewhere to this house here that's added on the addition added on the back of the house here.
There was an addition I saw on the back of the house. So that's the back. That's the back.
Right. But you're looking to do something similar to that. Yes. Okay. Go ahead.
So the next picture was the house interior. There's no room to add additional bathroom
into the living room space and kitchen.
And then there's the next picture, I believe.
That's the current bathroom we have.
It's very small.
It seems like it's smaller than standard size
compared to the new constructions.
Then the following pictures...
Actually, the next ones are the letters
of the nine oppositions we have submitted
to the deeds, the copies of the deeds.
Was that bathroom on the second floor?
Right.
All right.
So you're going to add an addition onto the house that'll have a bathroom.
Correct.
Right.
Questions from the board.
To be clear, the addition was already built.
We're legalizing it.
That is correct.
Can you show me pictures of what was built?
I do not have pictures of that.
I could take pictures and submit that.
I feel like that's kind of critical.
Yeah, I know.
Critical.
So a question I have for you all is, how do you get into the backyard now?
because you took the rear exit egress door to create the entrance into the bathroom so there's
a um so the kitchen is um there's a door that leads to outside that door is now connected to
the bathroom correct so how do you get there's there's a if you see the i think the print um
that side right there has a door to exit to the other part of the bathroom yes so there's another
door in the bathroom to go
to the yard. So it's not a full bathroom.
It's a shed and then a bathroom inside
the shed. So it will be a
the yard is big enough to have
a stand up
shower and
bathroom, the toilet and the
washing hands.
And you guys
did this without pulling permits.
So my parents
was handling this. They had
to hire contractors. The contractor
mentioned to be able to take care of everything.
and then one day i came home i saw everything so now i'm trying to gotcha so current previously
to get from the rear of the kitchen into the backyard did you have to step down any steps
no it was wait um so when we when we go down to one sorry yeah so from the kitchen yep you
normally will exit there will be a step a one step but um the way they build it there's no it's one
but um the way they build it there's no it's one level so that they they don't have to avoid the
steps any like future accident it will so that the walkers or whatever could go through so
so here here's what we're going to do we're going to yeah we need yeah we're going to at least we
going to need to see the photos okay of the back right so hillary i don't want to i don't want to
do a resumptive i'm trying to think how we do this if we could maybe do this next week we can
we can hold the vote and close the record except for photos of what has our so what we're going to
do is we're going to hold a vote and um i need you to submit photos of what the back of the house
looks like and things like that and uh we're going to vote on this next week at 2 p .m but i want to
make sure that there's i'm going to go through the whole process right now okay um can i ask one more
So when you come back next week, did your architect do a drawing, even an as -built, of the current bathroom?
I'm not sure. He is on the Zoom, if that question could direct me.
Okay, I just, I want to...
Yeah, well, let's bring him on.
One way or the other, we're still going to have to...
We do, but there's two questions I want him to...
So if we can close it.
His name is Sam.
Is he an architect here?
Yes, he's supposed to be
Sam, you know, the farm.
Sam, please raise your virtual hand.
Do we say him?
I think we have him. Hold on a second.
He may be using the login under your name
because someone with your name is raising their hand.
Could you bring him on, please?
You'll be coming back in as a panelist.
Sure, thanks.
Hi, everyone.
Sam, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Sam Xu, S -A -M, and last name X -U.
All right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
All right.
We have a few questions for you.
Go ahead.
Sam, I have a question about the existing bathroom.
I know the intention was to have it accommodate or be accessible or semi -accessible.
Do you know if the bathroom was built with the legal ADA five -foot turning radius?
no not at all it's very small that's what i thought it didn't it didn't look like it was
okay and then i'm assuming that means that it doesn't have a roll -in shower as well
right it's a it's a tub currently the tub currently and then for the egress to the backyard
do you know what the like what's underneath because there was a previous step how is it
that grade now? Like, how do you get in and out of the, to the backyard? Oh, when the, the existing
doorway, once you step out, turn to the left, there's a new door going to the backyard. And
the entire backyard was paved concrete. So the backyard was brought up to meet the grade of the
doorway yeah exactly to be level with the interior got it and then uh do you know if there's an
exterior drain to manage stormwater runoff yes right under the uh the dust bar from the roof
okay that's a yard drain yep there's a yard and the yard drain is connected to the sewage line
inside the house okay outside outside in the backyard okay all right so i'm gonna need you
get some photos. Submit them. Hilary, we could close this, right? If we take public testimony
and the planning commission's recommendation. Why don't we take that down? Questions or comments
from the virtual audience? I do not see any hands raised. Sure. I just want to clarify for you all
that the architect did confirm my concern, which is that bathroom does not accommodate a wheelchair.
So, I think if that's something that you and your parents were intending to do, this bathroom might need to be rebuilt.
They said a pushcart that she was using.
It's the walker.
It's the walker. Okay. So, the walker is fine. Okay.
Well, go ahead. Planning Commission.
Amy Wood with the Planning Commission. The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location from the current RSA 5 residential single family.
from the current rsa five residential single family the proposal will support the appellant's
the proposal will support the
ability to age in place the planning commission recommends that the board grant their quest
variance for a max occupied area and rear yard depth okay so what we're going to do is we're
going to close this am i right hillary and you submit the photos and we're going to vote on this
next tuesday at 2 p .m next wednesday at 2 p .m yes okay all right and we will come back here you
you can listen on the you don't have to come you can listen on the phone so we just submit the
pictures you submit the pictures okay hopefully by the end of the week right i'll do tonight right
okay so all the pictures of the interior the outside right well mostly what what the shower
what this facility looks like it's currently empty inside it's just the outside is built
okay yeah yeah okay well we'll show us what i think i think exterior and interior photos of
what has been built in the current state of the backyard.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Do I have to come in too?
You don't have to.
I don't have to.
Nobody has to come in.
Just drop them off.
You can listen.
You can do whatever you want to do.
Thank you very much.
All right.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you.
I'm just doing this to double check.
Is there anyone in the virtual audience whose case has not been called?
Mr. Chair, I do not see any hands raised.
Thank you, everybody. This is the first time we've seen five o 'clock.
I want you to know that Hillary's children thanks everybody here for getting this done.