here separately received it was issued yesterday by david salini forwarded to the board council
today is our new refusal which i know some community members were curious about as well
so we received as i said our refusal for a bakery on the ground floor with two family
households living above we had requested this reconsideration due to this new tenant
and due to the fact that we had received numerous signatures in support
of this project in terms of reconsideration from other members in the immediate area as well
a reconsideration request was granted on may 9th this is on page 7 of my packet
and then we requested leave to amend our refusal
on that same day at page 8 of my packet like i said we only received that refusal today
here's what our latest proposal is members of the board because there were concerns about
what sort of tenant would be going in dotty's donuts is going to be our tenant members of the
board which is a local donut shop and i believe they may be vegan which has several locations
throughout the city and it's going to be a takeout shop they're only going to be serving coffee
donuts bagels they'll have a little bit of seating in the interior of the property but
that's about it we do have one of the rest of the principles of dottie's donuts on the line today
i hope they're still on at least only because the this presentation uh is running a little late
later than usual uh some concerns about the property uh initially were whether the
hours of operation would be open too late i believe passion square civic association was
concerned that the property not be open any later than 9 p.m uh considering this is a donut shop
they're going to start baking earlier in the morning initially at this property they're not
planning to begin baking here they're going to be bringing everything in from their west
philadelphia location but they will eventually hope to start baking here at this location which
will begin around 4 30 a.m retail store is going to be starting to open around 7 a.m and they'll
closing at 3 a.m monday through friday and 8 a.m to 3 p.m on saturday and sunday
we're hoping that this is going to be primarily foot traffic at this location
considering its location on 13th street and breed it's most of the other locations that the are
that exist in the city are also being serviced by foot traffic as well
this is my client's tax clearance certificate
This is a reposted zoning notices you'll note that we don't have the reposted new refusal in this instance members of the board and that's because, again, we received that earlier today, but we can see this is the corner property just to refresh the board's recollection. This did previously used to be a veterinary clinic on the ground story, and I believe it was either one or two units above
We have Faraghali's Bakery directly across the street at 13th and Reed.
We have commercial use. I'm not sure if this is a daycare or something else at this point, members of the board. There have been previous applications put in, but this is residential units of Bob and commercial use on the ground story.
And then we have the park directly caddy corner. So this is going to be a perfect location for a takeout donut shop for folks who want to take the dog for a walk, have a nice time in the park, go to the dog park afterwards, grab a cup of coffee on their way to the subway, anything along those lines as well.
The proposal for trash storage is going to be in the rear of the property.
What I have here, members of the board, is the original zoning packet that we submitted back at the first zoning hearing, and I'm happy to review all that as well.
I just want to remind the board of a few things without belaboring the points.
without belaboring the points this is the area zoning map this is page 33 of 102
This is the area zoning map. This is page 30.
of our original of our zoning packet here so we have our park here
the bakery directly across the street is owned cmx2 um i believe the daycare with the
with the residential units above caddy corner to us is on cmx2 we have the park here
and then this is our subject property along 13th street
And just to further orient us, yellow here, this is Broad Street, so we're located in between the Acme and Broad Street.
My client's deed. And these are all the other materials that were previously submitted. Now, members of the board, what I'll do as well is I'll get to the proposed layouts as we were looking.
So the commercial space at this point is kind of a blank box.
We don't have the entirety of the interior layout completely sketched out yet.
We had some previous suggestions that were put together by our architect, but those weren't necessarily to be put in stone at this point.
But we intend to have a service counter.
You go in, you pick up, you order your donuts or coffee or your bagel, you grab it, you go, you're on your way.
Above that is going to be two units.
On the second story, we're going to have unit one,
which is a 645 square foot two bedroom unit.
We can see the layout here, bedroom at the front,
bedroom at the rear, bedroom bathroom,
kitchen living in the middle.
And then on the third story, unit number two,
it's gonna be 530 square feet.
And that's a one bedroom unit,
so it's slightly smaller than the two bedroom unit.
Now, why are we asking to have this at this location? Well, it's due to the peculiar setup of the property and the fact that it was previously used for quite some time as a veterinary members of the board, particularly as well.
This location, as close as it is to Broad Street, it makes perfect sense to have some sort of takeout restaurant or some sort of food establishment on the ground story.
um if i may simply reference the letter that was sent by
pardon me for one second members of the board i seem to have lost passion squares uh letter but
it is in our file uh but just to reference passion squares uh initial letter that was
sent out which was non-opposition um they were not in they were not opposed to our application
so long as we had something similar to a takeout restaurant whereas when we previously filed this
application it was for a vacant commercial use and after which there was a different
tenant that was proposed now we have a proposed tenant that is dotty's donuts that has several
locations throughout philadelphia and i hope that alleviates neighbors concerns about things
like trash storage which will be in the rear of the property um neighbors had other concerns as
well that we'd be happy to address i don't want to take up more time but i understand there may be
significant number of neighbors still on the call that i'd like to be able to address their concerns
and turn as they bring them up with my client and with a representative of bodies donuts if they're
still on the line now patrick are you still available and if you are please raise your hand
been allowed to speak. Mr. Duffy, state your name and spell please for the court stenographer.
Good evening. Patrick Duffy, P-A-T-R-I-C-K-D-U-F-F-Y. Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. Proceed, counsel. Okay. Now,
Patrick, I wasn't present at the initial community meeting with respect to this parcel,
But have I essentially gone through the community's concerns to the best of your knowledge, information, and recollection?
Yes, you have.
Okay. Are you aware whether the representative of Dottie's Donuts is still on the line at this point?
Yes, the two owners are currently on the line.
Fantastic. Now, Patrick, previously in this location, what were you proposing to have as your tenant?
It was another takeout restaurant. However, the hours were slightly different.
they were more of a lunch dinner uh type of establishment whereas this one would be
breakfast lunch and then close at 3 pm all right is there anything else you'd like to add at this
time patrick um not too much i'd just like to state that i am a neighbor i live a block away
from this location and um i own another building that's very similar to this proposal that we have
And I own another building that's very similar to this proposal that we have.
And many of the neighbors are familiar with the other building where Reanimate or Coffee currently is.
And I think many of them are happy with how that building turned out.
And I'd like to do something similar here.
Great. Thank you, Patrick.
The board may have more questions for you.
Oh, pardon me.
With respect to my testimony today, do you adopt it as your own?
Yes, I do all right. Thank you very much members of the board. If you have any questions for questions, questions from the board.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience.
I'm sorry. Mr. Steve Fabiani has his hand raised.
so we'll allow him to speak
sir could you state your name
please and spell for the court stenographer
F like Frank
A-B-I-A-N
do it one more time
you were breaking up a lot
yeah I'm sorry about that
I hear some
maybe somebody needs to mute
S-T-E-V-E
as in frank a b i a and i right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and
nothing but the truth i do are you a neighbor i am mr chair my property is about 45 feet away
from the subject property i'm here in opposition to this variance also opposition to reconsideration
at all i've submitted a letter that argues against the claims made by counsel's reasons
for reconsideration and would ask the board accept that letter as testimony um thank you
okay uh this is another case of a single family property that for a time had a doctor's office
as part of the doctor's home council's arguing that this represents oppressive use which is
absolutely false does not reflect the long history of the property or the neighborhood
also of note substantial concern about traffic and parking which is already problematic in it
we cannot afford to lose more parking spaces to private driveways or loading zones and finally
I'd like to note for the record that there have been some veiled personal insults on social media
this week against those neighbors who are opposed to the granting of the variance including by one
individual who claims to have I object to this testimony so Mr Fabiano I we we understand that
but let let's just concentrate on where you stand right now I I stand in opposition to the to the
variance I believe this should be a single family home as it has always been um and as the as the
city as the Philadelphia City Planning Commission hearing matter that's all okay Mr. Fabiano thank
you thank you very much thank you are there other hands up Jason yes sir I have a hand up from
Ms. Jennifer Gallo.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court sonographer?
Yes, my name is Jennifer, J-E-N-N-I-F-G-A-L-L-O.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
I am a near neighbor, yes.
Okay, and if possible, could you, you know, what we're trying to do with this so people can have their say,
but try to concentrate on something different than what's already been said. I think Mr. Fabiano
laid out a thing. So please see what you can give us that's. Sure. Yes. Yes. I am also in strong
opposition to this, the request for variance and reconsideration, not only for the reasons that
Mr. Fabiani laid out, but also with regard to this particular corner being a very, I am at 1401,
south sorry 1402 south 13th street so directly across from the property in question it is a very
busy corner there is already a lot of foot traffic a lot of car traffic a lot of bike traffic people
walking to and from dogs and babies the park the daycare going about their business um adding
another commercial property in a location that is historically zoned single family is a bad idea
for any neighborhood. It is also a potential safety concern given the amount of congestion
it is going to add to this particular corner. The idea that another food establishment is needed
in this immediate area is hard to believe. There are multiple takeouts.
hard to believe. There are multiple take-out and sit-down breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee
establishments within two blocks of this corner. This proposal adds nothing to the neighborhood.
It also, the variance does not correct any hardship imposed by the existing zoning of the property.
thank you thank you for you taking the time to call in is there anyone else in the virtual
audience jason yes sir laurie mazer i've let him speak okay hi could you state your name please
and spell for the court stenographer yeah my name is laurie l-a-u-r-i-e mazer m-a-z-e-r
you swear or firm to tell the truth told truth nothing but the truth i do are you a neighbor
Yes, I live at 1426 South 13th.
So are you in favor of this or opposed?
I'm very in favor.
And I walk frequently with my children
and love the foot traffic and live
and think our block is incredibly thriving.
And we encourage foot traffic
by having citywide block parties for Halloween
and things like that.
So I think this is an amazing addition
and would benefit, yeah, the whole neighborhood.
And I'm enthusiastically in support.
Thank you for taking the time to call in.
Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
Yes, sir.
Jeffrey McMahon.
I've allowed him to speak.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Jeffrey McMahon, J-E-F-F-R-E-Y-M-C-M-A-H-O-N.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor, sir?
I live on the same block down Reed Street.
Are you in favor of this or against?
I'm in favor of it.
Okay, thank you very much.
Could you give us a quick reason why, if it's different, especially the last person?
Yeah, I think the one context that I think hasn't been elaborated on is the fact that all corners of the park have commercial.
This is a dynamic and growing neighborhood and commercial area in terms of the park.
It activates the way that individuals use the park.
and have services that reflect that.
Dottie's Donuts is an excellent candidate for coming in
and not increasing driving and parking issues,
but rather providing services that people who are already there need.
And I completely support the application.
Thank you for taking the time to call us.
Is there anyone else?
Yes, Lisa Hallowell.
Hi, could you state your name and spell, please, for the court stenographer?
lisa hallowell l-i-s-a hallowell h-a-l-l-o-w-e-l-l right do you swear or firm to tell
the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do are you a neighbor i am okay are you for this
or against it against okay and if i we will we're going to take note that you're against it