use the q a questions for procedural issues and not cases themselves and if you are joining
as a panelist press star nine to raise your hand and star six to unmute let's look at our schedule
Of course, there's no one here.
Number one, MI 2025-002-467-5861 Willows Avenue.
That case is continued to 923-26 at 3.30 p.m.
number
number five mi 2025
007 615 3612 north 5th street michael and g cho are the listed owners um we have no exhibit no
exhibits this is the first listing mr chair the applicant was on earlier and we advised him that
we would be continuing this matter and ask him to contact the office for the full assistance
this case is going to be continued to 9 23 26 at 3 30 pm are there any other requests for
continuances uh mr chair me again um we did get a request actually for number three the attorney
is not available to proceed this late in the day so um he he sent a request for continuance right
and that's that's i guess nice news mi 2025 005 346 58 south second street that case is continued
to 9 23 26 at 3 30 pm over here we'll go to
we'll go to number two
number two
MI 2025
005 341
West Thompson Street
Rachel Pritzker is the attorney
good evening i counsel could you please state your name is spelled for the stenographer
sure rachel r-a-c-h-a-e-l pritzker p-r-i-t-z-k-e-r do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes could you identify your client the relationship
to this property yes my client is tamad holdings 2 llc who is the owner of the property i see a
letter of support from beach and also a letter of non-opposition from council member young
our vice chair has a few questions good evening have you submitted your documents and exhibits
five days in advance of this hearing yes and do you wait to read and know the refusal and
stipulate to its accuracy yes all right thank you you can show your screen and proceed with the case
Thank you.
Okay. Can you see my screen?
We can.
Make sure it's the right screen. Hold on.
I have two screens up. Sorry.
So this is 1507 West Thompson Street.
This is the application for appeal, just go through the refusal.
This property is Zone RSA 5.
We have one use refusal for visitor accommodations.
We are seeking relief for a variance to permit limited lodging, also known as visitor accommodations
at the property.
There's no physical changes to the property, no additions, expansions, exterior alterations.
there's no physical changes to the property no additions expansions exterior alterations
increased density or dimensional relief being proposed so just this refusal this was the
application for appeal project information form property cert for taxes the deed
this is a zoning map of the property as mentioned it's rsa5 the property is a single family home
where we're requesting use variants for visitor accommodation but it's worth noting that
the property does have a history of commercial mixed use used to have a food mart on the ground
floor and two units this is an aerial of the property a little bit of vacancy on the block
and the property is this mid one right here these were the zoning posters on the property
just some interior photos
and then we can go through floor plans again no alterations but given the need to make sure we go
through the building code considerations if we're granted a variance we had floor plans drawn up
this is the portion of the code it doesn't allow for visitor accommodations this property is
located in close proximity to temple university nearby medical institutions neighborhood businesses
and residential communities that regularly attract visitors a lot of individuals visiting students
family members local institutions or neighborhood events frequently seek accommodations close to the
places and people are visiting um this is really just not uh speculative this was actually in
operation for i think about six months and had no issues with any of the neighbors no violations on
the property. The zoning code and the hardship here arises from the matter that the zoning code
really restricts visitor accommodations in most zoning classifications unless it's a high density
CMX 3, 4, 5 zoning classification. So as a practical matter, opportunities for visitor
accommodations in many neighborhoods are not possible and they tend to be concentrated in
areas where those building classifications exist as mentioned so this property again was previously
used for about six months for this use had no issues with it and it does allow for people in
in more close proximity to this area visiting family friends or going to the hospital another
place to stay that is not a center city or more cmx 345 related use that allows for this
by right um we did have a community meeting notice was sent to 138 nearby neighbors and
the registered community organization sent a letter of support in their letter they stated
that the purpose is to provide quality accommodations for guests visiting
philadelphia for business family visits cultural events and tourism and it will be managed to
for compliance with the city regulations and they issued us a letter of non-opposition or support
and as mentioned we did have a letter of non-opposition from the councilman's office as well
this is their letter so so council just for a point of information um
tonight is going to handle this i try not to handle things that were around temple okay no problem
chairman this is our memo of law that we include in all of our packets
and as mentioned this just allows for an opportunity for visitor accommodations in
the temple area and again the hardship is really imposed by the zoning classification you can't do
any short-term rentals without relief from this board unless you're in one of the higher density
areas which leaves some challenges for those who don't want to be in center city to visit family
friends and again there has been no issues with the community around this property and we'll be
making no modifications to the property as well if i can bring on the owner danielle jefferson
yep thank you you can bring your client on thank you
I'll be coming back in as a panelist.
Hello, Chair, what's your name?
What's your client's name again?
Danielle Jefferson. She's on. Okay. Danielle? Yes. Can you hear us? Yeah. Can you hear me?
Danielle Jefferson. She's on.
Danielle?
Yes, we can see you and see you. Can you state your name and spell it for the record, please?
Sure. Danielle, D-A-N-I-E-L-L-E, Jefferson, J-E-F-F-E-R-S-O-N. Okay. And do you swear
or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
i do okay all right uh rachel yes um danielle have you heard my testimony today do you believe
it to be true and accurate and do you adopt it as your own yes thank you okay uh questions from the
board is this just one unit is that what i was seeing and yes pictures yes okay and how many
bedrooms? Danielle, do you know how many bedrooms? Yes. There's five bedrooms. It's a three-story home
with five bedrooms and three and a half baths. So the house itself with the five bedrooms and
the three and a half bath, that's what you're using for the Airbnb? Yes. For the visitor
accommodation yes okay the entire program yes yeah okay all right thank you
other questions from the board i didn't send them an invoice on
okay questions from our attorney not at this time madam chair
and do we have questions from the virtual audience
no hands no okay all right planning commission amy boy with the planning commission the
comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing zoning of rsa 5 residential single
family the appellant has not demonstrated that there are unique physical conditions or
circumstances of the property that would prevent it from being used in conformance with the zoning
code the planning commission recommends that the board deny the requested variance for visitor
accommodation i can just um respond briefly to one sure thing yeah just as mentioned the code
presents a hardship as it doesn't allow for any visitor accommodations except in like the high
density areas of the city which makes it difficult for anybody outside of that those areas to be able
to have a short-term rental use it's also worth mentioning as i'm sure the board is uh well aware
that there's public benefits to this as it's a it stands with a significantly increased tax
which contributes to the visitors and convention bureau which supports the city as a whole so there
there is an upside to this as well okay thank you mi-2025-005341 1507 west thompson street
i vote yes with proviso uh temporary variance uh to aspire for three-year temporary variance
spires six four 2029 michael johns my vote is yes with proviso
cheryl gaston my vote is yes with proviso i am mcadams my vote is yes with proviso
my vote is yes with proviso thank you thank you council number four mi 2025 007 576 918
North 20A Street.
Zen Jin is the attorney.
There's a letter of support
from Fairmount
Civic Association.
then yes oh then you've already been sworn just state your name please yes zenjin z-h-e-n-j-i-n
could you identify your client a relationship to this property yes uh it's uh though i can't
pronounce it well steel fan is llc um mr mateo maltape is representing dlc is my client okay
our vice chair has a few questions good evening um have you submitted your documents and exhibits
five days in advance of this hearing yes okay and this is a referral so do you waive the reading of
the referral and stipulate to its accuracy i do all right thank you you can show your screen and
proceed thank you i'm going to share with the board what was previously submitted
can the board see my exhibit on their screen we can thank you so good evening uh this is an
application for use of this location at 918 north 28th street as a coffee shop slash ice cream shop
coffee shop slash ice cream shop which is essentially falls under the prepared food shop use
which is
within the zoning code because it is a cmx one zone district this is a special exception in that
area we actually met with the rco and obtained support with the condition that they have stated
in their letter they are concerned with prior operators and also the property being vacant for
some time. There were some trash issues in that area, and the neighbors particularly wanted to
make sure that trash would be stored indoors, particularly overnight, and would be picked up
in the morning when the commercial pickup happens. We have no problem with that. That's not an issue
for this property as there are actually, if you look at the photographs, this is a corner property
that has a commercial style space already in the first floor which will be converted to the coffee
ice cream shop there there are access to the basement which is through uh what is essentially
belco doors that allows the the owner to utilize the basement to store trash overnight there's
nothing related to the shop itself that's going to be in the basement so it's essentially going
be storage so trash storage there would not impact the uh health health code requirements
of the business itself currently the space is vacant it was used as a some sort of an office
space before we intend to renovate this space into a just a simple shop it'll have ice cream
a prep area for coffee espresso machines a little bit of pre-packaged pastries to go with the
coffees. And that's essentially it. There'll be a standing counter as well as some seating,
the bathroom and storage. So it's a very small shop with a small operation. And I believe
for that reason, we submitted to the board that it would not cause any impact, negative impact,
greater than what's normally expected of this kind of use. And being that it's a relatively
light use, it really would not cause negative impacts to the neighborhood. So that is essentially
I'll request before the board for a special exception to permit the use of this CMX1 location
as a coffee shop. My client is here to verify my testimony, and I'm happy to answer any questions.
What's your client's name?
Mateo Maltepez.
Dr. Malteppes, can you raise your hand virtually so you can be identified?
Dr. Malteppes, can you raise your hand virtually so you can be identified?
Thank you.
Can you guys hear me?
Could you please state your name as spelled for the stenographer?
Mattheo Maltepes, M-A-T-T-H-E-O, last name Maltepes, M-A-L-T-E-P-E-S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Counsel.
Thank you.
Mattheo, did you hear my representation before the board and see the presentation on your screen?
I did.
Can you verify what I have represented to the zoning board to be true and correct and adopt it as your own testimony?
thank you um questions from the board
yeah what are your hours i was about to ask that yes so the hours of operation it's uh anticipated
to be from the hours operation it's uh sunday through thursday anticipated to be a.m to 9 p.m
and then Friday and Saturday a.m. to 10 30 p.m. they will not be up so it's essentially a full
seven days operation what's the plan for the use in the basement I know you mentioned the
bilko door and storage but yeah so it's basically storage there's no or refrigerated no not
refrigerated just dry items and uh actually you know they were thinking that would be a good for
trash storage indoors overnight as well so they're actually not going to put because it's a coffee
shop and ice cream has to stay in the fridge in the ice cream freezer they're not going to put
any real food items in the basement it's not really set up for true storage in that sense okay
is the ice cream freezer and whatever is sort of in the kitchen area is that the only refrigeration
on site yes i believe that is matthew is that correct yes it is okay and then is there any
just because i've worked at ice cream place and we had a pretty sizable
kitchen area i think are there any toppings are you doing any like fruit prep
kitchen area i think are there any toppings are you doing any like fruit prep or any other types of
things going on the ice cream that looks like a really small kitchen for this setup
so the ice cream is delivered to me and uh i just put it in the 12 tub machine i have
uh it's a 12 tub ice cream dipping cabinet a vanco and that's about it
it so it's off serve no you're him dipping yeah yes so are you are you done oh okay so I guess
I'm still confused about this whole idea of using the basement for the trash because you say you
don't really have any food storage but don't you have cones don't you have cups don't you have
utensils. I mean, the space looks a little small to have all those kinds of things sort of stored
in there. I mean, I'm not sure about how many customers you have and what have you, but