creating hazardous and unexpected condition for pedestrians granting this
particular relief would continue the status quo condition of the lot in
direct relation to the density that historically existed here finally we
propose we we submit that the proposed density is the least minimum as it has
been shown to be consistent with the density of surrounding structures as the
evidence has shown today four units are most appropriate for the interior layout and is not
overbuilt from a dimensional perspective to accommodate the proposed density the units
themselves are varied in size to accommodate a wide range of rental price points and tenant
preferences just by way of comparison on a lot of this size in a traditional multi-family district
five units would be permitted even before consideration of any bonuses.
Although we did conceptually discuss the possibility of a three-unit design
Although we did conceptually discuss the possibility of a three-unit design with the community, we would ask the board to exercise your discretion in considering that request in light of the respectful historical design, the history of this property, the comparable density on the block, as well as the proposed layouts, which more than adequately justify the proposed density at four units instead of three.
this is the only new construction on this block in many many decades and my client's main goal
is to be respectful of the unique and historical character of this block that does have the reality
of additional investment that is just not supported by a buy rate density as always a
more detailed analysis is provided in the exhibits in the memo of law at exhibit 13
and of course we're happy to touch on any point in additional detail
uh serge if you could just uh could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
morning my name is serge moslenikov s-r-g-e-m-a-s-l-e-n-n-i-k-o-e do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth please proceed counsel thank you serge just
in your own word if you could just give the board you know a 60 second uh sort of explanation of uh
after you purchased the property how you sort of came to this particular uh design and proposal
well you tell everything uh was your mic once oh okay you told a lot of information i wanted to
tell but like yeah this as you can see i tried to uh create something that's gonna stay here
for another 50 60 can you speak up a little louder oh yeah i'm sorry to the mic so by designing this
building i i didn't want to just put the regular cookie cutter square box on the block that's going
to survive for another 50 60 years so i wanted to respect the architecture of the block and i
honestly spent a lot of evenings just to come up with the plans with the uh with the with the
layouts and and so it's going to be useful uh in terms of quality of living i watched a lot
ZBA's meetings and I try to address as many concerns usually happen on during the meetings
I try to match the front porch uh corny's line make the height basement ceiling indoor trash
uh no exit to the backyard through the back bedroom like staircase on about uh from the
basement bedroom directly outside and uh yeah so it's it's not only about density it's also about
like make it economical to build something nice that's gonna stay there for for a very long time
and to basically so it's economically feasible at the same time to build something nice that's
that's what it thank you serge and did you hear all of the other testimony and evidence that was
offered in front of the board today yes and do you adopt that testimony as if it were your own
so council um
RCO is at two you're at four either side of you is three and you did have conversations about three
we did okay both questions from the board
i have a question so um this again is like the other uh case this is a twin um and so you have
uh the support of the home uh the property owner next immediately next to you adjacent to i don't
believe they attended uh so and is that those that's that's a multi-family it's a multi-family
yeah and in fact uh board member the one immediately attached to this i believe is still
owned by the person that formerly owned this one so but they are they are multifamily and and so
in the rear of your proposed property um does it extend how far beyond the adjacent property does
the rear extend uh its extent i'm not gonna sell exactly but based on the uh zoning plans it's
probably like 15 15 feet something like that about about that yeah
okay so so this is the um the the one property next door the vacant one it's actually a vacant
property directly to the right okay all right so the um and this is the one of the referrals is the
rear yard so your rear yard would extend far beyond this rear yard it about
proximal how many feet so it it would extend beyond by about 15 feet so you
can see the the line of the rear yards of the two adjacent structures here these
These structures do not extend as far as current code would allow. So the argument here is simply that the rear yard itself is materially consistent with the rear yard that the code would allow.
structures do not extend as far as
the code does not in in the case of a rear yard have a contextual requirement that's obviously
done in the front whereas in the back here um it's it's 15 feet at the the steps it's just
over 17 feet to the actual building itself and then there's an additional four foot wide alley
so um by by shrinking the rear yard you're you're not necessarily gaining a lot in terms of that
context um you're essentially at that point just eliminating some of the the really really really
critical living space that's uh designed in these units my last question is um the rco did also
uh say they wanted no uh basement living um any question uh if i look at the plants the basement
i'm can i i'm sorry yeah go ahead basically uh like that's was my very big concern about the
basement because i know the lack of daylight and stuff like that but in this particular case i try
to incorporate as many windows as possible as you can see some of the rooms even have two points of
daylight and the depth of the basement as well as you can see on the side elevation i created like
split level design so the most of the basement is above the ground so it's like only four feet below
the ground and the rest of it above so all the windows technically will bring a lot of daylight
because there's side of the building is open you can all this daylight will will go in the basement
i have one more question so this this side entrance uh what units would use this side entrance so the
The one to the left here is the private entrance to unit two.
Two, three, and four.
The left door, and then the right door is the one that goes...
So the right door is the one that would go immediately upstairs to those two units,
and then the one on the left is a private entrance.
So unit two has a private entrance, unit one has a private entrance,
and then, of course, unit three and four that are upstairs have a private entrance.
but the mailboxes and stuff and this board member wins the mailboxes will be centralized in one area
that was that was what we talked about about the mailman is not going to have a front porch we can
incorporate something on the front porch like i'm i'm gonna guess that in this case because there's
a front porch the post office will probably require the mailboxes in the front and then there would
also be a secure surgeon i actually talked about this there would be a secure you can get these
awesome amazon secure boxes so that so that everybody would have access to a secure package
area and what's in what part of the um units are in the basement so it's yeah it's uh i didn't see
that yeah it's just some living space so there's no bedrooms in the basement it's just some living
space office space uh you know with with a lot of a lot of people working from home these days
uh serge has has really tried to design things to try and accommodate some additional space for
people to be able to work so we're talking about over here to the left to the left yeah sorry yeah
so to the left is that lower level the the one in the back has a direct stair access out to the rear
yard so again it's it's five feet above grade which is entirely consistent with the conditions
that this board tends to like to see in terms of that lower level living so it's not uh it's
not below grade we we did share these plans uh with the rco from the photographs it looks like
the adjoining properties also do have below grade living so you know i'm not entirely sure
what that particular objection was based in since it is fairly consistent with at least the
immediately adjacent structures um yeah so you can see here there's okay yeah and again these
these structures are all pretty old so other questions thank you yeah yeah i think of course
yeah sure sorry i was trying to go on mic thank you it's having mic issues
you're muted mike can't hear you
how about now yes yep okay can you go back to the floor plans again yep
when you were showing them you were you kind of zoom out can we so we can see the whole floor
when you were showing them you were you kind of zoom out can we so we can see the
makes it makes it easier
okay so this so the basement so so the basement has basically two partial units in the basement
is that when i'm so yeah correct i mean it's they're bi-level units so each of these has
use of the lower level as well as the first floor. So they're designed to be bi-level
living. All of the units in the building are designed that way.
Okay. And the basement, so the basis of the bi-level unit on the first and basement,
they're both one bedroom units with a living space in the basement and then office, right?
and the depth below the grade is you said four foot six it is okay it's four feet here you can
and uh so now the second and third floor what does that look like
it's the living space and kitchen on the second floor and two bedrooms upstairs for privacy so
the bedrooms are separated from the living area yeah so you can see i think you got to get closer
to the moment so you can see here on the left is the second floor layout so you have kitchens
living space dining room space and then on the second on the third floor the second floor of
these units you have two bedrooms each and then you have powder rooms on that first level of living
and you have full bathrooms between the bedrooms so the second and third floor two two bedroom
units and the first floor and basement are one bedroom units. And what was the request of the
community? Was it two units? Yeah, their request was for two, which is essentially what the zoning
district would allow here. And is not, you know, again, obviously, as the board has seen,
is not consistent with what was here historically either action all right any other questions
questions from our attorney not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual
audience yes chair i have a few hands up the first hand is orlando last name starting with m
I'm going to allow them to speak. Sure.
Can you hear me? I can. Could you please state your name and spell it for the sonographer?
Sure. It's Orlando Moncrief. Orlando is in Orlando, Florida. O-R-L-A-N-D-O. Last name M-O-N-C-R-I-E-F-F-E.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do. Sir, are you a neighbor?
I am. Please proceed with your testimony.
So not just the neighbor, but I've been living on this block since 1988 or family owned before that.
So I'm I knew the family that was next door.
So I'm 27, where I hope that Surge builds, as I'm in favor of filling that lot, is right next to that neighbors in between Surge and I. Think of it that way.
So I'm in favor of building something. There are a couple of things I just want to share that we heard from our RCO meeting, and I think there might be some other people here who can comment on this as well.
A, it is not a fact that there is no other cutaway for parking on this block.
Across the street of the proposed property, between 20 and 22, there is a cutaway for parking for a driveway that's there.
That exists right now.
So it's not factually accurate what was stated earlier.
The second thing is the biggest issue that the block had in the meeting around this was parking.
We do not have enough parking right now for all of the residents on the street.
Adding a four unit is going to provide even more congestion where parking is concerned.
That was our number one issue.
The second issue is if any of us on the block were to try to do anything else, we would need to abide by this.
So if any of us on the block were to try to do anything else, we would need to abide by the zoning guidelines.
And if someone wants to come in and Serge doesn't live in our block, he's not from our area.
If he wants to come in and build, we applaud that.
But you have to go by what everyone else on our block has to apply to.
And I think it actually a little comical that in the back, you're going to say that because the four foot alley is back there, that gives you more.
that alley is not your property at all that's community property so that doesn't apply it's
just a little minor things like that that actually pretty annoying for me to hear
and we were told by the attorney and surge emphatically when we met with them that the
small variances were small and they would take care of them now in this meeting we're hearing
the opposite that these are and i forget the word she used but it was suggest that this would not
be an issue at all. So going backwards on what they had suggested in the meeting to now what
they're saying is problematic. And I would ask that this board would abide by the zoning guidelines.
Again, Serge, I want you on the block. I just, you know, two unit is better for us based on what
we're facing. And I hear from your attorney that you want to honor the tradition of the buildings
on the block. I'm going to ask that you would honor the folk on the block as well with what
we're asking you to do. Thanks for your time, board. Counsel, do you have any questions?
No questions, but I would like to respond at some point. Why don't we see how many else
of people are there? Thank you for your testimony. Other questions or comments from the
uh virtual audience yes chair i have a hand up by the name of yasmin kenya i'm going to allow them to
speak sure uh good morning everyone good morning could you please hi could you please state your
name is spelled for the stenographer sure my name is yasmin that's y a s and mary m is in i'm sorry
s is in sam m is in mary e e n is a nancy and the last name is kenya k e n is in nancy y a
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes are you a neighbor yes please proceed um yeah so i wanted to speak today i'm not only
a neighbor but i'm also um the block captain of north 50th street um i did also attend the
the uh meeting with the ward and um i just wanted to share that you know every not only do we have
um but basically an overflow as far as you know attendance went um to you know discuss their
concerns with this proposed four-unit, but we unanimously voted no as far as a four-unit
being placed on North 50th. And again, just to piggyback on what my neighbor just mentioned,
you know, the density of the block, you know, adding the four-unit would definitely be problematic
um and the attorney and um the owner did um agree to you know make changes and i also you know heard
the opposite um which is unfortunate but again you know we shared that you know we appreciated the
um the aesthetic you know on the external but you know um turning it into four units would
be problematic all the way around. I would also just like to share that the same sentiments were
voiced for other neighbors who were unable to attend the zoning meeting. I'm sorry, the meeting
with the RCO and also who couldn't attend today. So if you need anything in writing,
you know, we're more than happy to submit that from about eight other neighbors.
all right thank you very much for taking the time do you have any questions i do i just have one
question um miss kenya you mentioned you mentioned your concern about a four unit on this block
do you have any any evidence of any um historical impact that was caused by a four
unit in this location which existed for over 50 years um i think also there was an issue with you
PRESENTING THE PROPERTY AS, YOU KNOW, A FOUR-UNIT IN THE RCO MEETING.
THERE WAS AN ISSUE WITH, I BELIEVE, THE RENTAL, LIKE THE NAMES
I believe the the the rental like the the the names on the the rental agreement, because not only that and they'll they'll speak very soon, but we have another neighbor who spoke directly to the owner of 31 North and they can confirm what it was actually historically, you know, there as you know, it was it was a three unit.
it wasn't a four unit so um and this was dated back to when unfortunately you know um with city
guidelines it wasn't uh mandatory to have um such you know i guess documentation in place so that's
another thing we would appreciate it if you would stop presenting it as if this was a historically
four unit property on north 50th street that is that is totally false thank you okay thank you
Okay. Is there anyone else in the audience?
Yes, Chair.
How many more hands do you have?
Three.
Okay. Thank you.
No problem. I have a hand up by the name of Bernadine Howes.
I'm going to allow them to speak.
Right.
Hi. Could you please state your name as spelled for the sonographer?
Good morning, everyone.
My name is Bernadine Howes, B-E-R-N-A-D as in dog.