uh they're compliant compliant or they they're the streetscape uh is uh appropriate it doesn't
stand out not inconsistent with the streetscape the floor plans are on pages um 11 through 15
each unit has three bedrooms and two baths uh the second the unit that occupies the second
and third floor also has a roof deck which is depicted on page 15.
The tax clearance certificates are on page 45 to
to 47 and the deeds are 49 through pages 65. I'd ask Mr. Harrison to raise his hand.
Mr. Harrison, you can unmute yourself and speak now.
yes i'm here thank you all right mr harrison please spell your full name and i'll swear you
in uh marvin harrison is m-a-r-b-i-n-h-a-r-i-s-o-n we're in front of the
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes thank you mr o'brien
mr harrison did you uh hear my testimony yes uh was it truthful yes did you adopt it as your own
Mr. Anderson, do you own other apartments, other buildings with apartments in the neighborhood?
How do you handle trash at your apartments?
I have a private trash collection that comes around three or four times a week, actually five days a week, but because I have commercial buildings on Gerard Avenue.
And so within my commercial units and my residential units, they come around five days a week and I would just add this on to the cycle, whether it be Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, whatever, you know, whatever fits the schedule to be added into the rotation.
So if a tenant in one of these buildings has trash accumulating and it's two or three days before a municipal collection, will they be able to call you so that you can send someone to pick up the trash?
Yes, they will. But like I said, we're there three or four times a week anyway.
So I don't think it would be a need for it to call, but we would set it up and schedule with the tenants that these are the collection days for this particular property.
okay so mr harrison you you're these properties will be part of that route to pick up trash
really uh yes i i have someone i have uh two other multi-families on 1300 25th street already
and then about another 100 feet away i have some more on thompson street they'll be on the regular
rotation for trash pickup correct yes correct there will be yes whatever day you know that i
would choose because i already have the same rotation right now in that area okay thank you
um yes chris karakoff to raise his hand
mr karakoff you can unmute yourself and speak now
hi this is chris karakoff please identify yourself spell your first and last name
uh chris karakoff with studio c architecture it's c-h-r-i-s c-a-r-i-c-k-h-o-f-f
where from to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
I do. Thank you, Mr. O'Brien. Mr. Karakoff, could you go through maybe some of the materials
that are going to be used on the facade of these buildings? I'm bringing up an image of the
rental. With respect, Mr. O'Brien, I don't think we need to go through materials. They're not
germane to this board anyway. Mr. Karakoff, would you like to describe the units? I'd describe
of generally is three bedroom two bath is that correct that's correct and how many square feet
are they uh the lower units which occupy the first and basement floors are 1056 square feet
the uh second unit uh which is on the second and third floors uh is around 1142 square feet
and is the excuse me counselor excuse me counselor what what percentage of the basement is out of the
ground? We're about, let's see, we're about two feet out of the ground. I'm showing an image now
of the floor plan. Mr. Karakoff, the two boxes at the either end on the top on the 25th street and
on the rear rear yard are those uh code compliant escape wells correct those are egress wells that
are compliant with code okay and is the rear yard compliant um how do you mean uh well the open
space and the rear yard dimension i can bring these yes dimensionally we're compliant we don't
have any variances there and there i believe there's an alley on the rear which which allows
access to a public way so therefore bedrooms are allowed on the rear okay thank you
mr chairman i would ask the board to grant the variance the use variance
thank you uh any other questions from the board
no no no anyone else to testify in this case please raise your hand
chair i see no other hands at this time you planning commission
good afternoon board nicole ozdemir with planning commission staff
these properties are indicated for single family residential use
in the comprehensive plan and were recently rezoned as part of a community-led remapping
in only 2020. We feel the proposal represents an overuse and accordingly we oppose the granting
of these variances.
MI 2021-001-418-1305-North 25th, MI 2021-001-416-1303-North 25th,
And MI 2021-001-419-1307-North 25th.
My vote is yes with the proviso commercial pickup, trash pickup for each property.
My vote is yes with proviso to all.
Yes with proviso to all.
My vote is no to both.
QMI 2021-001-422-1414 North St. Bernard Street.
We have not yet received a letter from the 44th Democrat Ward.
Mr. Consul.
Chair, Mr. Consul will be rejoining us as a panelist.
good afternoon board good afternoon mr consul
uh joe consul here for mi 2021 zero zero
uh joe consul here for mi 2021 001422 one west third street suite 204 media pennsylvania 19063
do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do thank you before you begin mr complaisant mr o'brien you're still on are you here for this case
you're muted sir
mr okay i'm sorry i i'm i'm thinning my working is finished may i be excused if you may thank you
thank you mr consul hi everyone joe consul 14 north st bernard street is my appeals packet on
screen uh yes okay thanks uh this is 14 north st bernard street uh this is just off market
it runs parallel between 49th and 50th street it's close to the old
sorry for interrupting oh that's okay you agree to wait the reading of its refusal
and stipulate to its accuracy yes sir also have you emailed an exhibit factor with the required
documents, proof of ownership, proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal or referral
folders and plans five days prior to this hearing? I did, and I have, yes. Also, have you met with
the RCO and have a letter? I did, and we received a letter yesterday at some point. I don't know if
it came to you guys. Please proceed. Joe Consul, 14 North St. Bernard. Again, this is near the old
West Philadelphia High School, off-market between 49th and 50th. St. Bernard runs parallel
between 49th and 50th can you enlarge the exhibit please uh did that that help
no it's taking up my whole screen as far as i can tell yeah well
what's it look like to you guys sorry all print i can read it but it's a little bit
of a strain i'm not sure about the other folks other folks okay looks okay okay tom has better
eyes than i let's proceed thank you okay um here's the external of of the property um it's owned by
rapid solutions llc mr ron hack is here as a representative of the owner uh the property
is a 1539 square foot property we're here seeking legalization of a long-standing use as a duplex
the property was purchased in 2009 by rapid solutions llc at the time excuse me council
do you have plans well we only see notes oh you only see my notes correct oh
now it's up
now they're getting there thank you okay so here's an external of the property
there we go and it was purchased in 2009 by rapid solutions llc
At that time, it was purchased and advertised as a duplex. Here is a rental license that was first obtained in 2007 as a duplex. And that was by the previous owner of J&P Developments, LLC.
We then have the license obtained in 2009 by my client as a duplex that expired the last day of 2010. I have my client pull as many of these rental licenses as he could find, but he had one by his testimony that he'll attest to in a minute.
But you have one for all of the preceding years. This is 2013. This is 2012. This is 2016. This is 2017, expiring 2018.
this is the 2021 license um and so the property has been used as a duplex and was purchased
as a duplex um since 2009 uh since that time um both units of the property have been actively
rented i'll show you guys some internal photos of the property let me see if i can find them
they're they're in the packet but I'll pull them up now the external
Here's the external, external, external. Here's some interior photos. The one property went vacant earlier this year, and that's when these photos were taken.
in. So we've got a lower unit and an upper unit that have continuously been occupied.
We met with the RCO on the 16th of June. And at that time, there was no opposition. There was
just suggestions, which are reflected in this letter. So we met with them on the 16th.
They suggested that he clean the front of the property, secure the front porch, secure the second floor deck, as you can see in this highlighted, clean the side and backyard up and provide outside lighting.
That was three weeks ago. My client will attest to the strides he's made. Admittedly, that's not completed.
It just hasn't been long enough for him to complete all these requests by the RCO.
We're hopeful this is not a letter in opposition.
It's a letter in not support.
I spoke to Willie, the RCO head, yesterday, and he said he basically just wants to see that my client's going to be handling these items.
And we think the items are reasonable.
um but you know also uh there are no l and i violations from the entire time period that my
client has owned the property um all of the violations stem from 2008 or earlier there's
no complaints against the property there's no open violations against the property so while
we appreciate that the property uh likely you know we could secure this porch and the deck
and that's going to happen. My client will attest to that. We're hoping that we can still get
support to legalize the longstanding use here as a duplex. So if I could call Mr. Ron Hack.
Mr. Hack, you can unmute yourself and speak.
Hello, my name is Ron Hack, and I'll spell it for you, R-O-N-H-A-C-K, and I'm ready to be sworn in.
You swear from to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I will.
Thank you, Mr. Conner.
Okay, great. Good afternoon, Mr. Hack. How long have you owned this property?
Since June 2009, continuously till today.
Okay. Can you describe for the board the situation involving the duplex when you purchased it and your rental history?
I've rented it as a duplex the entire time. It was constructed so if you're looking at the front picture of the property, you go through the door, you're in a small alcove.
Cove. The first story is the two-bedroom apartment. And then there's a door to a stairway that goes
to the three-bedroom apartment that occupies the upper two stories. And I've maintained the
property, paid taxes on time the entire time. Okay. And could you describe, the RCO in their
letter stated that they had four items that they wanted you to, they wanted you to handle on the
property so they'd feel comfortable with you getting the variance for the two units. Could
you describe the progress you've made on those items? Yes, I have Hydro Man power washers coming
tomorrow because what they wanted was the front porch and the front facing part of the first floor
just power washed. So it would be the front and the side we're going to power wash. This individual
also has the capability to clean up the side and the backyard as requested. So he's going to be
giving me an estimate tomorrow and he said he's available to do it somewhere in his schedule in
the next two weeks. I also have Jason White from J&J Contracting who has done other work on this
property for me here who would be strengthening the outside deck and putting in more reinforcement
for the joists on the decks requested by the board and he also would be the one doing the light
and I have a call into him and he's right now in the middle of a big rehab but I believe we'll be
able to get this done by the end of the month. Okay great. Did you hear all the testimony that
i gave to the board i did do you adopt it as your own yes i do okay great i have nothing further for
mr thank you thank you questions from the board no no anyone else would like to testify in this
case if so please raise your hand i see no other heads at this time chair
I see no other hands at this time, Chair.
Thank you, Planning Commission.
Good afternoon, Board.
Nicole Ozdemir for Planning Commission staff.
The comprehensive plan recommends residential use at this location.
While this lot presents no unique physical circumstances or conditions,
it appears to have a standing use as a two-family structure.
therefore we do not object to the granting of this variance very much mi 2021-001-422
14 north st bernard street my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes
my vote is yes thank you next case mi 2021-001-406 1600 south beulah street
mr knockinson you're still under oath from earlier
he's coming back in as a panelist chair
good afternoon again mr knockinson please identify yourself you're still under oath
Alan Ockamson.
Regarding 1600 South Beulah, there is a letter of opposition from East Pass Yonge Crossing, as well as a letter from Councilman Squilla in opposition.
Please proceed.
Mr. Nockerson, you agree to waive the reading of its refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required document, proof of ownership, proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal or referral, photos and plans five days prior to this hearing?
I have.
And have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
Thanks. Please proceed.
May I share my screen?
Yes, sir.
All right. Similar packet of materials. The only thing I would contest is that we have a letter of opposition from the coordinating the RCO. We'll see the letter. It's actually, there are more people that voted for this project than against.
uh overwhelmingly the community voted in support of this project unfortunately overwhelmingly the
executive board of the coordinating rc rco voted against it but there's still more people that
voted for it than against it so in actuality i don't know if you can equate that to a letter of
opposition we also did also receive a a letter uh from councilman squiller this afternoon uh stating
that he's leaving it to the board to decide.
I have that in my packet of materials.
So in my packet of materials,
typical things that we always have,
the deed to the property,
showing that Jacqueline Banks is the owner of the property,
a certificate of tax clearance
showing that she's in good standing.
Mr. Notkinson, pardon the interruption,
if you can make that larger.
Of course.
Is that better, Mr. Chair?
A little more if you could.
But if not, we'll have to deal with that.
No, no, that's fine.
It just makes it harder.
That's good.
That's good.
All right.
So you have a deed to the property.
You have the certificate of tax clearance.
You have the notice of refusal.
So even though this is an RSA 5 property, this property has a history of multifamily use.
It's a corner property, the quintessential South Philly corner property.
So you'll see probably somewhere in this history, it was a commercial on the first floor and multiple units on the second and third floors.