ZBA Hearing - August 26, 2026

who's going to have access to the basements all the units just unit number one just unit number

one okay and so then what's uh the friends rehabilitation program's plan for property

management this is now 15 units uh which is pretty dense the other multi-family on the blocker i

think the other one's a tax credit building so it's a slightly different setup that's management

plan yeah alayda can you uh can you state um uh to board member when what how you handle property

management for this intended for this property and other properties i know there are other

problem i meant for this because they have an array of different ways that they handle house

okay specifically for this one for this one uh i'm sorry i can barely hear you so my question

was about the property management for the five properties since they're now 15 units on this

block the other multi-family in the neighborhood there's a like large tax credit project which

has a completely different management type so i just wanted to know how you all were planning to

to manage this one? We are going to be subcontracting now the management agency to manage the property.

We are going to be subcontracting now the management agency to manage the property.

Okay.

And is this one where you're going to have tenants applying individually or are you going to be pulling people from like a citywide list?

It's going to be a combination of both.

Okay.

Other questions?

Oh, not question, comment.

um you're doing that thing again where you have uh the bathroom or a bedroom where you have to

you know wander through the kitchen and the living room to get to a bathroom and at three

o'clock in the morning that's quite a walk and I just think it's a bad layout so so I will say

that I'm not the developer I'm not the architect but so noted and I'll make sure I'll let them know

actually did have another question are you all opposed to commercial trash pickup since you're

going to have a third-party property manager i i would defer to the board if they think it's

appropriate to have given the amount of units to have commercial trash pickup sure i do sure wow

uh any other questions questions from our turn yes um are you having roof decks on that or did

i know that was i i noticed that you know it's it's it's it's not on the notice of refusal i

noticed it when i was sitting here i was like and that's my fault but that's no intention to have

that okay because i did see that on the plans and i only only the illustrative plans yes not not the

site plan no i don't if there was you might have to get it no we're not okay it's to respect the

fact that strawberry mansion they don't want roof decks and and you know we would fall under the

overlay that's why we don't have that refusal just want to make sure great thank you uh questions or

comments from the virtual audience pastor tyrone williams you have been allowed to speak hi reverend

how are you sir reverend please unmute yourself mr pastor williams good afternoon hi reverend

how are you could you please spell your name yes pastor tyrone williams tyrone t-y-r-o-n-e

williams you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes sir please

proceed council uh just want to i'm sorry yeah i guess that's it uh just want to confirm my letter

of support for this project um we have submitted it um yeah and uh now that i know you'll have it

because at one point i got a notice from you guys but i did call down there and um so you'll have

the letter and i just want to confirm it all right thank you very much reverend is there anyone else

I'll send the audience not at this time to any commission, you know, Salmonic, the planning commission in 2014, the zoning map was amended from RM 1 residential multifamily to the existing RSA 5 residential single family attached zoning at this location in accord with recommendations from the comprehensive plan and the support of the community.

there are no physical circumstances that prevent the application use the applicant use the property

in strict conformity of the zoning code the property is being subdivided so the dimensional

variances are self-imposed the planning commission recommends the board deny the requested variances

for multi-family use and occupied area can i just quickly i know you have a long list

we've owned this property since 2010 but yes but uh you know we purchased the property in 2010 with

the intention of building triplexes here. Unfortunately, it's taken my client a little

bit of time, but they purchased it as an RM1 property. Thank you. Thank you. So MI 2026,

0002-148, 1933 to 43 North 31st Street. I vote yes with proviso. Commercial trash pickup,

up no household living in basement Michael John's and my vote is yes with proviso Cheryl

Gaston my vote is yes with proviso Ryan McAdams my vote is yes with proviso

who's doing it Alex is doing the rest of them thank you have a good day all right you too

two more for you two more

come on yeah come on

just making sure the audience knows there's a uh ending yes or right at the end of the site how's

that but which one is it uh uh mi 2026 002 246 312 north 41st street

2 4 6 3 12 north 41st street

mr goldberg could you please state and spell your name

alex goldberg alex goldberg do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and

nothing but the truth i do mr goldberg could you identify your client a relationship to this

property my client carrie dupree is sitting to my left she's the owner of the property okay and

And our Vice Chair has just a few questions for you.

Leave me back there.

Have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing?

I have.

And do you waive the refusals and simply to the accuracy?

I do.

Okay.

Thank you.

You can show your screen and proceed with your case.

okay i'm sharing my screen now um the property address is 312 north 41st

my client carrie has lived there since 1994 she's temporarily taking care of her mother at a

different location but her plan is to hopefully have this variance approved for two family living

do a complete renovation of her property and move back home she has um as i learned at the

community meeting process um close ties to this community she's an active community member

she actually went through the variance process once before on this project for a greater variance

and had um had the support of the community group at that time um i was not her counsel

at that application um but uh that involved developing a standalone single family home at

the back of the property this this property goes street to street that's no longer part of her

plans um there's an existing detached garage back there that you'll see a photo of that is just

storage of her stuff so here is the notice of refusal um the property is owned rsa5 i'll note

that when she purchased the property in 94 it was zoned rm1 which would allow four units here the

zoning changed in 2015 the only variance that we're asking for is for two-family household

living there's also a small addition proposed as a part of this application which i will show you on

the plans we met with the coordinating rco west palton saunders park i believe will be in the

virtual audience they supported this application unanimously they I also

included in the presentation materials their their letter from the last time

around because this property was previously zoned RM1 the character of

this block specifically our end of the block is significantly multifamily you

can see on this diagram here what the nearby properties look like many of them

are actually three units we thought two units was the right number here carrie living on the first

floor uh and a portion of the second floor and a bi-level unit above her but there are multi-families

at 303 304 305 306 307 309 310 311 313 317 332 338 and 340 okay just for the record and i included

those rental licenses for the record as well here's the legislation that was approved in 2015

changing the zoning of this property which again runs street to street with frontage on holly

street in the rear from rm1 to rsa5 here's that letter of support from 2021 again that was

proposing a new standalone single family home in addition to a duplex in the existing structure

that was supported um heavily i guess not unanimously but um 23 to 1 here's the zoning

map of the property we're one of just a few here that go street to street the majority

of the lot lines cut right down the middle here so we have a i would say significantly larger lot

than what is typical for this block the other thing i'll note is we're adding a one-story

addition on the top of our structure you'll see in the photos that um we're adjacent to three

story structures and the majority of this block is three story structure so we're actually

matching uh coming closer into conformance with the heights on the block than than what we

currently are this is the garage on the black on the back on holly street here's the posting

photos from both street frontages here's to the right on north 41st you can see all these

three-story structures, which are primarily multifamily, and then to the left, here's Holly,

smaller street. Here's interior photos. So like I said previously, Carrie is planning to do a

significant gut renovation and retire in this home.

there's no one living there now plans and drawings i'll zoom in here for you

so the first regarding the addition the the darker portion of the building structure here is is the

addition portion the building height is 32 feet 11 inches at its highest point

there is going up to the floor the site plan up here um there's an existing two-story addition

that's in disrepair and is being removed and then there's a significant amount of space

um between um the rear of the of the existing building structure and where the garage is our

rear yard um you know is well beyond the nine foot minimum and then here's the floor plans

are small, so I'll zoom in here. Her unit is the blue unit. There's no living in the basement,

just a washer and dryer. It's an existing unfinished basement, and our plan is not to

change that. You go in the front, and you make a left, and you have one bed, one bath

on the first floor. There's an exit point to the rear yard on the side right here where my mouse is.

There's also, I would say, a guest bedroom at the rear of the second floor. It's a partial by level.

There's also a bathroom up there. And then going up the stairs to the orange unit, which has its own ventilated trash closet, it's also a bi-level, three-bed, two-and-a-half bathroom with, you know, obviously lots of natural light coming in the front of the second floor where the living space is, and then up above on the third floor where all the bedrooms are.

um obviously living there carrie is going to self-manage the property um and uh and with that

i'd like to ask my tenant to or my client to adopt my testimony close to the mic for me please if you

don't mind and pull being pulled right down to you okay all right could you please state and

spell your name carrie dupree c-a-r-r-i-e-d-u-p-r-e-e do you swear or affirm to tell the

truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes counsel carrie did you hear my testimony today

Okay. What? Into the mic? Yes. Was it true and correct? Except for the fact that I moved in in

1987. Oh, okay. 1987. She said, except for the fact that she moved in in 1987. I said 94.

Maybe there was a change in deed and I didn't catch that. My fault. Besides that, do you adopt

my testimony as your own? Okay. Thank you. Questions from the board. So did you say your

mother is going to live there? No, I moved in with my mother to take care of her. She passed

in december oh sorry sorry for your loss oh okay she'll be living there right and so i'll be staying

there during construction so that's right gotcha okay the and they're both bi-level units um i

don't have any issue with the layout okay thank you michael anyone else yeah just could you i'm

sorry good no are you going to be living in one unit and renting out the other is that how this

is going to work yeah okay all right yes thank you okay thank you yep i just may have missed it

so you're going to demo the rear right there's a portion of the rear that was like i think a

haphazardly added addition okay that's going to come down uh it's going to be replaced so that

the addition can go over it i'll reshare the zoning plan here so from my understanding carrie

correct me if i'm wrong the and i'll show the the uh the elevation here um the existing two-story

addition right here is not being replaced okay we're just adding a third floor so the rear that

that space between the garage and the back of the home is significant yeah and the the lieutenant

will have access to that space is outdoor space for them as well well just this is for just just

for the first floor all right thank you any other questions yes um i guess my question is about the

garage understanding that the plan is to use it for storage now but is the curb cut still legal

there is no curb cut it it i don't know if there ever was but i've been using it as storage ever

since i moved in so it was never actually it's really a storage shed an oversized storage shed

Yeah, I mean, it looks, based on the photos, like there was an opening that was cinder blocked up.

I'll go back to the plans.

I don't know if that...

There's no curb cut, though, on Holly Street.

Correct.

Got it.

And, you know, this door looks obviously like it's been there for a while.

I think, Carrie, I think you said you keep your, like, ceramic, your craft stuff in there.

Gardening stuff in there, art supplies.

Can you insert it from the yard as well?

There's a door on both sides.

Okay.

I mean, I guess to Tanetta's point, it's dense, and I think to have a multifamily unit, you do have an opportunity here to give the tenant access to the rear yard, understanding that you're the one on the first floor and you might not want to.

to give the tenant access to the rear yard understanding that you're the one on the first

floor and you might not want to have people in your space but it does create opportunity where

there is access where you could you could have it yeah questions tomorrow attorney no my question

was answered by actually uh so no questions questions or comments from the virtual audience

For this audience here.

I see.

The planning commission in 2,015, the zoning map was amended from rm 1 residential multifamily to the existing RSA 5 residential single family attached at this location.

The comprehensive plan recommended RTA one residential two family attached, which would have allowed this use by right. The proposed use is consistent with the prior zoning and recommended zoning. The planning commission recommends the board grant the requested variance for multifamily use for two family dwelling.

Thank you. MI 2026-002-246-31-North 41st Street. I vote yes with proviso. No household living in basement.

Michael Johns, my vote is yes with proviso. Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with proviso.

Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with proviso. McAdams, my vote is yes with proviso.

Tywin, my vote is yes with proviso. Thank you for coming and we appreciate it.

you okay who's doing nine i am okay so mi2026 002 262 1021 west uh hoarder street mr um hi could

you please state your name because you've already been sworn alex goldberg could you identify your

client the relationship to the property my client is sophia gordon sitting behind me she's the owner

of the property uh with her husband anthony murphy right um our our vice chair has a few questions

good afternoon have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing

i have and do you waive the read now the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy i do all right thank

you you share your screen and present the case it also has unanimous support from westbound area

neighbors so this is a very interesting case with a what i would think is a very de minimis variance

request. It's a beautiful property in West Mount Airy with a lot of, I would say, historical

elements to it. And we're proposing to, in addition to a full sort of renovation that's

happening, we're proposing to change the gate that's at the front of the property. I have

Justin Detweiler of John Milner Architects to my left. I don't usually do this. I would have my

client first but i want justin to explain for the board you know the the design theory behind

what's going on with the gate and how it relates to some of the metal work that's in the inside of

the property and i'll have him sworn in when we get to that point okay the refusal that we're

asking for is for a six foot eight inch gate rather than a four foot gate this gate is set

back significantly from the front of the property it's really not visible unless you're looking down

the chute of these stone walls which match the height of the gate that we're proposing

and is set back 60 feet from the lot line so that's and we meet the opacity 60 feet yeah

it's far back it's a big property you'll see the photos it's beautiful i see the coordinating rco

has his hand raised i'm sure we'll get to him here's the letter from them unanimous support

here's the zoning map this is a very funky shaped property

that my client actually got married at and grew up in here's what the front of the property looks

like so there's a better photo coming I believe but the existing gate is is tiny it actually

doesn't meet the opacity requirements so it's existing non-conforming and it's manual so the

new gate will provide better security. It's also automatic and beautiful. So, you know, it's part