not calls, text
mostly every night to ask them to turn the music down so it's it's been an ongoing
ongoing do they turn it down you ask um not all the time sometimes not all the time okay
all right thank thank you for calling in thank you for your your comments all right thank you
is there anyone else in the virtual audience yes chair we have patrick last name ending in f right
good afternoon hi mr fitz march could you do me a favor could you spell your name for the
court reporter please sure uh patrick p-a-t-r-i-c-k fitz maurice f-i-t-z-m-a-u-r-i-c-e
right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
And you're the head of the community group?
Prasheed?
Well, as you just noted, I'm the president of the Penn School Civic Association.
As Jared mentioned, the Civic Association submitted a pretty lengthy letter regarding this application detailing the history and our understanding of the facts.
I didn't want to reiterate the entire letter because it's so long, but I did want to note a few things in response to what's already been said today.
Before starting, I just wanted to acknowledge what Mr. Thiel said about the prior building being freestanding.
I apologize for our misstatement.
He is correct that on one side, this did border one neighbor, and we were thinking that it was an alleyway.
So I apologize for that misstatement, and Mr. Thiel is correct.
Counsel pointed out that the school has operated since last year and denoted this with a legalization.
but i just want to note as you just heard the neighbor's been complaining since last year
so i don't want to just have this be viewed as a approving of prior accepted use
as council also noted this building was more a commercial storefront for a pharmacy a party
store and a dry cleaner not a dance studio and like i said i do want to note the strong contributions
And like I said, I do want to note the strong contributions that the dance school has made, not just the Penn Sports, to the entire South Philadelphia community, but we really were limited by this being a zoning issue about whether this building is an appropriate use.
as again council noted we were kind of limited without a qualified expert professional opinion
we had numerous questions about the sound being created the vibrations being created which were
an issue that were mentioned by the neighbor at our rco meeting the appropriateness of the efforts
made and the resulting sound and vibration that exists today we know that the applicant met with
people to discuss what efforts should be made but we don't have an independent expert to for
the civic association to review so that's kind of what led us in our opinion um with regard to air
management services from our perspective the inability of air management to test inside
the house is not fatal to the neighbor's opposition as we noted in our letter the
burden is on the applicant and not the opponent the air management inspections that were performed
were for all from outside i think anybody who lives in a row home knows there's a difference
between what could be heard outside and what could be heard through a party wall
um i'm not aware nor is the civic association of what hardship exists for this parcel which
i believe is the standard for this application um and finally unlike many applications that
the rco meets discussed this isn't a situation where an opponent was prospectively seeking a
variance and the opponents were presenting hypothetical concerns we were presented with
issues being experienced contemporaneously with our rco meeting today you have the sworn
non-speculative testimony by the impact of neighbor to our knowledge there is no argument refuting
that testimony. Unfortunately, it appears that the efforts made by the dance school to address
the efforts, the neighbors' concerns have failed. So like council said, we were kind of compelled to
our determination. I appreciate the opportunity to speak today. Thank you. One quick question.
In your experience, I mean, air management said they did not see violations. Did you go over there
and listen are are you asking me mr chair or mr patrick no no i'm talking to the head of the
civic association one one night i did go over um and did you think it was real loud
from outside i stood in between i stood directly between the dance school and the neighbor um i
could infrequently hear some of the music coming from inside the dance school but um in my opinion
compared to the
ambient noise from
traffic on Snyder Avenue in 95
from outside.
You didn't hear it.
I couldn't really register the music.
All right.
Thank you. I appreciate it.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Yes, Chair.
We have Robert Thiel.
oh is that your client it is it is but i'm not sure if he if he had something else he wanted to add
well he's unmuted i don't know i'm sorry
all right we offered it i'm sorry chair okay fine is there anyone else in the virtual audience
we have one more person sure richard last name ending in c please unmute yourself well that's
the husband of the the wife i believe so mr chair yeah richard
richard
please unmute yourself sir
okay chair they're both muted okay thank you is there is there anyone else in the virtual audience
sir mr richard last name ending with c you're already allowed to talk you have to unmute yourself
he just put his hand up that's what i'm saying this year okay richard
all right i'll take note we did take testimony from his wife there are no other hands here okay
planning commission good afternoon mr chairman and board members david fechta with the city
planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the commercial mixed
use one given the current configuration of the building requiring it to be used as a dwelling
unit would pose a hardship however the applicant has not shown that the property cannot be used
for other uses allowed by right under the current zoning so the city planning commission recommends
the board deny the use of permits um i'll thank everyone for their testimony mi 2022 001
I'll thank everyone for their testimony.
MI 2022-001-810-2036-38 South 3rd Street.
I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Shemel Shahid, my vote is no.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you, Mr.
H Street. Number 10. MI 2022-004-245-1533 North Lawrence Street.
Alan Notkinson is the attorney. Letter of support from Old Kensington Neighborhood Association.
Letter of non-opposition from Council Member Lozada.
Mr. Nockamson is coming back in as a panelist.
Good afternoon, Alan Nockamson, A-L-A-N, last name Nockamson, N-O-C-H-U-M-S-O-N.
Mr. Nockamson, could you identify your client and their relationship to this property?
Yes, just let me know.
It is Julio and Anna Figueroa.
OK, our board secretary, Ismail Shahid, has a few questions.
Good afternoon, Counselor.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal
and stipulate to his accuracy?
Have you emailed all of the required documents
in within five days before this hearing?
I have.
Thank you.
Please proceed and share your screen.
All right, so I'm here to present 1533 North Lawrence Street, a pretty straightforward project here.
We're looking to do a three-family dwelling unit here.
The first floor and lower level unit, which is unit number one, will be owner-occupied.
My clients are from this neighborhood, so they're looking to do this as a quasi-investment,
but also a way to be able to afford to renovate this family-owned property.
uh we will review first and notice a refusal then we receive a letter of support from the
old Kensington Neighborhood Association which will show that this was a well-intended community
meeting where my clients received overwhelming support for their project my understanding too
is that the district council member also sent a letter of non-opposition which I believe is in
our materials um we have a petition from nearby neighbors which overwhelmingly shows the support
for this project uh maps of the area photographs of the property uh my clients it isn't one of our
occupied unit but my clients are also uh well versed in developing property in the city of
philadelphia so i'm going to give an example of a renovation project they did just to showing the
level and uh and quality of finishes um our plans and drawings are meeting notice showing proof of
mailing of that community meeting that well-attended community meeting did have.
Our application for appeal that we filed with the CBA, our deed to the property and our
certificate of tax clearance.
So notice of refusal.
So this is an RSA-5 property.
The only refusal we have is the use to have as a triplex.
So we are proposing to have an addition at the rear and the side of the property.
So we're doing substantial renovations to this family-owned property that is in desperate need of repair and improvements.
And my clients hope to live there.
And in order to offset these substantial costs on this property, they're looking to rent out the upper two units.
So a letter of support, as you can see, there were 24 attendees, six people didn't vote.
I assume one of them was me as the presenter.
16 people in support, only two opposed.
And because of that, we received a letter of support from the coordinating RCO.
And then we also received a letter of non-opposition from Council Member Lozada as well.
And then the petition.
So our property is right here in green.
My client received 20 signatures from 25 other properties close by.
And we wanted to show you compared to like where those properties are located to our property.
So you can see they're almost all located within a one-block radius, showing that overwhelming support by nearby neighbors.
And then here's our petition with the names of those individuals as well as their...
And then here's our petition with the names of those individuals, as well as their contact information.
And then maps of the area.
We are RSA-5 property, but there is a unique mix of different types of zoning classifications nearby, both RM1, IRMX, and CMX2.
And then just showing where we are in the neighborhood as well.
we are not that far from a commercial corridor so you know again increasing density always
helps support commercial corridors and the progress of the property again this is a three-story
structure proof of posting the property for today's hearing North Lawrence Street to the
right of the property North Lawrence Street to the left of the property example renovation of
just the quality of finishes and product that my client would put similarly into this property as
they've done in the past so I always ask them to show me pictures of the living room the kitchen
the bathrooms and that's what they did and a bedroom just gives you an idea of the quality
of craftsmanship and then there are plans and drawings I do have Brian Jones the architect
from Skyplane if you have any technical questions.
But again, as you can see, this is a three-story structure
and we're just expanding it out in the rear.
There are no dimensional variances with regards to this project.
And then just, you know, again, floor plan, you know,
you walk into a common vestibule area to the left,
go to unit number one, which is the first floor and lower level.
That would be my client's unit.
and then you unit two is on the second floor and unit three is on the third floor
we met with the community we met with the community on October 11th at 6 45 p.m 121
addresses were notified of this meeting list of the addresses proof of mailing to those addresses
our application for appeal that we filed the ZBA including a notice of refusal and a project
information form or deed to the property showing that the figuras have owned this property for some
time. And then certificate of tax clearance. The only thing I would say again, taxes are not due
to the first quarter of next year. With that being said, I would ask that Julio virtually
raise his hand or if Anna's in the virtual audience, one of them, so they can adopt my
testimony is their own. Mr. Nockamson, how does the rest of the area look relative to
multifamily? There are multifamily structures close by and proximally. Okay.
Mr. and Mrs. Figueroa, you're free to speak. Hi, this is Ms. Figueroa. How are you?
Great. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Anna Figueroa, A-N-A, Figueroa, F-I-G-U-E-R-O-A.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
And Mrs. Figueroa, you heard everything I had to say today about your project.
Yes, I did.
And is it true and correct?
Yes, it is.
Do you adopt as your own testimony?
Okay, thank you.
Questions or comments from the board?
no mr chairman no mr chairman all right questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no he is chair planning commission thank you mr chairman good afternoon david vecto city
planning commission mr chairman and members of the board the comprehensive plan recommends no
change to the residential single-family zoning at this location there is no unique physical condition
of this 1111 square foot lot to prevent it from being used in conformance with the zoning code
This is a solidly single-family block, and per the RCO letter submitted by Old Kensington Civic, the vote at the community meeting was based on the applicant living in one of the proposed units, not in the proposed zoning variance.
The applicant having failed to demonstrate a hardship of three units, the City Planning Commission recommends the Board deny the use of variance.
So MI 2022-004-245-1533, North Lawrence Street, I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is no.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Councilman.
Thank you, have a great day.
Number 12, MI-2022-004-364-3146 Richmond Street.