between us is very thin so the smell we just absorb very fast okay thank you very much sir
you want to testify please come up hi sir could you please when you sit down state your name is
spelled for the sonogram hi everybody i'm carlin small uh name spelled k-a-r-l-y-n last name s
m as in mary a l l right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth told truth nothing but the truth
yes sir are you a neighbor yes i am please proceed yes so i live at uh 2818 westmaster street um
and i think after hearing a little bit more information about what's being built um i just
have questions i'm still undecided but still wanted to give my opinion because i am a next-door
neighbor sure um can i ask direct questions about the project um it i have no that okay yeah he he
has no problem you can ask questions my my main question is is this a business that has been going
on already and you just want to adventing or is this is this are we moving in the business into
the space because it's unclear to me well for the bakery and i'll defer to sandra here my understanding
she wants to move into this space is that correct correct sandra yes yeah i i haven't started baking
it i i i'm new to that development i'm new to that area so um i haven't anything there yet
okay cool so um i mean for me i came in kind of a little bit more on the side of i don't want a
for me i came in kind of a little bit more on the side of i don't want a bakery next door
a bakery.
because the area is relatively residential um i'm a little bit i'm i'm a little bit stuck between a
rock and a hard place here um i think if there's a way to address what my neighbors ellen waleed
said um that would be super helpful in like moving this along but i think my really big
concern is that uh eleanor waleed and i are actually between both this this property
and then my neighbor on the other side of me right because it's it's 28 14 right 28 16 20 18 28 20
um my biggest concern and if i would feel a lot better if we could all address these things and
it might be something that's like more of an offline conversation and like again i'm happy
to have that combo i now that i see you and know you guys like i'm much more i'm ready i'm cool to
have that combo but my biggest concern is this the neighbor in 2820 has an app has a turf backyard
that he that they use to relieve their pets right so their pets go to the bathroom on that turf
and um it consistently smells like urine and defecation out there
It consistently smells like urine and defecation out there.
And to the point where, I mean, Ellen and Waleed, they said that they have their windows open, but we are always talking about, hey, look, it smells really bad.
We don't even want, like for me and my family, we don't even want to go outside.
My primary concern, so if you're going to have a business, and the business already proved, right, and I think you need venting.
my primary concern is if we start mixing in commercial trash right without actually
addressing that problem then i think we do have like a very real possible issue of pest control
and quality of life right because if we mix if we're mixing and i don't know how how often and
this is kind of more the conversation i want to kind of know more information about how often are
you guys plan on baking how often how many clients you have like all that kind of stuff
my biggest concern is if it's happening a lot and god forbid that we have a trash issue
question sure did did any of you go to the meeting no we didn't know
it's our fault yeah okay all right okay well is there is there information i'm just saying
the local wait wait local the rco would favor this that's fine yeah that right right yeah that's
maybe they don't have the same issues you did yeah okay i just i don't know this might not be the
right form but i just wanted to kind of come up here and just at least say there's a way that we
could and as this is being constructed i'm again i'm i feel a little bit differently as this is
being constructed if there's a way that we can all address those things that would be how about
this we have a week we have a week yeah why don't we do that let me talk to them let me talk to them
outside and see let me get their information by the way anytime you have a community meeting if
know the community meeting even if you miss it our information is on there so you can always reach
out to us beforehand so we can deal with those issues beforehand what's that we'll do a lot of
these things too well i mean i'm just i'm just saying we could i have a letter here where they
voted okay so but you could do your research yeah but we'll we'll reach outside we'll figure it out
we'll see what we can do in terms of addressing their issue in terms of the trash i know the
board has ideas and I have ideas as well this to address that let me see maybe
handle the trash issue with them that's right exactly exactly and we'll then
update the board by okay so we're gonna hold it for a week then we said
initially yeah I just I don't know if we put a date down to the 26th yeah okay
we'll get it done question does the base is the basement included in all of this
I do not think so I would ask that Laurie and oh they're both shaking their
My head's no, so I do not think so.
So who has access in the basement?
I think one of them is raising their hand.
Oh, I think it was just...
Oh, just so I know.
She just kept it up.
So there are only tenants in there.
There's two residential units above.
I don't know who has it, but we don't.
Like the tenants...
So neither of the first floor commercial spaces have access to the basement, direct access to the basement.
That's right.
Right?
Okay, because I'm assuming the second and third floor...
Sounds like that's a question for that owner. Yeah. Okay. All right. Well, I hear this. I do a little clean up. All right. All right. Thank you. Thanks for coming. Multiple principal uses. We didn't need to worry about that.
uh multiple principal uses we didn't need to worry about that
sorry as of this point no but if there's an issue we'll deal with it but don't planning
have taken position on this yeah yeah
now this is matero planning commission staff the comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning
from the existing rsa 5 residential single family to cmx 2 commercial mixed use under the recommended
cmx2 zoning personal services and commissaries and catering services are allowed by right
the planning commission recommends the board grant their proposed use variances
thank you very much thank you he'll be in touch with us
all right thank you thank you
mr chair just to uh make it nice and clear on the record that
vote in that matter will be held one week until august 26 at 2 o'clock pm
Number 12, MI-2026-002-287-121 Levering Street.
William O'Brien is the attorney.
He's usually here.
William O'Brien, please raise your virtual hand and wait to be sworn in.
the chair they'll be coming back in as a panel good good yeah we gave them 430
good afternoon chairman bergman members how are you how are you mr o'brien could you please
state your name as spelled before the stenographer. William O'Brien, W-I-L-L-I-A-M-O-B-R-I-E-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do. Mr. O'Brien, could you please tell us who your client is in the relationship to the property?
My client is the owner of the property, the Maniunk Development Corporation.
Right. And I see the Maniunk Neighborhood Council has a unanimous letter of support.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Good afternoon.
Have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, I did.
And you have a couple of refusals here.
So do you waive the reading of the refusals and stipulate to their accuracy?
All right.
Thank you.
You can share your screen and proceed with your case.
Thank you.
I'm looking for the button to share my screen.
It should be at the bottom of the green button.
But I don't see it.
Mr. O'Brien, you may have to expand your window a little bit before you can see it.
Yeah, I don't see it.
I've reduced the window, so I've got everything.
There's no green button, sir.
Oh, here it is.
Just appeared.
you're coming up you're good okay can you see the refusal well i can't great okay um so this is a
parcel uh that the development corporation acquired in 2024 it was actually two adjacent
parcels one was about 450 square feet the other was about 725 square feet orphan parcels parcels
on the corner of Crescent and Levering Street.
Carred them from separate owners, consolidated them into a 1,234 square foot lot.
And the proposal, so the development corporation for the last 30 years has been responsible
for cleaning the Manioc business district.
And to accomplish that, it has a variety of equipment, storage needs,
and those are now located within the district in different locations. The idea behind acquiring the
property was to erect a structure that would accommodate the storage of the equipment and
provide some storage for the development corporation for the many events that it holds.
The Neighborhood Council, as Chairman Bergman mentioned, is in support and I'd like to read
as Chairman Bergman mentioned, is in support. And I'd like to read the second page
the same
of their letter to explain their support. We note the following circumstances and
characteristics of this project. The Manningham Development Corporation identified
an irregular vacant lot in a prominent position in the MDC bid area, resolved a tangled title,
and purchase the property. MDC consulted the neighborhood council about the outline of their
proposal before hiring an architect and incorporated suggestions into their briefing
document. The design includes a residential component in addition to their immediate
requirements. MDC presented the scheme to the neighborhood council zoning committee and
adjusted the design to reflect comments made. The final design uses durable quality materials and
is designed to complement the transition between the residential district and the commercial
corridor at this location. The neighborhood council supports MDC's creative approach to
this derelict and difficult lot and believes the result will be an asset to the neighborhood. We
urge the zoning board to approve this request. Let me get you some photographs. So this is the
vacant lot. It's 1,234 square feet. This is Crescent Street with the railroad
overpass above it and in the foreground is Levering Street. This is to the left
of the property looking east. Three-story single-family attached homes.
Stucco and stone. This is the other side of the street. This is the Sorrentino's
deli that's painted brick the next one's brick the old post office here is a brick facade and
then there's stucco this is the proposed facade of the structure this incorporates the neighborhood
council's recommendations it has brick facing the commercial district on crescent and stucco
complementing the residential structures to the east
This is looking at from Crescent Street to the commercial face of the building, if you will.
Those garage doors will be available to open and for vehicle storage that is used in cleaning the district.
So here you see the site plan.
This is the lot.
This is the lot, but it was actually two parcels two years ago.
And here are the floor plans.
So this is part of the first floor.
This is towards the north, if you will, towards the Levering Street side.
This is the work area.
So the crew has a place to have lunch.
There's a full bathroom, a little kitchenette with undercounter, refrigerator, and microwave and lockers.
On the other side, I have to move this.
Bear with me.
On the other side, you see the curb cuts from Crescent Street and the vehicle storage.
The vehicles are electric carts.
They're not, no fumes.
And then in the back, there is some incidental storage, trash storage, and incidental storage as well.
Here is kind of an overview of that first floor showing the curb cuts.
I'm sorry.
this is i got my reef okay the the box with the um
here we go i can move that okay so here is the um
third floor plan which as the neighborhood council mentioned uh is a um a one-bedroom apartment
The bedroom here, living area, kitchen, bathroom.
This is an aerial view.
This is the train trestle.
And then here's the building.
This is an earlier rendition showing brick facing Levering Street as the photograph showed.
this will become stucco here's a building section showing the three floors
Um, here's a building section showing the three floors, uh, the zoning plan.
And again, this, this, this has been revised.
It will not have that brick facade facing, uh, Levering Street.
Again, these are early renderings, but it shows the massing and the size.
there have been some changes to the openings these openings have been modified to be more symmetrical
i think that's all i have um if gwen mccauley would raise her virtual hand
and bill does they have a headquarters too right oh yes let me go back this is the supplement to
their headquarters. Yeah, let me go back to page four real quick. So this is a map from Atlas.
I can drag it over.
there we go it's coming okay can you see that this map i can okay so the yellow triangle is
the parcel we're discussing uh the blue box on grape street is the manny development corporation's
office so this building will give the development corporation the opportunity to consolidate some
desperate uh functions that are in different locations in the district into this one central
location that's very put the carts in there and things like that the cleaning carts and all
exactly and you wonder there's a rental on the third floor and then a third floor would be
one a one-bedroom apartment to help offset the expense of the structure right okay
ms mccauley
gwen mccauley please raise your virtual hand and wait to be sworn in
Please hear.
Debbie rejoining for the Mr. Chair.