comments. A vote would have been for the approval of this particular project. And when I spoke to
coordinating rco all in the family afterwards um they wanted to know because there were concerns
about the trash plan our concern uh and we told them that we would have that the applicant would
have uh trash being placed in canisters in the front and a trash contractor going by uh every
daily to make sure that the trash is placed and maintained within the canisters
And then on trash day for the trash to be neatly placed out in the for for trash pickup on trash day.
Now, there is also history in this block of there being multifamily on this block.
We just have we have 20. In fact, two blocks. I'm sorry. Three houses down.
2618. That's a three-unit active rental license. We have 2608, which is multifamily.
We have 2629, which is also multifamily. So there is history, definitely, of there being
multi-families within this block. Now, the hardship is that this is a shell, this is a
very large, this is a pretty large building, and we feel it would be significant hardship for it
to be used as a single family. And we would ask that in light of the community, the significant
community support, particularly on that block, that this project be granted. And also the
meeting summary that was presented by the coordinating RCO, it notes that the parties
couldn't reach an agreement on the application as well. That wasn't submitted in my package,
but i did submit it to uh miss emerson this morning so that is also part of uh this as well
and i have the applicant here and i would ask that he be um promoted so that way he could adopt
the statements that's being said here okay mr alexander
You have to raise your hand, Mr. Alexander.
Mr. Alexander, you're allowed to speak.
Okay, thank you.
Hi, could you state your name as spelled for the court reporter?
My name is Michael Alexander, M-I-C-H-A-E-L-A-L-E-X-A-N-D-E-R.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Okay, Mr. Alexander, could you state what your position is with this, with Mobile Tier?
I am the sole owner of Mobile Tier, LLC.
Now, you heard the statements that I just presented, the evidence that I just presented to the zoning, to the board members.
Do you agree with those statements?
Yes, I do, sir.
do you adopt those do you adopt those statements yes sir and do you have anything that you would
like to add to what i've stated is there anything you don't necessarily have to but is there anything
else that you would like to add to what i stated uh no i don't i don't have anything okay
and i would just open it up for any if anybody has questions questions from the board
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
All right.
Questions or comments for the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Odessa, last name ending in T.
Ma'am, please unmute yourself.
You're free to speak.
Hi, could you state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
hello can you guys hear me yeah could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
Hello, can you guys hear me?
Yeah, could you?
yes my name is odessa tate o-d-e-s-s-a-t-a-t-e all right do you swear from the child truth the
whole truth and nothing but the truth i do are you a neighbor no i am all in a family group
okay could you all right what's your testimony so i also wanted to mention that there is no
consensus because the other rcos wanted to go with another public hearing meeting so that's why
there's no answer of confirmation on the form that jermaine received but in the meeting and from our
point of view on one of the neighbors sean phillips asked what was done with the property what was
Van Dyne and that the property
incurs squatters and unwanted
activity takes place from drugs
to individuals leaving trash.
I think that we all agree that
fixing the property to habitability
would be a great asset to the block,
but we can also stay true to the
fabric of the community by leaving
larger three-story single-family
homes accessible for families
that need them. So as a
suggestion for Mr. Harris
and for his client,
PHA has
the housing choice voucher program for owners hdv owner pha makes their projections according to
small area fair market rents so for a five-bedroom home such as this within the 19132 zip code
he could receive 1846 for rent he can also utilize opportunities that hud may be able to provide
but according to the x247 there must be adequate planning to meet the housing needs of present
residents and of those individuals and families anticipated to reside in the municipality which
may include conservation of presently sound housing rehabilitation of housing and declining
neighborhoods and the accommodation of expected new housing and different dwelling types and
that appropriate densities for households of all income levels section 604 states that the
ordinances should promote protect and facilitate any or all of the following the public health
safety rules and the general welfare coordinated and practical community
development and proper density of population to prevent one mentioned the
overcrowding of land it is important that the intensity of use or density of
development is determined the development is a violation of density of
population and intensity of use which is did not show what each floor looks like
from front to back so we could not get a feel for the current layout and what
can actually fit in the space according to the architectural drawings but there is an overuse for
the space being presented by taking the number of bedrooms from five to seven all in the family is
not in support of the various change to a triplex all right thank you thank you for your thank you
for your comments and thank you for calling it thank you is there any other people in the virtual
audience would have liked to make a comment chair we have a caller a phone number ending in three
five five two okay i could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
yes this is adrian fernandez again adrian you've already been sworn just just so you know uh we're
not going to vote today on this and we're going to wait to hear from the from the rcos yes i
understood what you explained earlier. And with reference to that, I'm asking, is it possible you
can hold a vote for at least three weeks? If you wait to hear, we're going to hold a vote for 30
days. Okay. Thank you. Also, Odessa has mentioned some options that are in line with other
variance hearings that we've had on this block, and we would like to present those to the
neighbors because they're in line with keeping a single family. And we have successful rentals on
this block by families that are kept in single family homes. All right. So thank you for calling
in again. We appreciate it. You'll hear the results shortly. Is there anyone else in the
virtual audience? I see no hands, Chair. Hi. Planning Commission, please. Good morning,
Chair Bergman. Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. That last name is
spelled h-e-g-a-r-t-y right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but
the truth yes sir proceed thank you board members in 2014 the zoning map was amended at this location
from rm1 to rsa5 in accord with recommendations from the comprehensive plan however this existing
building is a relatively large three-story structure and there is evidence of two and
three family uses and similar structures on this block city planning commission recommends that
the board grant the variance thank you um mi 2022-003
Thank you. MI 2022-003-393-2612 North 17th Street. We're going to hold the vote on this. We'll wait 30 days to hear from the RCOs. Mr. Harris, thank you very much for your presentation.
Thank you for having me again.
I just want to note the record is otherwise closed except for letters from Swampoodle
and North Philadelphia CDC who were not able to submit letters yet.
Thank you.
The record is closed other than the letters from the RCO.
All right, Mr. Harris?
Yes, thank you.
Thanks for having me again.
All right, thank you.
number five mi 2022 00908 6302 morton street leo movihill is the attorney
there's a letter of support from the chew and belfield neighbors club incorporated
with proviso council person bass's office is not taking a position in this matter
good morning members of the board mr mobile could you uh spell your name for the court reporter
please yes it's leo l-e-o last name m as in michael u-l v as in victor i h-i-l-l right do you
swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do mr mulvihill could
you identify your client in relationship to the property certainly my client for purposes of this
application is ms bernicia salman that's s a l m as in mary o n as in nancy d as in delta
she's the principal of watch us grow learning center llc the tenant at the property the property
owner is also on the line our vice chair has a few questions yes hi mr malvahill do you agree
to wait the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy i do have you emailed the exhibit
pact with proof of ownership tax compliance refusal or referral voters under plans on the
property thought is in advance of this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter
You may proceed and start with what you've started with your screen.
Certainly.
Good morning, everyone.
Leo Mulvihill on behalf of Ms. Bernicia Sellman.
She's the proprietor of Watch Us Grow Learning Center, LLC, and she's a longtime resident
of this particular neighborhood.
She grew up a couple doors down from the subject property, so she knows the area well.
This application is for a daycare center, not for 24 hours, maximum occupancy around
20 for younger students in a really large building with a nice open play area outside
that's fenced in. We'll get to that in a moment. So for purposes of this hearing, our materials,
I have the refusal appeal on project information form at page 1. Area maps at page 9, lease
at 11, commercial activity license at 12, tax clearance at 13, zoning notification letter
at 15. We didn't have an RCO letter at the time of the submission of this packet but I believe we
have since received one indicating non-opposition. I have photos of the property beginning at page 20
and then we have the floor plans of the property beginning at page 75.
So as noted this is a refusal for a daycare located in an RSA 3 zoning district and as we
As you know, RRC 3 does not permit zoning, pardon me, RRC 3 zoning does not permit daycares.
This is a map.
So we are located right here in the corner on these relatively large properties on Morton
Street at the intersection of East Washington Lane.
There's a number of large multifamily properties here along Morton on our same block.
And then this brick of RM1 properties directly to our northeast multifamily as well.
number of multi-family on this block along Washington Lane. So in addition to the mailings,
I went out at the request of the council person's office and ensured that these multi-family
properties were personally hand-flyered just to make sure that we had attendance at the meeting.
This is an overhead Google shop so we can see we're located by several bus stops
and otherwise it's largely a residential area. This is at least the first page of our lease.
I have a full copy as well, but Libby Goodman is the landlord.
She's on the line as well.
And here's my tenant, Venetia Salmons, for a five-year lease of the property.
This is my client's commercial activity license and the tax clearance for the property.
This is the mailing that went out.
Copy of the refusal, proof of mailing.
This is the hand delivery one that I personally gave out with orange flyers.
And this is the property itself, so this is the view from Washington Lane.
And this is the property itself.
So this is the view from Washington Lane.
This is the entire property, so there's three apartments above and then the ground story
is basically set up for a commercial use like this daycare.
There's two separate entrances, one on Morton off to our right, we'll get to that in a sec,
this one on Washington Lane, and this will be the primary entrance for the daycare.
There is a gate here, it's just open in this photograph, and there'll be some signs here
as well to direct parents to come in via this entrance up the stairs in their rear the entrance
along morton street that's a handicapped accessible entrance so it is ada compliant with the ramp in
case anybody needs to get in on the ramp so back here as we can see where i'm indicating with my
cursor these are the fences for the adjacent properties these are all going to be uh there's
going to be a new fence installed that's solid wood to completely fence in this back area to allow
privacy and security,
both for the students who will be at the daycare
and for the nearby neighbors.
Get a shot of the property from the other side.
These are the nearby twins that I was discussing earlier.
This is our zoning sign on the Morton Street side.
And this is a view from Morton Street.
So our building is a twin.
The part with the black on it is the house next door.
It's a multifamily house.
Here are the three mailboxes and separate entrance
on walkway for the three units that are present in this building already. This walkway leads up
to a set of stairs to the other entrance as I discussed previously on Morgan Street and this
ramp here is for the ADA accessible entrance. I have a million other photos there as well but we
pretty much got the gist. This is taken from the interior of the property where I was showing
everybody earlier that we'll be installing fences on the interior for privacy and this is going to
be showing the general play area for the kids. As I discussed earlier, this is going to be
replaced with solid wooden fencing for security and privacy. This is the interior of the property,
so we're pretty set up to go. We have several different rooms, play area, cleaning area,