Planning Commission?
Planning Commission.
I'm sorry, Madam Vice Chair?
I'm sorry, Madam Vice Chair.
I just want to swear in Mr. Schmidt.
And I'll let you go with that.
Ms. Sunkin, I didn't hear what you said.
I'm asking, could you swear in the witness for Mr. Sunkin?
Oh, sure.
Thank you kindly.
Sir, do you swear or affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
Mr. Schmidt, were you on the call?
did you hear my testimony throughout this presentation yes i did if you had the opportunity
to testify would you adopt my testimony as your own and as true and correct and accurate yes
thank you mr schmidt with that i rest madam chair thank you planning commission
thank you very much chair vice chair tenari and members of the board the comprehensive plan
recommends this property for residential single-family use this is a pre-existing
parking pad which seems to mirror the other parking pads on this block we recommend the
board approve the requested variance thank you one second calendar number one five six seven
1939 poplar street my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes
Thank you very much. Sure. Good luck. Calendar number 1562-3121 Jasper Street.
Attorney is Alan Nockamson.
Mr. Nockamson is coming in as a panelist.
Hi, Mr. Nockamson, can you put your name and address on the record? Spell your last name,
please. You're already sworn in.
Alan Ockamson, 123 South Broad Street, Suite 1600, Philadelphia PA, 19109.
Thank you. You are sworn in. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal referral, photos and or plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing? And have you met with the RCO? And do you have a letter?
Okay, you may proceed.
Can I share my screen? Yes, there is a letter of opposition from the Harrogate Civic Association
and Councilman Squilla is also in opposition. That's for the record. Good afternoon,
I'm still Alan Occamson and I'm here to present 3121 Jasper Street. This is a corner property
in the Harrogate section of Philadelphia. As you'll see from the photographs of the property,
There's a mix between RSA-5 properties, IRMX properties, as well as RM-1 properties.
Particularly, you'll see a picture of a property which is across the street, which is an RSA-5 property, which is an HVAC warehouse.
So it's not uncommon that the zoning in this part of town is a little jumbled up.
But it is a corner property, as you can see from at least in the front page of my materials, my client has kept it in good repair.
So you'll see this table of contents, which is my typical table of contents, deed to the property, certificate of tax clearance, notice of refusal, application for appeal, maps to the area, photographs of the property, as well as the surrounding area, and architectural plans and drawings, as well as correspondence from the Harrogate Civic Association.
I also have a letter of support from the next-door neighbor.
The next-door neighbor would be the one who would be most impacted generally with the increase of use of the property.
And we met with them, and they are in support of this project.
So this property is owned by Jasper Flats, LLC.
I do have online Avram Ozlik, the owner's representative, who will adopt my testimony.
Certificate of tax clearance showing that we're in good standing with the payment that was due.
Notice of refusal. So we are an RSA 5 property, but as you can see, you'll see this is a corner property.
Most of the other properties on the different corners in this part of Philadelphia, there are examples of multi-unit CMX 1.
Across the street is completely RM1, and across the street from there is the HVAC facility, which is RSA 5.
Our application for appeal that we filed with the ZVA maps to the area.
So this is the RM1 property that is across the street.
The RSA 5 property is on Clementine. We're in the corner of Jasper and Clementine.
The RSA 5 property is on Clementine. We're in the corner of Jasper and Clementine. So what we're looking at right here is an RSA 5 property, which is a warehouse, which you'll find and see on the pictures.
You'll also see that most of the other corner properties in this neighborhood have some type of multi-unit capacity, a grocery store, there's a parking lot.
But if you go on the zoning map, there are a mix between, again, IRMX, RM1, and CMX1.
Photographs of the property, this is our property from the front of the property on Jasper Street to the left of the property on Clementine.
So this is where we would store the garbage in the rear of the property.
You'll see property on Jasper to the right of the property.
And then this is Jasper to the left of the property.
This is the property on Clementine that's across the street from us,
which is technically an RSA 5 property, but it's an HVAC warehouse.
So again, it's not uncommon for the zoning to be jumbled in this part of town.
And then East Clementine to the right of the property as well.
And then East Clementine to the left of the property, which you can see, this is our property.
Across the street is a warehouse facility.
So our plans and drawings are pretty basic and simple.
We're not changing the configuration in any way.
You go front door, you go to the right of the property, to the right, there's a door.
It's essentially one floor of a bedroom, living room, and a kitchen, and you can go down the flight of steps, which is the basement area, which is unfinished.
We would agree to a proviso of no bedrooms in the basement if that makes the board feel comfortable.
Our intention is not to have bedrooms in the basement.
We feel it's appropriate from an affordability standpoint to divide this property into two, as well as the way it's configured.
But we would be agreeable to no bedrooms in the basement.
You go up a flight of steps, it's a two-bedroom, one-bath property.
So we did meet with the individuals in the community through the Harrogate Civic Association.
Basically, they stated it's zoned this way, and that's how it should be, even though from a planning perspective, typically corner properties are multi-unit in nature.
And given the fact that there is a mix between RMX, RM1, CMX1, and even the RSA-5, as you saw across the street on Clementine, is not being used in a single-family fashion.
So this is not a single-family part of the neighborhood, even though that's what they stated in their letter.
And then here's our letter of support.
Again, we reached out to the community.
we feel like that 31-2023 would be most or directly impacted by our use and they are
actually in support of this project. Here's evidence of, you know, notice that we sent
to the community in terms of the community meeting. And with that being said, I would
ask that Avram Oslick virtually raise his hand.
hello can you hear me
hello can you put your name and address on the record please and spell your last name
and first avram oslik a v r a m as in mary o s l i c k 541 east cambridge street philadelphia
Pennsylvania, 19134. Thank you. Do you swear for him to tell the whole truth and nothing but the
truth? Yes. Okay, Mr. Notchamson. Yes, Avram, you heard everything I stated today. Yes, I did.
And is it true, correct, and accurate? 100%. And do you adopt as your own testimony? Yes, I do.
And just one other piece of information, Mr. Oslick actually lives in close proximity to
the property. So you're not looking at a developer who is trying to
just move into a neighborhood through development purposes. He actually
lives in the area. He self-manages a lot of properties in this part of the area.
So he's invested in Harrogate as well.
Okay. Does the board have any questions?
Yes. How many square feet is there
in a property? The lot is 904 square feet.
And you want two units?
And you want two units?
You're asking for two units?
That's correct, Mr. Holliman.
i thank you tom you're um you're echoing
All right, thank you.
Tom, you're...
sorry about that okay that's great now i can understand so the property the lot is how many
square feet it's the lot itself is 904 square feet according to a public record and the home
The home, let me see. I have to look at the public records for that. Let's see. 3,121 is almost 1,300 square feet.
Okay. Mr. Holloman, do you have any other questions?
Okay. Is there anyone in the audience, the virtual audience, who would like to testify?
I see no hands, Chair.
Thank you.
Planning Commission?
Good afternoon, Vice Chair Tonari, members of the Board, David Fecto, City Planning
Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends this property for residential single-family use.
This is a 904 square foot lot.
There is nothing unique about this property that would prevent it from being used in conformance
with the code.
we recommend that the board deny the requested variance.
Calendar number of...
Wait a second, where am I?
Calendar number 1562-3121, Jasper Street.
My vote is no.
My vote is no.
My vote is no.
My vote is no.
Thanks. Professor, can you take this case?
Calendar number MI 2021-001559, 3212 Morning Glory Road.
Anyone here for this case?
Yes, I am Brian Perrini, for the applicant.
Please identify yourself with a record, spell your first and last name.
Yes, my name is Brian Perrini, B-R-I-A-N, P as in Peter, E-R-I-N-I.
I'm an attorney at Lipskine Brandt.
I represent the applicant.
Address is 1101 Market Street, Suite 2020, Philadelphia, PA, 19107.
You sure are firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, for nothing but the truth?
And do you agree to waive the reading of its refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
And have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents, proof of ownership,
proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal or referral,
photos and plans five days prior to this hearing?
It's a councilman's support letter, which came yesterday and which was sent yesterday.
Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
We have yes to both.
Thank you.
Please proceed.
So this, and if I could share my screen as well.
please go ahead
so this is just the notice of refusal and there's one um refusal which dealt with the the fence
my client is uh constructed a six foot solid fence on the property line
which is the cause of the refusal second page is the application for appeal but third page or I
guess third exhibit which we showed was a certificate of tax clearance and I just want
to get you to so here's the RCO a support letter you'll see here that there are 24 plus three at
the committee so 27 total all were in support later on you'll see numerous letters to support
from the near neighbors here's the councilman support for variance for the fence and here's just
there's numerous pictures that were sent as part of the exhibit package but just to make it a
little easier here's just a look of the the fence from the front of the yard to the side it's a white
The fence from the front of the yard to the side, it's a white fence, good construction.
advance.
It's a good look for the neighborhood, for the property.
And just to give you an idea, this is the Google map of where the fence is.
It's a corner lot.
It's literally on the cul-de-sac.
There's one way in, one way out.
And there's letters from 3214, which is the next door neighbor.
32110, which is really the only neighbor that would have sight line to the fence,
and then neighbors across the street. Also, there's other support as part of this package,
and the package is sent as part of our submissions. My client has kids. The fence
and the size of the fence, there's numerous reasons why we're looking to get this approved.
um from a safety measure point of view uh for the neighborhood there's a potential that might
climb like try to put a pool in that side yard a four-foot fence just isn't going to cut that
for for protecting not only the neighbors from coming in possibly when nobody's home
um but also um you know we'll keep hopefully we'll keep we'll keep the neighbors out and
and there's not yep uh the four-foot fence really is going to do much for that
But also, like I said, he has kids.
So from a security perspective, people walking by aren't going to be able to look into his yard.
People won't be able to hop the fence.
And if he leaves some stuff out, take those things.
The neighborhood itself has numerous fences that are in excess of four feet, that go to six feet, that are not opaque as well.
And, you know, overall, like I said, from the perspective of the cul-de-sac, there's no visibility issues.
there's no light uh issues there's really no it really doesn't affect anyone and if it did
um there's letter support pretty much across the board in the neighborhood um so so again you know
because of that uh councilman's support neighbor support uh safety security um you know and alike
we ask that the defense be approved and that the request be approved thank you is uh professor can
i say something there's so many other pools in the neighborhood though without fences
it's not necessarily just for a pool um it could be if they decide to put one in but as you'll see
the the pools here none of these houses front the exact sidewalk the way the property is situated
there's you know there's behind the house but obviously doesn't have room there um you know
like i said the three two ten neighbor here who only who really has the only neighbor aside from
site line actually would be connected uh has approved it 14 has approved you know that we