ZBA Hearing - January 22, 2025

Other questions from the board?

No worries.

Hillary, questions? Any additional questions?

Not at this time, Mr. Chair.

Comments from the audience?

Questions or comments from the virtual audience?

Yes, Chair. I have a hand up by the name of Robert Everett.

They have been promoted to panelists.

Good morning, Mr. Everett.

Mr. Everett?

Chair, they might be having technical difficulties.

Yeah, well, he's from the Fishtown Neighbors Association.

Okay.

Anyone else in the virtual audience?

There are no more hands at this time, Chair.

Planning Commission.

Good morning, Mr. Chair.

Dan Powers with the City Planning Commission.

This step appears to be in the public footway

and outside of the scope of our recommendations

to the Zoning Board. Thank you. MI 2024-005-514-2323 East

Tuscant Avenue, I vote yes. Michael Johns, my vote is yes. Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.

Tynetta Graham, my vote is yes. Tywin, my vote is yes. Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.

thank you Mr. Chairman members of the board thank you counsel number 16 MI 2024

005 574 1510 North 25th Street Zen Jin is the attorney

good morning counsel this is the first time in three years that we've seen you because this is

the first so so we appreciate you coming today uh could you state your name and spell for the

stenographer okay good morning again uh my name is zen jen z h e n last name is

Good morning again. My name is Zen Jin, Z-H-E-N. Last name is J-I-N.

Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?

I do.

Could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?

Yes. My client is Olympic...

One second, I'm sorry.

It's Olympia Stillman LLC.

Mr. Shagai Bader will be the representative for the company.

And I understand that there's a letter of non-opposition

from the Brewery Town Chargedwood Civic Association.

Yes, we were able to work out a CBA with the community.

Okay, and our vice chair has a few questions.

Of course.

Good morning, counsel.

Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?

I do.

Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits

that's needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?

We submitted all exhibits except for the RCO letter, which was just received yesterday,

which was submitted yesterday. Understood. Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.

Thank you. I'm going to share with the board the previously submitted exhibits.

If I could be made a panelist so I could share. I'll raise my hand.

I am sharing with the board what was previously submitted as exhibits.

Can the board see that exhibit on their screen?

I can, sir.

Thank you.

This is an application for what is essentially currently a vacant lot to be used as a three-family dwelling.

The location of the property makes this application a multifamily for the reason that we have a lot that is abutted on one side with a very large REM1 17-unit property.

We are part of a small group of single-family lots on that block.

Behind our lot is also RM1 property. Across the street from our lot, currently there are permits,

because it's RM1 as well, there are currently permits for five buildings to be built of multiple

different levels of multifamily. When we met with the RCO, it did come to our attention that

one of the buildings on the other side in fact immediately abutting our property is a single

family property that owner was present and the particular concern of that owner was primarily

relating to building construction safety and that their property would not get damaged

the community's particular concern was parking as well as trash management

um egress and finally uh the developments um displacing the residents in the area who may

not be financially well off as a result we worked out a cba with the community to make sure at least

one of the units would follow the low income requirements of the city of philadelphia uh per

the, I believe it's the annual income percentage rate requirements to set the rent to permit a

lower income person to have access to the unit. So Breitown, Charlotte, issued a non-opposition

as a result. They also discussed the same issues before the board that I just represented in their

letter. I'm going to go ahead and move to the photo of the site. This site, again, as the board

can see, we are the vacant lot that is kind of filling on the block. The picture showing the

larger gray building here is the multi-unit building. They have about, I believe, per their

permit, 17 units in there. It's a combined lot of three or four lots. On this side, you can see in

this photograph that is the single family structure across the street right now the construction i'm

not sure what the status of construction of that is but i see permits being pulled for plumbing

etc however if we were to look at a google map right now it would not show the buildings on the

map it would still show the vacant lot the plan of the property design is to match the building's

height and front design and levels to the single family to our right as you're facing

right as you're facing the property. It is a three-story structure design with the same height

the property it is a three-story structure design

as the single-family property. Although that property to our left is a four-story design,

we feel that it would be more fitting to go with the three-story fitting the existing building to

the right. So from a height standpoint and front facade will look very similar to the existing

building to our right the layout of the property as far as the floor plans are concerned

i'm going to scroll down to that and zoom in for the board so the way the floor plans are laid out

the first floor and basement will be a combined one unit accessed from the front the second and

third floor access through the same front entrance goes into a stair central stair stairwell space

where they can access a front and back those are actually covering both the second and third floor

their front and back by levels giving it more of a feel of a by-level house rather than just

purely an apartment running the entire floor so the second unit would be the front half and then

the third unit will be the back half with the bedrooms on the third floor the living kitchen

on the second floor with the first unit the bedrooms are in the back of the building on

the first floor with the living room in the front and then a then flex space on the on the in the

basement for the purpose they could if they choose to use it as a workout space or anything that

would be fine as well we're trying to make sure that all the sleeping quarters are on the first

floor and not below level the building has a an easement access way allowing everyone to be able

to follow the side of the building which will be left with the access way to the rear yard which

is enclosed trash will be stored back there would only be brought out during the time that a pickup

is needed during our discussion with the community we indicated that lights will be placed in the

alley the community suggested a gate to be placed in the front which will be done so keys will be

given to all the residents um and security camera will be placed front and back to make sure

the alleyway is uh secure and and uh have have coverage with security cameras so that is

excuse me can you zoom and zoom out a little bit so we can see all floors four plans at once okay

much better thank you so again the alleyway is here it can be accessed through the side of the

property and again here's the rear yard where the trash storage would be so that is the proposal

that we have there is no roof deck there are no roof deck or is roof deck being proposed in this

property at all and that again was not brought up as an issue with the community so once we went

back and worked out with the community, the one unit being designated for lower income.

We have received their non-opposition in this particular application.

So with that, I would ask the board's a favorable review of this application.

I am happy to answer any additional questions, and I believe my client is here to verify

my testimony.

Why don't you bring your client?

Sure.

Mr. Bader, can you raise your hand virtually to be identified?

do we see mr bader yes shakai vader has been allowed to speak yeah hello hi sir could you

please state your name and spell for the stenographer yeah my name is shakai vader

c-h-a-g-a-i my last name vader b-a-d-e-r you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth

nothing but the truth yes please proceed counsel thank you uh mr bader did you hear my testimony

and see the representation and the presentation before the board yes um can you verify to the

board what i've represented true and correct including the cba terms yes thank you

questions or comments from the board can you tell me the building site again please

the building height

Mr. Bader

do you happen to know the building height off hand

or I can go back to the plan

I believe it is

38

I will zoom

into the

zoom into the height

I apologize, I'm trying to get to the elevation.

I apologize. I'm trying to get to the elevations.

Here it is.

35 feet at the roof level.

Thank you.

And just for a point, Council, the building next door, the one with all the units is four floors?

Yes.

All right. And then the other one is the same as this?

Yes. The other building will be 35-foot, three-story.

All right. Other questions?

What's the width of the side alley?

The side alley...

It says three feet on your elevation on this.

And then at the ground floor, what is the sort of barrier at that light well that's on the side?

Is it a...

This light well here?

No, the one on the side.

This one?

No.

I'm sorry.

If you're walking down the side alley, it's the light well that's about halfway down.

Oh, this light well.

Yes.

What's the security feature at the ground level?

Well, the light well itself will be accessible to the tenants.

Is there a grate?

Is there...

Oh, I'm sorry.

The light well ends at the ground level.

It doesn't go underground.

It's showing in the basement plan.

oh it is it is yeah is there going to be a grill that's going to be over that light well

or a fence or or a fence

i'm sorry let me go back to the yes normally we put the grill is the normally normally you

put grail would you be okay with putting a fence there as well no problem thank you i just wanted

I didn't know it was being addressed.

I'm not trying to propose offense.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Other questions from the board?

Depth of the basement below grade.

Basement slab below grade.

What's the depth?

The depth below grade.

i believe it might be on the elevation side here we go

nothing nothing shows just a zero and then says cellar floor there's no

oh there's no height indicated do you happen to know the um proposed basement

depth that's below grade what's the total depth of the basement um i think it was

i don't remember maybe six seven feet somewhere left uh total yes so so do you would you happen

to be able to tell what the below grade portion would be

we have one feet for the footing and the rest is need to be like it's around

seven seven i think seven feet something like six seven feet under the water yes seven feet below

grade i don't i don't i don't think that's true this kind of need it for more more information

on the documents because it it doesn't show i don't think i saw that you that you that it

shows what it is from the from the plans it looks like a part of it will be above grade and then

there will be a portion of it below grade um we can update the board certainly with that actual

actual depth if that is uh one of the concerns yeah it's it's always it's a real concern with

for me um because once you go six seven feet below grade you know your folks are living

completely underground. Understood. So that's a real concern for me. Okay, other questions from the board?

Questions or comments from the audience?

Questions or comments from the virtual audience? I see no hands at this time, Chair.

planning we're going to bring this back but do you want to vote on it now i can do that mr chair

uh dan powers at the city planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change to

the rsa5 residential single family zoning at this location in july 2024 the city issued a zoning

permit to split a formally combined law into two one would be zoned rm1 residential multifamily

on Stillman Street and the other will be zoned RSA 5 on 25th Street. The city then issued a

zoning permit on August 2024 for 14 dwelling units for the Stillman Street lot. The appeal