and you know we really did try in good faith i emailed the one individual uh the night of
because um i put my email in the chat um and she she responded um but i don't all right no worries
okay 2529 tulip street as you can see it's not uncommon around the corner to have a three-story
to have a three-story structure go straight up. But then our plans and drawings again, even though
structure goes straight up. But then our plans and drawings.
this is not a mansard roof, it does look like one. We did try to purposefully change the materials to
kind of lessen the height of the building and that's the front rendering. The rear rendering
you know shows you know again the rear and you can see the building structure, the roof
structure in the back again you'll see from the the plans and drawings um we really have no choice
so um and i'll go back to the height i'll take a look to see what that height is but i would
it doesn't exceed 38 feet oh no and i would think it's probably closer to 33 feet um okay that's
fine but um but again if you look at it yeah if you look at it again we're not trying to increase
density. First floor, open floor plan. Second floor, two bedrooms and a bath. Third floor is
a master bedroom and a bath. And as you can just see, it's just like you look at the stairs,
there's no other way to do the steps than to go up and down. It's not wide enough. The building
is just not wide enough to go across. And that's why the stairs in the rear hug on the third floor
and then on the roof deck access so that and if you look at the third floor master plan
excuse me third floor plan if we did the eight foot setback this is the master bedroom like
basically just you know estimating we would lose this much space we would have a functional floor
plan on the third floor either and then the other one is just the open area we're just trying to
square off the building so summarize and we'll get your red yeah so so those so that's basically
a summary we're really trying to do the least modification possible under the philadelphia
zoning code um we would still love to work with the people who are affected who had some issue
with our property but we have haven't been able to reach out to them we did reach out to many many
neighbors on our block who are in support of our project including the next door neighbors and we
hope that the board finds that this variance is reasonable in the circumstances and grants it.
With that being said, I have Anjali Patel, the owner's representative on the call,
and I would like for her to adopt my testimony. Good afternoon, ma'am. Please identify yourself,
spell your full name, and I'll swear you in. Hi, my name is Anjali Patel. My spelling is A-N-J-E-L-I-E,
last name patel p-a-t-e-l you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the
truth i do thank you mr knockinson yeah mrs patel you heard everything i stated today
correct and is it true correct yes and do you adopt it as your own testimony i do
any questions from the board no mr chairman uh anyone else like to testify in this case if so
please raise your hand no hands at this time chair thank you uh planning commission
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the single-family residential at this location
we feel the increase in non-conforming open space is de minimis but that the applicant has failed
to demonstrate a hardship for both the third floor and roof deck setbacks accordingly the
planning commission recommends the board grant the variance for open space but deny the variances for
setbacks. MI 2021-003234, 2540 Survivor Street. My vote is yes. Carl Toneri, my vote is yes.
Confessor Plaza, my vote is yes. James Snell, my vote is yes. Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
thank you carol do we go to case number six now because i don't remember yes we do okay thank you
mi 2021-003218 2716 east monmouth street catherine missomer is the attorney of record
the southport richmond civic association sent a letter of support
and she's coming in now as a panelist here thank you uh miss missomer when you get on
please spell your full name i'll swear you in sure it's katherine missomer m-i-s-s-i-m-e-r
1835 market street suite 1400 19103 do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth i do thank you uh miss denari has some questions for you
I do. Thank you. Ms. Tenere has some questions for you.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
I agree to waive. I just want to confirm there was an amended refusal issued in this case.
I want to confirm you have a refusal dated 10-29.
do we have that melissa i'm not aware of a an amended refusal i could check to see if one came
in in late um but all i was submitted to the board on the 29th via email to both tanya and
Sharon. So it should be of record. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Melissa. We'll proceed.
Thank you. Okay. Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership,
tax compliance, refusal referral, photos under plans of the property five days in advance of
this hearing? And have you met with the RCO? And do you have a letter? Yes, to all of the above.
Okay, great. You may proceed. Thank you. And you should be seeing my screen in front of you now.
We are. Great. As mentioned, I'm here on behalf of the Ownership Brickstone Group LLC at 2716 East
Monmouth Street. With me today are Tom and Carolina Hewell. They will be living at this residence,
it's their personal residence, as well as the project architect David Whipple. We're here today
for a single family new construction with accessory parking. You should have received
a letter of support from Southport Richmond Civic Association as well as a letter from our direct
next-door neighbor at 2718 East Monmouth that is also in support of this application.
The property is a vacant lot zoned RSA 5 on this block of Monmouth between Salmon and Edgemont.
there's parking garage, front access parking garages on both sides of the block.
Your materials contain a chart which shows, this is a site plan just briefly, but I also submitted
a chart of those neighboring properties. This is our lot here. You'll note the property next door
at 2714 has front-loaded parking, as well as on this side of us at 2718, a recent permit was
granted for front-loaded parking as well. This chart does reflect some of the addresses on this
block that already have accessory parking from Monmouth Street. And you can see through our
surrounding area photos, this is the existing condition in this neighborhood. And this is the
end of Monmouth where it dead ends in desoulment. So you'll note several commercial garages at the
of the block as well. As this property is zoned RSA 5, the proposed accessory parking does generate
a refusal for front-loaded parking. Again, this is the existing condition in the neighborhood.
We also received two technical refusals and these are reflected in the revised refusal
that I mentioned earlier. This is the zoning permit for 2718 which allows parking next door
and this is our refusal on our location what we're proposing is something similar to this
um what you would see in different neighborhoods of the city because it's open to the sky
lni is interpreting this front door which is typically a garage door as a fence and that's
why we were issued the fence refusal and the setback lni is interpreting this not to be the
front of the building, even though this brick structure will be at the property line adjacent
to neighboring structures, L&I issued a refusal because they're considering this to be a setback.
Again, that's really just by virtue of this design. There's no difference between what we're
proposing and a traditional garage, just the fact that it is open to the sky. That's why it's
generating that different interpretation. As mentioned, we did meet with Southport Richmond
Civic. They are in support of this application, as well as the directly affected next door
neighbors. I will just add to the record that as evidenced by this letter of support, this
proposal will not be detrimental to the development of neighboring properties. Again, the proposal
is in context with existing uses on this street, as the majority of these buildings do have front
loaded parking. The proposal will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood, again,
as in we're conforming to what's existing there on site. I will just ask Mr. Huell if you would
unmute yourself or if he could be allowed to unmute himself.
He just has to raise his hand. Tom could you raise your hand please it should be
Tom, could you raise your hand, please?
It should be indicated at the bottom.
indicated at the bottom.
And if not, as a member of the board,
I would ask the board to stipulate that
he would adopt my testimony if he could.
Mr. Tom, you can unmute yourself.
We got him.
There he is.
Good afternoon, sir.
Yes, please spell your name.
Tom, your last name, please.
Tom Kuhl, H-E-W-E-L-L, and I'm here with my wife, Carolina Kuhl, same last name, H-E-W-E-L-L.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
Ms. Zimmer.
Thank you.
Tom, did you hear my testimony this afternoon?
sounds like you're being an officer of court we're going to adopt this that your testimony
appreciate it i did all right any questions from the board no no no no mr chairman no anyone else
would like to testify in this case please raise your hand no hands at this time chair thank you
planning commission good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa single-family residential at this location
while garages are common on the block front-loaded garages increase conflicts with
and hazards for bicycles and pedestrians reducing public safety and well-being
while privatizing public on-street parking additionally the applicant has failed to
demonstrate sufficient hardship for the setback accordingly the planning
commission recommends the board deny the adherences thank you mi 2021-003218
i'm sorry here this is tanya the zoning board administrator may i interject yes please we did
receive the uh uh refusal however if i could ask uh miss missomer was the same zp number used
for both refusals i believe so yes okay so the latest refusal is 10 29 21 correct and chair if
we could just add that notation that that will be the um dated refusal that the l and i would use
how should i phrase that um okay i just drew a blank um uh yes the refusal is 10 29
Dated, 10-29-21.
Related refusal is as stated?
As dated.
As dated.
Yes, 10-29-21.
10-29-21.
Thank you.
Okay, MI 2021-0032182716 East Monmouth.
my vote is yes with the proviso related refusal as dated 10 29 2021 carol tenere my vote is yes
with proviso confessor plazo yes with proviso james snell yes with proviso thomas holliman
yes with proviso thank you i believe we now go to case number eight thank you thank you mi 2021
721-003-219, 6114-16 Lansdowne Avenue.
Joseph Consul is the attorney of record.
HMC Squared Community Association sent a letter of support with provisos.
So, Mr. Consul, if you're out there, please identify yourself, spell your name, and I'll
swear you in.
I'm here.
Joe Consul.
how's everybody doing consul madison llp one west third street suite 204 media pennsylvania
one nine zero six three and consul is spelt c-o-n-s-o-l-e do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do thank you miss uh nary has questions for you
hi do you agree to wait the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
i do have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance
copy of the refusal or referral 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 yes we have a letter of support okay great
you may proceed everyone joe console 6114 lansdowne avenue i have with me leonda reason
i have with me leonda reason she is the uh tenant and the applicant for this property
She is the tenant and the app.
this property i'll pull it down here is a uh 1250 square foot space on lansdowne avenue
back view there it is there this property is on cmx2 we have a special exception referral
She's seeking to use the property for baby showers, graduations, funerals, memorial services, family dinners, and local RCO-type events and that sort of thing for the community.
We got a couple of bathrooms, one of which is ADA accessible.
She's seeking to use it for up to 50 people at one time.
she has a five-year lease and has been upkeeping doing some upkeep on the space since then
here's some pictures um with the approval she expects to get off the ground
in december she gets all the approval she needs we went in front of the rco on september 22nd
HMC Squared give us full support. With Provisos, they asked for armed security for events. I don't
know how much of that can be enforceable, but they also asked that the events don't run past
11 on weekends and 9 p.m. on weekdays, both of which we agreed to, that the events themselves
would stop and then there'd be some time afterwards for Ms. Reason and her eventual
employees to to close down and clean up and that and that sort of thing i don't have a lot a lot
to add she's excited to get involved in the community council what are the terms of her lease
it's a five-year lease started in june of 2021
again right okay and she doesn't expect to get operational till december correct if she gets
approval today correct next next month yeah she's just been it was a daycare they shut down during
the pandemic she's fixing up the inside now okay um i can't alter so the term of her release was
june of 2021 and it expires june of 2026 correct yes sir okay um you have your client to adopt
your testimony? I do. Ms. Reason, would you raise your hand? Hello. Hi, ma'am. Please spell your
first and last name. L-A-Y-O-N-D-A, last name R-E-A-S-O-N. Do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Yes. Thank you. Mr. Counsel. Good afternoon,
Good afternoon, Ms. Reason. Did you hear my testimony today about your space on Lansdowne Avenue?
Do you agree with it and adopt it as your own?
Do you have anything you wish to add or alter?
Okay. I have nothing further.
Thank you. Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
Would anyone else like to testify in this case? If so, please raise your hand.
We have no hands at this time, Chair.
Thank you, Planning Commission.
Good afternoon, Chair Peter Bernard
for the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change
to the CMX2 commercial mixed use at this location.
We do not feel that there will be any unusual circumstances
for this use.