And then this is just a map from a Google Maps perspective.
And then photographs of the property. As you can see, this is a one-story structure, existing curb cut with an existing front garage.
This was more of like commercial industrial use.
So, again, in the residential neighborhoods, this was probably not the most appropriate use.
But, again, everything was allowed as a right for years.
So this neighborhood transitioned over.
And, you know, because of that, we feel like it's more appropriate to have residential use of this sort.
And then this is East Larley Street to the right of the property, to the left of the property.
It looks like there's an apartment building right here, too.
And then our plans and drawings.
So, you know, Mass Architecture Studio, who we love, who we always work with, or we work with a lot.
Again, did an adaptive reuse of the property, cleaned up that first story there, repurposed, you know, the front of the garage area, and then added two stories above.
Again, we don't, we have a technical refusal from a dimensional standpoint because this is a non-conforming building from a rear yard setback point of view.
But otherwise, there are no other dimensional refusals.
And then you can see here we have the four parking stalls on the first floor.
We have a trash room right here. We have a mail room right here.
So we're trying to do responsible use of this property. There's no basement use.
And again, you know, the floor plans are pretty basic.
There's two units on the second floor, two units on the third floor, each or two bedroom, two and a half baths.
and then you know we met with the community on September 13th 129 addresses were notified of
the meeting the list of the addresses proof of mailing to those addresses our application for
appeal that Mr. James filed along with the notice of refusal and then the deed showing that he owns
the property and then finally uh our uh proof that we he owes no real estate taxes um in connection
with his property ownership again i would ask that mr uh james james uh virtually raise his hand
john james yes hello how are you hi mr james could you state your name please and spell for
court stenographer my name is john james j-o-h-n-j-a-m-e-s do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do please proceed counsel uh yes mr james
you heard everything i had to state today about your zoning matter yes and is it true and correct
yes and do you adopt it as your own testimony yes thank you questions from the board
no chair no chair questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands planning commission
thank you chair bergman sarah bomb with the philadelphia city planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing residential single family zoning
Due to the unique physical circumstances and conditions of the property, the appellant has shown that the property cannot possibly be used in strict conformity with the zoning code and that a variance is therefore necessary to enable its viable economic use.
Regarding the proposal for accessory parking, the appellant has not supported their hardship claim.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the zoning board grant the variance with the following provisos, maximum two dwelling units and no accessory parking.
yes i'll shortly respond to that yeah i'll shortly respond to it again this is a rather
large lot of 3 000 uh square feet um and i think the use of four units is appropriate under
circumstances and you know we should always repurpose you know parking when we can um and
here there this is a you know a great adaptive reuse of this property so we're doing one curb
cut and we're creating four parking spots that's that's a great use of of the property okay thank
you mi 2023 003 133 1941 to 45 east letterly street i vote yes
james snell my vote is yes
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael said
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you.
We will be seeing you later today, I understand.
A little bit.
Right, okay, thank you.
Number three, MI 2023-003-092-638 Christian Street.
Bern Anastasio is the attorney.
Harry Cook may be filling in.
There's a letter of non-opposition from the Bella Vista Neighbors Association.
and a letter of non-opposition from Council Member Squilla.
Harry Cook has been promoted to panelists.
Good morning, Mr. Cook.
Could you please state your name as spelled for the court stenographer?
Good morning, Mr. Chairman.
Harry Cook, H-A-R-R-Y-C-O-O-K, Law Office of Vernon Anastasio.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, sir.
Could you identify your client in the relationship to this property?
I can, sir. My client is Jackie Starker. She is Gerigato, and they are tenants at the property
and the applicant on this project. Okay. Our vice chair has a few questions for you, sir.
Good morning, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its
accuracy? I do waive the reading of the refusal. I stipulate to the facial accuracy of the refusal,
But I do reserve the right to argue a definition as it relates to boarding of animals.
I have emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that is needed and required to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing.
Yes, sir.
Thank you.
Also, please proceed and share your screen.
Sure. Pleasure.
can everyone see my screen we can sir okay so what we have here today is a project
that is at 638 christian street uh the property is already zoned and has a permit for a sit-down
restaurant in front and what we're proposing is a cat cafe these are kind of avant-garde
sort of uh projects um popular in japan getting more so popular here where folk can come have a
cafe have some food from local bakeries and through a glass window view cats uh we've partnered with
the pspca for adoption of these cats and um we're going to go further into that but i just wanted
to start with the referral and refusal. So what we're proposing in terms of the cat cafe that kind
of new avant-garde use generated a referral. So it's a conditional use. It's presumed legal
so long as the use isn't out of the ordinary of what one might imagine or expect from the type of
use. My client has Amelie Bakery Bake Shop in Passion Square. She's ran that for many years.
She's a seasoned business owner and manager. No complaints there. So we believe as we get further
down the line that the referral and the proposed use that generated the referral for the special
exception is not going to impact the community. Now, if you notice on the refusal, proposed
boarding and other services is prohibited in this zoning district. Now, when we contemplate boarding,
I think we have a very specific understanding of it, right? You're going away for Christmas break,
you need to take your animal and you go get it boarded. That's not what's happening here. These
are unhoused cats. Philadelphia has about 400,000 feral cats. It's a public health crisis.
They predate on native bird species. They can spread disease. So it's very important
to find homes for these cats, match people with the cats, so on and so forth. But in order to do
that, they have to remain in the property. Just as a veterinarian might keep animals overnight
for purposes of treatment, just as a pet store may have animals overnight for the purposes of sale,
that is more akin to what we're doing than boarding. No one's coming with their cat
and dropping them off. So that's just a little starter as it relates to
referral and variance. Without the variance, if the board agrees that it is boarding, this condition
If the board agrees that it is boarding, this conditional use that is presumed legal will not be able to go into effect.
This is where what the operation will look like.
So you come inside. You have the cafe in front. You have a hermetically sealed access area right here with HEPA filters, kind of like docking at the space station.
Right. There's an internal little chamber that you go so that there's no cross contamination that's required by the Philadelphia Board of Health.
It's by appointment only unless there's walk in.
We'll get into some of the numbers of how many cats and how many people as we go further down the line.
But essentially, you can come. You can gaze at the cats. You can meet the cats. You can adopt the cats.
here on the plans you'll see this first floor area is going to be cafe
cafe area here chamber through the chamber into the cat area the cats will be there overnight
again we're going to be using state-of-the-art HEPA filtration that was a concern
at the at the RCO meeting there were 26 people in attendance at the RCO meeting
only one vote was in opposition so nearly unanimous support or non-opposition to this project
here is the current condition at the property
here is a copy of the current permit for sit down eating drinking establishment
here is a copy of the lease from my tenant
and about the public policy behind it. So the mission is to save as many cats as possible in
Philadelphia. Again, there are about 400,000 feral cats. We have the largest, one of the largest
ratios of feral cat to people. Oftentimes, Philadelphians have to go outside of Philadelphia
County to go and adopt cats. We believe that this sort of cafe and adoption is important because
most people, 43%, prefer to rescue cats from shelters. So this gives another sort of flavor
to that. So you can visit the cafe for a drink. If there's walk-in available, you can go visit a cat
or you can make a reservation to see a cat.
You can then apply in person or online, again, in partnership with the PSPCA.
Applications are reviewed within 24 hours.
Provides a safe environment for encounters so that bond can be generated
between person and animal, which is so important.
And at any given time, there can be one cat per 18 square feet.
So we're probably looking at 17 cats and at most 22 people max in the cat lounge, which is the area that has the cats.
And children under 10 will be permitted under special kids events.
We also plan to have events, paint your cat, educational events, et cetera.
Awards of operation for the cafe on Monday through Friday or 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The cat's visitation will begin around 10 a.m. on any given day, and they'll also get a little break period during the day so they aren't overstressed.
We believe it will offer a great community engagement for people to come, for book clubs, speed dating.
All of that is going to be generated in this very inclusive space.
Here again are some photos of the interior.
You have your coffee right here.
You see a kitty cat over here.
um blood pressure lowers uh as many medical studies have have shown uh so it's it's it's
a benefit for both the city in terms of removing feral cats from the street and finding that
partnership so um we met with the rco uh in october it was a well-attended meeting here
is a copy of the notice that was sent out. Again, 26 people were in attendance, including board
members. All board members voted in non-opposition. The council person is not opposed. And 19 members
of, excuse me, all members except one of those in attendance voted in favor. Some of the concerns
of the RCO were odor sequestration.
And, again, the bell chamber provides for odor sequestration between food service area and the cat viewing area and cat participation room.
And again, the bell chamber provides for odor sequestration.
We're using a special filter called Color Fill, which uses HEPA and carbon, which will be integrated into that chamber.
They will also be used standalone in the basement where trash and litter is stored.
There will be trash pickup at least once a week, twice a week, and more as needed if required by the RCO.
So I think we've mitigated against that main concern.
Also, there were questions about when trash pickup would take place, not too early in the morning.
So we're limiting trash pickup between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. as well.
So, you know, the community, the RCO kind of sees this as a public benefit for the neighborhood and are excited for this to just get started.
Here's a proof of posting.
Here's posting on the outside.
And I do have my client here, Jackie Starter.
why don't you bring why don't you bring your client or adopt your testimony thank you miss
starker could you raise your hand they have been allowed to speak good morning could you please
state your name and spell for the court stenographer hi my name is jackie starker j-a-c-k-i-e-s-t-a-r-k-e-r
you swear or firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
Please proceed, counsel.
Ms. Starker, good morning.
Did you hear and see my presentation today to the zoning board?
Was it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge and understanding?
Do you adopt it as your own testimony?
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Chair.
No, Chair.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands.
Harry, just one quick thing.
This use is limited to Suite A?
This use is limited exactly to the first floor and to the basement for storage and service.
That's correct.
All right.
Thank you.
Hillary, is that okay?
as long as because the lease said suite a does that include both the basement and the first floor
um yes uh it does it is inclusive of the basement is that correct jackie
jackie is still there uh during my presentation to the rco it did include the basement that's
where trash will be stored uh and where additional hepa filters will be uh will be employed
yes it does include the basement okay thank you thank you um planning commission
thank you chair berkman sarah bond philadelphia city planning commission
in 2015 the zoning map was amended from cmx2 with this location in accord with recommendations from
the comprehensive plan the proposed use will not cause detrimental impacts to the neighborhood
beyond what might normally be expected.
The City Planning Commission recommends
that the Zoning Board grant the special exception.
Thank you.
MI 2023-003-092-638 Christian Street,
I vote yes with proviso,
use limited to first floor and basement.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
James Snell, my vote is yes with proviso.