Sure. Oleg Sokolov on behalf of the applicant and property owner, Ma Empire LLC, O-L-E-G-S-O-K-O-O-V.
Great. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, Chair.
Could you identify your client in the relationship to the property?
yeah my my clients the the client is ma empire lc on the line with me today is envita ferrara
over the entity okay and our vice chair has a few questions good morning council do you agree to
wave the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy good morning mr shaheed yes i do
have you emailed have you 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 i i have for the most
part uh mr should be there were a few items that miss emerson asked me to to send um that were
said not within five days so we're saying yesterday okay i believe we received that
please proceed to share your screen thank you very much i'm sorry mr chairman do you mind if
i just step off camera for one second to close a window so you're all right sure that's fine thank
my apologies and thank you very much please proceed
so as stated uh my name is oleg sokolov i'm on here on behalf of ma empire llc which is
the record owner of this property. I'm just confirming that everyone can see my screen here.
Are you able to see my screen, Mr. Chair? Yeah, sure. We're fine. Yep.
Okay. Just by a little background. So despite the fact that this property is owned in an LLC,
it is actually a personal use property. Ms. Carrara and her husband reside in New York.
However, Ms. Carrara works in the pharmaceutical industry and is required to be in Philadelphia
three days a week and at various times. They were a little misadvised that they should purchase the
property in an LLC since it is not their primary residence, so I just wanted to give that as a
as a way of a little bit of background. I'll now take you through our presentation.
We have the refusal here, so we're here seeking your permission to use the property as a visitor
accommodation so that Ms. Carrara can rent the property when she is not in Philadelphia and when
she's residing in New York. The property, you know, it's certainly a financial burden to have
a property and the idea of renting temporarily or even hotel rooms is just unaffordable. So hence
the purchase of this property. It was purchased in February of this year. Here is the deed.
And as I stated, there is the ownership of my empire. However, it is a personal use property.
this isn't a commercial enterprise by any means.
This is a picture of the property.
It's a three-story single family.
You'll see here, and I'll show later,
but those are pictures of the notice posters for today's meeting.
You can see the property here.
It is located in RSA 5, hence the issuance of the refusal for visitor accommodation.
Our application for appeal, our project information form, our RCO notice letter, a meeting was held on September 25th, pretty good turnout, it was a pretty long meeting, we discussed a number of issues related to this property, however, you know, we believe it went really well, here's our certificates of mailings showing proof.
you know we believe it went really well here's our our certificates of mailing showing proof
of mailing to i believe somewhere in the area of 163 residents
and as mentioned by mr bergman uh here's um rco lender of support from the point for
Community Development Coalition, and you can see here's the position of the RCO 7 in support and
no oppositions. And once again, as stated by the chair, Ms. Carrara did speak to her nearby
neighbors explained you know why she's seeking this visitor accommodation and and was able to
to get some letters of support from nearby neighbors on the block here's 2217 titan city
2216 2235 some of these are all 2222 four letters of support from
not only nearby residents but members or residents on the immediate block
Here is a picture of the notice poster on the door, the close-up of the notice posters.
I'll now take you through the interior of the property.
Here we have the kitchen.
You can see that, you know, it's fully stocked.
This is something that Mr. R uses every week.
It's unfortunate that she has to be away from her family while at work, but, you know, hopefully
they're hoping to eventually be in Philadelphia, so hence the children's bedrooms, which they
plan on. You can see it's very well appointed, very well taken care of. This is a, you know,
not exactly a primary residence for Ms. Carrara, but certainly equal to her primary residence in
terms of use, so the care and maintenance of it is of utmost importance. If I may, I'd like to
bring Ms. Carrara on just to
thank you
Ms. Carrara can you raise your virtual hand please
they have been
allowed to speak
good morning could you state your name please and spell
for the court stenographer
sure my name is Anvita Carrara
A-N-V-I-T-A
K-A-R-A-R-A
thank you so much for your time today
and do you swear or affirm
the tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
please proceed counsel
Thank you.
Ms. Carrara, have you listened to my testimony today?
Yes, I did.
And would you adopt my testimony as your own?
Yes, I do.
Is there anything else you'd like to mention to the board to have them consider before
making a decision?
No, that's it.
I mean, I work at a pharma, like my, you know, representative Olive just said, at Merck
Pharmaceutical, where we make cancer medications.
and my job is very important to me
because I really feel it helps me
get medications to the people.
It is tough as a working woman
to split your time between here and New York
where my family resides,
but I am very passionate about it
and I would like to request your approval
because I do have to be at work
three days in a week.
Thank you very much.
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 Bond with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
the appellant has not shown that the property cannot be used in strict conformity with the
zoning code and that a variance is therefore necessary to enable the viable economic use
of the property city planning commission recommends that the zoning board deny the
variance thank you mi2023 00305 2220 titan street i vote yes but proviso temporary variance
expires 12-20-26.
Thank you, counsel.
James Snell, my vote is yes with proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you very much, members of the board.
Wishing you all a happy break and a happy holiday.
Thank you very much.
Take care.
Thank you.
Number 10, MI 2023, 003-135, 5000 Power Street.
5000 Power Street.
Harry Cook is the attorney.
Harry Cook is the attorney.
Letter of support from the Mill Creek Advisory Council.
An applicant also provided a petition and support signed by approximately 54 neighbors.
am I frozen hello yeah no please proceed Mr. Cook Mr. Cook you've already been sworn just
just state your name for the record good morning Mr. Chairman Harry Cook okay COOK
okay could you identify your client in relationship to this property I sure can sir uh just allow me
to uh bring up my material apologize uh our client is 5000 parish street llc it is the owner
of the property and the applicant okay and our vice chair has a few questions for you sir
good morning counsel do you agree the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy
yes i do sir have you 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 i did sir thank you please
proceed and share your screen okay just give me a moment to get that going
having a little technical issue but just a moment
here we go can everyone see my screen we can sir all right super make it a little bit larger that's
all yes will do so we're here for the project at 5000 parish street uh this property is a
non-conforming uh historic structure uh previously approved for hardware store on the first floor
with single-family dwelling above back in 1986. It has been vacant for some time.
We are proposing a daycare center on the first floor along with the prior approved single-family
use above. Just for context purposes, this property is located at the corner of 50th and Parish.
It is in an RSA 5 district. The entirety of this area here is inclusive of the elementary school that is catty-coner to the property, and you'll see on scale where we are.
So you have here Rhodes Elementary School, a non-conforming use in the middle of an RSA district that is geared towards children and education.
Our use that we're proposing directly, Caddy Corner, is a child care center, but not like any other particular child care center.
It is focusing on children that would otherwise qualify under Section 504, special needs children, early intervention children,
so that they can be ready and prepared when time comes to move along over to Rhodes Elementary.
um first floor proposed open area with um kitchen bathroom down to the basement also open area play
area second floor is going to be a two-bedroom we're proposing no changes to the structure
externally front bedroom rear bedroom bathroom kitchen open living kitchen area
With me today is Lamont Dawkins, who is the managing member of the entity that owns it and is planning this project, along with his proposed operator, who is an experienced teacher, experienced with early childhood intervention and all of those things.
and her name is Ms. Naya Terrell. If the board, as we continue through the presentation,
looking at the building, wants to hear from them other than just adoption, let me know.
Here is the structure now. As you can see, it is boarded up. It is dilapidated. It is a
attractive nuisance in its current state. It's been upgraded a little bit, but prior to my
client's involvement, an attractive nuisance essentially for a school that was catty-corner
to it. It is a corner property. Again, it is adjacent to a non-conforming use that is not
dissimilar. It was Cox hardware for many, many, many, many decades.
It was Cox Hardware for many, many, many, many decades.
Has a classic commercial entrance that is conducive for child care, pick up and drop off.
And we had a community meeting back in October.
I believe it was on October 9th, proof of posting.
Where it was very well attended.
and we met with Mill Creek Advisory Council
and it was unanimous support in favor of this project.
The people in the neighborhood saw the need for it,
saw that it was consistent with the use on the block
and fully, the quote unquote,
the final position of the coordinating RCO
is in full support of the above reference zoning proposal.
In addition, we have circulated a petition
to roughly 40 neighbors in the area who are all in support of this project
and ask that this board grant our requested relief.
Proof of mailing.
There is no tax balance for 2023.
This was prior.
That is a 2024 tax balance, and that is not due until the end of the year.
And with that, I'll open to questions, or I'd like to call my client to adopt my testimony.
Why don't we have your client adopt your testimony?
Lamont, can you raise your hand, sir?
Lamont has been allowed to speak.
Hi, sir.
Could you please state your name and spell for the court's sonogram?
Lamont, do we see his hand again?
Lamont is unmuted.
Lamont, could you state your name,
please, and spell for the court's stenographer?
Chair, I believe they may be having technical difficulties.
So, Mr. Cook, you're an officer of the court. We will accept your testimony.
Questions from the board? Thank you.
No, Chair.
Okay. Jim?
Emily?
no Mr. Chair questions or comments from our attorney Hilary Emerson
not at this time chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands planning commission
thank you chair berkman sarah bond with the philadelphia city planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing residential single-family zoning
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 variance
thank you mi 2023 003 135 5000 paris street i vote yes
james snell my vote is yes ishmael shaheed my vote is yes thank you thank you happy holidays