good morning again and thank you good morning again uh tanya and excuse me
yep we just need a couple of seconds
Thank you.
okay chair as you wish thank you and Tanya will it be Yvette or Lakeisha
it'll be Yvette chair okay on the double check thank you all right good morning everyone my
name is Frank DiCicco I'm the chair of the zoning board of adjustment I'll be participating in
today's hearing along with our board members Mr. Thomas Holloman and Mr. James Snell
So, pardon me, Ms. Board Administrator Yvette Benton and Board Attorney Ms. Sharon Saleta
are also in attendance, along with Ms. Tanya Sunkit, the Zoning Board Administrator.
For those of you who haven't yet participated in one of our virtual hearings, I'll go through
some of the basics of what you can expect.
First, we will be administering oaths to individual participants prior to their testimony.
Second, we'd like to advise everyone that this proceeding is being recorded, and that by participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded, and that the recording will be made available to the public on the web or otherwise.
Third, for anyone participating by phone, if you wish to testify, you must raise your hand by hitting star nine, and then star six to unmute yourself.
I'll repeat. For anyone participating by phone, if you wish to testify, you must raise your hand
by hitting star 9 and then star 6 to unmute yourself. Finally, to enter an appearance
statement, call Google 267-270-5548 and leave your email address and the address of the property
at issue. I'll repeat. To enter an appearance statement, call Google 267-270-5548 and leave
your email address and the address of the property at issue. I'd like to remind everyone, please do
not attempt to testify in the chat. Any comments or questions should be directed to our board
Administrator Ms. Yvette Benton. Having said that, I will read off the
on the add-on list case number MI 2021-001476, 731 North Uber Street. This will be held one
more additional week at the request of Ms. Jones from Council President Clark's office,
waiting for a submission letter from the neighbor who mistakenly went to 1515 Arch thinking that
our hearings were were live number four on our add-on list MI 2021-001-411-3527
Frankfurt Avenue my vote is yes to reconsideration and rehearing
james snell my vote is yes to reconsideration and rehearing thomas holliman my vote is yes
to reconsideration and rehearing thank you we'll now go to our reg yes i'm sorry this is sharon
i wasn't clear in the notes we have received the letter from um the neighbor on number one
on the add-ons list but we need additional board members here today to test to test i'm sorry to
vote the case. Okay, that vote is being held. Thank you. On the regular 930 list, the following
cases have been requested to be continued. Number two on our list, MI 2021-001566. 1541 South 24th
Street, a continuance request by the attorney of record, Mr. Henry Clinton. Number four,
the request of the attorney, Michael Lambert, MI 2020-001-555-1903 West Airy Avenue is continued.
1903 West Airy Avenue is continued. Number seven, at the request of Attorney Mr. Michael Lambert,
MI 2021-001573-2783 Roberts Avenue is continued. And I believe those are the only continuance
requests as of yet. So if anyone disagrees with those continuances that I read into the record,
please raise your hand only if you disagree with those cases being continued please raise your hand
chair i see no hands at this time thank you i will now ask if anyone would like to request
a continuance or withdrawal for the 9 30 list please raise your hand
chair we have attorney zen jen with his hand up mr jen you can unmute yourself and wait for the
Chair. Thank you, Mr. Zinn. Please identify yourself in the records by your full name,
and I'll swear you in. Thank you. Good morning. Zinn Jin, Z-H-E-N-J-I-N, 1617 John F. Kennedy
Boulevard, Suite 1838, Philadelphia PA 19103, here on behalf of the applicant for 5120
Marion Street. You swear to affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do. Thank you. Please proceed. We were given information from Mr. Charles
Richardson this morning from Councilwoman Cindy Bass's office and he advised that we should seek
a continuance in this case to finish some items with discussion with the RCO voting matter on this
case. Thank you. So MI 2020-003261-5120 Marion Street is continued. Thank you. Thank you. Any
other requests for continuances or withdrawals? I see no hands at this time, Chair. Thank you.
We now proceed with the regular list. Number one on our list, MI 2021-001558, 1415 West
Allegheny Avenue. Robert Greenbaum is the attorney of record. Councilwoman Bass has sent a letter of
support along with the
Tayogi
United RCO.
Mr. Greenbaum?
Mr. Greenbaum, if you're in attendance,
could you please raise your hand?
He's coming back in as a
panelists now, Chair.
Tanya?
It's not allowing me to promote him to
panelists i've clicked twice and it's not allowing me to do it okay keisha must have did it so mr
greenbaum is available now um yvette if you could go out and come back in sometimes i have that
problem as well um i'm in tanya mr greenbaum yes ready mr greenbaum please spell your name and i'll
where are you in thank you very much mr chairman it's robert greenbaum r-o-b-e-r-t g-r-e-e-n
b-a-u-m i'm counsel for the owners of 1415 west allegheny we are here today before the panel excuse
me sir listen you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
I do, Mr. Chair.
And our board member, Mr. Snell, has questions for you.
Mr. Greenbaum, also, have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents, proof of ownership, proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal or referral, and plans and photos five days prior to this hearing?
Yes, I have, Mr. Snell.
Okay. Have you met with the RCO?
We have met with the RCO, and we have, as part of the package we submitted in advance of today's hearing, a letter of approval from the RCO.
Okay, that was my last question. Do you have a letter? So, okay, that's great. Please proceed.
Thank you, Mr. Snell.
We're here appealing a refusal to convert a single-family dwelling into a multifamily dwelling.
The zoning only permits single family.
The zoning only permits single-family.
the original application was
The original application was for two units.
The owner has on evaluating the property determined that he needs to do three units.
We have submitted an amended application to L&I, but have not yet had a refusal.
However, we would anticipate that the refusal would be the same, you know, for three units as it is for two, in that the zoning only permits the single family use.
If I may share my screen, I can quickly go through the various exhibits
to familiarize the panel with our project.
Ms. Sunkit, is there a way for me to share my screen?
Yes, Mr. Greenball, if you go to the, make sure you have your documents prepared to go forward,
then click on the green item at the bottom of the screen that says share.
Here we go, we hear you coming through. Perfect. Thank you so much, Ms. Sunkit.
So, as indicated, this is the set of exhibits that we submitted in advance of today's hearing.
I won't waste the panel's time going through the copy of the deed.
The notice of refusal is here.
And as I mentioned, we have submitted an amended application, which is pending.
This is the application submitted along with the tax certification that was submitted at the time of the appeal.
we do have an updated certificate, which we will get to later on in the exhibits.
This is simply a map of the relevant zoning. The black flag here shows the location of the
property. This is West Allegheny, and this is North Carlisle. The property is actually the
corner of property here so it fronts on Allegheny and North Carlisle.
This is the site plan and I'm sorry I'm playing with the magnification but the documents are
of different sizes so I'm trying just to keep it so that everybody can see the whole
The building has an attached garage space here and two additional parking spaces that are surface spaces located here.
This is the plan for the lower level, which is a one-bedroom unit.
This is a plan for the first level, which is also a one-bedroom unit.
And then this is a plan. This is the plan for the third unit, which encompasses the second and third floors of the building.
This is the second floor of the building showing the common space of the apartment, meaning the kitchen and living room and two bedrooms.
And then on the third floor, there are two bedrooms and an office or den.
All of the bedrooms have bathrooms attached to them.
And there is also a powder room in the kitchen, living room, dining room area in all three of the apartments.
these are just photos of the zoning notice at the property
to give you some context again this i don't know if you're able to see the red arrow here
make this a little bigger uh this is um a photo from november of 19 that i got from
Google Maps, and it is showing the corner property here. And it also shows it a little
bit in context with the adjoining buildings. This is a twin building. This is 1413, 1411,
bit in context with the adjoining buildings. This is a twin building. This is 1413, 1411,
1409, and then Ebenezer Baptist Church is here. 1409, 11, and 13 have all had variances granted
1409, and then Ebenezer Baptist Church is here. 1409, 11, and 13 have all had variances granted
have all had variances granted for multi-family dwelling. 1409 has four dwelling units,
for multifamily dwelling.
1411 has also four dwelling units, and 1413 has four dwelling units.
This shows the property taken from the south side of Allegheny looking down Carlisle.
And so this is the side of the building. This is just a closer shot.
And this shows a little more of West Allegheny. This is 1417 West Allegheny, which also has had a variance granted for two professional offices and 11 dwelling units.
and obviously this is a large apartment building called Temple Lofts. Several of the properties
on Carlisle have also been granted variances for multifamily units. 3216, which is the third house
in or third house north on North Carlisle, has been approved for three dwelling units,
and that dates back to the 30s. 3218 North Carlisle is four dwelling units and that dates back to the
40s. This is just the letter to the neighbors as required and the mailing list of all the people
to whom it was sent. This is the updated zoning and tax clearance certificate and then
This is the letter in support from Tioga United, and this is just the proviso application indicating that we're seeking an amendment to change it from two dwelling units to three dwelling units.
um i have on the call with me uh my client or the principal of the client
uh robert mayer and i just would like to have him sworn in so he can testify
mayor when you get on please spell your full name and i'll swear you in
mr mayor you can unmute yourself and speak now hello uh my name is robert mayor that's r-o-b-e-r-t
m-a-y-e-r um i am the managing member of 1415 west allegheny llc uh the owner of the property
in question where i'm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Greenbaum. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Mayor, you were in attendance of the hearing during my testimony and my presentation. Is that correct? That's correct. Okay. And if you were asked questions to detail what I've gone through, would you affirm the information that I have provided to the panel?
Yes, I would.
Thank you.
And you would adopt the testimony as your own?
That is correct.
Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I have nothing further to present, but of course, I'm happy to answer any questions that the board may have.
Questions from the board?
Anyone else would like to testify in this case?
If so, please raise your hand.
Chair, we have a call-in user with their hand up.
Call-in user, can you unmute yourself and speak now?
Hello?
Good morning.
Please identify yourself, full name.
adrian fernandez f-e-r-n-a-n-d-e-z
comparable neighborhood parcels association rco
you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes thank you please proceed
okay um we are asking for um supervisors one that the trash be kept trash and recycling be
kept indoors except for collection days. And also, that's the limit of two units because
the legal notice to the affected neighbors and the affected RCOs and other parties listed
two units and we were not presented the amended appeal application nor an amended notice of
appeal application, nor an amended notice of refusal.
Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Greenbaum or Mr. Mayor, what's your trash plan?
The trash and recycling will be stored indoors in appropriate containers and then taken out on
trash day. Anyone else would like to testify in this case, please raise your hand.
i've seen no hands at this time chair planning commission good morning david vecto f-e-c-t-e-a-u
with the city planning commission we're informed to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the
truth yes sir i do thank you thank you mr chairman mr chairman and members of the board
Comprehensive plan recommends this block for high-density commercial mixed-use zoning.
This is a 2,531-square-foot lot.
Under the recommended zoning, multiple units would be allowed by right with a ground floor commercial use.
We recommend that the board approve the requested variance.
Thank you.
um mi 2021-001558 1415 west allegheny avenue my vote is yes with the proviso trash to be stored
indoors until trash day um excuse me chair this is sharon we are waiting for it oh i'm sorry
it's on the other side i apologize um so the record is closed correct sharon and the vote
will be taken a pending receipt of the revised refusal from all and I yes the record is closed
besides from the revised refusal could we also um Mr. Fecto could you also put on the record you
are um your recommendation is for three units is that correct uh this is Dave Fecto again from the
City Planning Commission yes Sharon that is correct our recommendation is for the revised
three units. Thank you very much. Thank you all. Thank you, Sharon. Thank you. Mr. Greenbaum?
Yes, sir. You understood that you were waiting for the receipt, the revised refusal from O&I,
then we'll vote. Yes, sir. And I'll submit that directly to Ms. Zuleta. Is that what the chair
would like? Yes, please. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Have a good day. Thank you. May we be excused?
Yes, you may. Thank you. Thank you. I'm sorry, Chair, if I could ask that Mr. Greenville also submitted to the VBA. Of course. Thank you very kindly. Thank you. Should I send that directly to you, Ms. Sunkit? As well as Ms. Saleta, yes. Okay, perfect. We're a tag team. Okay, fair enough. They're good, and they're excellent, too. Yes, they are. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Case number three now, MI 2021-001-498, 1651 West Grange Avenue.
They're a letter of support from the Concerned Community Association and also a letter of support from Councilwoman Bass.
Larry McRae, I believe, is the owner of the property.
Mr. McRae is coming back in as a panelist now, Chair.
Thank you.
Mr. McRae, please spell your full name.
Larry C. McRae. McRae is spelled M-C-C-R-A-E.
Where from to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes. You're the owner of this property? Yes. Not an LLC or a non-profit? No. Thank you. Hold on. Mr. Snell has some questions for you.
Okay. Also, have you emailed an exhibit copy with the required documents, proof of ownership, proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal or referral, and plans and photos five days prior to this hearing?