ZBA Hearing - August 11, 2021

I'm sorry, I am not hearing any sound.

We hear you.

Okay, great.

I'm good now.

I'm sorry, I was being made a panelist, so I missed a little bit of what was being said at the end.

I said you're still under oath.

Please identify yourself.

Spell your name.

Absolutely.

Absolutely. Zen Jin, Z-H-E-N-J-I-N, 1617 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Suite 1838, Philadelphia EPA 19103, here on behalf of the applicant.

And Mr. Snell has some questions for you.

Good afternoon, Mr. Zen.

Good afternoon.

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?

I have.

Okay. Have you met with the RCO?

Yes, we have met with the RCO and we have a letter.

Okay. That was my next question, if you had a letter. You beat me to it. All right, proceed. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I'm going to share with the board the information that we submitted as our exhibit, which included the refusal, RCO support letter, photos, plans, tax clearance, deed, and related documentation.

application. This application is based on a, it's a mixed zoning district of RM1, CMX2.

What we're proposing to do is essentially use the property which is predominantly covered

in the CMX2 district as a RM1 type use. Now, in order to not have the CMX2 use and have

RM1 use as the multifamily three units. We triggered two refusals, one of which is the CMX2

30-foot ground floor requirement, the other which is a lot area requirement.

I do want to point out that our lot is 1,231 square feet. While it's less than the 1,440

required, it is also the 1,440 square feet was triggered in part because of the CMX2

commercial zoning district requirements for multifamily use of three units. We met with the

RCO and obtained a support letter from them. There was basically strong support for the proposed use

that is because the block itself as you can see from the photograph are a mix of properties that

are existing mostly residential and vacant lots with maybe some commercial type use more on the

corners than where my client's property is located, which is essentially a vacant lot at

this point. We proposed to put a three-story structure at this location, and each unit would

be based on its own floor. So each floor would be one unit, with the first unit also having access

to the basement. The cellar is not used for sleeping quarters. All the bedrooms will

Cellar is not used for sleeping quarters. All the bedrooms will be in the upper floor and kitchen and living room in the upper floor.

The second floor is unit number two and the third floor is unit number three.

In anticipation of needing outdoor space for each unit, a small balcony is placed on the second floor as a deck.

The third floor has a roof deck and the first floor has access to the rear yard.

So in that situation, each unit will have outdoor storage area available to them would help manage with trash and other outdoor required issues that the tenant may or the occupants may have.

Again, based on the above, the community, knowing that the area is predominantly RM1 and has very similar uses on the block, did not have any objection to our request, and therefore, we did receive support from the RCO.

I'm happy to try to answer any specific questions from the board or redirect and show any particular aspect of our exhibit.

thank you do you have a client to test uh yes i do uh mr joseph gitterman should be here

mr gitterman you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair

please identify yourself spell your full name and i'll swear you in

Joseph Gitterman, J-O-S-E-T-H, Gitterman, G-I-T-E-R-M-I-N.

You swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?

Yes, I do.

Thank you, Mr. Jin.

Thank you.

Mr. Gitterman, you saw and heard my presentation to the zoning board.

Can you verify that my testimony to the board is true and correct and adopted as your own testimony?

Yes, I do.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Questions from the board?

No.

No.

anyone else would like to testify in this case if so please raise your hand

i see no answer this time chair thank you planning commission

yes this is uh ron bednar uh city planning

the uh yeah you've been sworn in already please proceed

Well, as property is indicated for commercial mixed use on the city plan, given the surrounding neighborhood context, we recommend that the press advance beginning.

MI 2021-001502, 2346 North 6th Street, my vote is yes.

James Snell, my vote is yes.

Thomas Holliman, my vote is yes.

Thank you.

we will now go back to case number three if we're ready. 1851 North Van Pelt. I've had several

photos and an exhibit packet emailed to me just now. I have no record of having received them

earlier and if you're willing to accept them being sent in now there still seems to be no deed.

Can we ask the applicant if she submitted a deed?

Ms. Scott, have you submitted a deed?

No, I did not submit a deed.

I believe I have uploaded my tax documents.

I'm sorry, what was that your...

Tax document.

Tax document.

Yes, from the VRT.

No, you need a deed.

i think there's just too many pieces missing so we're going to need to continue this case ma'am

yeah i would need someone to send the proper email requesting exactly what it is that is

needed because nothing nothing of all the information that you guys are asking for i

have an email from anyone so we're going to continue this case am i i'm sorry oh chair i'm

Sorry, this is Tanya. If I could ask of the applicant, did you receive the posters to post the property?

No, ma'am. So the property wasn't posted either?

No posters. No nothing. There was no email for anything. No poster. I don't even know what posters you're speaking of.

OK, so we can talk offline and we'll try to schedule you sooner than later so that we could have this heard before the board.

thank you chair mi 2021-001-496-1851 north van pelt street is continued i believe that completes

the 330 list of anyone who has not been heard and wishes to be heard at this time if so please raise

has not been heard and wishes to be heard at this time.

If so, please raise your hand.

your hand

There are no hands at this time, Chair.

Thank you.

Any other unfinished business?

This is Tanya, Chair.

Just the unfinished business is just to say I love my board,

and I thank you guys for always showing up and ready to get the work done.

All right.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, everyone, behind the scenes,

especially for making this day possible and making our jobs easier.

thank you have a good night all take care all right bye-bye good night thank you good night

good evening