Good morning, Chair. We have 41 attendees in the virtual audience.
Where do we get these people from?
Thank you. Good morning, everyone. My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this morning's
Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting. With me is our Vice Chair, Tanetta Graham.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board Secretary Cheryl L. Gaston.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board members, Michael Johns.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Taya Nguyen.
Taya Nguyen.
President, Mr. Chairman.
Ryan McAdams.
President, Mr. Chairman.
Laila Beebe.
President, Mr. Chairman.
Also, here is our attorney, Lynn Reuter-Uber, our executive director, Ian Haggerty, and
our board administrator, Lakeisha Dandy.
This hearing is being recorded and will be posted on the ZBA website.
By participating, you consent to be recorded.
this is an in-person meeting with remote participation whether in person or on zoom
if you're called to speak please state and spell your then then wait to be sworn in after you've
been sworn in state your name before testifying each time you testify to one of your appearance
indicate the property address on the zoom webinar speak with a staff member
call the zba office by the close of business tomorrow 215-686-2429 and provide your name
your email and the address of the case address remote participation raise your virtual hand
when directed so that we call you to speak
when we call on you please ensure that you click the join as a panelist button use the q a only
for procedural questions nothing to do with the case if you are joining by phone press star 9 to
raise your hand and star 6 to unmute in-person attendance if testifying get close to the
microphone so that all attendees and the court reporter can hear you no talking eating or
drinking during the hearings aggressive behavior will not be tolerated in the in an emergency
follow staff instructions the main exit is the two double doors at the rear and to the left
outside is the stairwell in the uh in the evacue if we have an evacuation go to love park and
please remain there so that we call and we can account for you at a later time let's look at
today's schedule number one mi2024-006-090 2038 hane street this case is continued until 10 14
at 2 PM. Sorry, Jared. This is Ian Hegarty. That's October 4th at 2 PM.
Oh, okay. October 4th at 2 PM.
Number three, MI 2026-000-304-3323 Ashfield Lane, this case is continued until 12-2 at 2 p.m.
Number five, MI 2026-000-317-5317 Wayne Avenue. This case is continued on 12-12-2 at 2 p.m.
number six mi2026 003
000349 6829 um chew avenue um sanista williams is the listed owner um this is the second listing
we have no exhibits there are no hands at the side chair so number six mi2026 000 349
68 29 shoe avenue i vote to dismiss michael johns my vote is to dismiss
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is to dismiss.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is to dismiss.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is to dismiss.
Ryan McAdams, my vote is to dismiss.
Brian McAdams, my vote is to dismiss.
Tyia Nguyen, my vote is to dismiss.
Taya Nguyen, my vote is to dismiss.
Layla Beebe, my vote is to dismiss.
Number 7, MI 2026, 000447, 2548 Diamond Street, this case has been withdrawn.
Number nine, MI 2026-001075, 1134 Sampson Street.
There's an attorney needed in this case.
MFG Sampson is the owner, NLLC.
There are no hands at this time, Chair.
okay so this case is going to be continued until 8 26 at 2 p.m mark must be heard
number 11 mi 2026 001 100 2817 hutcheson street this case is continued until 12 2 at 2 p.m
Number 18, MI 2026-001, 666, 2826 Amber Street.
Joseph Consul is the attorney um no hands at this time chair oh chair a hand just went up
from Joseph Consul I'm promoting him to pay us right
good morning good morning mr counsel could you please state your name and spell it for
the stenographer joseph console j-o-s-e-p-h c-o-n-s-o-l-e do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do could you give us an update on this
case yeah um we heard from the board attorney last night that while we um came in for just a use
approval and we we've got all of that um we need to resubmit the um renovation plans and there's
some concern that that will potentially generate another refusal so we're going to handle them both
at the same time with a continuance.
So this case is going to be continued until 1-13-27 at 9.30 a.m.
Thank you, Mr. Counsel.
And number 19, MI-2026-002-901-1804 North 22nd Street.
this case is continued until 12 to 12 to 26 at 2 p.m are there any other requests for continuances
there are no hands at this time chair thank you we're going to go to our add-on list
Number one, MI 2024-007-291-4005 Brown Street, I vote yes, a certificate of proviso, certificate of occupancy to be obtained.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes, with proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes, with proviso.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes, with proviso.
Hey, McAdams, my vote is yes with proviso.
Hi, I win. My vote is yes with proviso.
Number two. Hold on one second. Cheryl, I'm sorry.
Yes. Oh, I'm sorry. I certify that I, I'm sorry. I certify that I reviewed the hearing on,
I'm sorry what was the date I think you're gonna certify that you watch the
video recording of the July 28th 2026 resumption hearing in this matter is
26 resumption hearing in this matter is that correct yes i did okay i so certify great so
that correct yes I did
you certify and then your vote was again my vote was yes with proviso okay great thank you thank
you thank you all right number two mi2025 zero zero six one two seven fifty eleven d street i
vote no michael johns my vote is no
tennetta graham my vote is no i'm mcadams my vote is no hi i win my vote is no
number three mi20260029734723 sheldon street the vote on this has been moved to wednesday
August 26th at 9 30 a.m. And number four, MI 2026, 002875, 4725 Sheldon Street. The vote on this
has been moved to August 26th at 9 30 a.m. We're going to go to our regular list.
We're going to start with number 10.
MI 2026 001 097 1852 Hart Lane we have a Spanish interpreter for this
chair we have a hand up from reynoso salinas okay they're promoted to panels
um hi good morning hi are you the interpreter um no i'm sorry i'm the constructor he's
trying to log in through his computer he hasn't tried to log in do we have our interpreter please
yes the interpreter is on the line chair good morning good morning could you please state your
name and spell for the stenographer yes my name is juan last time diaz i'm the spanish interpreter
ID number is in India, 803.
All right.
Do you swear or affirm that you will interpret accurately,
completely, and impartially from English to Spanish
and from Spanish to English?
Could you please call for us Martin Polanco?
Por favor, el señor Martin Polanco, levanta la mano.
He's trying to log in to his computer.
He's having trouble logging in.
Chair, this is Ian Hegarty.
I recommend that we move on to the next case so that we can keep things moving.
Thank you.
Let me explain to the interpreter.
We're going to call this back in about a half hour.
Is that okay with you?
Thank you very much.
The interpreter is fine.
Van a volver a llamar el caso en media hora.
Thank you.
Let's see here.
Number 15.
Number 15.
MI 2026-001-170-2639 Bainbridge Street.
Clay and Mary Gruber are the owner, and it's a pro se.
they're being promoted to panelists here
yes hello good morning could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
uh my name is clay gruber c-l-a-y-g-r-u-b-e-r right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do our vice chair has a few questions for you sir
good morning have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing
i have okay and you understand that um did your application
is uh you have an addition that you are trying to get approved is that correct
Yes, it's a dimensional variance on addition.
Yep, and because you've been refused because your understanding is that there's a setback
that's required.
and that's what you're trying to get a variance for correct okay all right thank
And that's what you're trying to get a variance for, correct?
All right.
Thank you.
you you can share your screen and proceed to tell us about your case okay
You can share your screen.
all right can you see my screen oh we do not it's coming up right now it should come up any minute
okay how about now um we see yeah we see 26 39 bainbridge street okay great um okay well uh thank
you for your time this morning um our project is a personal project it's my wife and my uh personal
home in a graduate hospital. We're planning to live here for a long time. The existing
condition of the building, it's an old 1925 two-story row home, approximately 1,026 square
feet. The previous owner had owned it since the 1950s, and it requires significant upgrades.
The interior is currently demoed, so on the left you see the first floor interior and on the second floor you see the interior looking towards the front.
Essentially what we're proposing is an interior renovation which has been approved, a rear extension of a number of feet which has been approved, and a third floor addition which has been approved.
What we're requesting today is for the limit of the required eight-foot front setback to receive relief.
So the only request is just relief from the eight-foot setback required.
required. So currently the section on the left is by right. You'll see the eight foot setback on the
third floor. And just the dimensional variance on the right is what we're proposing, which is just
aligning that third floor with the front facade of the first and second floor. So currently the
existing physical constraints is this is a 14 foot wide lot which approximately gives us
just about 12 and a half feet of interior width the vertical stairs are fixed and we're
have attached party walls so there's very limited you know ability to uh
or we're already constrained by the size of of the existing conditions
So the effect of these conditions with compliance to the setback is on the left, you see the third floor plan, which is a compressed usable third floor area limited by the stairs for what we can really do circulation wise.
and then a disproportionate functional limitation of space.
On the right is what we're hoping to have approved,
which is a more generous space for a coherent usable floor plate.
This does not increase the building height more than necessary,
and this does not increase the depth of the dwelling unit.
So, again, our limited relief request is this is a single family home. We'll have no changes. It's a one dwelling unit, no changes. Our permitted height is 38 feet.
We're not trying to maximize this home. We're just trying to make it usable for our family. So we're coming in at about just over 32 feet in height.
um uh were within the lot uh the permitted lot coverage um the building footprint and rear yard
will not change again just front facade alignment is our only request
within the neighborhood context you can see the top image which is a google image
There are three existing third-story homes on the block and adjacent, each with front facade alignment.
uh what we're hoping to do is stick within the cadence of the precedent set on our block
What we're hoping to do is stick within the cadence of the...
while maintaining the historic context of the block
so our impact to the neighborhood as mentioned we're not trying to maximize
the you know allowed uh what's allowed uh height wise as as mentioned 38 feet is our allowable
height we're we're coming in at just over 32 feet uh we're not encroaching on other dwellings
and uh we're there's no significant impairment to neighboring light or air
just stating again our physical constraints being the 14-foot attached row home
and the requested relief from the eight-foot setback this went to our community review to
SOSNA on April 15th we receive unanimous support from both the zoning committee of SOSNA and the
community at large there were 10 supporters including four nearby neighbors uh zero opposition
and zero uh abstentions uh so in you know summary we're respectively requesting approval of
dimensional variance for the required eight foot third story front set back to allow the third
four story facade to align with the existing front facade below mr mr grouper how are your
next door neighbors on either side are they for it yeah we've we've um had uh discussions with
them and they're they're on board all right questions from the board yeah i have a question
about the roof i know sasna has some um roof guidelines for when people do the third floor
a mansard roof and did you guys uh comply with those standards in your design yeah so we just i
i'm an architect by training uh when we went through the design of this i wanted a mansard
roof just because i think it's a very you know handsome solution to a third store roof in the
neighborhood uh so sosna where they saw that they were very pleased and uh they they mentioned that
that is what their preferred model is yeah but they have an actual design standard i just want
to know did your roof because it doesn't look like it did and it doesn't look like any of the
other ones on your block actually complied with that typical standard for the way that they do
the incline for the man start roof and like while i understand and appreciate your presentation was
very great two of the three examples that you show are corner conditions which i think are very
different than your mid-block situation where you're on a street that's majority two-story
on your side of the street outside of the corners that 2633 bainbridge is sort of the one exception
for looks like about three or four blocks um and i i do think that their addition at 2633 bainbridge
is very visible from the street um and i would like to see a better man started
Just a suggestion, I think it would look better with a true mansard condition at the roof.
Sure, yeah, as mentioned in our discussions with, uh, they, um, they, they didn't raise any concerns about this as they were pleased with the, the design. But, um, yes, I'll definitely take that in consideration.
Okay, other questions.
Chair, we have a hand. Oh, sorry, Chair. We have a hand up from Murray Spencer.
Promoting on the panels.
Thank you.
Hello.
Could you please state your name and spell
for the stenographer sir marie spencer m-u-r-r-a-y s-p-e-n-c-e-r do you swear or firm to tell the
truth told truth nothing but the truth i do please proceed sir i am the chair of the zoning committee
and the member of the architectural review committee and mr gruber did meet with the
committee and the uh zoning of uh meeting and we found that i appreciate tyler's uh question about
the mansard roof it may be with regard to the slope of the mansard but he has generally complied
with the mansard that we like to see on third floor addition and uh we supported the uh
The master as drawn at our community meeting that's that basically my comment.
the mansard as drawn uh at our architecture community meeting
Thank you very much for taking the time to calls. We appreciate it. Questions from our attorney.
No questions at this time. Questions from the virtual audience.
No further hands at this time, chair.
Thank you.
for for some reason i can't can you hear i can't hear anything i can't either this is
the reporter i am not getting any audio oh somebody else driving am i down now okay okay
I heard that you're now. I hear you now. Yeah, I'm sorry, chair.
We're gonna have to take the planning commission's testimony again, because I don't think that made it through the through the audio. Sorry about that. Thank you, David.
Let's try this again.
uh uh good morning chair david vector with the city planning commission the comprehensive plan
recommends no change to the rsa five residential single family zoning at this location the city
changed the zoning in this neighborhood in 1978 and a council supported map change the appellant
has not shown that they would suffer an economic detriment if forced to comply with third story
setback requirement in the zoning code the city planning commission recommends that the board
deny the proposed dimensional variance. Thank you. MI 2026. Pardon me. I'm sorry. This is the
court reporter. Mr. Fecto's swearing in did not appear in the audio. Could we please swear him
in again? Sure. Why don't we? We did swear him in, but we'll do it. Go ahead. Do you swear or
tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Thank you. So MI 2026-001-170-2639
bamer street i vote yes michael johns my vote is yes cheryl gaston my vote is yes
tenetta graham my vote is yes i'm mcadams my vote is yes my vote is yes mayla beebe my vote is yes
okay chair um the this is ian hegarty again mr martin polanco from the first case is now
available in the virtual audience let's uh return to that one please thank you okay
Number 10, MI 2026-001097, could the interpreter come on, please?
Thank you.
interpreter
chair we're asking him to unmute
um he's in here it's all right he just loved he logged in like 10 minutes okay hold on hold on
Has it been a half hour?
Maybe he's not coming back for a half hour.
And we
and we told the interpreter a half hour it might be a little short
spanish interpreter are you available now
all right chair we'll take that as a note we'll come back to that one in a minute let's all right
okay so number two here
number two mi20250050513523 north 23rd street joseph consul is the attorney
they're being promoted to panelists
okay hi mr council you've already been sworn could you just state your name for the record
joseph console could you identify your client a relationship to the property
Yeah, my client is Chevelle Gordine, and she is tenant at the property.
All right.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Good morning.
Have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing?
And you have a referral and a use refusal, so do you waive the reading of them and simply to their accuracy?
All right.
Thank you.
You can share your screen and proceed with your case.
All right.
I should be sharing my screen now.
Again, Joseph Consul, Consul Madison, with Chevelle Gourdeen, who should be on this call.
Here for 3523 North 24th Street, this is request for approval of a small personal care home in an existing residential structure, zoned RSA 5.
We have a refusal and a referral, because as you know, that's required for personal care homes.
I'll note that we're only seeking per, and we'll get to it, the RCO's request, a maximum
of four individuals, which is one more than would be allowed by right anyway.
So we're not suggesting this is by right.
We know why we're here.
This particular use in this building, we believe with the operational limits we're going to
propose will satisfy the criteria for the special exception and for the parking variance.
So, we submitted floor plans and pictures showing the layout.
The basement is non-living space.
The first floor contains ordinary living areas, living room, dining room, kitchen, laundry, and powder room.
Second floor contains four bedrooms and one bathroom.
The plans also show an evacuation route.
The building will not change from what it has always been.
The operation is intentionally limited, as you would see in the RCO support letter from Swamp Poodle.
They support it with three provisos.
That's first, trash and recycling stored indoors, except for collection times.
Second, occupancy is limited to a maximum of four veterans.
And I'll get my client to explain her vision here, and it's one per room, and third, no living in the basement.
And those are all accepted.
Chevelle Gourdeen is not proposing a high-intensity facility.
This would be small, non-medical, veterans-only, personal care home, each with a private bedroom, as mentioned.
Quiet, long-term housing, consistent with the residential neighborhood.
She'll explain briefly the intake process. There's no walk-in or emergency placements. This is not a shelter, traditional housing. This is not a treatment program or medical institution. It's supervised in a home-like setting for veterans who can live safely in their environment.
the applicant proposed and discussed with the RCO real operations. She calls a good neighbor plan,
house rules, quiet hours, limited and scheduled visitor access, no large gatherings. And again,
we agreed to the trash storage and put out only at collection day. We included in our packet
it. Is that? The neighborhood petition for support with
neighborhood petition for support with signatures from nearby North 24th street addresses
signatures from nearby North.
so we have documented neighborhood support for this specific proposal
we believe this will be compatible with the residential character of the property
regarding the parking the relief is modest there's requirement for I believe one
one-tenth of a space per each permanent bed under the rules. And while we're not able to provide
that, we don't believe that four individuals living in this property will create any kind of
issues in terms of parking. So for these reasons, we respect the board, structurally request the
board grant the special exception and the parking relief variance. I'll have my client raise her
hand and explain herself a bit and her vision for the space, which, again, was included in our
submission. All right. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, can I ask a question before we start? You most
certainly can. Thank you. Attorney Counsel, this is Lynn Riedelhuber, Board Counsel. You keep
referring to a she, so that prompts me to ask. The owner of the property is a he. It's a, well,
Matthew Foster. Matthew Foster, excuse me. So I assume you're referring to Chevelle Gordine,
yes not the owner that's correct so she cannot adopt the testimony she can testify as a witness
but you need the owner even in the event that we have we have a lease you did not produce a lease
no lease was attached all we have is the deed you did not produce a lease
and the deed that you provided was for the owner let me figure out well can i call miss gordine
about that sure but we as a witness yes you didn't provide anything though as at least though that's
fine I think I should raise your hand I have a hand up from Matthew Foster but they keep declining
they keep declining to become a panelist looks like i've got the owner too mr foster
uh and just to clarify mr consult are you representing the owner or are you representing
the tenant uh i'm gonna go with bonus right the second if he's on the call
Mr. Foster.
Hello?
I don't see you.
Mr. Foster, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Matthew Foster, capital M-A-T-T-H-E-W, capital F-O-S-T-E-R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Counsel?
Good morning, Mr. Foster.
This is Joseph Consul.
um i might have mischaracterized your relationship with chevelle could you please explain to the
board um your ownership of the property and your relationship to this project uh basically uh i've
been friends with miss gourdine for some time um um the property's been sitting um i've been asked
to rent it out i did not want to um really get into renting it out i did i just uh had some
friends that had bad experiences with the renting stuff so i was kind of the house had just been
sitting um me and chabelle had a conversation um she said you know her vision of using it for
veterans um i had veterans in my family my aunt uncle cousins so i told her i said you know um
if if if that's what she's going to use it for i would have a problem with her doing that with
her doing so so um here we are that's that's basically the customer do you adopt my testimony
any then what i gave earlier and i offered up yes i did yes i did all right now i'll call my second
witness sure miss chevelle excuse me yes good morning hi could you please state your name and
spell for the stenographer chevelle gordine s-h-a-v-e-l-l-g-o-r-d-i-n-e do you swear or
firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes. Please proceed, counsel.
Ms. Burdine, would you explain your vision for this project and your experience in this area?
Right. So the vision is to, my goal is to allow veterans to live in a family resident,
you know, like environment, you know, just to live like you or I would live, just, you know,
a home where cooked meals and they have and they have peace because I have seen in the past
a home where cooked meals, and they have peace. Because I have seen in the past
a lot of veterans, you know, they're displaced. Some of them are being released from the hospital
and have nowhere to go, or they may have homes, but they're alone. So the goal is to just provide
them a home-like loving environment with structure. And what's your experience working
with these types of people in this sort of environment?
So I've been in a human service field for over 22 years.
I've worked with veterans in the residential atmosphere.
I have been the one that provides the doctor's appointments,
but of course, under other companies,
working for corporations,
provide the doctor's appointments
and that structure that I speak of
and being the companion
and making sure they do their daily living
and making sure they stay, you know, compliant with doctor's appointments and outings and
activities. Okay. I have no further questions. Questions from the board.
So is there any, have you had conversations with the VA or how are you planning to
get the residents? So that is my goal. I have a list of referral agencies that I would like to
build. Well, I'm working on building relationships with, as well as Friends Hospital. But the VA
grant and per diem program is one that I'm interested in, as well as the supportive
Service for Veterans Families, the VA Pension Benefits Program, and the Philadelphia Regional
Benefits Office. So my goal is to build those relationships so that I can be a referral source
for them. And how is the supervision going to work? So I will be available at all times. I mean,
not necessarily on site i will work some site hours but um i will have one staff at least one
staff available every shift uh what's the shifts so the intentions are like the eight to four
four to twelve
and then twelve to eight
um i have a question uh the i did see in the petition that one of the neighbors uh did sign
it do you have uh agreement from the other neighbor i think i saw 20 35 25 on a petition
i didn't see the other side do you have the support of both neighbors on both on either side
of you so off the top of my head i can't remember i know someone wasn't home oh he doesn't live
there okay that's what that one was no one lives there right now
any other questions from the board
questions from our attorney uh yes i just wanted to follow up if council could um submit the lease
He indicated that there was a lease between Ms. Gordine and Matthew Foster, if he can submit that for the record.
Thank you.
That was an error.
There isn't a lease between Mr. Foster and I.
He's just allowing me the usage.
And, you know, we'll visit some things.
They told me, give me a couple years to get my business started.
And, you know, he's just allowing me the use of the property because it has been sitting.
he's been sitting for over over three years yeah three four years
sorry lynn reidelhooper again i just wanted i think it should be clarified on the record
that there is no lease and um the applicant in this it has to be mr foster then as the owner
correct agreed questions or comments from the virtual audience
no hands at this time chair Planning Commission I'm shocked thank you chairman and good morning
David Vecto with the city planning commission chairman and board members the comprehensive
plan recommends no change to the RSA 5 residential zoning at this location the city rezoned this
neighborhood in 2006 and a council requested map change the appellant has shown that the
proposed use would not cause detrimental impacts beyond what would reasonably be expected
and off-street accessory parking is not a common condition in this block face
with only one two-car garage present so off-street accessory parking would be out of character with
so off-street accessory parking would be out of character with the helms on this block face the
the homes on this block
city planning commission recommends that the board grant the requested special exception for personal
care home use and their proposed use variants for not including the required parking spaces
MI 2025 005051 30 3523 North 24th Street I vote yes with proviso interior trash storage
um no household living in basement
can i can i add a proviso to that and for a limited three years or something go ahead for
like a limited three years or something like that okay okay temporary variance to expire um today's
date is uh 329 so would be 8 20 no
8 8 12 29 would be the proviso including also interior trash storage and no household living
in basement uh michael johns my vote is yes with proviso cheryl gaston my vote is yes with proviso
tennetta graham my vote is yes with proviso hi mcadams my vote is yes with proviso tywin my vote
is yes with proviso layla bb my vote is yes with proviso mr council we're going to get back to you
shortly we're going to go back to number one see if we can take care of that because we have an
interpreter no problem thank you all also thank you good luck with your project um 1852 hart lane
Okay, Mr. Chair, we do have the Spanish interpreter available.
However, the expediter has indicated that the client may not be available.
So if we could just try to call up Mr. Martin Polanco, if you're in the virtual audience, Mr. Polanco, please raise your hand.
Señor Polanco, si usted está en la audiencia, por favor, levante la mano.
I'm the expediter.
He's having trouble with his phone, so we're just going to have to reschedule so he can just come by the office next time.
okay chair i'm going to recommend a continuing state of january 13th at 9 30 a.m um january
13th um at 9 a.m thank you very much okay mr council come back please
second never left we need the interpreter interpreter thank you very much
hey your honor i was told to be here as well for uh jennifer gargus at 5011 d street
that case was over right we already voted that yeah okay interpreters gonna go ahead
thank you for using our services hold on the interpreter should interpret what you said the
containment state too okay entonces la continuación va a ser para el 13 de enero a las nueve de la
mañana all right all right thank you you're welcome all right mr console is number eight right
number eight mi2026 000 858 1901 to 39 callow hill street mr consul uh good morning again
joseph consul for 1901 to 39 callow hill street uh with me on the call is howard nelson who is
the owner of doggy style pets doggy style pets has uh several locations in pennsylvania uh and
in new jersey uh it is a popular um dog and and cat and pet uh retail store um we're here today
for our vice chair has just a few questions okay i'm sorry i just started rocking and rolling
have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing
yes i have and do you waive the reading of the refuse or stipulate to his accuracy
i do all right thank you now you can begin all right so uh howard howard nelson owner of doggy
style pets he's got several locations uh it's a popular retail pet store uh this property is owned
CMX4, 1901 Callahill Street. It's in the Granary building. It is.
1901 Callahill Street. It's in the Granary building. It is an open and operating retail
location that has been operating for several months now. However, we're here because we're
seeking approval for animal services, boarding, and other services, which is prohibited pretty
much everywhere in the city. And so, you know, we have to bring these requests in front of
the zoning board. We're not asking for a broad animal services approval. The request is limited
to allowing doggy style to have two dogs on site at any given time for adoption purposes.
They're not a kennel business or anything like that. This is a situation where my client can,
The store can show off two dogs that the general public can come in and meet and potentially adopt.
I'll note, and my client could testify, that this initiative has been extremely successful and is very popular for doggy-style pets.
It's not something that generates income and things like that.
It's something that they do because they believe in this as an additional piece of the puzzle for what they do.
So we met with the Logan Square Neighborhood Association. We got 18 in favor of non-opposition and no opposed. Same thing from their development committee. Basically, they came up with the practical framework.
They want it, you know, they want the variance limited to adoption related animals.
No commercial boarding and no higher impact animal use with a maximum of two dogs on site
at any given time.
We fully accept those conditions.
This is, I'll go to the pictures.
Here's some of the interior shots.
Got on top, kind of looks like me if I had a beard.
Just a little bit of, we included in these packets a little bit of information about their store and their process.
I thought I had some exterior.
Showing the postings and showing the store as it looks now from the outside.
In this space.
Yeah, that's it for me.
i'm going to call howard to adopt my testimony and answer any questions that the board might
have about the process thank you
share that person is being promoted thank you
what's your client's name howard nelson
Mr. Nelson
can you guys hear me okay
we can
oh let me turn on my video
okay could you please state your name
and spell it for the stenographer
sure it's Howard Nelson
H-O-W-A-R-D
N-E-L-S-O-N
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do counsel uh good morning howard did you hear my testimony just now regarding your location at
19 the callow hill i did do you adopt it as your own i do okay um that's all right i'll leave it
at that unless there's any questions from the board yes where will the dogs stay are they going
to stay in the window overnight? No, thank you. But that's a good question. But they don't stay
in the windows overnight because they sleep in special cages in the back of the store. And in
this particular store, we had the space to build a special room behind our grooming facility where
the dogs sleep. And it's video monitored. And because the dogs are in the store all day long,
They get a lot of activity. They're awake all day and they go in the back and they sleep at night.
And the store is video and motion monitored as well.
And then is the store open seven days a week?
It is open seven days a week. And the staff arrives, staff and volunteers arrive one hour before we open and stay one hour after we close to exercise.
The dogs feed them and put them to bed or wake them up and get them ready in the morning.
okay and then what's the typical uh length of time that a dog is with you all before it's adopted so
uh length of time that a dog is with you all before it's adopted so so we've been doing this
at almost all of our locations for 15 years and we're just crossing 15 000 dogs adopted without
incident but uh we currently partner with animal care and control uh in the city and all the funds
go back to to act so act selects the dogs for us and brings them to to us we have dogs that are
adopted in an hour and dogs that take uh three three months four months but the average is
running around 10 days right now okay i have no further questions any other questions questions
more attorney no questions at this time mr questions or comments from the virtual audience
no hands at this time chair planning commission
thank you chairman and good morning david vecto with the city planning commission
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the CMX for commercial
mixed use zoning at this location the city rezoned this neighborhood in 2011 and a council supported
map change the proposed use is in harmony with the mixed use character of the surrounding area
and will have minimal impact on surrounding properties City Planning Commission recommends
of the board grant or proposed use variants for animal services thank you so mi 2026 000
858 1901 to 39 cal hill street i vote yes with proviso use limited to retail space number two
michael johns my vote is yes with proviso
tenetta graham mode is yes with proviso brian mcadams my vote is yes with proviso
hi and when my vote is yes with proviso layla bb my vote is yes with proviso
and mr consul thank you sir mr council you have one more am i correct uh you're correct until
zero zero one one zero two one forty four shares lane mr consul just for the record state your name
joseph consul and mr consul could you identify your client a relationship to their property
yeah i have heather and eric exley and they're the owners of 144 scherz lane right and they're
obvious there is a letter of uh opposition from the rco um our vice chair has a few questions
good morning have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing
yes and do you waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy i do all right thank
you you can share your screen and proceed with the case all right my screen should be up uh we're
here with heather and eric exley the owners of 144 sure's lane we're here on one use refusal
property is zoned rsa 5 and we have a request for a visitor accommodations variance which as you all
know is prohibited in the RSA 5 district. We're asking here for a narrow property specific
use variance potentially with the temporary proviso should the board deem that appropriate
for this particular house and for these particular operators who we believe present a good case
floor approval. Get an exterior shot. This is a very small Manionk property. City records
show a parcel of roughly 608 to 617 square feet. The building itself, we believe, is
about the floor space. We're getting up to around 660 square feet for how the building
sits on the on the lot it's an end of row manny young house uh built we believe around 1900
um on on sure's lane um the hardship here is tied to the property itself it's a very small lot
small improvement area the age and the condition at purchase this was not a large building being
converted this was a small property that was purchased at an estate sale that needed renovation
My clients bought it with the specific intent to rehab it, furnish it, and maintain it and operate it professionally as a short-term rental in Maniunk.
Which brings me to Heather and Eric.
I'll flip through a few more pictures here.
Heather and Eric are not new to this process.
They have a history and a strategy in Maniunk and parts of Roxborough of taking smaller, unloved homes, investing in them, rehabbing them back into beautiful condition, and then operating them responsibly as short-term rentals.
The board has seen them three times before.
There are other properties in the immediate vicinity include 4421 St. David Street, 4423 St. David Street, and 367 Schur's Lane.
There are other properties in the immediate vicinity include 4-4.
These were equally historical and sort of similarly sized properties, all being very small.
And to note, in those prior cases, the RCO also opposed the board granted temporary relief.
And, you know, since that time, there have been no complaints or anything like that, and tons of positive reviews of my client's operation of the properties.
So we're sort of asking for a practical approach.
We understand that there's opposition, but as in the past with this RCO, the opposition, we believe, is not, well, not what we believe, but it's not based on any specific complaints about my clients or this property.
There's nothing on record that would suggest otherwise.
And they note in their letter, it's a philosophical opposition to the use of a single-family home as a short-term rental.
And of course, I respect that position, but it's more of a general policy objection and not specific to my clients who we believe and they can speak in a moment, have proven to be good operators in this space.
Let me get to the end here. We have a couple of pages of neighborhood petitions very close to the property.
so we're hoping direct neighbor support helps influence a decision that this morning these
people live on shares lane and tower street uh we believe this has a broader manioc benefit
there's lots of things in manioc and i don't believe that there are hotels and things like
that that you can walk to and from those things and part of what my clients hope to do is be able
to provide a way for you to visit manioc in the way that you might visit other other parts of the
city and in addition to that there's lots of colleges in the surrounding area and being
able to have parents and things like that stay close by in um these well-loved uh homes is
we believe beneficial so for those reasons we're requesting an approval of the variance
and are open to any temporary structures provisos the boards wish wish to put on it with that i'll
So call the Axleys to raise their virtual hand.
They're being promoted to panelists here.
Thank you very much.
Are you there, Heather?
Good morning, sir.
that was me sorry eric exley president i could you please state your name as bell for this
stenographer eric exley e-r-i-c-e-x-l-e-y you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing about the truth i do mr consul uh good morning eric did you hear my testimony just now
regarding your property at 144 shurs lane i did thank you joe uh do you adopt what i said as your
own quite clearly stated thank you thanks i know you're passionate about this but but briefly would
you just give the board um your thoughts on on this property and your you know sort of um how
think of these properties in manioc we um live nearby and uh found this house for sale just like
anybody else would just driving down the street and toured it and said this is a nice little place
we like houses with particular interests that in manioc neighborhood need to be uh maintained and
loved not torn down and replaced which is also a common practice so uh we have uh recently redone
the finishes inside the house as the pictures will show um and uh parent for a wonderful rental
i know at one point i had the pre-photos but i can't find them right now to show the kind
of love you put into it but the photos speak for themselves i i believe uh regarding your
other properties um eric have you had any ever had any issues with with those any complaints or
anything of that nature um the short-term rentals that we also own in the neighborhood
represent a fantastic opportunity as you mentioned for people to
represent a fantastic opportunity as you mentioned for people to visit this fantastic section of the
city and a nice place to say as opposed to kind of a common hotel room there are no hotels in
manioc so again this is a fabulous way to appreciate the wonderful things that happen
in and around maniunk by the river on main street and the golf course and it's been a great model
heather has the highest ratings from uh the renters that uh that anyone would uh appreciate
thank york questions from the board yes how many bedrooms are in the house
there are three bedrooms in this little house believe it or not
and and bathrooms there are one it's one bathroom okay and the the the folks who
rented out will have access to all three floors all rooms
yes they have access to the entire house okay
all right any other questions
Sorry, I have a question. I realize my mic wasn't on. I realize that you've been targeting
fixer upper properties in the Maniunk area, and could you walk us through the decision
to not rent them out as single-family homes and just get long-term tenants in them versus doing
visitor accommodations? So Heather, I think you need to state your name and spell for this
stenography because we've switched from your husband to you okay my name is heather exley
h-e-a-t-h-e-r-e-x-l-e-y do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but
the truth yes i do please answer the question so that is i think the question is why are we
using these houses as short-term rental versus a long-term rental is that correct okay um we just
like this model. We like to meet people from other places, you know, in the world, really,
in, you know, the United States. And it's a good way to just stay on top of the property.
I'd like to put artwork, local artwork in the houses. So those kinds of things I can't do
in a long-term rental, but I can do them in a short-term rental.
okay and then do you have any um in other parts of the city in other no we just have properties
in mania we don't have them anywhere else and then how uh are you managing the properties
on your own or do you have a property management company we manage the properties on our own and
we have one man uh who cleans the properties and he has been with us since the beginning
But other than that, Eric does the handiwork, thank goodness,
and I deal with the people who stay in the properties.
And then, so what's your protocol if something happens at one of the properties
when one of your short-term renters is in?
If there's a problem, I contact them on the phone.
I work closely with Airbnb.
I go over to the property immediately.
I live about 10 minutes away.
um we work to you know maintain our positive and really excellent reviews by airbnb so i do
all things to make the people happy keep them safe keep our property safe we follow the rules
closely airbnb rules closely there are no parties no gatherings um you know it's i don't want
not situations that can get out of hand and that are unsafe. So we follow and work closely with
Airbnb. And then how many days a month are, do you typically have a tenant in one of the three
units that you have in the neighborhood or one of the two that you already have in the neighborhood?
It's seasonal. So in the summertime, we might book 25 days out of 30. And in the winter,
it it's it's less maybe two weeks uh three weeks out of the 30 days and then did you purchase all
of the other homes that you're operating out of yes and where they purchased uh cash or financed
they're financed i have no further questions other questions questions from our attorney
no questions questions or comments from the virtual audience no hands at this time planning
commission thank you chairman and good morning david vecto with the city planning commission
Chairman and board members, the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the RSA 5 residential
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa
single-family zoning at this location. The city changed the zoning in this neighborhood in 1979
in a council-supported map change. A 2020 zoning ordinance passed by city council,
which regulated short-term rentals, did not change the basic rule prohibiting full-time use
of a dwelling unit as a short-term rental. This type of absentee management, where the owner
does not live in the unit has been illegal since the first short-term rental zoning regulations
became effective in 2015. What's changed since the passage of the 2020 ordinance is that there
is now a licensing and enforcement mechanism. The City Planning Commission recommends that
the board deny the proposed use variance for visitor accommodations. MI 2026-001-102-144
Scherz Lane I vote yes with proviso temporary variance that will expire 8 13 29. Michael Johns
my vote is yes with proviso. Tanetta Graham my vote is yes with proviso. And Nick Adams my vote
is yes with proviso. Taya Whitney my vote is no. Layla Beebe my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you counsel. Thank you board I'll see you tonight. All right.
he's got another one tonight wow how about that mi 2026 000 316 315 winona street darwin
bouvet is the attorney good morning mr bouvet
morning Mr. Chairman members of the board my name is Darwin Beauvais I'm from the law firm
of Ogermeyer Redmond Maxwell and Hibbold I know that I know that most people know you but just
for the record could you spell your name yes that's Darwin D-A-R-W-I-N last name Beauvais
b e a u v as in victory a i s as in say do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth yes council could you identify your client a relationship to this
property yes 315 winona street is owned by canaan baptist church i have with me mr herbert bird
from the board of trustees also with me miss perry who is the vice chair of the board of
trustees our vice chair has a few questions for you counsel good morning have you submitted your
documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing yes and do you waive the reading
of the refusal and simple a2 is accuracy yes all right thank you you can show your screen and
proceed with the case hey understood i'm trying to share my screen
i do not see okay where i can share my screen
oh there he's coming in as a panelist okay you're coming in now
Mr. Bouvez you have to accept the invite you decline it it looks like I'm in
No, I was declined.
Oh, let's try it again.
I got it. Thanks. I'm not as technically inclined as some other people, but I can.
Well, we're not sure about that, but go ahead. We think you are. Go ahead.
Well, thank you. Mr. Chairman, members of the board, my name is Darwin Beauvais again, and I am here to present 315 Winona Street.
I'm here on behalf of Canaan Baptist Church, and as I mentioned, I have the board of trustees, the leadership here to speak in support.
speak in support canaan baptist church has served the germantown area for over 118 years part of
Canaan Baptist Church have served the
its mission is to provide housing and community service to this neighborhood the church acquired
315 winona street in 1995 at that time of purchase the building was already configured
and operating as two dwelling units.
It has been that way for decades.
And the church only later discovered
that the use has never been formally legalized
in the city records approximately five years ago.
The church didn't create this issue.
It inherited this issue.
Now, if you look to our exhibits,
I submitted Exhibits 1 through 14 plus an additional Exhibit 15, but 1 through 14 includes photograph of the property, our refusal, certificate of tax clearance, deed, zoning appeal application, and the PIF form, aerial views of the property, our zoning map, zoning code, a memorandum of law,
Letters of support from the Democratic 12th Ward as well as petitions of support and support from a local school. We also have a zoning notice and photographs of the property. Let's start with the last exhibit, number 14.
okay so here's the property without the warning next to the property is canaan baptist church
you can see the red door on the side here's from a different angle you can see the separate entrance
here's the side yard and the rear of the property here is the kitchen
it's currently occupied by a tenant this is the first floor
and then we go upstairs to the second floor which is not occupied which is the gist of
OF OUR PRESENTATION TODAY.
YOU CAN SEE THERE'S THE RESTROOMS, AND HERE'S HOW THE REST OF THE STREET LOOKS.
THE PROPERTIES ON THE LEFT OF THE SCREEN, YOU CAN SEE TOWARDS THE UPPER LEFT OF THE
SCREEN IS THE CHURCH, ACROSS THE STREET ARE RESIDENTIAL UNITS.
further down the street until we get to the cul-de-stack area. There's our posting and
a copy of our posting that includes our refusal. Now,
Now, for the boards, just to rehash why we're here, we received the refusal for being RS3, sitting in an RS3 zoning classification district while we're having this multifamily presentation, this multifamily application.
Now, with that, we believe and we submit that we did not create this hardship.
It is the uniqueness of this property that leads us here today.
Now, members of the board, 1315 Renown Street is not your typical parcel.
It was constructed in 1892, and upon reviewing the zoning records, we discovered that since 1946, Illinois has recognized this building as a two-family structure.
Given this, we submit that the building was built long before the modern Philadelphia zoning code existed, and it was designed and physically configured from the ground up as a two-family building.
It has separate entrances, separate kitchens, separate bathrooms, separate utilities, all distinct living for two families. This is not a choice that the current owner made. This is the physical reality of the building that's existed for almost a century.
Now, with that, we also realized that when we looked at the zoning files for this property, we realized that the lot is also unique. The parcel is only 19, just a little bit.
the lot is also unique the parcel is only 19 just a little bit over 19 feet wide and 154 feet deep
it is too small to make it a a a single family home and we believe under the rsa lot configurations
we will still have a variance that we will have to come before the board with so with that we submit
that are are the physical traits of the property creates this uniqueness creates this this this
catch-22 if you will we are already existing as a two-family home if we try to convert to one
family home we will still end up in a variant situation so with that we believe that because
of the uniqueness we satisfy the conditions under 14-303AE and and and mainly because our hardship
is not self-created now with that we also submit that our variants won't harm the neighborhood
what we did discover and it is part of our exhibit 15 which i discovered this morning which i do not
have an electronic version, but I did send it to the board. I will like the board to take notice of
308 Winona Street, 310 Winona Street, 312 Winona Street.
All of these properties are multifamily right now. I believe 310 is actually three-family.
Now, upon investigation, when we looked at their zoning files, they too have been in existence
for well over 50 years.
I'm, now I'm over 50, so since the 1940s.
There is actually one, I believe, 310 from 1938.
So we believe we do not create,
this is the least amount of variance
that we can present to the board.
And we think it makes sense
because we are in the midst of other structures
letters that were built around the same time and also carry a multifamily set of uses.
With that, I would like to show the board our letters of support.
First and foremost, we did get petitions of support from the surrounding area, including,
If you look at the last four people on the block itself, again, we looked, we did receive a letter of non-opposition from the official RCL, the 12th Ward Democratic RCL.
out. And we also received a letter of support from the local school.
Now, with that, I would like to call my witness, Mr. Herbert Burton.
Sure. Why don't you come over there? Come right here.
Good morning, sir. Could you please state and spell your name for this stenographer?
Herbert Byrd. Herbert, H-E-R-B-E-R-T, Byrd, B-Y-R-D.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and don't think about the truth?
Counsel.
Mr. Byrd, you heard everything, all the statements that I made before the board today?
Would you adopt that as your testimony in your role as trustee for the owner?
That said, is there anything else you would like to add?
I think you covered everything.
All right.
Well, considering I covered everything, Mr. Chairman, I would like to...
And Darwin, this is right next to the church, am I correct?
Right next to the church.
Questions from the board?
yes so we're um in terms of managing your trash
yes so we're um in terms of managing your trash where would the tenants store their trash
uh the trash cans are actually outside the building um
can you show a picture of the building while you do that like is there space on the side
uh yes yeah there's a side door and in the front as well but uh the uh trash cans are covered
um not on the porch right no not on the porch no
so as you can see i think with that see what are the trash cans oh okay
do both tenants use the same door i'm sorry do both tenants use the same primary entrance
to the property second floor i guess what would be the third floor it has its own individual door
but both tenants would use the we have one front door one front yeah that's right and then both
have access to the rear yard but only the first floor tenant would have access to the basement
correct right where are the um utility connections for both units i believe that's in the rear
well some should have been in the base like the how like where's the hot water
i thought you meant like pico yeah where's the hot water tank for the upstairs unit
it's in the basement it's in the basement so um does that tenant would not have access in case of
servicing correct i'm sorry for servicing like how are you handling servicing for
the second front floor unit if their utility hookups are in the basement and only the first
floor tenant has access to the basement okay well they would contact me i would contact the contractor
okay so you the church is still managing like dealing with the management property okay yeah
they screen their tenants they manage he manages other questions from the board so this is this
is currently occupied or just occupied one is one unit occupied or both units occupied just one
just the first floor okay um and uh what's the plan for the front of the of the house
is there the porch the porch roof the porch roof is gone is there are you what are you planning to
put the roof back or the porch roof you mean the awning that's on the other side well well there's
green awning on the the house next door right yeah right and you're to the right of that right yes
so that's my question is there any plans for the front of the to put the put the roof back or
anything i guess he's asking would you consider putting an awning uh i was just confirmed with
him so he can answer would you consider doing that yeah we we definitely think well why don't
you go back and talk to them back in other words you're and i think he asked ruf you're saying
you'd put a one again is that what you're saying yes so you're going to match the the awning next
door well i mean well hopefully if you're going to hopefully if you're going to do something on
the front you'd kind of match the historic character of the rest of the block so that
would be we would do we would do our best uh make our best effort to match the the audience okay
questions from our attorney no question but i did want to indicate that it does look like um
after 10 it looks like at 10 07 a.m that you did submit the documentation concerning the
uh zonings with regard to the properties at winona at 308 310 312 313 and 329 that's correct
questions or comments from the virtual audience
no hands at the time planning commission thank you chairman and good morning david vecto with
the city planning commission chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no
change to the rsa3 residential single family zoning at this location the city rezoned this
neighborhood in 1971 in a council supported map change at that time this block had been
zoned single family since 1933. this appears to be a legalization of a long-term use the
city planning commission recommends that the board grant their proposed use variants for two dwelling
units. Thank you. MI 2026-000316.
MI 2026-000-316-315-Winona Street, I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Ryan McAdams, my vote is yes.
Taya Nguyen, my vote is yes.
Layla Beebe, my vote is yes.
Thank you. Thank you, counsel.
Thank you.
Thank you. Enjoy your day.
okay god bless you thank you well i know i need that i'll tell you that right now okay so we're
number nine 13.
Number 13, MI 2023-001-142-646 West Huntington Street.
Zen Jin is the attorney.
They're being promoted to panelists.
Good morning.
Good morning, counsel.
Could you please state your name and spell it for the sonographer?
Yes, my name is Zen Jin, Z-H-E-N, last name J-I-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, the relationship to this property?
Yes, my client is Mr. Slavik Leshko for Reece Street LC, the property owner.
All right, and our vice chair has a few questions.
Good morning.
Have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing?
And do you waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
All right, thank you.
You can share your screen and proceed with the case.
Thank you.
I'm going to share with the board what was previously submitted as exhibits.
can the board see my exhibit on their screen we can thank you uh so good morning uh this is an
application for 646 west huntington street this is an application for a variance from the existing
cmx2 zoning which as the refusal indicates in this district the first floor uh resident must
contain a use other than residential. And our proposal in this case is to allow the use of
that first floor as a residential unit, in addition to the existing by right setup, which was
two residential units and a commercial unit. This building is already in existence. It's not
a new construction at this point. The photos will show that you can see that the first floor was
set up originally as a commercial use with the two residents above. My client has had some
difficulty over recent times to try to get a tenant for this spot. This area is actually
predominantly zoned RM1, residential multifamily. There's an existing Chinese takeout restaurant
across the street. The other two corners looks like they are, in fact, part of residential
building districts and are used as multifamilies or straight across being a large development that
is part of an I2 district that has been converted to multifamily dwellings. The community actually
supported our request. They understand, in fact, the member of the RCO, the leader of the RCO walk
by the location. They understand that it has been vacant as a commercial property for over a year.
And my client has been actively trying to lease the space as a commercial space for that time
without success. So at this point, his proposal is to make it a residential unit, which would
actually be consistent with other uses in the neighborhood. As far as the actual proposal,
So the plans will show that the building itself has an existing rear yard that does allow
trash to be stored by all units, and it's currently used for the upstairs units, as
well as if there was a commercial unit, they would all have access to the rear yard and
put their trash.
The proposed unit on the first floor, the current structure of the first floor is that
the uh first floor itself is basically a open office slash vacant space for any commercial
vacant space for any commercial use that wants to go in. The basement is also an open space.
use that wants to go in the basement is also an
The Progress said that the architect prepared proposes the living room and kitchen and bath
on the first floor with the bedroom in the back and also two bedrooms in the basement.
Because this property was CMX2, the entire property is actually sprinklered,
including the basement. So it is sprinklered throughout the building. However, my client
and I did have discussion and he understands that there's generally a reservation for allowing
bedrooms in basements of properties due to safety reasons. This property's second floor has more
detailed already. These are existing residential plans for the second and third floor and the
roof deck that already exist. So again, we're here to ask the board's favorable discretion in
allowing the first floor and basement to be converted into one additional residential unit
rather than having it sit vacant as a commercial unit that has not been
has not had a tenant within it for some time having the residential unit active would put
eyes on the street would actually be a better situation for the property which is actually a
corner property than to have a vacant space on the first floor again the surrounding area is
predominantly residential, multifamily in zoning. So again, the community had no opposition
to our request of adding this unit into a residential unit. We believe that
the residential use would not detrimentally impact the neighborhood in the sense that
it is actually not adding to the density in a substantial form. A commercial use could
potentially actually bring more traffic and facility burdens than a single residential unit
again we're flexible on the board's ultimate discretion as to how we can lay out the residential
unit despite the proposal having the bedrooms in the basement my client should be available
to verify my testimony and i'm certainly happy to answer the board's questions bring your client on
sure uh slava can you uh raise your hand virtually to be identified so you can be added as a panelist
they're being promoted to pan
thank you
have they accepted the uh hi sir
what's your client's name again then uh slavic yes yeah slava could you please state your name
is spelled for stenographer uh slavic leshko s-l-a-v-i-k and lashko l-e-s-h-k-o right do
you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes i do counsel
thank you uh mr leshko did you hear my representations to the board and see my
presentation on your screen yes can you verify what i have represented to be true and correct
and adopt it as your own testimony yes can you also verify that you have been actively trying
to rent this space at the commercial and that you have not had any success in the past year
yeah thank you Sam why don't you why don't you bring up the basement before I open up her
questions sure questions from the board uh let me
right here where's um where's trash stored for all of the units currently in the and for the
commercial if if it's granted the residential unit on the first floor so the the way the
building is situated on the um on the street it actually has a rear yard area i know it's not
Let me see if it's shown on the site plan.
There's a fenced-in rear yard here.
Here we go.
There's a fenced-in rear yard with a gate accessed from the side that all three units would have access to for storage of trash in the back behind the fence until pickup time.
And the idea is there was a ramp on one of the diagrams that I'm seeing.
Is there still a ramp on that first level?
the idea is to keep that yes there's still a ramp there that was built as part of the commercial
property and there's no plan to remove it um okay well what what does what what precludes
okay well what what does what what precludes uh you from making the first floor a one bedroom
unit accessible unit uh the basement in the first floor is currently connected uh it doesn't preclude
that particular proposal there is actually a bedroom proposed uh on the so the first floor
is essentially set up on the proposal as a one-bedroom uh unit um except the we would have
to redesign the bathroom to include a shower uh in the on the first floor which can be done
but that is currently set up but then there's access also directly to the basement which is why
the proposal was to have the additional rooms in the basement so that it's not simply left
it's a vacant space other questions
our attorney no questions at this time mr chairman questions or comments from the
virtual audience no hands at this time chair
thank you chairman and good morning david vecto with the city planning commission
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the cmx2 commercial
mixed-use zoning at this location this neighborhood still carries its original 1933 zoning this is a
new two-family dwelling with a ground floor vacant storefront built in 2025 there is no
unique physical condition or circumstance of this property that would prevent it from being used in
conformance with the zoning code the city planning commission recommends the board deny the proposed
use variance for not including ground floor commercial space and the proposed use variance
for the additional dwelling unit um mi 2026 001 142 642 was huntington street i vote yes
with proviso no household living in basement michael johns my vote is yes with proviso
it's another graham my vote is yes with proviso ryan mcadams my vote is yes with proviso hey
win my vote is yes with proviso thank you counsel thank you all right number 14 mi 2026
zero zero one one four nine 60 19 to 25 baltimore avenue nixon um canna is the attorney
they're being promoted to panelists
oh good morning um good morning how you doing i'm good good morning could you please state
your name and spell for the stenographer uh nixon connor n-i-x-o-n-k-a-n-n-a-h do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes mr chair could you identify
your client and relationship to this property sure my client is damon neal um and he's a tenant
at the property all right our vice chair has a few questions
good morning have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing
yes okay and do you waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate your accuracy
yes all right thank you can share your screen and proceed with your case okay
okay this is 6019-25 Baltimore Avenue um my client has a business at their location
Damon Neal, his business is Neal Tires and Auto Repair, he is currently in a five year lease with the property owner for this property for him to operate his business.
for him to operate his business. These are drawings that we received from the property owner as far as renovations that were done to the property.
This is the, these are.
Just by way of history, this property goes back to I believe 1925. It started out as a garage
garage, auto body shop as a gas station, and it operated as a gas station until 1986 or
89, and the zoning was changed from an auto body shop to, I believe, an attempt to operate
it as a produce shop.
So basically, that's what changed the zoning in this case.
What we're seeking is a variance to go back to to to operate this location as a as an auto body shop based on the based on these drawings.
There's not it's not going to be any any change to the structure. I'm going to show you these are more photograph of the exterior.
This is the condition of the property that my client received when he leased the property.
Again, he's on a five-year lease.
And we submitted a letter from the property owner, and he's not available, but he has no objection to the zoning.
He actually purchased this property as an auto body shop.
I'm going to show you the interior of the property when he purchased it with the lift
and everything that was in the property.
This is basically the interior of the property, it's the workstation.
Again, my client signed his lease back in September of 2025.
He was operating his business until L&I showed up in, I believe, June 6th and basically told
him that dislocation, quote, was no longer zoned as an auto body shop, given the previous
zone rezoning that was done in 19. I believe it was 1989. No, I'm not sorry. 2020 2012 I believe it should be in the package. I'm going to show you the history of the property. It should be on there.
Give me a minute.
okay this is the application that it was rezoned back in um 20
could you flip your screen a minute for us okay well i'm not sharing well you're it's sideways
i'm sorry it's sideways you gotta oh i'm sorry i'm sorry commissioners you're right
okay so this is the zoning application back in 2017 um trying to rezone this property for
for a produce shop and when we had when my client attended the the the community meeting
it wasn't clear whether they have they ever actually operated the the produce shop at this
location, notwithstanding the rezoning.
At the community shop, I mean, at the community meeting, the issues that was raised was parking.
Again, my client has angled parking in front of his building that there will be no issue with parking.
My client is going to be, some of his business is going to be changing tires.
There was an issue as to the tires.
We have a contract with a tire removal company that was part of the package.
I believe it was 815, that a tire remover company would basically come to my client's property every month and remove the tires.
Prior to the tire remover company arriving, another consultant.
prior to the tire removal company arriving um another another concern that was shared was
where would the tires be stored while we wait for while we wait for pickup uh my client took it
upon himself to basically build and this was this was actually an issue that um that came up so what
What we did was we built a storage shed in the back of the property.
We have two of these in the back that will basically store the tires until pickup.
Again, my client is here with me, Mr. Neal, he's been an auto mechanic for over 44 years.
He has a location, he has a business in Delaware County.
He has another location in Philadelphia, this would be his third location, and as indicated
that from the from the community and we're not trying to bring a commercial commercial destination
into a residential this has always been commercial it was commercial as a mechanic shop for several
years until somebody attempted to to to operate a produce shop and it was changed from mechanic
shop to a produce shop and we're just seeking a variance to take it back to auto mechanic shop so
why don't you bring your bring your client on okay my client is here with me in my office
okay sir could you please put put them on the screen there a minute could you please
state your name and spell it for the stenographer
damon new d-a-m-o-n new n-e-a-l right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the
truth nothing but the truth i do please proceed counsel thank you mr neil you heard my testimony
and my presentation to the board this morning yes will you adapt that as your own yes
any questions from the board questions from the board
questions from our attorney um just one second
Yeah, okay.
Sorry. Lynn Riedelhuber, Board Counsel.
I just wanted to clarify.
Your request was for commercial vehicle repair and maintenance, but it seems like you're doing personal vehicle repair and maintenance, correct?
Or is that incorrect?
I'm sorry?
are you well not just as an auto mechanic shop i don't i'm you know um it's not not commercial
vehicles like buses or or limousines if that what you're referring to no also um you mentioned about
parking correct that wasn't part of your application though correct no um i believe
it was an issue that was raised at the community meeting as to if our business
this would impact the neighborhood as far as parking and from the exterior photograph that
I show we have parking on site for at least eight to ten vehicles so there would be no need for
street parking okay um just for the parking you should probably look in to see if it had been
legalized had it been prior you know had it been improved prior to this time because it's not
included in your application i'm sorry i can't i'm sure i'm sorry i can't hear what was that question
The question, my statement was that you did not put in your application any mention of parking, so that my suggestion is, please look into the history to see if parking had been legalized at that location previously.
Yes, if it hasn't, you're going to have to submit an application.
As far as, well, let me just.
you can reach out to council you know off the record but i'm just letting you just we're
going to only vote on the building today you may have to come back for parking what you should do
is call down here the council's office so they would give you the instructions correct well
Correct. Well, Mr. Chairman, what I was saying is parking was not an issue for my client's business.
what I was Mr. Chairman what I was saying is
The concern was if individuals bring their vehicles to the repair shop, you know, would they have parking or would they be parking on the side street?
I believe the side street was was Edgewood, Edgewood Street, where on the corner of Edgewood and Baltimore.
more so the concern was they don't want anyone parking on ashwood street which we're not going
to park on ashwood okay council i do have another uh comment the there should be a proviso given
what um council indicated concerning the vehicles it should be a proviso is the approved use is
personal vehicle and repair maintenance only correct reviews personal say that personal
personal vehicle repair and maintenance only because his his uh application was for commercial
okay all right questions comments from the virtual audience
no hands at this time chair um planning commission thank you chairman and good
morning david vector with the city planning commission chairman and board members the
comprehensive plan recommends no change to the cmx1 commercial mixed use zoning at this location
the city rezoned this neighborhood in 1970 and a council supported map change
let me pivot here because I had testimony for the other use since the appellant has clarified that
the use is for personal vehicle repair and maintenance then city planning commission
recommends the board grant there be proposed use variants all right mi 2026 001 149 60 19 to 25
baltimore avenue i vote yes proviso approval personal vehicle use and maintenance only
michael johns my vote is yes with proviso tanetta graham my vote is yes with proviso
my mcadams my vote is yes with proviso my vote is yes with proviso thank you my vote is yes with
proviso thank you council thank you members of the board we have any excuse yes you can sir
thank you
take your time
good morning mr patterson good morning um could you please state your name and spell it for the
stenographer sure thank you ronald patterson p-a-t-t-e-r-s-o-n claire k-l-e-h-r harrison
law firm 1835 market street do you swear or affirm to tell the truth told truth nothing but the truth
uh yes i do could you identify your client a relationship to the property sure my client is
the owner of the property, Salvatore Gorbisi. And our vice chair has a few questions. And just a
note, we do have a few letters of support here. Good morning. Good morning. Have you submitted
your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing? Yes, I have. And do you waive
the reading of the refusals to stipulate to their accuracy? Yes, I do. All right. Thank you. Can
share your screen and proceed with the case. I think I have to be promoted.
We should be coming back as a panelist shortly.
Yeah, great. Thank you.
Okay, so this application regards a home at 3190 South 17th Street right here.
It's in the Packer Park neighborhood at the end of a block.
You'll notice that this is a city street, 17th Street,
and behind these homes on all of them in Packer Park,
there's a private driveway it's not a HOA any type of an arrangement it's I
would call them an orphan alley orphan driveways that we see throughout the
sea no one owns them but we're required to maintain them I live nearby so I I'm
in the same situation so the application regards a shed that Mr. Garbasi put in
that Mr. Garbasi put in behind his house and I show the aerial because you'll see the character
behind his his house and
and the context in the Packer Park areas. Everyone has sheds and behind their house in the driveway.
The houses don't have basements. The posting, there's a view from the street. Again, it's a
double-wide lot house and then he has a lot here and it's undeveloped just grassy area
closer view here's the shed in the rear
let's give you some context
So he purchased the property in 2019 and put the shed since storage is a commodity.
An inspector came earlier in the year and found that there was no permit for it,
and it was measured, and it exceeded the allowable 130 square feet for a shed.
Yes, it does.
And again, as I mentioned, we have double-wide lots, so he did a double-wide shed here.
It's used for storage.
the houses have no garages uh anymore they may have been built with garages but they're long
removed um is that correct oh i see questions okay um
here's a side view with all the uh sheds along the backs of the rear properties this is a picture
from across the street uh the board has asked asked for uh interior photographs here's interior
photographs of um example what's stored in there um this is the side of one of the sheds so it's
another access door to get in there's no no access for a car it's the side of the shed
um here's examples of what's stored in the shed as well as other things uh display areas since
he has this wide uh area here we did meet with the packer park civic association uh disclosed
that i am a member of the board and we did vote in favor of the application we believe that yes
although it exceeds the allowable uh that the fact that the property is double y should be
taken into consideration and there's no adverse impacts uh on this area since it's within the
character in the context everyone has sheds there along their that rear private driveway
so with that said i'd like to introduce you please state your name and bell for the stenographer
salvatore garbezi s-a-l-v-a-t-o-r-e last name is garbezi g-a-r-b-e-s-i do you swear or affirm to
tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes counsel so you've heard what i've said
do you agree it's true and accurate yes and would you adopt it if it was your own yes uh is it is
it accurate that what you do is you store you put storage in there it's not used as an occupancy
type of shed yes it's correct i'll my my wife's yeah okay and do you have a basement i do but
it's not below great it's not a cellar no okay um anything you'd like to add to to the shed story
no the reason for the size is just the vastness of the lot and the decorations he showed you some
pictures but there's a lot more decorations than that okay we got a big christmas ground
a lot of christmas in there too i think yeah well they got big hair
you should come down from halloween and walk to the neighborhood so it's questions questions from
the board yes who built the shed i'm sorry who built the shed the amish they dropped it off on
wheels okay it was ordered okay so you had like prefab yes okay he put in the in in the uh the
foundation cement foundation yes and there's no other like connective electric connections or
whatever uh we we did run a line okay for like the line for like lakes and stuff like that yeah
and what are you doing with the the storm water runoff or to run off of the shed it goes into the
yard it goes it's pitched towards the yard yeah okay thank you all the questions questions from
our attorney no questions at this questions or comments from the virtual audience
no hands at this time planning commission thank you chairman and good morning david vector with
the city planning commission chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no
change to the rsa 5 residential single family zoning at this location the city rezoned this
neighborhood in 1990 and a council supported map change the appellant appears to have built
an accessory structure without the benefit of permits the city planning commission recommends
the city planning commission recommends that the board denied both variances
that the board denied both variances
and my 2026 001 uh 236 3190 south 17th street i vote yes michael johns my vote is yes
tenetta graham my vote is yes my mcadams my vote is yes my vote is yes layla bb my vote is yes
thank you council great thank you i i we noticed that you got this
it's planned down straight like when your case is called you walk through the door i watch i'm
watching i'm watching until it's ready i'm not used to being here in the morning okay thank you
thank you very much all right thank you everyone thank you
number 17 mi 2026 001 362 3531 frankfurt avenue frank turner is the attorney
they're being promoted to panelists okay
All right.
good morning good morning counsel could you please state your name it's spelled for this
photographer certainly my name is frank turner f-r-a-n-k-t-u-r-n-e-r right do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do counsel could you identify
your client the relationship to this property certainly my client is frank volpe um member of
jtp rents um the owner of the property our vice chair has a few questions for you sir
thank you good morning morning have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance
of this hearing i have and do you waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its
accuracy i do all right thank you you can share your screen and proceed with your case thank you
So, sorry, everyone's like.
On the screen, we see that we do that.
okay and so here my screen can everyone see the screen no we do not sir oh you do not
no we do not okay we see you okay hello
you should be coming up any minute here we go there we go one more button
This should be coming up, trying to fill up the screen here.
So, so everyone can see the screen now.
I see Harrogate Civic Association.
Great. So this week, if we start here, this is the letter of support from I heard of civic association. My client presented to them previously, back in May, as you can see, that they received the support of 18 members. There's one member that did not oppose it and zero members opposed it.
they did um ask that my client install security cameras sorry back up a little bit what we have
here is a um is a rooming house that's that's been zoned since 2002 i believe or 2008 um
let's see here that um for 22 people in a rooming house in a cmx
to district and we were denied because residential my client wants to put a
five-family residential building there and which will not which is what the
property was zoned for until the since
zoned for until um the uh since 2002 at least and then um before it was changed to a rooming house
my client purchased the property in 2023
council i think it'd be helpful if you put the pictures of the sure the location up absolutely
and let's see here we have photos of the so i'll show the outside a little bit better
it's also our posting this is the property here and so it was zoned for a rooming house it's
currently vacant as you can see it's a corner property very large
and you can also see the postings there as well
also some photos of the interior of the property
where the renovations have started um there's no change to the exterior
and no demolitions being done um my client is uh only putting in permanent doors where
they were removed previously when the property was changed from a five-family
unit to to a rooming house and there's some work on the stucco being done
there and the clients building permits were denied because of the because of
the zoning the missing zoning variance but the property was not zoned for
residential and it's in the cmx district and um there are other um there's a property directly
across the street council do you have plans do you have plans i do have plans
council do you have architectural plans i do have architectural plans when you put them up
and so here
this is the basement floor plan it's just used for storage um it's a there are no additional
walls inside the basement on the basement it's the first floor plan where they have
two studio units with separate entrances
is the second floor where we have two additional studio units
and the third floor with a one bedroom that's the five units that are being proposed there
and as i said the property is currently zoned as a rooming house my client didn't think that
that would be the kind of thing you wanted to manage and also there are
there are other five unit properties in the area there's one directly across the
street and so we believe it is actually in in line with the uses on that block
and so we believe that the variance should be granted we also think that it would be an
improvement to the neighborhood considering the the condition of the property when a client
purchased it and also the the neighbors like the idea of five individuals yeah unit occupants
rather than 22 people in a large building counsel could you bring your client on and have your
testimony adopted mr volpe can you raise your hand so the board can bring you on
hello can you hear me yes sir could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
frank volpe f-r-a-n-k-v-o-l-p-e do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth I do counsel thank you mr. Volpe you heard my testimony just now yes do you
adopt that testimony as your own yes thank you questions from the board yes I'm looking at your
occupancy and unit area and I'm just wondering how you got to the decision of three people in
a one-bedroom apartment on the third floor that's what it was originally framed out as and I'm not
adding on to the structure i'm keeping the same framing same layout and just remodel basically
So all of, like, the existing walls that you're showing in the Level 9 plans, are you saying they exist already?
so all of like the existing walls that you're showing in the level
No, they were already framed.
It's new sheetrock and all, but the framing was the same layout.
Everything's new, electric, plumbing.
There's going to be a sprinkler system.
There's three different exits.
The only issue there might be is that the trash is going to have to be outside in the yard.
If you can see, there's pictures across the street.
the guy has like a boxed out area with a lock on it for the trash i'm gonna be doing that in the yard
multi-family property across the street yes he has five units as well same size
and then well his building's also bigger than yours it's the same size except for a garage
which building are you referring to
Because I'm looking at a building. Are you talking about, what is it, 35, 36?
Let me look.
I think I submitted that photograph, but I don't have it pulled up right now.
He's talking about...
35, 33.
Directly across the street on the side street.
Correct.
What is the use in the basement?
What is what?
What is going to be the use in the basement?
Storage and utilities.
It's going to have all the hot water heaters and just storage.
Each unit is going to have its own washer and dryer, kitchen, bathroom.
Everyone's going to have their own stuff.
Are all units going to have – are all tenants going to have access to that basement,
or is it going to be sealed for you and your management?
No, it's going to be sealed just for me for access whenever I have to work on hot water heaters
and the utilities.
Is there only access to the basement through the Bilco doors at the front?
Yes, that's going to be steps eventually with a door.
And then all tenants will have access to the rear yard.
Are you going to maintain access for all tenants to the rear yard?
And you said that's where they're going to store their trash in the rear yard?
Yes, unless I could do it on a payment like the neighbor did across the street and box it out and put a lock on it.
We don't.
They'll do it on a payment.
can you go back to the plans quickly
and and it's like i keep seeing the same three pictures so it's hard to kind of see
that's the basement this is the first floor okay yeah with two speakers one in the back
one in the front one in the back one entrance to the front one x entrance through the back
they have their own entrance so so so the back unit on the first floor is going to enter through
the backyard yes okay and the unit up front is going to have it's from this door towards the
front gotcha okay and then the bill code door is the one that has dn on it okay then you come in
the stairway and you go upstairs can you go to the second floor sure well all tenants have
access to the entrance
that goes to the second floor?
Will all tenants have
access to the entrance that goes to the second
floor? All tenants? No, just
the people that live on the second and third floor will have
entrances to... What's your mail plan for the
first floor tenants?
There's going to be five separate boxes
on the front.
What are you defining as the front?
Where the first...
The middle doors on Atlantic
street okay but what about like amazon packages because they won't fit in the mailboxes and the
only protective vestibule now is only for three tenants or three units no a lot of people have
the drop-off boxes now in front of the houses i can get one of them for amazon but that also
you got to check with streets you're now encroaching into the right of way
other questions more of a comment i think your third floor bedroom is a little small
and i think it's the designers knew that because they did not show a bed in that
i question how much you have in there you might need to rethink that layout
the store for a bedroom is too small i think not too small it's just doesn't really fit a bed
technically it needs code but when you don't show furniture it's you know but it's it's less than
eight feet wide it's questionable anytime you know you have a plan it doesn't show
i understand it reeks of questionable yes other questions from our attorneys our attorney has
other questions from our attorneys our attorney has something to say yes uh lynn reidel huber
something to say here yes uh lynn right
board council um i just wanted to clarify i don't know if it was said on the record and i missed it
but what is the relationship between mr volpe and jtp rent llc um mr volpe is a is a member of
and also the and the it's the sole owner and also is the list as the as the organizer i have the um
okay that's fine i don't believe you put that on the record though
thank you questions or comments from the virtual audience
no hands at this time chair planning commission
thank you chairman and good morning david effecto with the city planning commission
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the cmx1 commercial
mixed-use zoning at this location the city rezoned this neighborhood in 2017 in accord
with recommendations in the comprehensive plan in a community initiated public process
we are aware of eight duplexes on the 3500 block of frankfurt avenue and traditionally
these large corner properties had between three and five units with ground floor commercial space
so the city planning commission recommends the board grant the proposed use variance for five
dwelling units mi-2026-001-362-3531 frankfort avenue i vote yes with proviso trash stored in
rear yard michael johns my vote is yes with proviso tennetta graham my vote is yes with proviso
ryan mcadams my vote is yes with proviso hi owen my vote is yes with proviso layla bb my vote is
as with proviso council thank you thank you for anyone thank you is there anyone in the audience
whose case from 9 30 has not been called thank you
Thank you.
Thank you.
good afternoon chair we have 22 people in the virtual audience
we're ready bill we're ready good afternoon everyone my name is bill bergman and i will
be chairing this afternoon's zba hearing with me is our vice chair tenetta graham present mr
chairman board secretary cheryl l gaston present mr chairman board members michael johns present
mr chairman i win president mr chairman ryan mcadams president mr chairman leila beebe present
mr chairman also here is our attorney lynn reuter uber our executive director ian haggerty um
Also, here is Lakeisha Dandy.
This hearing is being recorded and will be posted on the ZBA website.
By participating, you consider to be, you agree to be recorded.
This is an in-person meeting with remote participation.
This is an in-person meeting with remote participation.
whether in
Whether in-person or remote, if you're called to speak, please state and spell your name.
Then wait to be sworn in.
After you've been sworn in, state your name and each time before you testify to enter an appearance.
Indicate the property address on your Zoom webinar.
Speak with a staff member.
Call the ZBA office by the close of business tomorrow, 215-669-2429, and provide your name,
email, and the case address.
Remote participation.
Raise your virtual hand before you speak.
when you when we call on you make sure you click the join as a panelist button use the q a for
procedural questions only nothing to do with the case if you are joining by phone press star nine
to raise your hand and star six to unmute in person participation if testifying get close to
the mic so that all attendees and the court reporter can hear you no talking eating or
drinking during the hearing aggressive behavior will not be tolerated in an emergency follow
staff instructions the main exit is the double doors at the rear the nearest stairwell is to the
left if we evacuate please go to love park which is directly across art street remain
so we can account for you so let's look at our schedule for this afternoon
number four
number four mi 2026 001076 547 east chelton avenue this case has been withdrawn
Number 7, MI 2026-001-779-39-Wolf Street, Mr. Goldberg, why don't you come up a minute?
This is the one where you need to know where they stand with this case, am I correct?
right so um if you would state your name and spell for the stenographer alex goldberg a-l-e-x-g-o-l-d-b-e-r-g
right do you swear a friend to tell the truth told you nothing but the truth i do um number
39 wolf street um we're ready to withdraw this there was an indication you may have another
we were advised this morning that there was an error on the refusal and the permit was going to
be issued by right I'd prefer if it's possible that we have the permit before the case is
withdrawn if that's not that's not like logistically possible because of the order of operations
that's fine um well hey Mr. Goldberg this is uh Executive Director Hegarty uh sorry
Chair Bergman you mind if I yeah sure okay so uh we will uh we intend to cancel this appeal
any clips which should allow and i to issue the appeal um we'll preserve this without you having
to withdraw it right now so that um that preserves your right to continue in case something goes
wrong with that process for one reason or another um so i think that's how we're going to handle
that if that's okay with you that's perfectly fine all right all right good timing you have
several cases so we'll see you soon um number 10 mi 2026 002 050 66 39 yokum street donna
amel hamilton is the appellant um this is the first listing we have no exhibits
Anything in the audience.
Good afternoon, Mr. chair. This is Jason hand. I will be your calls for the session.
Craig has his hand up. I have promoted them.
Mr. Melodozin, if you're still in the virtual audience, please unmute and wait to be sworn
in i'm here board chairman hi could you please state your name and spell for the photographer
good afternoon craig c-r-a-i-g last name meladosian m-e-l-i-d-o-s-i-a-n do you swear
or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do chair bergman i just
i just as you know called 6639 yokum street yes uh and i got kicked out and i got back in
we understand that there will be a continuance uh and we need a continuance there's some technical
issues with this uh the property is owned in a father's name the son made application does not
have a lease and his operating company is an llc so we told him he needs to speak with board council
to get these issues straightened out he didn't disrespect the war i simply told him in that this
is going to be a continuance he should go to his day job i'll appear for all of us all right
thank you very much we appreciate it thank you 66 39 yorkham street that will be continued until 11 18
at 2 p.m number 13
Number 13, MI-2026-002-207, 1332 East Hunting Park Avenue.
This is the first listing, no exhibits.
Vern Anastasio is the attorney.
Mr. Anastasio, if you're in the virtual audience, please raise your hand.
Chair, do not see them in the virtual audience.
okay um so um 1332 east hunting park avenue that will be continuing until 11 18 at 2 p.m mark must
be hurt is there any other requests for continuance
Mr. Chair do not change your further hands we're going to go to our add-on list
number one MI 2026 001 541 11003 Lindsay Street I vote no Michael Johns my vote is no
tennetta graham my vote is no ryan mcadams my vote is no
number two mi 2026 001 010 2000 east cumberland street
i vote yes with proviso maximum five dwelling units
michael johns my vote is yes with provisos cheryl gaston my vote is yes with provisos
tenetta graham my vote is yes with provisos ryan mcadams my vote is yes with proviso
my vote is yes with proviso and number three mi 2025 004 134 38 38 13 folsom street
The vote on this matter has been rescheduled to Wednesday, August 18th at 9.30 a.m.
We're going to go to our first regular list.
Number one, MI 2025, 004-380-4370-74 Main Street.
Henry Clinton is the attorney.
Just a note, August 18th is a Tuesday.
Chairman, I was just notified, the one that you, we were going to vote on resumption,
I think you announced it as a vote.
What are we talking about?
What are we talking about? Yeah. Hold on. So number three? Yes. But are we doing it on Tuesday? What day is it? Wednesday. Okay. So what are we, what are you just going to result of hearing? Yes. And that's going to be August 19th? No, no, no. August 18th.
Yeah, hold on.
So, number three.
so Tuesday that's a Tuesday Tuesday so that's what I'm saying that's for this Wednesday August 18th
we have zoning both days we do I'm I'm gonna assume that it's Tuesday August 18th we'll go
with that so resumptive hearing okay sorry all right so whatever resumptive hearing for 38 13
Folsom Street on Tuesday August 18th at 9 30 a.m okay number one
Now, MI2025-004-380-4378-74 Main Street, Henry Clinton is the attorney.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the board.
Hi, Mr. Clinton.
Could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer?
My name is Henry Clinton, capital H-E-N-R-Y, Clinton, C-L-I-N-T-O-N.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, told the truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client and relationship to the property?
Sure. The client is Brazilian Wax and Spa by Claudia, Pennsylvania Corporation, a rather long name.
But Claudia Risardi is here on the call.
It's C-L-A-U-D-I-A, Risardi, R-Y-S-S-A-R-D-I, along with Analia Williams, A-N-A-L-I-A, Williams, W-I-L-L-I-A-M-S.
Both are on the call.
Okay. And Mr. Clinton, I understand this is going to be here and hold. Am I correct? Correct. Because we're waiting for amended refusal. Yep. Our vice chair has a few questions. Actually, I'm sorry. It's going to be here and resume.
what was i didn't hear what that was said
sorry because of probably the uh you're in resume yes yeah so we're going to hear it
but then it's going to be resumed because of what is he's being submitted okay
good afternoon have you uh submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing
I have.
And do you waive the reading of the refusals and stipulate to the accuracy?
Okay. All right. Thank you. You can show your screen and proceed with your case.
Ms. Graham, I submitted one revision this morning. It's an attachment to the proviso. So that was something I admitted.
Thank you.
We have that. Thank you.
Is that visible, Mr. Chairman?
Again, thanks for hearing this case.
this is a request on behalf of a business that has owned and operated the subject building
4370 to 74 main street for the last six years it's a request to add uh five apartments above
the existing structure part of the structure is designated by the uh commission historical
commission so we had some nuances to to play with uh before we got to this point in fact we were
We were going to have a hearing back in July, and we had to request an amended refusal, and during the interim, the examiner asked us for additional information, so I don't really know when we'll get that amended refusal, but hopefully it'll be soon.
So these are the exhibits, A1 through A10, as well as some past zoning records.
The refusal, pretty clear.
It's in the CMX 2.5 zoning district, a pretty broad zoning district.
We requested six dwelling units.
We have reduced that to five.
So we've eliminated this one refusal.
And the second refusal has to do with the minimum rear yard depth.
You'll see from the photographs that this building has two fronts, one on Main Street
and one on the Schuylkill River, the footpath behind it.
So the building is already 100 percent occupied. We cannot have a rear yard whatsoever.
So we do have overwhelming support by the two RCOs in Manioc, both the Manioc Neighborhood Council as well as the Manioc Development Corporation.
So this is the photograph of the existing building.
So where it says Brazilian Wax, that entire span, which has a white clapboard on the second floor and some detailed open windows on the first floor, that's the designated part.
And 743-74, which is a one-story building currently attached to the main building, but that has not been designated.
But that has not been designated. And then to the left, I want to point this out. This is a walkway that connects Main Street with Venice Island. It actually goes over the canal and then connects with some apartment buildings and the Venice Performing Arts Center back on Venice Island.
And then to the left, I want to point that.
And I have aerial photographs, but I'm just trying to set the stage for you.
So the idea is to add two stories above this, I'm going to call it a billboard.
And that's where we have had issues with getting historical approval.
They wanted us to maintain this billboard, which we have, and that required us to set the building back a little bit.
But that's a separate issue that we will address with the Historical Commission.
Just another view. So this is the bridge. You know, it's a footbridge again leading over to Venice Island. And there's a door here, which you can see a handle that has access that we have to the side of the building for trash storage. And we also have a door in the rear of the building to store trash on the rear on the side of the building.
So this is an aerial view looking north.
Again, the building is here, the two-story building that's existing.
Actually, it's one story, but it falls off.
There's a gray drop from Main Street back to the footpath along the canal of seven feet.
So the back looks like it's two stories, but it's really one story with a lower level.
And then here's the other building that is legitimately one story.
uh just another close review showing you main street and the footbridge to venice island
this is the stairway that leads from the the path the schuylkill river trail path
up and then you walk up these steps and you would go to that
door here that i showed you in the first photograph to exit onto main street
This is just a closer view of that walkway with the access to the side door.
And right here, you can see some trash cans and closer view.
That's where the trash is stored outdoors.
Just another view looking the other way.
This is our zoning notices that have been posted properly.
And on the call with me is Joe Serritor.
Joe is the architect, and I think I'm going to have him explain some of the floor plan because it's kind of unique.
Joe wanted to have access, view access from both the front and the rear of the dwellings.
So what he did was he has switched back stairs where some of the bedrooms are on the canal side, but their living area and kitchens are on the main street side.
So you really get two good views, and Joe will walk through that with you.
We've made a number of changes since the first time that we presented this project with regard to bays, front and rear setbacks, and height.
And we're actually waiting on two refusals.
One has to do with height.
We expect that to come back.
We're about 42 feet average.
If you take the height of the four corners of the building, the height is at 42-2, and
we expect, number eight, a refusal having to do with the waterfront setback.
After we were here in July, the examiner, I guess, took a closer look at the application
and said, well, you don't have a survey explaining whether or not you're within 50 feet from
the top bank of the rear-facing canal.
And we said, well, no one's ever mentioned that.
So we had to hire engineers in the process of doing that.
But frankly, no matter what the results of that survey are, whether within 50 feet or outside 50 feet, the building's already there.
We can't move the building.
The addition is on top of the existing building.
And it'll result in a refusal, but every building along the canal there is the same depth off of Main Street.
So that's a little backdrop to that.
So these are the revised plans.
And, Mr. Chairman, can Joe Serratore come on board?
That will come back in as a panelist shortly.
Thank you very much.
so while joe's waiting to come on i can at least go through the site plan so this is the existing
building the addition will be two story above the front uh and then there's a little drop down
or above the second floor building again joe is trying to maintain the historical nature of the
front elevations, which both Manning Young groups were overjoyed with, were a little
groups were were overjoyed with uh we're a little bit below the height of the building next door by
bit below the height of the building.
about two to three feet and then to the right of the non-designated building there's an existing
one-story building uh so I think I would like to have Joe go through the floor playing after you
swear I'm in Mr Chairman hello hi Joe could you please state your name is Belford yes uh my name
is Joe Sarator, J-O-E-S-E-R-R-A-T-O-R-A. I'm the architect for this application. Sure. Do you
swear or affirm to tell the truth, told the truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Council? All right.
So, Joe, I'm just going to go over the existing plans, and when I get to propose, then you can
chime in. So, again, this is the designated building of the basement. Both buildings have
basements. It's a spa right now. It's been in business, as I said, for six years, and the left
side excuse me the right side is really just for storage so joe let's start with the elevation um
can you just in you know in a short fashion go through a little bit of the changes that
are happening here on the front of the building sure um we originally had of course the proposal
for um you know three stories going straight across and after some uh initial reviews with
historic conditional we had um took recommendations to uh uh have the uh and as same thing with john
hunter recommendations from the rco to emphasize it went to emphasize the uh the existing contributing
building where you see the brazilian wax sign as it was originally an old bank and they wanted to
sort of maintain the verticality look of that so in doing so we kept the two floor additions to
minimal heights of eight feet interior and have a setback 30 inches from the front parapet
board or that the signboard if you will uh and and the uh the other um end the right side there
which is uh non-contributing we've kept that since that is at a lower elevation for the first floor
we maintained that and stepped it down so it would allow the uh the addition above the uh
contributing to to maintain itself there with a separation you see the large that sort of that
dark line in the middle that's a recess there uh that maintains that as a separate building in
appearance and uh we we introduced two bays that are very typical to anyonk street uh the main
street which is a second floor bay only um and then uh with a brick front and then putting back
the storefronts on that are down there now we saw from the earlier photograph there was the bank
building had did an extension there with a rather bland brick front with a two punch square openings
so we're reintroducing the storefronts there on the right side uh and and maintain of course the
existing left side entryway into the salon uh the far right building if you will it has the two
entries uh one would be for the other one that mr clinton pointed out as the storage area which is
also a viable commercial space that they have rented out before.
And then the right side is the entry. The far door is the entry to the apartments
above. And again, that building is approximately
36 to 42
inches lower than the main building.
Joe, now I'm showing the rear elevations. Yes. So this is the rear
elevations that we worked with with the RCO.
They really want to really have an identifiable presence along that rear facades of these buildings fronting that rear walk.
And we're showing three bays at the top that are highly needed because we needed the square footage with this building being entered with a center hallway so that we had some extra square footage we needed.
So there's three bays proposed back there. And then there's also adjoining terraces that are in line with those bays to have some outdoor space for the units, for all the units that can look out over onto the Schuylkill River.
uh this is some uh the wall sections this is uh the the right side is the uh the section that is
um going through um the uh the right side uh there's the smaller part of the building and
then the left side is the uh over top of the bank building the original the salon building
the historical contributing building and yeah this was sort of this was a diagrammatic sketch
we did for the historic commission um all right josh so i think what we should do for the board
is maybe walk through the the floor plans and give them an idea of what you've done
so that you can have views on both if you're attending this building you have views in both
the front and back i thought it was pretty novel okay great thanks uh yeah so we were seeing these
okay great thanks uh yeah so we're seeing these are the floor plans um well let me get back
These are the floor plans.
yeah so you have the three plans here the first one the right the right side one is the um the
first floor uh plan that has the existing wax and spa salon there and it shows the uh
the addition of the uh entryway to the apartments on the far right
that would come through there so they they're maintaining the entryway in the front and there's
a stair that goes down to their basement on the far left there and then you can see that the
the back stair is still going down around the back down to the back area a three-foot section
that's before the Schuylkill River Trail itself the boardwalk back there and there's a entry door
there just proposed that is a second means of egress for the units on the second floor so if
we start at the far right and come in off of main street the far right door we're going to be coming
into the departments uh and then if you see on the first floor we're going to be coming up where
that where the cursor is there uh you'll be coming up and uh let's see this is the yes you see you
enter on in the center uh the center corridor there right there that's where you come up and
you're narrow on the second floor and this is a center corridor that goes back to the the rear
stair that i just mentioned that goes out to the back and from here is all the living and
living and kitchen units of the five units so right where the cursor is there you come in as
unit one um and that is of course living in and kitchen and has a terrace and uh from there uh
they go up to their second floor level and uh they cross over to the front so they basically comes
out right there right where the cursor is a little bit higher there yeah right there that's where you
come out and you're on now you're on the main street side so now you have a little both your
living room is looking out over the uh the river and the canal and the uh your bedrooms are now up
uh along main street uh likewise this happens with other with each unit all the way down except
for the center unit the center unit has a full floor uh which i can go over um so um yeah so
you come down and as you're coming down the hallway there you'll see there's another set of
stairs uh straight down yeah come into the hallway hang there um back in the way right there yes
those stairs now go up to the next level you know above the bank building the historical commission
you know historical designated building below uh it's a higher section uh those are you have
four foot ceilings in there so this is a little higher this building and then from here you have
the uh the other uh three units of the living and kitchens um each one has their own trash storage
um and they each have access uh in this case the three units in the back the living areas look out
to the uh the canal and river and the two in the front are looking out the living rooms are looking
on the main street and on the third floor we're hangers now these are all bedrooms so whatever
unit you had below you're on the opposite side uh from the switchback stair it crosses over
and this allowed the center hallway to work and also allowed the stairs to not as run as much
and take up a lot of space as if your unit your bedrooms were right above your own living space
which would have taken out a lot of room circulation space and joe each of these apartments
are uh two bedrooms and about what we had two bedrooms yeah the average is about uh you know
650 square feet the largest one is the uh the center one which is at uh 700 and uh i think
it was 767 square feet yeah 767 correct yeah right so you see that that's the only unit then
it's the fifth unit so it's uh it's the one in the middle on the third floor that goes front and back
um whereas the other ones have the and they all whereas on that one level whereas the other ones
just have the uh their bedrooms are either at the back or the front so it affords visibility no
matter where you are they're the two beans of egress and again they're eight foot high ceilings
um two bedroom units all right i think this is more of the same here um so you have streets
approval for the bays joe yes yes all right um the the rest of the documents are what you would see
in a presentation like this tax clearance or actually proof that no tax real estate taxes are
owed uh zoning map you know again showing uh the canal the venice island over here cmx2 zoning
district the deed indicating ownership as i indicated the outset from uh from 2023 and then
Then I have some historical, well, this is the zoning notice.
Then I have some historical documents indicating that this was a bank and a real estate.
Then I have some historical documents indicating that this was a bank and a real estate office, 1985, also maintained as a bank in 86.
And then there was a prior owner in there using the building as personal services.
And these are the backup documents in support of that summary that I just went over.
So that would be the conclusion of the presentation.
I could have my client come on and.
Why don't you have your client come on?
Claudia, can you unmute yourself, please?
Council, what is the client's name?
Claudia Rizzardi, R-Y-S-S-A-R-D-I.
or anelia a n a l i a williams both of them were on the call i think they were here by via phone
telephone right say quality rosardi in the virtual audience
coronary rosardi please raise your virtual hand wait if it's one in
claudia are you there never coming back in sir okay thank you mr hand understood
yes could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer uh c-l-a-u-d-i-n-e-n-e-i-a
He started. R-I-S-S-A-R-D-I.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Counsel.
Mr. Sardi, good afternoon to you.
Good afternoon.
Were you on the call when I presented your project for your spa on Main Street?
Yes, I do.
And if you had the opportunity to testify, would you adopt my testimony as your own and as true and correct?
For sure.
thank you very much claudia questions for the board yeah i just want to confirm because the
plans were hard to read the labels but all five apartments you enter on the new second floor
and they all have internal stairs to get to the bedrooms on the new third floor correct okay
all the questions
Yes. Yes. I'm sorry, Mr. Chairman. Okay. So are there any concerns here about floodplain
issues?
I mean, along the canal, I think Ms. Gatston is always concerns, but there were, it's
it's been an existing building we're going to the second and third floor and if you if i if i went
back to my photographs and showed you uh all the buildings that are constructed on venice island
um you know we're certainly above above their grade uh i can do that
so you know we're we're here here's venice island i know there was a lot of
discussion about having buildings on the island but you know there's hundreds of people living
living there so while there's always a concern I think it's less concerning with our building than
others that are already there well I think we were around when the initial uh issues about
venice island came absolutely yeah okay and then um you said that um the property the lower level
is um is that locally designated because of it being a bank in the past uh only only the the
main building 40 70 72 were designated the one story next door is not because this where it says
brazilian wax where the clapboard is that that was the front of the bank okay and then um you said
and then um you said that um all the units were two bedroom units did you say how many baths or
that um all the units were two bedroom units
did i miss that i don't think i said but i can go back i believe each has each has two bedrooms yeah
each has two bedrooms each has two bedrooms but i think the question was how many baths right yes
there's one bath for you yeah i just want to make sure one one full bath it's shared bath
okay and um that's even for the larger unit
that's correct yes yes all right and then um just just asking um why do we want to do this
why do we want to do the addition uh because the ability to have more uh rental income for
the business owner below uh bring more residents more foot traffic uh both many young groups were
ecstatic that more people will be coming to the avenue okay all right thank you other questions
questions for our attorney um yes i just wanted to clarify um the revised plans that you submitted to
the board are these the same plans that are being reviewed as part of the amended refusal
yeah well the amended reef yes answer is yes okay we just didn't know if there were any further
changes that had been made that's all no because these are the plans we submitted to the lni
examiner and that's that's what she's looking over okay the same plans that we have correct
okay great thank you thank you questions or comments from the virtual audience for the
current audience here i do not see any hands mr chair is planning taking a position now
go ahead michael gall with the philadelphia city planning commission m-i-c-h-a-e-l-g-a-l-l
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth? Told you it's nothing but the truth. I so affirm.
Please proceed. The comprehensive plan recommends no change from the existing CMX 2.5 commercial mixed use zoning at this location.
The proposed deviation from the rear yard setback is an existing.
I'm sorry, I can't hear you.
Yeah, the sound went out.
You're muted.
the comprehensive plan recommends no change from the existing cmx 2.5 commercial mixed
use zoning at this location the proposed deviation from the year rear yard setback
is an existing condition of the property and the proposal should cause no undue detriment
to the location beyond what might otherwise be expected but therefore the city planning
commission recommends the board grant the proposed variance for rear yard setback
we're going to have a resumptive hearing on 1117 at 9 30 a.m thank you council thank you mr
general number two
and by 2025 004-546-216 south 42nd street murray furliger is the attorney
good afternoon council could you please state your name and spell for the sonographer sure
meredith ferliger f-e-r-l-e-g-e-r do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth is
nothing but the truth yes i do can you identify your client in relationship to this property
Of course I can. My client is 216-218 LLC, represented here today by Gabe Buda Levin.
I'm sure you're aware there is a letter of opposition.
I am, yes.
And our vice chair has a few questions.
Good afternoon. Have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, I did.
And do you wait with the reading of the refusal and super late to its accuracy?
I do. There has been a change in the number of units requested, and I'll address that in the presentation.
Okay. All right. Thank you. You can show your screen and proceed with your case.
you i will and i do also i know it's very unusual nowadays to have an actual physical visual but
i do think it's going to be really helpful to the board in this case can i hand you up
uh just for they don't have to be part of the record they're in the exhibits council is that
okay sure why i think it's already part of the record yeah yep yeah
what i think it's already part of the record yeah okay
uh and again just for the record i did just hand up a physical exhibit that is
already a part of the exhibits today but i think it's going to just be helpful to you as i go
through the presentation to actually have it in front of you to reference and i think you'll
understand why all right the request before you today concerns 216 and 218 north 42nd street in
spruce hill the exhibit packet that's in front of you contains 17 exhibits just to briefly summarize
the basis of today's request. This application requests one use variance to permit the use of
this almost 12,000 square foot building as 12 dwelling units, which is an expansion beyond the
six that currently exist. As I mentioned briefly, that number of units is a reduction from the
number that was originally requested to l and i as you can see originally 15 units was requested
that has now been cut down to 12. as we expect you're going to see today this building is
remarkably complicated and subject to a significant hardship i'm going to try and walk through some of
the background information quickly because i do want to spend a little bit more time on the
photographic walkthrough that i have so let's talk about yeah right yep so we have you your
presentation 30 35 minutes and then we're going to go to the uh try to see if we can't get the
audience in it no problem and i think that that i think my presentation should be just about that
if not even a little bit less thank you no problem um and again i i do want to spend some time on that
photographic walkthrough because i think it's going to help you understand how the unit layout
here is truly driven by the structural characteristics of this building which were each built in either
1890 or 1930. so just very briefly the deed conveying this property to my client is shown
at exhibit three and tax clearance is shown at exhibit two for each of the lots
starting first with the zoning map at exhibit three exhibit four you can see that this block
is zoned rsa three which is entirely inconsistent as you'll see with the solitary dense multifamily
use of this particular block of south 42nd street this particular property these two
properties combined sit right at the corner of south 42nd street and locust street
And then if I turn to the aerials here at exhibit 8, zoom in a little bit, you'll see from the east view here that this is a fairly historically characteristic block, although it does not have any form of formal historic designation at this time.
i did at exhibit 11 include a map that shows the newly established southeast spruce hill historic
district which stopped just one block south of this property i include this because it is
relevant to the request since had the district actually continued a block or two north this
building itself would have been able to utilize that historic exception in the code to permit
all forms of cmx3 uses including multi-family
the photographs at exhibit 17 are of the exterior and will provide you a little bit
more useful insight into the property and the neighborhood itself so the first photograph
that you have here is of the building frontage where you can see the two adjoining existing
buildings at 216 and 218 north 42nd street as you can see here these doors are at grade level
which is also effectively the basement but is also the street level and you'll see in the photographs
and on the plans that although it's labeled as a basement it is effectively the street level of the
property my client is proposing to combine the properties via a unity of use as they are already
physically joined on the inside and again you can hopefully start to gather some of that unique
And again, you can hopefully start to gather some of that unique historical character that my client is seeking to restore.
historical
The next photograph that I have here shows immediately to the right of the building showing one of the alleys that separates this building from its adjoining neighbor.
And then, as you'll see in the plans in a moment, there is a door that is on this side of the building that will provide egress from the lower level.
and then if we flip back to the other side of the building on locust street again you can start to
gather the mass of this building itself and the significant change of grade as you move along
locust street that renders that nearly that entire lower level above grade at street level
and then if i zoom out a little bit this is just a view from the intersection of south 42nd and
locust now if we move back on locust and flip in the opposite direction you'll see here that the
property has an existing garage which is not proposed to be altered or changed with this
application and then from a more direct side view you can see the three existing egress doors
which are again at the street lower level of the building for ease of reference we did
label it on the plans as the basement but you'll see again as you can start to see here that it's
not actually truly a basement and then in the next photograph here you can see the large
seven foot wide rear alley that leads towards the back of this property
and then i did also include some photographs of the rear yard which will be open and accessible
to all of the residents of this building.
And I did include just a couple of photographs.
And again, you can see that there is an additional egress door on the back of the building.
And again, this door is from that lower level basement, if you will.
And then in the next photograph, and as you'll see on the inside,
this building was historically used as the photography studio
for renowned photographer Armstrong Roberts.
And you can see his plaque is still on the side of the building.
And then just in terms of some context photos, I'll move through these quickly. This is a view across the street from the property.
And then looking up South 42nd street towards Walnut street, you can see in this image here.
And then you can see here, this is a view of the intersection.
and then again if you look across the street you can see the school I believe this is a part of
the Penn Alexander School across Locust Street and then we did also include photographs of the
zoning posters which were timely posted in your exhibits at exhibits five and six you do have
several plans, and I did hand up a visual representation that more directly compares
these just for your own purposes. So exhibit five is the existing conditions floor plan
showing how the building is laid out today. And then at exhibit six, you will find the
proposed floor plans, which were prepared by our architect, Chris Blakelock, who should be on the
zoom to answer any questions that you might have we did include two versions of the proposed plans
uh one with dimensions and one without dimensions uh the the one with dimensions is obviously a
little bit busy so we included both versions just to make it a little easier to reference
i will briefly introduce you to the existing conditions plans but i do have snapshots of
these floor plans with the interior photographs to reference as well so i do want to give you
a sense of the proposal so that when you see the interior you can hopefully understand how
this proposal is truly the best and most viable option for this remarkably complex building
so as you can see here at exhibit five the building is currently four stories
including that lower level. There are breaches at the street level, the first floor, as well as the
third floor. Everything that you see indicated in green was historically used as a part of that
photography studio, and that is the area that is proposed to be converted into additional
residential units. As you know, RSA 3 does not permit commercial use, nor does it permit
nor does it permit multifamily living. However, with multifamily living already existing in this
multifamily living. However, with most
building, that now leaves a significant portion of this building without any legal use whatsoever.
So, as you can see, Unit 1 currently extends from the street level all the way up to the top floor.
unit two is currently on that first floor unit three and four are on the second floor
and units five and six are on the third floor as you can see as you compare the existing to
the proposed there are no material changes proposed to those existing units except to unit
one which will no longer have any portion at the top floor so that unit is going to be reduced in
size uh exhibit 10 shows all the permit history for the building itself showing that you'll uh the
permit history here shows that the building was historically used between five and six units
depending on which permit you look at and then a photography studio dating all the way back to the
1930s so this property existed in its current state for for almost 100 years just under both
together both together that's correct yes they they have breaches at three different levels
so now if we turn to exhibit six you'll see the layouts of the proposed units all of the existing
units have maintained maintained the same color indications again just so you can clearly see
what is existing what is to remain versus what is now newly proposed in that former photography
studio on the ground uh ground level street level unit one will have its kitchen and bathroom
on the first floor unit one will have the living room dining room and one bedroom and bathroom
and then on the second floor unit one will have two more bedrooms and bathrooms for unit one
this unit one is over 3 000 square feet and is specifically being designed for Gabe to live in
this building if we then move back down to the street level you'll see that unit seven will have
direct access from locust street it's indicated in blue and is a one bedroom one bath unit of
nearly a thousand square feet unit eight is on the other side and has direct access from the side
alley off of south 42nd street and will be a two bedroom two and a half bath unit of almost 1400
square feet the street level will also have a designated trash storage area mail room as well
as some utilities areas the entrance to the first floor is either through the front on south 42nd street
or off of locust street so you can see there's entrances along the side and then there are
entrances at that front on the first floor are four units including a part of unit one
Unit 9 is in the back and is a one-bedroom, one-bath unit of 540 square feet.
And then Unit 10 is also a one-bedroom, one-bath unit of 500 square feet.
And then Unit 2 is one of the existing units that is 650 square feet that will be renovated but otherwise materially unmodified.
and then the first floor also has an additional trash storage area in the back
at the second floor you'll find a unit 11 in the back which is a one bedroom one bath unit of 840
square feet unit three is another existing unit to remain which is a studio unit of 335 square feet
and then you can see here and you'll see even better in the interior photographs
that this unit cannot be modified or otherwise incorporated into any of the other units as there
is a level change that you'll be able to see in a moment and then unit four is also an existing unit
which is also to be renovated but otherwise the envelope is to be unchanged and that unit is 655
square feet and then finally at the third floor is one new unit that is labeled as unit 12
which will be over 1100 square feet and a one bedroom one bath with den the other two units
on this floor which are units five and six are also two of the existing units that are to remain
are also two of the existing units that are to remain unit five is the purple unit which is a
studio unit of 320 square feet and then unit six is a one-bedroom unit of 650 665 square feet and
this particular unit is the unit where the former owner of this property lives and will continue to
live post renovation and as you can see here and as you'll see in the photographs there is another
level change between unit 5 and unit 6 making any physical change there virtually impossible
all of the units have interior trash storage which is supplemented with the storage areas that you
saw at the first floor and the lower level since gabe will be living here there's no better eyes
on the street management to ensure that the property will be well maintained in addition
to trash management for this property and all of his other properties gabe and his team pick
up trash weekly in the neighborhood in which all of his properties sit now at this point and i will
reserve a lot of the legal argument for the memo of law just in the interest of time i do want to
spend some minutes walking you through the photographs so you can truly visualize the
existing conditions in relation to the renovations that you have now seen so at exhibit seven i have
included a very detailed photographic walkthrough of this building i am going to walk through it as
quickly as possible but please stop me if any questions come up as i'm walking through it
the one thing i do want to have the board take particular note of is the number of interior
stairs that exist not only in the building but between floors and within units and you'll see
here and I think this is why it's also helpful for you to have the plans in front of you I did
try and include snapshots of the floor plans so you can get a better sense of where these pictures
are actually taken so starting here what I did is these are broken down between side so the 218
side is the corner the 216 side is the interior so i'm going to show you the 218 side and then
we'll we'll flip over to the other side so this first image here you can see the street level
entrance uh which as you walk in you then can step down to that lower area which is going to become
a part of unit one uh and the unit one kitchen so there's not only steps that come up from the street
but then there's immediately steps that go down onto that lower level the photograph here also
shows a very good representation of the grade of that lower level which even at the front of the
building is technically a basement but is truly at grade this is a photograph of the bathroom
that will remain in unit one and again this is that lower level again
on the left here moving to the next photograph at page 15 the left photo here is entering the rear
portion of the former commercial area and you can see that would be entering that door into the back
there and then on the right hand side this would be as you come in that front door
and go upstairs into unit one there is then an additional step up onto a platform that exists
within unit one and you can see that that stair that set of stairs a little bit better here so
this is that platform so the photographs here at page 16 are just some additional photographs of
unit one and then this photograph on the right here also shows you that breach that currently
exists between the two buildings on the first floor moving on to page 17 on the left hand side
are the stairs that lead to the second floor as well as a view of the uh portion of the first
floor commercial space which is going to be incorporated into the renovated unit one
and then moving to page 18 this is as you move a little bit farther back into that
previous commercial space and you can see here some of the really unique historical features
of this building that gabe is seeking to retain so just by way of example uh the the fire doors
that just have really unique historical character these uh these areas will become a part of unit
one but the separation in the back will be sealed off because there will then be another unit in the
because there will then be another unit in the back so moving to page 19 this now moves all the
back so moving to
way to the back of that first floor where you can see the photography studio which is to become unit
nine so again you can see here that there are not only stairs that lead down to that lower level
at grade but there's also another interior set of stairs which leads to the second floor of the
photography studio so if you're standing in the photography studio here on the left
just off the left here is another set of stairs that lead up
these uh this middle photograph of the stairs leading down will provide a second means of
egress for the entire building which leads out to the street and then the stairs that lead up
will only provide access to future unit 11 and you can see that indicated in your proposed floor
plans it's actually colorized so you can see that and then again here on page 20 more photographs
of the studio itself and then that internal set of stairs that i mentioned that leads up to the
second floor page 21 uh this jumps to the second floor of the photography studio which is to become
unit 11. so again you can see here some of the spectacular features that gabe is intent on
preserving in this building and then on page 22 as you move out of that second floor photography
studio you now enter that second floor area of unit one which is going to be retained as a part
of unit one and then on page 23 if you exit unit one on the second floor you'll see one of the
common features of this building which really does add a lot of complication to it where there
are additional sets of stairs between levels within units themselves and you can really kind
of see that here so this this interior set of stairs here actually leads to other areas of unit
one which you'll see on the next page which are proposed to remain and then again as you can see
here from the next page not only are there stairs separating units but there are stairs within units
themselves so this is a set of stairs that is uh interior to unit one and you can really see that
on the floor plans here stepping down into the bathroom so this this was really a fascinating
way that they built buildings back in the 1800s and early 1900s page 25 are some additional
photographs of the second floor of unit one which again will remain for units one one's use but will
course be renovated page 26 are the stairs that then lead up to that third floor which again is
currently a part of unit one but will become unit 12. and then on the next page are some additional
views from some of the rooms in that unit and then on page 28 again you can see here the additional
set of internal stairs within this unit that lead to its existing kitchen and bedroom
and this again you can see here that proportions of that kitchen as well
and then finally for unit one is this is now at the front of the building and this is on the third
floor uh one of the existing bedrooms so again all of this will be converted into that unit 12.
uh now at page 31 if we drop all the way back down to street level you can now move back again
towards the rear frontage along locust street which are currently storage areas and dark rooms
for the former photography studio so you can again see here this is clearly at grade
and then if we just move back these are all of the areas here that will become a part of unit 7
and then the next photographs on page 33 again are as you are continuing towards the rear
along locust street where you can see one of the side entrances and then moving further back at
page 34 you can see some of the other areas that were utilized by the studio including the former
film vault moving to page 35 you can see another one of the main entrances from the side and this
and this is the one that will be the main entrance the main common entrance to the building from
is the one that will be the main entrance the main common entrance to the building from
locust street that will provide access to both trash and mail as well as providing one of the
several means of egress through the rear common stairs so now rounding back uh on the 218 side
you can now again see that set of stairs that leads up into that photography studio that you saw
a few pages back now if we flip to the 216 side again you'll see here the other half of the
commercial space and then this is that side door that i mentioned that leads to the alley and this
is the area that's going to become a part of unit 8 so page 37 again you can see some other views
from this area as well along the side and in interior to some of those former storage areas
And then the next photographs on page 38, you can see these are just moving further back on that ground level. And again, this particular area will be predominantly used for mechanicals.
And then a final view of this is all the way in the back. You saw this door from the backyard. And again, this will only provide access into those mechanical areas.
so then if we flip back to the front you'll see again the front of the building so this is now
the entrance on the other side where again you can see the street level that leads up to the
main hallway at the first floor and then on the right hand side just from the other view
you can see that first floor separation that you saw in an earlier photograph
and then you can see that here on page 41 just with a little bit more context looking in you
can see that raised platform in unit one that you saw earlier and then page 42 this shows the
existing unit two which again is one of the units that will materially remain in terms of its
envelope again you can see here more interior stairs within rooms which again really complicates
how this building will operate in the future and in terms of the unit layouts themselves
i did provide a couple of additional photographs of this existing unit 2 on this next page 43
and then on page 44 is again you can see here some additional views of unit 2 and this is
essentially up those stairs that you saw in a previous photograph so if you're in unit two
you have to walk up some stairs to get to this uh front room
and then if you leave unit two on the first floor these photographs will show you some
of the portions of the photography studio that utilized the 216 side of the building
and this is what will become unit 10. so if you then move upstairs these photographs now lead
into the existing unit 3 which is one of the existing studios to remain and then
the next page on 47 you can see some additional views of that existing unit again all of this
will be renovated uh into modern standards and then page 47 uh page 48 excuse me uh just outside
of this unit you'll see the level change to unit four and this is essentially what separates unit
three from unit four and from any other area of the building and then page 49 are just some
additional photographs of unit four, which again is one of the existing units that will remain.
And then on page 50, this now moves up to the third floor on the 216 side and enters into unit
five, which again is very similar in its isolation to unit three. So this is the other studio that
will remain and essentially you walk up the stairs and that unit is there so there's nothing else
that surrounds it and then the next two pages just have a couple of additional views of this existing
unit as well and then finally once you walk up another set of internal stairs uh sorry this page
52 are just some other photographs of unit five and then on page 53 once you again walk up another
set of internal stairs you enter into unit six which is the unit occupied by the former owner
which is the unit occupied by the former owner who again will continue to live here after the
who again will continue to live here.
building is renovated and then the final views are just some other views of this particular unit
and he has continued to live in this unit since the building was sold
so in the interest of time and in the hopes that the hardship here is abundantly clear
just based on the physical conditions of the building alone i will defer the bulk of my
legal argument to the memo of law I included at Exhibit 13. Of course, I'm happy to expand on
any point, but I will just give you a few quick bullet points. Why don't we just figure out where
we stand, right? So you're about 31, 32 minutes into the presentation. Got it. How much longer
do you think you need? 30 seconds. 30 seconds? Yeah, I'm almost done. Maybe 60, but I'm very
I promise. First, as you saw today, this proposal is only seeking to convert the formerly permitted commercial use into additional dwellings.
Since neither commercial use or multifamily are permitted in RSA 3, permitting additional dwelling units is clearly the least minimum deviation from the code, given the six long standing units that have existed.
second as i mentioned had the building been captured by the historic district
the building would have been permitted an unrestricted number of units the code recognizes
that large historic buildings like this one are extremely difficult to utilize in accordance with
modern cones code standards and that is precisely why the code provides for exceptions to normal use
restrictions finally as i alluded to earlier this entire block every single property is densely
multi-family at exhibit 12 you can see here all of the buildings that surround this one which
contain between 6 and 12 units and these are all half the size aside from the clear hardship imposed
by the physical condition the number of units proposed is the least minimum and quite frankly
the most logical based on the conditions that we presented to you today if those physical
conditions are not sufficient to establish this we did also include a density comparison at exhibit
16 which shows that the density per unit here per square foot of the property per square foot of the
building is significantly less dense than nearly every single one of its neighbors uh i will defer
the rest of my legal argument to the memo of law obviously i'll expand if necessary on on
any particular point but i think that's the highlights right so why don't you have your
testimony adopted yep right uh gabe swear can you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
Yes, my name is Gabriel Boodle Levin, G-A-B-R-I-E-L-B-U-D-A hyphen L-E-V-I-N.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth to hold to us nothing but the truth?
Gabe, have you been present and heard all the testimony and evidence that was offered in front of the board today?
Yes, ma'am.
Would you agree that testimony was true and accurate, and would you adopt it as if you had provided it to the board yourself?
Yes, ma'am.
And then just very briefly, can you just share with the board the importance of this project to you in terms of what it means to you and its history?
So I grew up in the neighborhood. I've been working in basically Victorian buildings in the neighborhood for over 20 years.
This is probably the most intact, nicest example of a historic West Philly Victorian property that has so much of its character left, but is already moved away from being a single family home, which is really, really rare.
Usually they're pretty butchered up once they get turned into apartments and pretty much fell in love with the property the first time I walked through it.
tim was very very nice and let me bug him i probably walked through it four or five times
before i stopped getting lost but uh it's pretty much a passion project for me and we're really
excited me and my team to basically restore it because it is long overdue for quite a bit of work
okay thank you um so council i uh we just had 48 pages
given to us right i don't know that i can get the board through this
in time do you want to do redemption yeah yeah so we're going to do a presumptive hearing
So we're going to do a resumptive hearing, simply because we took a lot in, right?
simply because we took a lot in right
And I would think for another 20 minutes, then whoever may be in the audience and things of that nature.
So we're going to have a resumptive hearing.
We're going to bring this back on 1117 at 930 a.m.
And thank you for your presentation, and thank you for bearing with us.
I mean, this was a large presentation.
I've got to admit, you did get through it as quickly as you could.
understood and i think it was important do you want me to take those back so i can bring them
back then you could you could have mine back sure yeah okay so um we're going to move on to number
three thank you and thank you thank you all right so mi2026 000810 200 block of north 58th street
Eric Carroll is the attorney and then what we do is we after that and I think
At least we, you know, we're done with that.
All right.
Mr. Carroll?
Good afternoon, Mr. Bergman, board members.
Oh, how are you?
Could you please state your name as spelled for the stenographer?
Eric, E-R-I-C, Carroll, C-H-R-R-O-L-L.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, the relationship to this property?
Yes, on the Zoom are Moniquetta Cokes, who's the business manager, as well as the owner of this daycare, the big handprint LLC.
Okay. Our vice chair has a few questions for you.
Good afternoon. Have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing?
And do you waive the reading of the referral and stipulate to its accuracy?
All right. Thank you. You can share your screen and proceed with the case.
and council we don't have an rco letter am i correct yes that um that's an issue i was
wanted to see if you wanted to address i'm sorry we don't have one but there's a reason why it's
okay all right okay all right go ahead i did mr bergman do you want me to address that issue or
is that will the board let us proceed without addressing it i've had some back and forth with
board council we'll start your presentation we'll work through it okay
okay thank you as i said my client in this case is uh the big handprint llc uh which is a group
child care center presently uh we are this is you can see the referral in front of you uh my client
applied to be to go from a group child care facility to a child care center just to recap
the distinction under the zoning code a group child care facility you can have between 6 and 12
kids in your facility at any time when you move up to a child care center you can have 13 or more
this property is 200 north 58th street that is at the corner of 58th and race in west philadelphia
it is zoned cmx1 under cmx1 you cannot have a child care center so you can't have more than 13
kids. We are seeking a variant so that we can have use of a child care center. This is a little
bit unusual in that my client doesn't actually want to have 13 more kids. She's okay with the
6 to 12. However, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, if you're designated as a
child care center, you have access to much more funding, many more programs that you can use in
the care of the kids so again we're just seeking to strictly for the classification on paper so
we can go back to the to the state and get the funding and programs that my client needs we're
not trying to increase the number of kids beyond the capacity of 12. um this is the front of the
building there's a corner entrance um 58th street to the right of the photo and race street to the
left uh as you can see it's a two-story building uh it's about the whole building itself is about
2096 square feet uh my client is the commercial tenant on the first floor uh there are some
residential tenants above us that don't have anything to do with this application uh you walk
in the front there's a reception area and then that little area in the back that's just one story
that is the indoor play area another picture of the front door these are
photos of the windows showing the zoning posters this was actually from the
prior listing where the this hearing was scheduled for July
listing where the this hearing was scheduled for July we do have updated
photos my client reposted showing the August listing the photo of the interior
this is a pretty nice facility very clean everything you would see in a
proper daycare, books, toys, activities.
This is the rear play area, as you can see,
that's that covered one-story section in the back.
In the, my exhibits, sorry, just zoom here.
I submitted a copy of the commercial lease,
again, showing that my client,
the big handprint is the tenant.
This is the zoning application, which the zoning application, the ZBA appeal, it does
list the reason.
Again, we're not seeking to exceed 12 children.
We just want the child care center classification for funding purposes with the Commonwealth.
So nothing is actually changing.
We're not changing the use.
It's been in use for a year or two.
um it's as i said it's really only uh the paperwork that is changing here are the plans
uh when you walk in from the corner of 58th and race you walk in there's a little reception area
uh where the parents can you drop off their kids pick them up sign them in sign them out
and then you go back into the education station these are some of those first photos that you
show this is where the most of the day-to-day operations with the children take place going
Going back a little further, you've got your bathrooms, your kitchen areas, and then going all the way back, there's that indoor play area, which is 170 square feet.
The usable space for the kids is 477 square feet, but as I said, the whole floor and then a little bit of the basement for some storage is 1,000 square feet or so.
uh this is the side we have uh the front corner entrance and then a side egress
um we had some issues getting the tax clearance certificate but uh
i did print out tax balance of zero as well as commercial trash fees
l and i there's nothing showing there's no judgment liens against this entity
would you like me at this point to address the rco issue why don't you do that okay so this is
the third listing for this hearing my client had been trying to get an rco hearing for quite some
time for the first two listings in june and july they were not able to get anything from from the
rco prior to the hearings at the last hearing july mr bergman and the board you agreed to a
continuance we immediately went to the rco um which is the um for that area at 58th and race
we did we were scheduled for july 9th and my client sent out all the notices on on
I'm sorry, on July 17th, here's the notice that was sent out. My client sent out the notices to
all the addresses that were required, listing a hearing at July 29th at 6.30 p.m. before
achievability. That is the RCO. On the day of July 29th, somebody from the RCO reached out to them
and told them that, oh, I'm sorry, you didn't submit any documents to us in advance. We're
alleged requirement was never communicated to my client in advance. We do have a letter from
who my client was dealing with at Achievability, Hassan Abdul Rahim. He's the business and youth
engagement manager. This is an email from him to my client dated August 5th, 2026.
Again, we were scheduled for July 29th. Third paragraph, I was notified we did not have
sufficient time to properly review the application materials prior to the meeting.
Concerns regarding whether the application included the required community signature
support were also printed out. Without adequate time to complete that review, we did not feel
it would have been appropriate to proceed. This situation was a result from an internal
communication breakdown during a transition in our staffing. During that transition, I was unaware
that the application materials needed to be submitted in advance. So again, that was not
communicated to my client. We should not be prejudiced for their failure to do this and
THEN CANCELING AT LITERALLY THE DAY OF THE RCO MEETING.
THE APPLICANT, I AM PRIDING THIS EXPLANATION SO THAT THE RECORD ACCURATELY REFLECTS WHAT
OCCURRED.
THE APPLICANT MADE AN EFFORT TO SCHEDULE AND PARTICIPATE IN THE REQUIRED COMMUNITY MEETING.
the applicant made an effort to schedule and participate in the required community meeting
the inability to hold the meeting before the hearing was due to our internal scheduling
THE INABILITY
and review process not because of any lack of effort by the applicant so given that explanation
and given my client's efforts to actually schedule the rco meeting we asked that the board
disregard the lack of an rco letter in this case they made the effort the rco was not letting it
happen. And given what we're actually asking for, which is not going to change anything in the
neighborhood and is really not a substantial, should not be a substantial issue before the
neighbors, I ask that this RCO issue be waived for today's purposes. All right. So why don't you
finish your presentation and we'll see where we stay. Okay. That's all I have, really. I'd be
happy to bring your client. Okay. Miss Jones, are you in the audience? Could you raise your
hand, please? Please raise your virtual hand. Would you be sworn in? Seneca Jones?
we also have money kind of coach the business manager on as well
sure whoever you have you want to bring okay monica if you could raise your hand please
um but mr chairman that person can't adopt the testimony or me that person can't adopt
the testimony only only the owner the tenant can adopt it yeah but he could
bring her on right and ask her questions oh as a witness yes yeah yeah
either person there yeah when you care that coats is there i promoted them we can't hear you jace
Sorry, Mr. Chair, Moniquita Coates is promoted.
Good morning. Good afternoon. I'm sorry.
Hi. Who is this now?
My name is Moniquita Coates.
Okay. And with respect to the Big Camp Print LLC, you are their business manager,
and you've been handling this referral through the CBA on their behalf?
Yes, the business manager in Africa.
could you please state your name as spelled for the stenographer moniquetta m-o-n-i-q-u-e-t-t-a
last name coach c-o-a-t-s do you swear or firm to tell the truth told truth nothing but the truth
i do please proceed okay moniquetta you are the business manager for the big hand print llc yes
okay and you were the one that actually filed this appeal to the zba yes were you the individual
that was attempting to schedule hearing before the rco achievability yes okay um did you were
you present on the zoom when i gave my presentation yes i was was everything i said accurate and
truthful to your knowledge yes okay all right well well counsel you're also an officer of the
court will accept your testimony questions from the board yes um with this designation
understanding that you are saying you're not intending to have more than 12 but how many
children would you legally be allowed to have based on the size of your property so based on
the size they will only legally give us they will give us 14 but the whatever the co says is what
they'll stop it so right now being as though the certificate of occupancy says group child care
they won't let us go above 12 but also i just want to state that with a group child care you
only need eighth grade education to run on and operate a group child care you don't need a
director which we have a clinically master degree director and owner and we want to be able to use
our director to its to her fullest potential where with a group child care setting we cannot
okay no i understand that this wasn't necessarily about your current business but since this
designation runs with the property should this business not exist I just wanted to be clear
what the density could be even if your business doesn't operate it a future business could so
that's why so yeah the certificate of occupancy will state no more than 12 children so they won't
the state won't allow more than what the currently if you get approval you're saying it's 14 no what
I'm saying is when so with our application we're still asking to be at 12 children so if you guys
give us the zoning you are understood it you are but a future business could get up to 14
based on the square footage no they could they have to say 12. the certificate of occupancy will
The certificate of occupancy will stay 12 regardless of who owns the business.
state 12 regardless of
So they will only allow 12 because it's a group.
If you look, I could show you the plans which lays out the certificate of occupancy because
there's 477 square feet.
Current condition.
I'm not talking about the current condition.
I'm not talking about the current condition.
I'm talking about the current condition.
I'm talking about the future.
the future as a child care center your square footage would allow 14 children in a child care
center yes which is what i was asking so thank you okay i have i have a question so just curious um
is there any outdoor space there's no outdoor we have indoor play so what what do you do for outdoor
space for the children we take them on walks and take them to the local playground how far is that
way it's not even a block okay thank you other questions questions from our attorney um
i just want to clarify is there space for more than 12 children at this location
uh per state measurements there is but we don't want more than 12 but there is so
So for the state, they require 45 square feet per child.
And that includes the indoor play also or just education?
No, just the education space.
Indoor play space is measured separately.
50 square feet.
Yes, exactly.
So you have a designated indoor play space?
Yes, sir.
If my attorney can pull up the plans, the indoor play is in the rear of the building.
that was 120 125 square feet do i remember that eric once the indoor play area 170.
what how big was it the indoor play area 170 square feet back there yep
and the shepherd recreation center is a block to the north uh at 58th and vine
okay all right so i have one more question what are you doing oh sorry mike go ahead
go ahead i'm sorry i was going to ask what are you doing for safety measures for the
for your i guess your clients uh just understanding that like there's a septibus
depot very close by that's a pretty busy and um active corner what are sort of the provisions for
the youth when we're treating for the to the playground so we have this coming in and out
like without like are they always being dropped off by a parent inside i'm just trying to wonder
yeah so they have to they have to park they cannot double park um on any of the streets
they have to find a parking space and park in a legal parking spot and they have to walk their
children in and sign them in daily as well as pick up they have to come into the building sign
the children out and pick them up they can't we don't bring children outside the door we don't
allow children to exit on their own they have to have a parent present at all
times and then what are the ages that you're currently supporting we support
ages six weeks to five years old okay and is the plan to keep that age range in
the future as well yes any other questions
you know we're gonna hold it we can't can't hear we can't we're gonna hold it michael all right
council feels comfortable too to hold this and just try to figure it out ourselves okay questions
from the virtual hands i do not see any further hands mr chair planning commission michael gall
with the philadelphia city planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change to
the existing cmx1 neighborhood commercial mixed use zoning at this location though this property
has a documented history of variances for commercial uses going back to 1952 and was
remapped to a commercial mixed use in 1971 in a council supported action the proposed use as a
Child care center would not cause undue detriment to the neighboring properties beyond what may otherwise be expected at this location. Therefore, the city planning commission recommends the board grant the requested special exception for child care center use.
Thank you. Council. We're going to hold this till next Wednesday.
We're an executive session. We're gonna have a conversation. Just try to figure out some of the things that we need to go through. Okay.
Okay, is there next Wednesday at 930? And we will vote.
Okay, thank you. Thank you.
um um number five mr knockamson
i i think we'll we're going to see you a few times today correct
yeah yeah uh well we'll split between me and mr goldberg i would ask for your indulgence
Yeah, well, we'll split between me and Mr. Goldberg. I would ask for your indulgence. My architect, Rich Villa, who's here with me for 7340 Oxford Avenue, he's celebrating his birthday today, and he's going to Longwood Gardens, and he has a dinner reservation his wife made at 5 o'clock.
So which one's there?
That's 7340. I probably gave too much, 7040 Oxford Avenue. I probably gave too much information, but I don't want him to be late for his dinner reservation.
okay um we always want to well it's another just said can he celebrate his birthday here
number 11 number 11. we're gonna we're gonna move this to number 11. so
alan you always do find a way to get something like kind of different to come in here so i i
am different yeah sorry sorry council just so you know we're gonna hear but do a resumption yes we
are okay yes so not here and hold but here and we do that's right okay m m i 20 26 002 054 70
70 40 oxford avenue mr knockamson is the attorney could you um please state your name and spell for
the stenographer alan knockamson a-l-a-n last name knockamson n-o-c-h-u-m-s-o-i all right do
swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do um could you identify
a client a relationship to the property uh yes my client is 70 52 oxford llc and in the virtual
audience is josh matthew one of its members and to my left is rich villa the project architect
vice chair has a few questions for you good afternoon have you submitted your documents and
exhibits five days in advance of this hearing yes i have and did you waive the reading of the
refusals and stipulate to the accuracy to the extent that we will be receiving an updated
refusal after the hearing okay all right thank you to your screen and proceed with the case
all right thank you i just need to be promoted as a panelist please please
thank you welcome council
you okay yeah it's coming up yeah yeah all right here we go
so what we have here at 70 uh 40 oxford street is a rather significant lot uh which in totality
is over 116,000 square feet. Currently on this lot is a senior living facility of 57 units.
We're looking to put an additional 49 units by subdividing the property. And by doing so,
we're changing up the landscaping a little bit, and that's why I have rich here. And we're
increasing the amount of collective parking spots from 22 to 29 parking spots. We will be seeking
a resumption of this hearing because we're waiting for an updated uh refusal uh so we have 14 exhibits
here um i do have mr matthew in the virtual audience who's the owner's representative and
who's also the operator of the uh senior living facility i'll have him testify just giving you
what the day-to-day operations are like and i have mr villa here as the architect's representative
He can answer any questions about this project. So it seems a lot worse than it is from a variant standpoint. It really is not. But like I said, we have one large lot. We're subdividing it. Lot one, just think of that as the existing lot of 57 units, and we'll have 29 parking spaces. That's why we had to do some cleanup. I noticed when I was presenting this matter, and I was saying 29 parking spaces, but there's only 22 showed on the refusal.
And then lot two is the new structure or the new building that will be placed on there, and that has 49 units on here.
So let's just go quickly through the refusals.
For lot two, we have a roof access structure that's a little bit larger than is allowed under the code.
If you think about it, we have people who are senior citizens who may have issues with mobility, wheelchairs, walkers, such.
We don't want to have a cramped pilot house. We wanted to give a little bit more expansion to that. I believe there's an elevator, you know, going up there. And so, obviously, we wanted to have a little bit larger, no harm, no foul. You know, there's no light and air issues to nearby properties.
The next few have to do with landscaping. I'll have Rich show you about the extensive landscaping that we're adding to lots and also keeping within the lots as well.
and also keeping within the lots as well.
The next refusal has to deal with the 49 dwelling units.
So this is an RSA 3 property, I think in name only.
Again, we're surrounded by rather large apartment buildings.
The property itself has a 57-unit structure on it.
We're just adding a 49-unit structure, not out of character.
the next refusal has to deal with the vacant commercial space that was something we had to
clean up we have no commercial space on here so um you know again that would be eliminated by way
of the new refusal the next refusal has to deal with the height um again we're we're asking for
39 feet nine inches there is a building structure right behind us our property that's five stories
high so again and we're set back in all directions and also there's apartment buildings in every
single direction so we're not affecting anyone's light in there and not out of character uh the
next one uh talks about the off-street parking spaces so this is a senior living facility
mr matthew whose company has owned this property for some time will you know testify uh that uh
There's no parking problem, even with the 57 units. There's ample parking. Again, these people are staying in the facility. There's public transportation to get other places. They also have family members. So that's not an issue in terms of a variance.
The next refusal, again, also has to deal with parking, but for the quote-unquote vacant commercial space, there is none.
So we'll get rid of that refusal by way of the updated refusal.
And then the final refusal has to deal with the fact that we're providing additional dwelling units.
We're required to have 17 bicycle spaces.
We proposed 15.
We added some bicycle spaces.
For the senior citizens, who can move around still?
So that's that.
and so we'll have all we'll you know address some of them the refusals that are going to be in place
still based on the updated one uh that we should expect in the next couple weeks so we met with the
long crest community association as you can see it was overwhelming support it was 20 in favor
to and against and they asked a lot of questions a lot of tough questions i would have to say
and i think that's a pretty knowledgeable group and you know we got overwhelming support there
The difference between our senior living facility and the ones that you see around, and I'll have Josh talk about that, is that it's focused on affordable living for senior citizens. The biggest issue we have as a nation is affordability. And especially for the people who are growing older, who unfortunately have been unable to save because of how expensive we are as a country, they have nowhere else to go.
So this is this gives an opportunity and outlet for those individuals. So to keep it affordable. And, you know, again, past performance leads to future, you know, performance as well. And, you know, they've done this at, you know, the lot number one with 57 units. It's been so popular. That's why they're expanding an additional 49 units.
So, it just is basically a blow by blow of what we talked about at the community meeting.
We also have a letter of support from State Representative Anthony Belmond, and we also
have a letter of support from Councilmember Anthony Phillips.
And I believe, I can't remember, I think Councilmember Phillips, he definitely attended the community
meeting.
And I know he spoke about other things.
i can't remember if he spoke glowingly about this but i know that our my client has a great
relationship with a council member uh so and and he was very positive about this this project and
then again just to show you like you know what we're not we're not adding 106 units to to these
two properties we're only adding 49 units and then i just wanted to give you like you know examples
of other this is an assisted living facility that's right behind us 466 units there's another
apartment building at 800 compliment avenue which is 116 units another apartment building at 70 12
dash 24 rising sun avenue 88 units so what we're proposing is not really out of character um i
would ask that mr uh matthew uh be um you know virtually uh mr matthews please
There will be rejoining as a panel shortly.
Thank you.
Hello.
hello hi sir could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
oh it's josh matthew could you spell it please j-o-s-h-u-a-m-a-t-h-e-w joshua matthew
right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes sir would you turn your video on please um i'm actually somewhere where i don't i don't have
that much light but i can oh okay all right yeah josh so we're at the part of the presentation
where i'm going to talk a little bit or i want you to talk a little bit about the senior housing
apartment facility we can talk about zoning matters you know with with rich um and development but
why don't you tell us a little bit about oasis manor now and how you envision it in the future
hopefully with this variance being approved sure so oasis banner is the current uh call it phase one
is a 57 unit uh apartment facility designed for seniors that are 62
the building was formerly an assisted living building so it has a lot of features that help
seniors have ability and accessibility needs so we converted it when we acquired the facility
it was completely vacant uh approximately two years ago and we converted it into independent
senior living without any, you know, direct services like PT, OT, medication management,
nursing care. None of those services are attached to this phase one building. However, what we
wanted to deliver, which we did, was what we like to call kind of middle income senior housing,
which is really a space that just does not exist for people that are, you know, 55 or 62 and older.
Many of the senior retirement communities that are in our region or even just in the northeast Philadelphia area,
they generally charge what's called an initiation or entrance fee.
And that entrance fee starts anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000, and they go well north of $100,000. That's in addition to your monthly rent. So you'll pay initiation fee or entrance fee to have the privilege of living in the building, and then you pay ongoing rent.
So that's a big ticket for a lot of seniors that, you know, are on fixed incomes.
So what we were able to do is basically provide what we like to call affordable living for the seniors without that upfront cost.
So our average rents or our rents range from $900 to $1,800 a month.
We have a mix of studios, ones, and two bedrooms in our current phase one facility.
And this phase two facility is more or less a continuation of that.
We're really kind of designing around this affordable senior living campus, we like to call it.
Yeah. And what's on everyone's screen is the current campus and the current living facilities. Is that correct?
yes all right and then you know we have an aerial view too of of the current what the current
facilities look like so these are the essentially the the campus here with the buildings this is
the parking lot this is oxford avenue and ultimately this is this this essentially this
part of the of this will become lot two over here which my cursor is and you're going to move over
the curb cut you're going to create more parking here get rid of the parking in the back over here
which is further away from the park from the lot one building move it closer to over here to lot
one but also keep it you know accessible for a lot too is that correct that's correct and you're
going to put a lot of landscaping in the front and along the side is a buffer with that nearby
property on oxford right that's correct all right and then that's just from a street view perspective
of seeing the current facility here and and just in terms of lot one and the building facility
with the 57 units you in the short period of time you've owned that facility you put a decent amount
of money uh improving the the interior of the facilities is that right that's correct all right
and i think i have some and here's the the zoning map showing this is a regular shaped lot and it's
a rather large lot of almost 120 000 square feet but we have some pictures here of this so this is
the driveway that we were talking about the current driveway to go to the current facility right
josh josh you got on you got on mute yeah can you repeat the question i'm sorry yeah
josh josh you got on you got on mute yeah
this is the driveway that that's for the that is for the current facility for what's you know the
57 unit apartment building is that right i'm circling correct all right and we're just moving
that that uh curb cut a little bit over and we're adding a lot more landscaping in the front as i
said and we'll go over that and then this is just another angle of the facility right now you can
see it's it's well paved newly paved you know landscaping is very nice um this is our orange
notice poster uh this is oxford from different directions as you can see there's some apartment
buildings by the way i think there's you can if you go back there's the huge apartment building
behind us you can see too let me just go back is this huge apartment building here i think
there's a picture of it like it's right here it hovers over us right there um but i think i also
have some interior photographs that josh can kind of walk you through but these are some of the
interior photographs so this is the current facility as you can see it's like i don't know
i don't think we have before photos but we definitely have the after photos and and josh
this is some of the work product you did on the uh you know on the current facility right
yeah so just to give you a little background on that so that the facility is basically a phase
one facility of 57 units um originally it's kind of three buildings uh it's technically two buildings
they're connected by a building in the center um the four-story building is called a 1970s
vintage building um and then the two-story building is call it early 2000s vintage
in 2009 they constructed a building in the middle kind of what's currently like our lobby
and that connected the the early 2000s and the 1970s buildings together in 2009 when they built
that middle building connecting the two they did a full renovation the previous assisted living
company did a full renovation of the facility to bring it to 2009 standard when we acquired the
building um on around 2024 we did uh another renovation to just basically bringing it up
to more of today's standards um you know upgrading the um pretty much everything in the facility
um and bringing it to where it is today yeah and your partner tim is the general contractor
uh for this uh this property right that's correct
all right well thank you i if we have any further questions about the management of the facility
we'll definitely ask you some questions uh can you swear in uh rich please sure could you please
state your name and spell for the stenographer sure richard villa r-i-c-h-a-r-d-v-i-l-l-a do
you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yeah excuse me i'm
sorry chair this is wait wait i i i know what you're going to say try to get to closer thank
thank you try it yes yeah that's good all right great all right so what's the first photograph
we're looking at rich this is the proposed rendering of the of parcel b the proposed four
story building and this is where the increased parking is yes and then this is the increased
landscaping from the front and then in the rear to a degree some of those trees in the rear are
that tall so they're they're not on our property but they're right all right and then let's just
walk over the site plan and you know it looks like from the site plan you know there are some trees
that are existing that are going to stay there are some trees that are new right and you know
you will be taking oh this is so annoying all right sorry uh i always do that all right i don't
know why it does that but all right and then these are the trees we were talking about here that we're
adding right yes so we're trying to mat to meet as much of the landscape requirement that we can
so there are existing trees on the north property line some are remaining and some are being
replanted or replaced there are new shrubs on the south side against the parking lot
there are new shrubs on the oxford avenue side on the east side and then on the west side we have
shrubs that line the new drive aisle and there is a trellis in the back as an outdoor amenity
and then there is if you can point to that just to the west of the trellis is a garbage that is
accessible from the for the tenants from the trellis side and then from the garbage garbage
collection from the right from the drive side all right great let me just uh all right just
all right is there anything and then this is obviously some of the where the increased parking
years, right? Correct. And the ADA spot is located, there are two ADA spots at Flanka
There are two ADA spots at Flanka Landing Zone that's located right by the front door,
Landing Zone that's located right by the front door, so it's easily accessible.
so it's easily accessible. And then each of the units, as you can see, has a deck.
And so every unit has an outdoor space. All right. And I do a lot of units. These are really
nice units. All right. Let's go to the next thing. Hold on. Just turn it. Get to the next.
All right. So this is, I guess, the current site plan for the property. Correct. And this,
as you can see is the current parking configuration as well as the current uh drive aisle right
correct all right and then this is the new and improved drive aisle with increased parking to
29 parking spaces that's correct is there anything else on here that's noteworthy uh the curb cut is
moving south on oxford avenue okay all right but no effect obviously no all right and then
And here is some, I guess, elevations from an illustrator point of view.
I think it goes to what you were saying, that all the units will have outdoor space through these patio balconies.
They're decks.
According to the zoning code, they're decks.
Is there anything else that's...
Oh, and this is the roof deck access structure, or is this the one?
Which one?
The center is the elevator override.
um and there is one access structure uh we're going to have no roof deck anymore it's just
going to be uh mechanicals gotcha okay all right so there's actually the reason why we you know
it has nothing to do with access okay all right all right hi uh uh this is the basement there's
uh central washer and dryer facilities all the mechanicals our basement has the bicycle parking
that's accessible through the elevator and then there are a bunch of storage units that are
available yeah so there's no outdoor living i mean i mean excuse me no basement no basement
living no basement units all right all right and then this is the first floor right so you go
through this common lobby i'm in lobby there's an office a management office package room mailboxes
there's a meeting room and then there's an amenity room that amenity room leads outside to the outdoor
trellis then there are ground floor units uh that each have outdoor space and and and obviously
here's the two elevators right so one obviously dedicated you know for you know people going up
and down and then probably like more of like a freight elevator when necessary yeah yeah for
moving in and out right and then here's just more you know showing of of those additional trees and
landscaping right okay all right and we have uh 40 i believe according to my calculations uh 41
one bedrooms and eight studios does that sound about right that is correct okay um you know can
we just go through like maybe just a general but do me a favor alan i mean your time's really oh
yeah that's fine so if if you would you would you yeah of course okay thank you all right thank you
so much for your time. No, no, I'm serious. I just want to make sure that we still have eight cases
in the two o'clock list. No, I hear you. I think this is a straightforward case. I think we have
full community support. We're also going to be representing based on the refusal, so I'm mindful
of the ZBA's time. We have the other exhibits, which includes the meeting notice, proof of
mailing that notice, the deed to the property, and tax clearance certificate. I'm going to stop
sharing my screen. Okay, thank you. Questions from the board. Was this a tax credit deal or no?
I don't think so, but I'm going to defer to Josh on that. Josh?
Was it previously? It may have been many years ago. We were not involved at that point in time.
Okay. So when you mentioned affordable units, are you targeting a certain AMI?
um so we we do have i mean generally speaking i'd say our residents are somewhere in that
50 60 percent ami range um i'd say our average incomes are somewhere in like the
anywhere from 30 000 or 25 000 annually all the way up to 50 000 or so
um we we have some voucher tenants but i'd say broadly speaking maybe out of the 57 current
units maybe two are um hold vouchers
questions yeah um so you took the rooftop deck off right um is there any other outdoor space
that you have for the new the new building and my second question is are
you viewing this as a campus where it's free-flowing for both buildings so that
free-flowing for both buildings so that both buildings can share whatever amenities are on
both buildings
the campus. Yeah, well, Rich, I answered a question about the outdoor space. I don't have Josh ask
answer the question. The trellis is, there is a nice outdoor trellis space on that grade so that
everyone can use it, and that's not restricted to the buildings. You can just walk freely to it.
Okay. Yeah, and then there's outdoor decks for each of the... Yeah, each of the units have their
own outdoor space yeah that no one yeah and and and uh josh uh uh board member uh graham had a
question about how you see the amenity space in the new building will the will the occupants of
lot one have access to that additional amenity space and vice versa yeah no that's a great
question so we do plan on having um basically like a cross use agreement between both properties um
As it stands right now, it's approximately a three-acre size site.
So there's just a lot of movement between buildings that we envision.
Our phase one building has a lot of programmable spaces.
We have a big lobby.
We have a cafe.
We have a big hall.
We have private walking trail, a lot of greenery, a gazebo.
And there's definitely ways to share those resources between buildings.
So we're looking forward to doing that.
Other questions?
What does your on-site property management look like?
So we have a live-in super, and then we have a management office that's there, as well as areas in the basement that stores a lot of our materials and supplies for the building.
I'm thinking more so for this to be a senior living community.
You have to pre-qualify all your tenants.
so are you working with a property management company are you guys managing that process
oh yeah sure yeah so we self-manage um so we would be we manage it on site we have a resident
uh coordinator who kind of handles the leasing aspect of it as well as
um the different event programming that we do for our tenants
okay and then um what's the long-term plan for the vacant commercial space there is that's what i'm
saying no that's that was a that was a complete mistake on the on the refusal i think that they
looked at the kitchen and think thought that may be a restaurant got it but that's the amenity yeah
that's the most perfect yeah okay all right questions from our attorney not at this time
questions from questions from the audience could you please come up
could you please let him sit there yeah yeah come on
Hi, sir. Could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer?
Sure. Paul Canty. That's C-A-N-T-Y.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Are you a neighbor?
Please proceed.
Okay. Here's what's happening with this. Here they had a community meeting for this development,
it but they didn't have it in our community they had it in longcrest in longcrest it's at 62
they had it at 6200 rising sun avenue where this building's where this project is at is 70 40
oxford avenue this is in barham and i'm the person who sent you get the my petitions and i sent like
right one day we have so here that's the people that deliver across the street from this when i
told them this they're they're all like shocked like you're gonna they're gonna do what right
and so we'd like to have a community meeting with the community with the community not with
ward 35th ward yep rco it's bar home pacific association so that's why i sent in the paperwork
and that's what this is basically about when i told the people they want to have 49 units with
no parking so you got to be kidding me everybody that signed the petition and there's an apartment
complex right next door to this this one you know want to put up it's called pen manor apartments
it's got 62 units that's got parking for 40 cars right and here in the community the people in the
neighborhood i mean they were just shocked how many 49 units with this 40 with the 7040
oxford avenue development that and plus the height of the building in other words it should be only
three stories not four and in the end they'd rather they they would like a community meeting
a community meeting in the community not you know like a couple miles away so
in the community not you know like a couple miles away
is that's what the community would like to happen okay have a community meeting all right um thank
you for your input we'll we're taking everything you said under consideration all right thank you
can i yeah yeah can i see if there's anybody is there anyone in the virtual audience that you
do at all no mr chair i do not see any hands raised okay yeah mr chair this is the first time
i'm hearing anything about you know the fact that we didn't meet with you know any members of the
community uh you know you know my information is you know not you know you can find my information
i have not received any outreach from any other community groups and as you know the board knows
we meet with whomever is the coordinating RCO, and we send our notice out.
But honestly, I haven't even received any petitions or anything else.
It was submitted to the board. I don't know if you received it.
Yeah, so, I mean, I would like to get a copy of that just to see what's going on here,
but I'm actually a little surprised.
Sure. Okay. Thank you.
Planning Commission, do you want to make a...
Planning Commission is going to hold its testimony pending a review of the amendment refusal.
sure okay so uh we're gonna have a resumptive hearing 11 17 at 9 30 a.m all right thank you
okay uh thank you for coming in on your birthday we appreciate it
yeah yeah of course okay so we're back to number five am i correct yes mr chair um did i swear you
in for this already and i swore me in for uh okay all right so i don't have to swear you in
so we're going to 905 shell street right yep um could you just state your name and spell it for
the stenographer now i'll have to do the allen occamson right and could you identify your client
the relationship to the property yeah my client is rmv development llc and to the left of me is
Raphael vital, the owner. All right. Our vice chair has a few questions. Sure. Good afternoon. Have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing? Yes, we have. And do you waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to us accuracy? Yes, we do. All right. Thank you. You can see your screen and proceed with this case.
all right so this board or the zba has seen this matter two other times my client was involved
a few years ago with a partner and they you know not they're no longer working together
and unfortunately the uh the approvals lapsed uh so we have 13 exhibits here uh at the conclusion
my presentation i'll ask rafael uh to be sworn in and i'll have a few questions for him um but
um and i have mr weckerley who's the architects representative who is online for any questions
regarding architecture pretty oh sorry yeah pretty straightforward uh project 905 south
shell street it's a single-family structure i've never never seen a lot so shallow in my life 22 feet
and seven and a half inches that's the depth of the lot we're based all we're asking for is full
lot size a full lot coverage here um everyone else has it uh so you know we met with the bella vista
neighbors association actually alex did move this thing down uh and uh they you know while there was
some noted opposition from some nearby community members those members actually have exactly what
we're asking for full lot coverage uh so this is a private street their concern was with stormwater
management they're like well we don't want you to build anything here because this is going to
affect stormwater management for this private street and we're like okay but that means you
want nothing here because this is a single family lot we're trying to put a single family here
we're asking for every we're putting a building structure here that everyone else has and
And we'd be more than happy to work with you in terms of stormwater management for the
private street as a whole.
We never heard anything back after the community meeting.
But the Bella Vista Neighbors Association, which is, again, another sophisticated group
who's head of that group is an architect himself and who asked, trust me, a lot of tough questions,
saw that this is a reasonable ask for a variance.
And there is an undue hardship here.
but you know the the group itself voted seven uh in non-opposition uh and you know there were two
there were four neighbors two nearby and two uh not nearby who voted against it but i just think
they voted against they would vote against anything that would be built there we're not
built there we're not asking for anything that's out of the ordinary uh we did make a change to
asking for anything that's out of the ordinary uh we didn't
our plan so if the board feels so inclined yeah that was asked of us by the by the community
group so that's what we did you know to shorten the depth of the bay window and then the property
history again in 2012 these same plans were produced you see all these refusals the board
granted that that that request you see by way of zoning permit a few years later rafael was a part
of this you see there's a little bit less refusals but the same plan the zoning code is just changing
on us and now you see there's only one refusal and that's you know again the uh full lot coverage
and you can see a zoning permit was there unfortunately he didn't build it have you
showed us photos yet no i'm going to show you photos yeah all right you're setting the tone
for us for the photos right yeah well how about this just take a look at this these are all the
other buildings on that block all right let's do it aerial view same thing zoning map we don't need
to worry about photographs this is our property front of the property notice posting this is the
to the right of the property to left of the property our plans and drawings again we're
doing full lot coverage, so does everyone else have full lot coverage. I can go over the floor
plans, but they're pretty straightforward in that it's just a single family lot. I actually had my
architect put together what a buy right option would be. It's just not like you have an entryway.
As soon as you get in the entryway, you're in the kitchen. There is really no living room. And you
go up a flight of steps and you have a bathroom and a laundry facility, but no bedroom. And then
have one bedroom on the third floor that's what a buy right option would be it would be completely
unreasonable we met with the community july 7th proof of mailing you know our application for
appeal and our deed to the property showing rmv development llc is the owner and our certificate
of tax clearance we are on a payment plan uh with that being said i would just ask that
uh rafael be sworn in could you please get close to the mic could you please state your name it's
spelled for the stenographer yeah it's a rafael vital r-a-f-a-e-l-v-i-t-a-l right do you swear
or affirm to tell the truth whole truth nothing but the truth counsel rafael you heard everything
i had to state it today about your zoning matter so true and correct yes and do you adopt as your
testimony thank you questions from the board is there a an alley behind the behind the property
what's what i mean if this if this is going from property line to property line how are you
accomplishing um fenestrations at the property line yeah i don't know if if mr weckerly is on
i i would ask him to be promoted as a panelist he's the architect yeah but don't don't you have
photos i thought you showed i did i don't know let me take a look you showed them all together
yeah 100 yeah let me see if i have that hold on a second site plan that shows alley with me
are you just checking somebody's backyard houses yeah let's see
that there yeah um i i would have to probably get it on the deed
page of the city's let's see if the site plan so what the site plan has do you
have a you don't have a site plan for this I know we do I guess I'm yes I'm
saying let me take a look at the site plan
I don't think I don't know it says it says something five foot wide plus or minus not
on city plans i don't it was that the i don't know what we're looking at though this is this
is our this is our property right that's right so that's so that's the street but then there's
it doesn't really say that there's an alley behind it yeah let me stop sharing my screen
and just go on atlas and let me just see for a sec i mean clearly i see where it's consistent
with the the adjacent properties uh i'm just trying to get an idea what it looks like anything
is sort of yeah let me just i'm going to reshare my screen i don't think there's an alley back there
i'm going to reshare my screen i don't think there's an alley back there
at least down again it's uh behind you yeah let's see is someone i thought it was the other yeah
at least
i thought it was mr goldberg who was shaking his head no no no he's shaking his head too
he he always shakes all right let's see um it's the rear of the darien street properties yeah is
this darien right here yes all right yeah i just think it butts up against it like every other
property on on shell street are you proposing windows on that side are we
where are we proposing windows no no we can't I just want to make sure there are
no windows on so there are no windows on that side no okay there's only windows
on the front facade building that is correct no everyone else has this thing
everyone else has the same thing I mean we have that wait a minute your your
partners coming up hi yes you do I think it was sworn in before I could I did
swear a minute earlier today Alex Goldberg for the record but my
understanding speaking with the architect is that the way that these
homes which are all designed the same way accomplish a secondary means of
egress as far as my understanding the building code is is the egress well
that's at the front of the property from the basement okay which is the same condition of
all the other properties none of them have access to any alley except for i guess the ones on the
end 915 but that's a party wall anyway and and there's no there's no no deck proposed no roof
deck proposed or anything so no no outdoor space there is a roof deck proposed there is a roof
that's the only outdoor space okay all right those are my questions thank you thank you
other questions yeah i guess just two things one how many of the other properties on this alley
deck does it doesn't look like it's most of them
regrets
are you going to testify me yeah we there's yeah there's somebody they wanted to test
so at least for sure the two properties to the left of us because these properties
originally all approved together 905 903 and 901 so that those two have roof decks if alan can share
the aerial photo i believe the majority have roof decks the older there are several older homes on
the block i think three or four um those don't have roof decks but all of the new construction
on the block as far as i can tell and i would imagine um the neighbor behind me might have an
idea as well the newer construction i believe they all have roof decks i mean i would i would
imagine that's the only way you're going to get any kind of outdoors have any exactly they don't
have any outdoor space otherwise yeah yeah i agree okay and um you know the basically the block was
built up from 2012 to now in different sets because some some developers you know 912 and 914 were
done together nine nine hundred nine oh one nine oh three and nine oh five were all done together
obviously nine oh five wasn't built that's why we're here so it's mostly all construction done
in the last 12 to 14 years okay and then do you know what the height um to the top of the parapet
is in comparison to the homes on either side at 9.03 and 9.07?
I believe we're matching the parapet of both properties, or at least the properties to
the left, 9.03 and 9.01.
it looks like the parapet is three feet and it's partially railing I don't know the height of the
parapet wall of the neighbor at nine of seven our height to the roof line is 29 feet seven inches
okay but 38 to the pilot house which was my question good thing questions from our attorney
none at this time questions or comments from the audience could you give up your sheet please
hi do me if you ever get close to the mic and um could you please state your name
and spell for the stenographer sure good afternoon liz green schultz l-i-z-g-r-e-e-n
s-c-h-u-l-t-z right you swear or affirm that tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but
the truth i do are you a neighbor i am please proceed i will be as brief as i can but the
board is missing testify some key information i am the owner of the newest constructed home
I am the owner of the newest constructed home on the street.
on the street there are no
There are a number of problems on the street that far exceed mere stormwater.
I didn't know them when I bought my home, and egress did not occur to me when I bought my home because I trusted that the home was built safely.
i am asking this board to deny this variance because to me the question is should this
developer be permitted to build on this lot this year and that is a very clear no to me
the reasons include water on the street i will give a little more detail but in some there's a
private sewer on the street that was not built to have this many homes on the street and i only
learned well i'll come back to that the water on the street the basement problems the egress
and the construction plan with respect to this particular property are my four main concerns
with respect to the water the city does not claim ownership over the sewer and the water
infrastructure on the street and as i said it was not built for this many homes it is i was told in
the community meeting this is where i learned this information for the first time it is an undersized
sewer pipe in quote terrible condition that is what the board said at the prior meeting in this
case for the whole block yes there are about 17 homes on this street that access this sewer pipe
it was not built for that so this is apparently a known problem that again i only learned from
the board in the community meeting they said the last time development came up on this street
the neighbors filled the room 30 people all complaining about this my assumption is that
those people sold to us because the neighbors on the street don't really seem to know this now
so i was told this is an undersized sewer pipe in quote terrible condition that could cost
millions to excavate and repair we do not have a homeowners association on the street
there are two small water drain inlets for 17 homes and a prior contractor destroyed one of
the dreams with the construction of one of these homes by letting the concrete
drain into the storm drain
moving on to the basement um there are basements have water problems on this street there should
not be a basement put in in this property it makes no sense for the new owner to then
assume responsibility for i'm going to object uh for she i don't know what her knowledge is in
terms of the other properties uh plus like you know she's it's bordering on expert testimony
in terms of you know what she thinks about this property as well so so what you know to be true
yourself i own the home that is adjacent to this lot and i get water in my basement uh 907 south
Shell street. Um, there is no egress from the basement. So, um, correct. So I don't know what
an egress well from a basement is, but I am not aware of any basement on this street having egress
from the basement. Um, mine certainly does not. Um, as I mentioned, the egress, I did not occur
to me when I built the home. You built that house yourself? Well, no. You bought the home. I bought
the home. I might have misspoken. I apologize. Sure. So it did not occur to me when I purchased
the home that there is no egress from the upper floors of my home. Okay. And obviously that is a
problem not only with respect to fires, but domestic violence, burglaries, any number of
situations. The new, let's assume for a moment that this home gets built. How would the buyers
know about the stormwater problems on the street and the egress problems so they're inheriting a
problem that is either being caused or worsened by the city granting these variances that
is not being fixed by the city because the city doesn't claim ownership over the sewer
with respect to the construction plan in this particular project at the last meeting
no real plan was presented for construction logistics beyond a mini excavator and planks.
Shell Street is a pedestrian street. Cars cannot come down. So every home that has been built on
So, every home that has been built on the street has caused a problem for the neighbors, including the most recent build, a truck got stuck and the neighbors were expected to climb over the truck in order to get to their homes.
the street has caused a problem for the neighbors.
so i i would not personally be comfortable with this board granting a variance absent a much
clearer plan for how materials will be brought down the street how it will affect the adjacent
properties including the fact that i already get water in my basement and all of the homes on the
street and some homes that are not on shell street but are on montrose the adjacent street
all tie into the same sewer that as i mentioned is so i'm going to object in the sense that there's
No, I don't even know how relevant it is, but you know she's making allegations regarding the sewer line.
I don't know what's what again. This is a single family zoning classification.
We want to put a single family home here. It sounds like if there is any type of development, she would be against it.
well why don't you continue thank you let's just try yeah yeah
um i will point out for the board that water was not mentioned at the last meeting so i assume
this team probably learned of these storm water issues along with me
and the sewer issues, but a plan has not been presented to this board for what they're going
to do about that. And I learned from the last hearing that the board advised that all of the
neighbors who can get ran barrels. However, with new construction, gutters are internal. They're
on the interior of the home. So ran barrels will not help. So no matter what happens, we know we
have an inadequate sewer for all of the homes on the street without a plan of how to fix that
why don't you try to sum up where you i think that's all if i could just have a brief moment
so i would assume you're against this project i am and my understanding is that i have several
neighbors in the zoom as well i know they were there at two o'clock i don't know if they're
still problem do you have any questions yeah would you be against any development for this property
uh well if you can build in compliance with existing zoning law then i don't really have
a basis for objecting for that but the neighbors currently use the lot i actually offered to buy
the lot so it's not that the lot would uh merely go to waste for the city but but your issues
regarding the inadequate like uh piping that's in the street it doesn't matter the size of the lot
i mean the size of the building structure of course if we we built it by right you know we
wouldn't be here but it would have the same issues regarding stormwater inadequate piping below
there would be no change in in what your issues are with and the construction issues too none of
those issues would change if it was a by right project or a variance project well i would have
no basis for opposing a by right project so no i get it but the issues that you're talking about
would be the same whether it's a buy right project or a variance project right
no it would not and here's why that lot is the only permeable surface on the street
the zoning code requires i believe it's a seven foot yard so under existing zoning code they are
not permitted to build on this street because a yard is required for the street the fact that
the city in years past granted variances does not mean it is safe or healthy to build on this lot now
so why don't we do this let me see if there's anyone yeah of course okay um and thank you
you've been sitting there yeah but one one question sure you you have no rear yard right
that's correct thank you questions or comments from the virtual audience
yes mr chair i have a hand up from a joe banks i will allow them to speak
can you hear me
i can't hear you chairman can you please state your name is spelled for the stenographer uh joe banks
j-o-e-b-a-n-k-s do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do um proceed um this is the first i'm hearing about it i was notified by um by my neighbor
um i live behind on darien street and i do have a backyard and this is as she stated the only
permeable space on the property and um as the lawyer was trying to argue about knowing about
what's going on there was a property on the other side of shell opposite this proposed development
that did get water in the basement and did have a big issue and did have construction happening overnight.
that did get water in the basement and did have a big issue and did have construction happening
overnight that was a nuisance to me behind her block. So with respects to what the city allows,
doesn't allow charges, taxes towards properties that are only walkable, which Darien is an only
walkable street too, to add property to Shell Street will take away from the fact that when
I bought this over a decade ago, there weren't three or four of the developments. So these issues
are compounding based on developers that come in and do what they're doing. I believe this gentleman
was the developer on the one next to this site. And I believe they claimed that it was going to
be their son was going to live in it and they sold it. So I think we get lied to a lot as property
owners and as neighbors. And if they have issues with stormwater, it's going to compound onto our
block and if the city's not going to take ownership and charge the same taxes to a walkable
street as someone who can drive up to their street that's not fair to folks and these guys
are trying to develop something and then pass it on a problem to someone else all right thank you
very much for your time is there you have any questions alan no no is there anyone else in
the audience no further answer mr chair planning commission i do have a couple questions as a
follow up to the testimony with my from my client sure go ahead all right um raphael um we showed
you a a buy right option which would include a one bedroom on the third floor a bathroom and a
laundry facility on the second floor and no living room whatsoever on the first floor just the
kitchen is that something that you would be able to build financially and sell uh no okay
and and why is that because I mean one bedroom there's no there's no living room apparently so
it's not worth to build and you know it's you would make no money on money at all okay thank
you thank you planning commission Michael Gall with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing RSA five residential single
family attached zoning at this location the appellant has demonstrated that the lot cannot
support building in conformance with the zoning codes dimensional requirements therefore the city
planning commission recommends the board grant the requested variance for rear yard depth
um alan there was an awful lot said here and i really do have to sit and talk to our group um
i'm actually going to put this off two weeks so that i'm not killing myself
next week with the amount of people so what's that date
chair that would be august 26th at 2 p.m august 26th at 2 p.m we want we'll vote
in yes that's correct chair august we'll do is we're going to take this to executive session
that morning okay all right uh did he adopt my testimony i don't think he can if you want go
ahead yeah i just want for record keeping perfectly yeah yeah uh raphael you heard everything i had
state today about your zoning matter yes is it true and correct yes and do you adopt this your
own testimony and we'd like to move these exhibits into the record we are good thank you um all right
uh alan who's who's next um you can you can go online you can listen online
the outcome yep all right thank you um reese street you got reese street uh that's alex
Okay, Alex, very good.
Yes, you did.
all right number six mi2026
zero zero one seven seven six 28 59 to 61 north free street um
mr goldberg is our attorney could you state your name because it's already been sworn in
alex goldberg could you identify your client in relationship to this property
sure my client is dune mfg llc and it's representative joseph varis is sitting to
my left all right our vice chair has a few questions good afternoon have you submitted
your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing i have and do you waive the
reading now the refusal is to relate to its accuracy i do all right thank you share your
screen and proceed i'll try to be efficient to get the board back on on track uh this is a property
that is zoned for single-family living, RSA 5, but has a long non-residential history.
non-residential history. My understanding is it served as a furniture warehouse for a furniture
My understanding is it served as a furniture warehouse for...
manufacturer that operated on 5th Street. This property is obviously on North Rees Street.
My client is an artist. He's a metal fabricator that does large-scale and small-scale pieces for
displays and other types of things like that. I have a sample of some of his work and he currently
has a space that is at American Street and Diamond Street that he's grown out of. His
business is going well. He needs a space that's a little bit larger to do larger scale pieces
and he's hoping to be able to utilize this building structure. It's attractive and, you know,
we're hoping to obviously give it some tlc on the facade as well as some renovation work to the
interior to be able to fit his needs we are dealing with one refusal for artist studio and
artisan industrial um again he works with metal mostly to you know build his pieces i'll give you
a flavor of what kind of equipment he uses but he can obviously at the end answer more detailed
questions static tooling for bending mechanical non-electric tools some pneumatic bending tools
a horizontal bandsaw and tig welding which my understanding produces no no smoke no spark
no noise and is the cleanest version of welding there are no toxic chemicals used in his work
only water-based finishes and he also has a machine that filters air 10,000 times per hour
and just honestly sounds like a fan we met with the coordinating rco on may 12th they were
interested in what he does they supported the application um and just asked that you know
we implement soundproofing measures which we plan to do and we manage the trash which there will not
be much of and obviously be a good neighbor which of course joe is interested in in doing he's
already had relationships conversations and and begun to develop relationships with the neighbors
on the block who welcome you know him to the block he also circulated a petition to nearby
neighbors you can see that many of these signatures i believe all of them are on the 2800 block of
north reese street looks like there's cambria on there as well so you know the word is out about
what he's trying to do and his neighbors are supportive. While this block is primarily zoned
single-family, there are non-single-family uses, two specifically that are directly across the
street from him. An auto shop at 2860 North Reed Street and a garage at 2821 North Reed Street.
Sample work. So this is some of the work that he does. You can see the work in progress at the top
and then on display at what I assume is a mall on the bottom.
He, you know, his company is called Noivara.
He's got a presence online and on social media where you can see more of his work.
And as you can see, some of these things are big.
And in the space he was at, it required a lot more, you know, piecemealing once they left his space.
Some of that may still be required in the space he's trying to go into,
but it will give him a little bit more flexibility.
There's a zoning map.
Photograph, so this is the front of the property.
Here it was in 2012, so it's substantially the same as it was back then.
Notice posting.
Here's to the right on North Reese and to the left.
Joe has one employee besides himself.
He rides his bike or will plan to ride his bike from his from where he lives currently.
So we do not believe parking will be an issue.
There's not it's not a customer facing space.
So there will not be people, you know, coming to pick up things from him.
And, you know, we believe, you know, from that aspect, minimal impact on the neighborhood.
The renovation we're planning to do, you know, we're planning to use Rock Wolf for soundproofing and also whatever fireproofing will be necessary.
we plan to do as well currently the building's vacant you can see there it consists of two
floors and a basement here's the plans and drawings so this is just a cleaned up version
of the facade and here's the floor plans so the basement is pretty much as is for storage
mostly the first floor right here there's an office in the rear he's got a bathroom
and uh he has a hoist way sort of like a dumb waiter to bring some materials up to the second
floor and then obviously a staircase leading up to the second floor where there is uh you can see
And then obviously a staircase leading up to the second floor where there is, you can see the existing stair opening is being moved to where it is now.
An additional bathroom upstairs, some skylights to let in some additional light on the top floor.
But for the most part is designed to be open space to give him as much flexibility to build his pieces as possible.
uh here's the rco meeting notice we met with apm in may we mailed out 180 mailers
the application for the variance
deed to the property he has owned it since uh 2021
21. And here's proof of tax clearance. So with that, I'd like to ask my client to adopt my
testimony. Sure. Could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer? And if you
could get close to the mic. Thank you. Joseph Varas, V-A-R-A-S. All right. Do you swear or
affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? I do. Okay. Please proceed,
counsel joe did you hear my testimony today get close drinking please don't you don't have to
push a button just leave the light on yes go ahead was it true and correct yes and you adopt it as
your own yes okay questions from the board yes i have a few questions one in a lot of the photos
that you showed of his current space where he's working it's a double height space and this one
seem to have pancake floor plate situation and so i guess my question is how is any more
interior renovations being done to cut into the floor plate to allow for that double for
double height space at this location is your plan to cut through the floor at all and is this your
space where these pieces are or is this just where this piece was actually so i built that structure
at the navy yard it was for a client that was situated in the navy yard um it went to new york
So it had to be closer to the mic. It had to basically that object had to break down and fit into crates for shipment. So I built it in four sections in my current shop, which is actually a thousand square foot. So I built it in quarters on its side. I have 13 foot ceilings in my current space. So you have to be adaptable when you're working in a small space. So that's what I plan to continue to do here just on a slightly larger scale.
Okay. And I just wanted to check because it looked like it was a relatively small ceiling height. It looked like it was about eight foot high ceiling height for the basement and the first floor.
Yeah. So the ceiling height in my current space is 13 foot and the ceiling height in the shop that I'll be moving into is also 13 foot. But it's, I think, six times the size of my current shop.
Okay. And then the just second question is about the ADA bathroom on the non-accessible second floor.
sure um i i don't believe the project architect is on um on the call
is matt master pasco in the virtual audience by chance
council i do not see him in the virtual audience um
i'm not entirely positive why it was designed to be an ada bathroom on the second floor yeah i guess
my question is was there a future plan to convert the mechanical uh stairs the to elevator yeah i
don't think so but joe if that were a possibility in the future i would not be opposed to making
the elevator mechanical okay for access yeah my question is about uh the neighbors and their
concerns um first about noise um and hours of operation so how often do you feel all the the
hours that you would be uh working there and like it would you know what would you how would you
respond to their noise and uh toxic materials complaints our current schedule is monday through
thursday nine to five one hour lunch and um there are no toxic chemicals i work with water-based
materials i think people were triggered by the word paint um think bob ross not painting cars
It's fine art. It's the application of non-toxic materials for our own health, you know, as well as others. We're honestly a little bit overkill with air quality and like procedures and things like that right now. That's why we utilize like water-based materials as non-toxic on wood and metal and things like that.
it's generally like tongue oils and natural natural options for sealing that need to be
reapplied later by the owners it's like there's you know an explanation and an education there's
an education process of how to how to maintain these objects for the owner so to allow for
non-toxic applications and you do have a system for removing those even though they're because
because people feel but like for you have a system for paint removal and stuff like that
people feel but like for you have a system for paint removal and stuff like that
when needed if if you know we we use uh finishers so i use i use sometimes like a powder
coater in camden so i'll bring the materials there the powder coater will do the stripping
and the and the refinishing and things like that so we're not planning to do much finishing in this
space and we do have uh air recirculating okay and do you anticipate making like noise banging
metals and stuff like that it's pretty it's a pretty quiet operation um you can see on the
facade that there's uh there's essentially a vestibule so the idea is uh the vestibule will
sort of hide the noise it's going to be two by six with brock wool on the facade and on the party wall
on the neighbor's side where there is a home it's vacant on the other side we do plan to
um do as much sound deadening and fire uh fireproofing as possible on the party wall
on the facade and you just got my last question that neighbor that's immediately adjacent to you
do you have their support i do yeah i have i have a good relationship honestly with
with all the neighbors and thank you i have a question um just because it's on a residential
street um how often would you be getting deliveries and how long does a typical delivery take to
unload because since there's no driveway or right for a truck yeah right now our shop truck fits
on the sidewalk in front of in front of the building where there's an overhead door so
I have a 15 foot bed I generally will pick up steel and park on the sidewalk and hand hand load
it in we're not going to have a forklift or we're not going to have any sort of mechanical objects
for unloading trucks and things like that we do occasionally load objects onto trucks finished
objects and things like that but it'll be like a box truck pulls up I'm usually proactive with
putting a cone out i don't know if you know that's necessarily the right thing to do but
um to avoid the drive up and sort of people getting upset that their path is blocked
it's like maybe you know the time it takes to open the door put the object on close the door and
sign on sign a sheet okay all the questions questions yes um yes uh uh what kind of what
kind of pieces are these that you're making are they're it's artisan industrial so the question
is what kind of pieces are these are they um they're metal you said but other than that i'm
having a little trouble yeah it's like mixed media generally anything from uh paintings to sculpture
to, uh, the, the object shown right now, the sample work is, uh, it's, it's an interactive
space on 57th street in New York.
And it was just essentially like a, a booth.
I don't know.
It's, it's like, uh, display fixtures and things like that.
And you sell these, you.
um I'm content I I have maybe like five clients that I actively do work with um request things
so it's sort of consulting collaborative design work figuring out how to make their vision sort
of come to reality and then the execution of it okay and then you make it and then it gets shipped
to some location is that it may go back on that same truck that I mentioned and I may deliver it
to um you know this one was New York but other places sort of in the tri-state um it may get
picked up by a box truck we use a vending service and um I can't I don't potstown that does the
logistics like pick up and delivery and things like that okay all right thank you
No questions at this questions or comments from the virtual audience.
I don't see any further hands Mr. chair.
Planning Commission.
Michael Gall with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission comprehensive plan recommends no change to the residential RSA 5 residential single family attached zoning at this location.
The appellant has demonstrated that the proposed use would not cause undue detriment to the community beyond what might otherwise be expected at this location and should have minimal impact in this building,
which was constructed as such therefore the city planning commission recommends the board grant the
requested variance for artists studios and artists and industrial use mi 2026 001 776 28 59 to 61
north reese reese street i vote yes michael johns my vote is a yes carol gaston my vote is yes
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
I'm McAdams, my vote is yes.
I win, my vote is yes.
Layla Beebe, my vote is yes.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Who's doing 12th Street?
Who's doing 12th Street?
So MI 2026-001-875, 3150 North 12th Street.
Alan Nockamson is the attorney.
Mr. Nockamson, just state your name for the record.
Alan Nockamson.
Could you identify your client, a relationship to the property?
Yeah, to my left is Rashid Williams. He owns RTW Accommodations LLC, the owner of the property.
Okay. Our vice chair has a few questions.
Good afternoon. Have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, I have.
Did you waive the reading of the refusals and stipulate to their accuracy?
All right. Thank you. You can show your screen and proceed with the case.
Alan, how do we stand with the RCO? What's going on with that?
uh i believe we have a meeting with them august 20th so we would like to present and then hold it
okay thank you thank you uh as you saw we had we had to send a 45 day letter you know we don't do
that often but you know we didn't have any response from them just to preserve our rights we always
want to meet with the community beforehand uh 31 50 north uh 12th street so this was previously
approved as a triplex. We're coming back here to get, you know, updated approvals from the zoning
board. You can see it's a three-story structure, flat facade, lentils, cornice line, traditional
Philadelphia architecture. We have nine exhibits here. At the conclusion of my presentation, I would
ask that Rashid be sworn in, and I have a few questions for him. I also have Logan Dry, the
architects representative here. So this is an RSA five property. It's a rather large lot size of
1,324 square feet. We have two refusals for this proposed triplex. The first refusal, as you can
imagine, was because of the use of the property as a triplex. It's an RSA five property. Again,
not out of character in that this, you know, this was previously approved as a triplex.
Second refusal. We have a porch to the left of us that's been filled in because it's been filled in. It's considered now the front facade, so we don't fall in line. But if it's, you know, it's form over substance, our front facade actually matches with the front facade of every single property on that block.
but because that you know porch has been filled in and that's why we have that second refusal
property history here you can see here is that a triplex was previously approved for this property
never built we did not own it at the time maps of the area you can also see from the zoning map of
how there's mixed zoning of rm1 uh which would be allowed as a right cmx2 cmx3 so you're not
sharing anything to see you understand okay oh okay i'm sorry that would be helpful i thought i
sure hit the share button all right can you uh see now all right sorry about that uh as you can see
uh we have a mix of zoning classifications here which we border rm1 there's cmx2 cmx3
there's a school across the street so it's uh sp uh dash civ uh we're you know we have uh you know
we're near commercial quarter on allegheny avenue um we're actually near train tracks too which kind
of speaks volumes as to not having you know a single family use near train tracks not typical
photographs of the property this is the end of our block facing uh north 12th street it's a vacant
lot it's been a vacant lot for some time as you can see since 2008 as far back as google street
view goes proof of posting for today's uh hearing uh this is north 12th street oh this is an
electrical facility here on the other end of our block uh so it's an electrical facility here on
north 12th street north 12th street to the left of the property this is a school um our plans again
Again, from KCA, we have no dimensional refusals at all.
Our property goes four feet out of the ground, and the ceiling height is eight feet, one
inches.
So you can see we're four feet out of the ground, and then in terms of the ceiling height,
eight feet, one inches.
Floor plan is pretty straightforward.
you come in there's a common vestibule area we come into here bedroom a couple
bathrooms living area you know kitchen in the living area another bedroom as
you can see there is no to get rear access we don't go through our bedroom
uh to get rear access we don't go through our bedroom we have actually direct access to our
we have actually direct
rear yard there's a lower level which has a home office like a gym area a secondary living area
and another bathroom and then the laundry facilities there instead of unit number one
you go up a flight of steps same thing living room you have a kitchen area ventilated trash closet by
first floor it's the trash is stored outside you have a bathroom and then two bedrooms and then
you go into unit number three or unit C same type of floor plan living room kitchen bathroom the
ventilated trash closets here washer and dryers in there two bedrooms one bath there is no I don't
believe there's a roof deck access structure here again we we gave our 45
day notice on July 17th 40 at least 45 days before this hearing just to
preserve our rights to present it from this board proof of mailing of that
notice is here we are meeting with the community on August 20th here's our
application for zoning variance along with the notice of refusal and project
information form, the deed to the property, showing that RTW accommodations LLC is the owner,
and then our certificate of tax clearance showing that no money is owed. With that being said,
I'm going to stop sharing my screen. I would ask that Rasheed be sworn in, and I have a few
questions for him. Sir, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Rasheed Williams, R-A-S-H-I-D-W-I-L-L-I-A-M-S. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth nothing but the truth yes counsel yeah rasheed you heard everything i had to state
today about your zoning matter yes is it true and correct yes and do you adopt this your own
testimony yes thank you questions from the board yes how many multi-family properties exist on
this block uh good question uh we have specifically north 12th street north 12th street yes all right uh
i know i had it here uh 3144 and 3122 on the on north 12th street and are any of those more than
duplexes no they are not i think you know my general concern with this is that this is a block
where all the properties are two-story they are pretty intact for a row of row homes
And this proposal is adding a story and adding a unit more than everything else on the block.
I hear you. I mean, this was previously approved as a tribe.
Yeah, but I wasn't on that zoning board, so.
No, I hear you. And obviously, I knew, you know, the board was going to have some concern about, you know, what you're talking about, that third story, and we can talk about that.
And, you know, we've talked to our client about potential remedies, about setting it back, even though it's not required.
If it makes the board more comfortable to have that third story, I would say we always want to try to give more living area to individuals than less.
Also, we're the end property as well.
You know, it interconnects on that intersecting street.
So we're basically a corner property for all intents and purposes.
And it's a rather large lot.
um i think we're you know i i can do an analysis but i think we're one of the larger lots on the
block so we're at 1324 square feet so it's a nice design it was previously approved this way
it makes it more affordable for the for the residents in terms of rental rates to have
three units as opposed to two units depends on the rent of the three units but yes i get what
you're trying to argue can you go back to the the plans sure i'll make sure i share my screen
she passed the render in two hour yet except i don't think it was a porch
when the rest of the houses are porches on that block yeah i think there's there's a mix but um
you know we we can look at that as well i mean that's why we would love we always love to have
the community meeting before here to kind of deal with some of those issues so unfortunately we did
not have that opportunity but uh you know again if if that's something that you know the board
feels more comfortable with the porch that's not going to affect you know the design aspects in
from the interior and you know we can deal with that but the person to the left of us who did
have a porch they filled theirs in so and that actually goes to one of our refusals
sorry just taking a while
come on
All right, let me get out of this for a sec.
all right let me get out of this for a sec
The computer is slow today.
All right, let's see if we do it now and share the screen.
All right, I think we can go back that way.
There we go.
All right, there's the rendering.
So again, from a traditional Philadelphia row home perspective, we have lintels, we have a cornice line, we have windows that kind of match up. There's no bay window. It's a nice flat brick facade. Not a lot of nice light in there. So I think board member Graham asked me to show that. Board member Johns, what would you like to see?
The floor plans, but I'm glad you did show the elevation because the rest of the houses on the block do have porches, even though the one next to it is an enclosed porch.
So having something like that sort of so different than the rest is, this is maybe a little troubling.
I don't necessarily have an issue with the fact that it's three stories because it's at the end of the row.
The next property that's next to that actually faces the next street over and they're all three story buildings.
And the building across the street is three stories, I believe. And then there's the sort of open space behind that. So I don't necessarily have an issue with the three story in this particular situation.
but I do understand board member Wynne's concerns.
So I think there's a way to maybe do something at the roof
to address that situation or at that third floor,
kind of like what we saw early on with,
man, circ fits in this neighborhood or not,
but there's the potential there.
But I guess the other piece is that the rest of the houses
on this only 10 houses or something on the side and they all have porches right so there's something
that could possibly be done to kind of make that work and be more consistent with the character of
the rest of the block um and just one other sort of minor weird thing um is you've got the the bed
at the the back on this on the second floor but you but the door is kind of like in a weird spot
so you have to even the way you arrange furniture just created like a weird kind of circulation
space but has nothing to do with zoning but those are my comments okay thank you very much i like to
go back to my point i think two things one every house on this block has an aligned porch at that
right even the house that is filled in next door they're all at the same height this is actually
proposing even you're like stairs at a completely different height so i think there were ways like
that if you were to rethink the facade that this could blend in better with the rest of the block
it doesn't the windows don't exactly match up it breaks the corners line that exists so i do think
like there's ways that it could be made to fit better in with the rest of the block because it
is an intact block which we don't have in a lot of these neighborhoods all right so so you know
they i i definitely hear about the porch and they make you fall more in line with the character in
neighborhood but definitely appreciate the fact that you raised the the basement up of the of the
you know that that four feet is better than a lot of other things we've seen in terms of the height
of the basement right questions for attorney none at this time questions or comments from the virtual
audience mr chair i do not see any hands raised planning i'm going to do a resumptive hearing on
this because well i'm not sure where we're going to end up or what it's going to look like right
that that's correct right so you want to hold the vote on that
i thought we were going to do whole um here and hold do you want to well what i mean we're i'm
i'm going to hold but i'm going to make it a resumptive because i think he's heard an awful
lot right and you know can we get simply you come back and you'll respond to what you heard
yeah i i would ask that maybe we not wait to mid-november yeah that's what i said but
well get and meet with the rco yeah you go see the rco yeah then you heard some things here yeah
right you make some changes you come back for a resumptive here and i'll give you a little time
yeah um but maybe not mid-november but 11 17 9 30. well the only thing i would say is if we can
because this is not our fault this one this one is saying it yeah yeah but i mean i think
you do have to take some time to figure out what you want to do right yeah i mean you know yeah
to figure out what you want to do right yeah i mean you know yeah uh so um do we have a better
Thank you.
date that we can push it up a little bit ian we have anything else no for a resumptive hearing
no chair we can do a hold if it's only one two things but 17 at 9 30. all right i'm sorry about
that okay all right thank you all right thank you all right now who uh who's doing number 12. what's
no that's not me see uh i only get the hard one you only get the hard ones no no most of yours
are just you know easy it's you know this is straightforward straightforward
even sure i was laughing about that being straightforward
all right number 12 mi 2026 002 059 1122 mcclellan street
alex goldberg is the attorney mr goldberg just state your name please alex goldberg okay um
Do you identify your client in a relationship to the property?
My clients are Carmen LaRosa and Denise LaRosa.
They're the owners of the property.
I believe Carmen is in the virtual audience.
And I understand here this is going to be here in the whole because we're waiting on a correct refusal.
Is that right?
It's correct.
That's right.
Other than that, it's straightforward, right?
Has or has worked?
Our vice chair.
don't give me that one you got to come up with his own good afternoon have you submitted your
documents and exhibits five days in advance in this hearing i have and do you waive the reading
of the refusals and stipulate to their accuracy i do all right thank you you can share your screen
up again okay so uh let me just raise my hand so i could be promoted to panelist
um while that is happening um this property is street to street from mcclellan to siegel
or Seigle. It's owned by my clients. They're from South Philadelphia. Their family currently
lives in the single family home there. And there's a detached garage in the back facing Seigle Street.
The entirety of the application is to split the lots in half. We're not proposing any construction
and to legalize a use in the rear lot on Seigle Street.
Let's see.
No, I'm sharing my screen.
We are not proposing to make any modifications
to the existing single-family home on McClellan
or to the existing storage garage on Seigle Street.
We are probably just going to put a by-right fence
across the backyard and split the open space in the back.
The reason my client wants to do this is twofold. Number one being he wants to ultimately rent this to someone who's not his family. And right now there's, you know, with the exception of a lockable door, there's, there's passage between his garage or his stuff is in the back and the home that's there.
and I think he would feel more comfortable
putting a fence there
and having these two separate properties
and then for insurance purposes,
having the two uses separated is cleaner
and was recommended to him by his insurance carrier.
There is no development proposed on the Seigle Street.
We met with East, sorry, I got ahead of myself.
This is the notice of refusal.
All of these refusal items,
the dimensional refusal items
are existing conditions of the site
that are created because of where the lot line is drawn.
The occupied area of the site in total is not changing,
but we're flagged for that
because of where the lot line is being drawn.
The same goes for the lot area.
While not out of character,
we are not meeting the lot size requirement for lot A
and the rear yard requirement.
Again, the open space
between the building structures is staying the same the line is being drawn drawn such that the
rear yard doesn't comply the two use refusals specifically have to do with the rear lot which
is parcel b non-accessory parking carmen has i think what he told me is he has a classic corvette
he wants to keep that in there and he has which you'll see photos of storage of building materials
in the rear we applied for use of storage and building materials and equipment i think is what
it's called under the code and that i guess was not clearly put on the refusal but that's sort of
ultimately what it's going to say which which requires a variance nonetheless
nonetheless we met with east pass young crossing in july um there was no one in opposition the
we met with east pass young crossing in july
entire committee was in support and all the attendees either supported or abstained because
i believe they were there for a different project these are similarly situated lots with non-accessory
parking so what we're asking for is not out of character these this is our block so we're 1122
these other lots are split or were split and have parking garages on the back
other lots in the neighborhood as well there are also other lots below 960 square feet again this
is technically because of where we're drawing the line but just for the board's understanding it's
not out of character from a lot size it's also de minimis because we're required 960 and we're
proposing 923 on mcclellan alone 1116 1112 1110 and 1108 are all below the required lot size
have a bunch of those in there for the record here's an area aerial view of the site you can
see the open space back here that's essentially where the line is being drawn i'll show you more
clearly on the zoning plan here's an aerial view zoning map interestingly this lot is
split zoned we're not cutting the lot where the lot where the where the zoning changes because
that doesn't line up with where the building ends. So if this is approved, the McClellan
Street lot will be entirely RSA 5, but the Seigle Street lot will be split zoned RSA 5
and CMX 2. Google Maps perspective. Here's some photographs. So this is the front of
the street. This is the front of the property. It's the rear. Here's notice postings on both
street frontages this is to the right on mcclellan residential block we're not proposing to change
anything about that and then cycle street you can see is is a rear street for the most part
there are some properties on the opposite side of cycle street that are using that as their
frontage and some of those properties are actually are actually have a commercial use
such as 1118 which has an artist studio and retail sales 1120 which has a photography studio
and the corner at 1826 south 11th which has wholesale and distribution of tofu
didn't know we had one of those in philadelphia here's the interior photographs of the single
family home these uh the photos are shown as you know empty but there is um it is occupied
here's the garage in the back old structure you can see a lot of his stuff is in there
and we just would like to keep it that way and document that use
and then here is the
the proposed plan you can see where the line is being drawn right here
which creates the conditions that require us to get variances for
lot size and rear yard depth and occupied area the RCO meeting notice with
East Pass Yonge Crossing mailing certificates application for the
variance deed to the property Carmen and his wife Denise own the property in
their own names has a positive relationship with his neighbors and the proof of tax clearance so
with that I'd like to ask Carmen to raise his virtual hand and adopt my testimony Carmen
Carmen LaRosa will be rejoining as a panelist here.
Thank you.
Carmen, are you on?
do we see him i see him he's yes carmen rosa is in the panel but uh is not speaking
carmen you have to unmute
all right um council you're also the court we're going to take your testimony questions from the
board i have a question about the lot subdivision so right now it looks like with the current lot
even though it's split zone it's majority rsa5 which means the whole lot takes uh
they have rsa5 carries when they're split what percentage of lot or parcel b is cmx2
that is a good question um it's 50 okay i think it's probably more than 50 cmx2
okay which was partially my i feel like my concern is looking at the rear of these most of the other
garages and houses on the block have not been subdivided and that subdivides parcel b and
allows parcel b to potentially become overbuilt in an alley um without having to come back before
the zoning board and well if it complies with dimensionally which is not a part of my client's
plan but overbuilding you know you'd have to overbuild with the proper setbacks um i'm not
sure if there would be egress issues i mean it would be a project but it's also the one that's
at the corner next to the alley so i feel like yes you're right all of the things that you're
saying there's a lot of what ifs but it is in the best position in that alleyway to overcome the
what ifs okay so i guess i just have like a slight i don't know who that goes to i feel like it goes
over here actually um yeah and i think like it goes over here and and my my understanding is you
know in a situation like this i i think the planning commission would choose like the most
restrictive zoning to apply to the property typically yes but that typically also would
have happened in your opa review like for the subject so yeah this was like i think that's
my first question my second concern is about addressing now because if they're two separate
like yes the current owner is the same as the house but should he ever sell parcel b
like what's going to be the future designation for that rear alley well we'd have none of that
was on the site plan we'd have to submit an application to the opa right if this permit is
approved i mean from a sort of logical numbering standpoint i think the cycle street would be
17 21 11 21 yeah i mean that's about the number but more about is there a possibility to deed
restricted to the like do you restrict the relationship to the house i don't think so
i know that's complicated i'm not quite sure on that yeah but you're right it would have to have
the address would be on the backstreet single street side it would be yeah it would have its
own address and own tax id number and all those things well yeah i think this is another part of
all right other questions yes have you done any of this has there been any subdivision
plan advance well that's what that's part of our application that we're in front of the board for
today the the only physical subdividing of the lot that will have to happen is a fence between
you know and the lot line there's not the buildings are not connected so they you know
they don't have to be physically detached because they already are is that what the properties do
the properties do correct so if this is approved we'll we would get a zoning permit for you know
for the use and for the creation of two lots and we'd apply for you know new tax id numbers we
would draft a deed of subdivision we would submit that to the city and that's how properties are
subdivided but that's we haven't gotten there yet because we don't have the permit to allow that
you don't have to
it it's called redrawing a black line and that's right we don't we don't we don't
we don't give those permissions in this case that's what our application includes just like
In this case, that's what our application includes.
Just like earlier today with 7040 Oxford, where that application was trying to split one lot into two lots.
earlier today
Similarly, this application is trying to split one lot into two lots.
Because of that request, it creates conditions that require variance in addition to the uses.
it's so and and my understanding is that is under the purview of the board because of the variances
it creates if it was a buy right subdivision let's say on a vacant lot of this size I don't
think we would be here but it's not vacant and we're not proposing to demolish anything
is my understanding correct counsel I don't think so
what was uh set forth right now but we're we're holding in here you know we're gonna hold it I
mean the the description there's a here and hold I understand that but I don't we we don't we we
can't you haven't even submitted anything for the subdivision so we have the subdivision plan
was submitted to l and i and approved by the survey district that's how we got the refusal
which says in the description that's what i was asking you i asked you if you had submitted the
subdivision we did we did and that's how oh you you said before that you hadn't that's that's why
i was asking i misunderstood we haven't sort of finalized the subdivision we submitted i understand
that, but I was asking if you had submitted the subdivision plan and request. Okay. All right.
So then I understand our involvement. Okay. And then I guess I'm just still confused as to
what this subdivision really accomplishes or what the benefits of this subdivision are.
So now he's going to have this storage space on what will be, in essence, a separate lot.
and right why would he why would he need that because he doesn't want to have his garage with
his personal belongings on a lot that had that he's renting out to you know a tenant essentially
bringing the mcclellan street property closer in conformance to the code because it no longer has
a storage unit on it and it's an rsa5 property and bringing the cycle street property closer
in conformance to the code because it you know he's not living in this the other property he's
just renting it out on mcclellan he's just renting it out he's renting it out to family currently
i think his family has plans to leave and he you know he's going to find a qualified tenant to live
there okay and then he can't just lock this space what why does he need to
his insurance provider recommended that he split the lots because of the building materials that
he has stored on on the same parcel uh and and i think personally he would he feels more comfortable
being able to put a fence up and divide the lot on a true lot line behind in the rear in addition
to his locked door and he's planning to do something with this these building materials
or they're just going to be sitting in this storage space the storage uses the app is what
we're asking for storage of building materials and supplies and also non-accessory parking
because he has a car that he he would like he keeps there we're not go ahead sorry okay okay
uh you keep saying storage storage isn't the right use that's right our application
was for storage of building materials and supplies when i spoke to hillary earlier today what she
told me was it was a newer examiner they didn't properly relay that but that is what is going to
be on the refusal for when the board ultimately votes on this well you're going to do an amended
remember you're doing i think that she had it wasn't clear to me and i'm happy to follow up
whether i was doing that or whether she directed ellen i to do that i'm happy to request that if
that's i'll double check but just so you know it's going to be an equipment and materials storage
yards and buildings that's exactly right yes but we're also holding we're
holding this anyway okay I thought it was for that reason but if there's
another reason okay all right we're on the same page we're on the same page
okay question of comments from the virtual audience chair I do not see any
hands raised planning commission michael gold with the philadelphia city planning commission
Planning Commission Michael Gall with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing RSA 5 residential single family attached zoning at this location.
This property is also partly split zone with the CMX 2 commercial mixed use district.
This property as constructed is already occupying more area and has a smaller rear yard setback than the zoning code would allow at this location by right.
The minimum lot area proposal variance is diminished in nature.
The property currently hosts two garages, so the proposal would be in character with the existing arrangement. Therefore, the city planning commission recommends the board grant the requested variances for maximum occupied area, non accessory parking use, storage use, minimum lot area and minimum rear yard depth.
Ian, do we want to give this a date?
Or we'll just wait for when they get this.
i'm sorry chair what was the question do we want to give this a date or we're going to wait
to hear from them um that's at your discretion if we need to continue it would be the january
date um otherwise we would be looking at the resumption date oh we don't need to resume we
don't okay well here's what i'm going to do we're going to close this today other than this this uh
Corrected refusal.
Yeah. Why don't we do two weeks then chair? Sure. Two weeks. Yep. That would be August 26 at 2 o'clock PM. August 26 at 2 PM. Thank you. All right. Who's he's 15. Thank you. By the way. Thank you.
Uh, I don't know. I've lost track of them. 15 is a 16 46 North.
you guys want to you want to take it five why don't we take a five minute yeah yeah i was hoping
so um number 15 2026 002 405 16 46 north 3rd street mr knockamson um have you
entered your appearance you can mention your name yet or we stopped alan knockamson and could you
identify your client in relationship to the property uh yes my client is josh kranz
the owner of the property right and our um vice chair has a few questions good evening have you
submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing i have and do you waive
the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy i do all right thank you you can begin
case i just need to be oh right here we met with the community we modified our plans based on what
the community asked of us and we have support of the coordinating rco based on those modifications
originally this started as a three uh a triplex we went down to a duplex you'll see in the
presentation materials, a letter of support from Old Kensington Neighborhood Association.
You also will see a revised proviso plan form where we reduced the amount of units and made
other dimensional changes to be more in conformance with the Philadelphia Zoning Code.
At the conclusion of my presentation, I'll ask Mr. Krantz to virtually raise his hand
and I'll be sworn in.
All right. We only have the refusal for the multifamily living. This is a 1,721-square-foot lot. This is a rather large lot. You'll see. We're going down to two units.
We have a letter of support from the group as well as the nearby neighbors.
Again, what we presented to the group in terms of reduction of the unit count from three to two, reduction of the size of the pilot house, decrease the occupied area, all are reflected in our revised plans.
I mean, the most important thing to them was three is too much, and I would agree with that.
I THINK TWO IS THE APPROPRIATE NUMBER. THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU'RE ABLE TO MEET WITH THE GROUP
AND KNOW WHAT'S, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY'RE THINKING. AND HERE ARE REVISED PLANS. WE HAVE A WELL
DISTRIBUTED PETITION OF NEARBY NEIGHBORS IN SUPPORT OF THIS PROJECT. WE EVEN HAVE THE PERSON
NEXT DOOR WHO WOULD BE MOST DIRECTLY IMPACTED IN SUPPORT OF THIS PROJECT. MAPS TO THE AREA.
this is your last one that i i think so uh so yeah so this is an interesting lot look at this like i
Yeah. So this is an interesting lot. Look at this. Like, I mean, this, this side, it's, it's crazy. It's like goes from really itty bitty and we're the largest one on that side of this street. So we're, you know, adjacent to Cecil B. Moore. We're near North American streets, some substantial streets.
mean this this
Photographs of the property. That's the cleanest lot I've seen in a while for a client. I do applaud him. We tell all of our clients to maintain their properties. This is our orange notice poster. This is North 3rd Street to the right of the property. This is a three-story block. North 3rd Street to the left of the property.
Our plans and drawings, as I stated, this is a three-story structure, two units.
We're four feet above ground, four and a feet one inches below ground.
Pretty straight.
Well, let's not say straightforward.
No, no, it's getting things done.
Exactly.
So we go into our vestibule area.
We have a bedroom.
It's a easier seat.
bathroom kitchen living room or a dining room in the living room and then you have outdoor area in
the rear uh then you have a lower level area uh which is just a secondary living area um we don't
and then just storage area for utilities and stuff like that we do have a bathroom down there we just
think of it as someone who works virtually from home a lot of people do that nowadays they need
some separation from their main living area. Second floor is another unit. You have a bedroom
here. You have a bathroom here. You have a kitchen here, dining room, living room. And then you go up
to a bi-level and you have two more bedrooms, a couple bathrooms. And then there's a roof deck
access structure two units uh two units now we're going down to two units so uh and you know just
proof of mailing um you know we have i know this is a long day for the board i think you have you've
seen all of our documents um and proof of we only have six of our cases somewhere yeah so all right
I think, you know, I would ask that Josh be promoted as a panelist.
I'll be coming back in shortly as a panelist, Mr. Chair.
Yes, hello.
Josh, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Josh Kranz, J-O-S-H-K-R-A-N-T-Z.
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth told truth nothing but the truth yes i do
would you please turn on your video yes
um council josh you heard everything i had to state today about your zoning matter
yes is it true and correct yes it is do you adopt as your own yes specifically the proviso
to reduce the unit count from three to two you agree with that yes i do thank you questions from
the board yes um where's the trash uh going to be for storage trash storage for units all right so
this trash on the first floor unit will be stored in the rear and then the second floor unit there's
a ventilated trash closet in the kitchen i also think and i didn't mention this and josh correct
me if i'm wrong we don't need to promote logan you know your project there's an alley we don't
connect right to the property to like Cecil B Moore. So there's an actually a three foot alleyway
along the side of our property, right? Correct. Yes. So, so people, if they necessary, they can
also go front to back. I don't anticipate that's going to be the case, but you know, that's another
option. And was there a second floor deck? The, the, the upper unit has a deck. I don't think
there's no deck for the first floor unit, right? Or, or excuse me, there's no deck on the second
floor right in the rear is there no okay is it is there a deck in the front can you pull up the
elevation again yeah let me do it no no there's not it's a it's an interesting design um but let
Let me show you on the rendering just must be.
Let me just go to the front page.
My indulgence.
Let me just squeeze.
there are there are there are front decks uh front patio areas not not rear this is the front
front patio areas not not rear this is the front trying to get there you go
no that's the front so there is nothing in the rear but in the front
and then you can see here that's the like the you know the three-foot alleyway to the right of us
all the questions
Questions from our attorney? None at this time. Questions from the virtual audience?
Chair, I do not see any hands raised. Planning Commission.
Michael Gall with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing RSA 5 residential single family attached zoning at this location.
This is the largest property on the block of uneven lot sizes making this proposal in character with the corner location of the property.
there is no development on this block as well and the appellant has demonstrated that the
proposed use would not cause undue detriment beyond what might otherwise be expected this
location therefore the city planning commission recommends the board grant the request of variance
for two-family household living use mi-2026-002-405-1646 north 3rd street i vote yes with
proviso revised plans one page stamp by zba august 12 2026 maximum two dwelling units
michael johns my vote is uh yes with proviso
tenetta graham my vote is yes with proviso
cheryl gaston my vote is yes with proviso i'm sorry i had trouble getting off from you
Ryan McAdams, my vote is yes with proviso.
Layla Beebe, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you.
Thank you for your work today.
Thank you. Have a great guidance.
All right.
Okay, number 14, MI 2026-002-327, 2450 North 30th Street.
Devin Upta is the attorney.
i'm sorry mr chair i do not see mr octa in the wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute
oh my god she's not there i thought i hadn't seen him but i got him now hold on you got him
oh good right yes i'm wanting them to panelists right now all right thank you you're welcome
good morning mr chair could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
uh devin ukdh all right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the
true i do but you identify your client in relationship to this property
uh my client is richard jones he's a member of the llc that owns the property okay and our vice
chair has a few questions for you good evening have you submitted your documents and exhibits
five days in advance of this hearing yes okay and do you waive the reading of the refusals
and stipulate to the accuracy all right thank you can see the screen to begin your case
are you able to see my screen it's coming up now sir it's it's up
okay so this is for property 2450 north 30th street um you might be aware but this property
came up before you prior um so i'm going to go through this rather quickly
um where i have here is a notice of refusal so this is a vacant lot they're looking to erect
and build a three unit uh three unit apartment building on an rsa five unit
here i have the d
so i have areas of surrounding properties some so again this is 2450 north 30th street and
north philly and strawberry mansion um you have myrtle wood on on the bottom side and then
parallel on the top
again as i mentioned this property is currently listed as rsa5
um what i will say is that um there is commercial properties at the corner of properties and there's
a bunch of lots actually on a block so it's pretty much 50 of the block is actually vacant lots
there's a current picture of what the property looks like now
there's a current picture of what the property looks like now
it's the corner of the block so as you look if we go a block down there's commercial commercial
housing you're my housing um on that side as well so it's not far from the area that my client you
know my client has similar housing as an area now i want to show you the specs of the project
so as i mentioned it will be three units
it's a picture showing that the taxes is zero balance
so what i have here is some testimonial from um some neighbors in the area so as i mentioned um
some of these testimonials are from some while ago because this this project you know it's the
second time it's come in front of you so it's been it's been a while since we originally actually
started this process and i've listed here on the block this is a this is a list of abandoned
abandoned or vacant vacant lots that are on the actual block
here are some petitions signed by neighbors who are in support of our project
um some pictures of surrounding areas receiving lots and some commercial spaces
This is a proof of mailing, it's proof of posting, and this is a letter of support from the RCO.
and that concludes
you want to bring on your client
uh mr jones are you in audience richard jones can you hear me
i'll promote him to a panelist now council thank you
has he been promoted devin go back to the drawings while you're while you're waiting for him to get
good afternoon hi sir could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
richard r-i-c-h-a-r-d jones j-o-n-e-s do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
and nothing but the truth yes um mr jones did you hear my testimony yes you agree with my testimony
i agree and do you adopt my statements yes okay thank you questions from the board
Could you just explain what's going on with the basement, please?
Bring the basement drawing up for a plan. I'm sorry.
Yeah, so in a basement, there's a bathroom.
Yeah, but I want you to do this. Why don't you go to the plans for the basement, the whole plan? You can look at that and what we're trying to figure out the picture of the drawing.
i have the pictures of the plans up in front of you well well you got the side view here the cut
right yeah we want to want to see the whole yeah there you go thank you
so what what is your trash plan for uh all units
so i think this area has a is on the two week uh pickup area so they would just do the right
storage storage for trash uh it would just be outside um the neighborhood like yeah like normal
trash they did the neighbor the neighbors we met with our so they didn't access to do like a um
so where are you going to store the trash cans be prior to trash day or the trash prior to the trash
stay. These are trash closets in the units.
these are trash closets in the units are there what does he ask me i'm sorry
yes units can store trash in their in their apartment and then just take it out twice a week
there's no is the court the question is is there a dedicated closet in the units for trash that's
the question no so and on your first floor level it looks like you have to go through a bedroom to
access the rear yard correct okay that for me that's a that's a that's a non-starter to have
to go through somebody's bedroom to go to the backyard because typically your trash is stored
out there or you're having a barbecue and people are running you don't want people running through
your bedroom to go to the rest of your unit so that that's a concern um big concern for me
that layout and what's the what's the depth of the the basement below grade
can you go back to your section
so my client is fine with doing private trash as well
say that again devon my client is fine with doing private trash if we have to do private
trashed your phone we're doing that as well so at this go ahead i'm sorry so in this section this
shows that your basement is almost eight feet below grade which is a non-starter for me um
because that's you know you're you're lower than you know quite frankly a grave um and it did it
it just creates a generally bad situation in terms of light air ventilation and quality of a space so
that's problematic for me
i just want to point out this this project was approved already we're only coming back in front
of you because we're trying to add the additional unit that we also got the approval for
I didn't hear I didn't hear most of what you said this project has already been approved for
two units by the RCO we're coming back because we're trying to add the additional unit to that
they already that they agreed to approve is this is not built correct no this is a big line okay
so that's what we're reviewing we understand why you're here but this is what we're reviewing was
what we have in front of us and those are my concerns with what you have in front of us
is there any particular demonstrated hardship for having three units instead of the two
yeah so because i um with the funding um the funding it would only work if you did it the
three units without the three units the project wouldn't move forward it would just remain thinking
Some units that have 3 units in rooming housing.
Well, I have, I have an issue with the basement living as well. So.
That's something that your client may want to, you know, consider.
If 2 units would be feasible here as opposed to 3.
So, it is possible to do this, and we just not have the basement living. So, with your approval, we can do it and just remove the basement living and just use the basement storage.
So, any other questions?
If you took away the basement living, would you then reverse the.
like the bedroom units with the one bedroom end up being lower higher because obviously
it still wouldn't be a two-bedroom unit on the first yeah it would be a it would be a one
bedroom on the first floor and then the basement would probably just be used for storage so then
you would have a one bedroom one bedroom and then a two bedroom would be the highest correct
which we're fine with doing well well let's before we go on anymore what are you going
to do with the first floor where the the entrance to the rear yard is through the
bedroom what are you going to do about that
i mean we could maybe bring your client why don't you bring why don't you bring your client on and
Why don't you bring your client on and talk to your client about that? Why don't we try to get that straight?
talk to your client about.
Mr. Jones?
So the rear exit is through a bedroom. Is there a way that we can change this so that it's not a bedroom that's right here?
i would i would have to speak with an architect to confirm but i believe so i would have to speak
with her uh to confirm everything but i believe there is okay so we can be in agreement we'll
just make it so that it's not the bedroom that's that's right there at the exit
oh we can we can do a refriguration of the plans right for sure right questions from our attorney
not at this time come on up please i know you've been here a long time
you would get as close as you can to that line
okay right and could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer
my name is bonita cummings um story mansion community concern or the court reporter could
you spell your name is b-o-n-i-t-a is my first name and c-u-m-m-i-n-g-s you're a firm to tell
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do please start your testimony
So I have permission to speak?
Yeah, of course.
I just first need to say that
Strawberry Mansion Community Concerns
supports redevelopment
and supports additional housing opportunities.
And the reason that this is very important is because
the narrative is that we are opposed to
uh development and or um affordable housing so i just want to clear that up for everyone
um that we are not opposed to affordable housing and or new development okay um because that this
narrative is is getting weaponized and it's trying to ruin people's reputations i don't i don't want
things of that nature but as this relative to 24 50 right 24 50 um north 30th street has had
at two meetings it's come before this board in 2025
where the thought was that it was a preexisting property
but it really was a new development
which is why we're back here at this time.
So the issue before the board is not
whether housing should be built.
The issue is whether the requested variances are necessary
and whether they preserve the integrity
of the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood conservative
conservation overlay adopted by city council agreed so if the overlay is disregarded and in
this case they want to go higher than the heights of that whole side of the block um we are not sure
if they were actually turning the porch to meet with the conformity of the porches in the block
And then you're asking, they're asking to also impact air circulation, light, odors, because they want to go further back out with the property, then the variances are, I mean, the refusals are saying they want to.
so we're asking the zoning board to not create a condition in this block that the pre-existing
residents will be harmed by so we would ask that our overlay not be stripped here um as stripping
away that overlay strips away and overlays all across the city so this this property's height
is too high they want to go higher than the height of uh the pre-existing uh residents on the block
we sent photos in to the board demonstrating
that this block is really a very intact block
and it's a working block.
So there are 15 orange cones in your photos
that we sent to you showing that the neighbors
blocked their parking spaces off with these cones
over 15 different properties.
So you have that showing up, showing that to you.
So impacting this block by three more apartments creates a density that this block is already harmed by.
And they're trying to make like, oh, this block is so barren and it's all these vacant lots.
is all these vacant lots.
It's not a lot of vacant lots.
It's not a lot of vacant lots. It may be some unhabitated.
It may be some unhabitated properties
and there are some lots,
but it's a pretty, pretty intact block.
And the residents,
some of the residents are blocking their spaces off
in this block because there was a carjacking.
And so the women who work,
some of them have to leave to go to work
very early in the morning.
Like we got 5.30 AM women traveling out of their homes.
So trying to put three stories
into this block will first raise the height.
So we are just asking to preserve our overlay.
We're asking that if you felt the need
to rent this process that it would not violate our overlay,
it would not be more than two units,
of course, no basement living,
and they would need to really identify
a solidified trash process because two days
doesn't necessarily mean for three units of residents
that it would be sufficient for them to um for the trash to be so we sent the whole
yep letter and you can see what our concerns are primarily our concern is the overlay three stories
violates our overlay because they have to go too high um and it violates the refusals that the
overlay talks about okay evan do you have any questions
yeah um miss monita i'm just curious you saying we you're saying we i have a copy of your
vote summary did you did your rco support this project did the votes did the neighbors support
this project pardon me i have a copy of the voting summary and it looks like they were all in support
is that accurate that the neighbors supported the project the the summary is based on the process
that you all had in place yeah the rco meeting right at the rco meeting and it was
the it was three applicants based on just people being outside y'all did a meeting
where people were on people's phones outside.
They were on Zoom.
It really was only two residents.
One, we said, okay, because she said her mother's property was next door,
we put that as support.
But there was conditional support from the RCO
based on not violating our overlay,
which we spoke with you all about at the meeting.
And that's what this summary is showing. It shows interested parties were two, and then there was one applicant and one attorney. So the support from the RCO is in not violating our overlay. And if you can do two units and not take your property up higher than the rest of those properties in that block is what we're trying to preserve, which we expected.
Can I call up the neighboring property owner? Because that's not accurate based on what happened at the meeting, and it's not accurate based on the voting summary. The vote was based on three units.
no the the vote was based on well that it may have been based on what you're what you're saying
in terms of the residents but the conditional um the condition what we're saying we had three votes
conditionally that also um wants to preserve our overlay and your your your development um and
trying to continue to promote this block as some destitute block um is inaccurate is an
inaccurate description to try and create the type of infrastructure impact um that that property
will have and we're asking the board to consider um what we're saying as it relates to the overlay
because the overlay impacts not only strawberry mansion but it impacts all of the overlays of the
city if we start stripping away what the overlays are meant to preserve so that's what we're saying
thank you mr chair can i call can i call up the neighboring property owner why don't we do this
why don't we see if there's anyone else in the audience okay is there anyone else in the audience
who wants to speak on this issue yes chair i have a handle from mina shabazz okay i've allowed them
to speak good afternoon hi could you please state your name and spell them for the stenographer
sure amina shabazz a-m-i-n-a-h last name s-h-a-b-a-z-z can you see me
not yet not yet okay i would have to promote you to panelists ma'am okay because i'm i'm out here
hold on hold on do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do are you a neighbor i am the nearest neighbor to the project yes so why don't you tell us what
your thoughts are? My thoughts are that I am currently on the block.
My thoughts are that I am currently on the block.
I strongly support it being three units next door.
I am out here with about seven to eight other individuals who have been on the Zoom since two o'clock who want to testify that they also support it being three units.
There are 18 empty lots on the block.
18 spaces where houses should be and families should be. There are six boarded up houses that
are abandoned on the block. There is plenty of parking. There is plenty of space. There are
several empty lots on this block. It does look barren. It does look empty. This project is on
the side of the street where all the houses are three-story two houses down from me at 2456 is a
triplex it's already a triplex it's three units not the immediate next door but one over and
one of the residents there is out here and she wants to identify herself and speak we strongly
support this project the block captain uh miss miss bode and her son are out here they've lived
here 60 years six decades they strongly supported being a okay so part of your testimony is there's
you said 18 people out there how many there are 18 empty lots but if you turn on the camera i can
introduce you and show you everybody that's been out here waiting for four hours
let me promote you to panelists ma'am thank you
please pardon me mr chair okay
hi i see you so i just just from where i'm standing so i'm literally right on the block
okay and i'm going to turn the camera around there's an empty lot there's one two three
in succession boarded up houses that nobody lives in down the street
at the end there are 10 other empty lots on the block at the end of this block is more
clip comes around here all the time and cleans up these lots to say there are no empty spaces
on this block here is an empty space where four houses were right here
okay all right I think and then further down the street and further but I want to introduce
to the people that have been waiting to speak well this is the lot that we're referencing
yep that's empty here's the house that i own and here's a triplex right here and
i will turn the camera around and how do you do this like this you can just
hey my name is the maya i live at 24 56 north 30th street hold on could you spell your name
for the stenographer um it's d-a-m-y-a all right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth told
truth nothing but the truth yes are you in favor of this project yes all right thank you very much
and this young man has been on the block for a very long time you could just your name could
you please state your name is felon's name is coleman on the 2461 30th street right
he said do you swear affirm to tell the truth yes okay are you in favor of this project or against
yes all right and then all right why and then i i'm now listen to me i think we're fine we're
fine you sure because the block captain is right here he really wants to speak i'm sorry is that
All right, Block Captain.
How are you?
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
My name is Carl Bode.
C-A-R-L-B-O-G-D-I-E.
Do you swear or affirm, tell the truth, told the truth, nothing but the truth?
Nothing but the truth.
Yes, I do.
All right.
Thank you very much.
Are you in favor of this project or against?
Yes, I am.
You're in favor of the project?
All right. Thank you very much. We appreciate it. You're welcome. Thank you very much for helping us. We appreciate it. You sure you're good? Because I have two more. I think we're fine. I think we're fine. Thank you.
all right um all right um planning commission
michael gall with the philadelphia city planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no
change to the current rsa 5 residential single family attached zoning at this location the
The appellant has not demonstrated that there are unique physical conditions or circumstances of the property that would prevent it from being used in strict conformance with the zoning code.
appellant has not demonstrated that there are unique physical conditions or circumstances of
the property that would
This is a single family neighborhood with a specific local height overlay, so the three unit, three story proposal is out of character with its community context.
Therefore, the City Planning Commission recommends the board deny the requested variances for multifamily household living use, height, and maximum height area.
Thank you very much for your comments.
I thank everyone who called, and thank you, the people in the audience here.
we've heard a lot about this we're going to hold this for two weeks we will vote on that wednesday
all right at 2 p.m 26 26 to 2 p.m okay thank you for coming we appreciate it all right um
i got joe console right
it's 14
mi 20 26 002 649 8521 mansfield avenue joseph console is the attorney
hey guys um joe now i understand why you said this morning i'll see you tonight
yeah yeah i uh i sat through an entire depressing philly's loss on the radio while i was waiting to
be heard so i'm not i'm not in the best of moods right now okay but you just state your name for
the record you won't have been sworn yeah uh joseph console all right and could you identify
your client a relationship to the property yeah uh my client's david dwight he is the trustee
and owner under the trust for his aunt elizabeth h hamilton all right and our vice chair has a few
questions good evening have you uh submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of
this hearing yep yes and do you waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
I do. Thank you. You can show your screen to begin.
Okay. All right. Share, bada bing. Hey, everyone. Joe Consul, 8521 Mansfield Avenue. This is
a property that has been in my client's family for decades. My client will attest that his
knowledge it's always been in a two unit property as you'll see it's set up as one although it was
never legalized uh there are um the property next door appears to have the same setup and
a couple of the other properties on the block uh appear to as well uh we had some neighbors
come into the rco meeting and claim knowledge of this but it does not seem like it seems like they
These were built as dueboxes, but never actually legalized.
And my client can explain.
You'll see that his aunt passed and a lot of her stuff's still on the property and things like that.
But you'll see that it's a two-unit property.
So here's the refusal property.
It's seeking two-unit variance for this property here owned by the Elizabeth Hamilton Trust.
She put that property into trust zoned RSA3.
Here's our letter of support from the 50th Ward, along with their explanation of the
meeting. It notes that the neighbors, some of them were aware of the duplex, the duplex
is on block. And I guess there was some concern that he was planning on potentially renting
or selling the property, but it's in an estate and this is his job to disseminate the property
in some way. And so while that might have caused some concern, we still got a letter of support
from the neighbors and they fully requested them grant the variance. There's the property where the
one on the right, I'm showing two doorbells. There's the entrance, go up to the one unit,
go to the right to the other unit. It's the interior of the property.
Here's the basement.
These are quite old, you know, boilers and things like that.
So hopefully you see two of everything.
This is one of the garages.
Interestingly, both this property and the property next door, I wish I had that back
photo.
But these are two garages that are connected to this property next to the two meters.
so each of the units has uh its own its own garage meters i don't know why i put that in
there it's a little blurry so the first photos were the downstairs unit
So the first photos were the downstairs unit.
Now we're looking at the upstairs unit.
Our postings.
Roof of mailing.
We included the trust in the back.
And we emailed the tax clearance certificate,
although i did not include it in the packet that i'm showing you on the screen now um i'll call
mr dwight um to say hello and it's not my testimony are you still there mr dwight
talked to him like two hours ago what is the name of the person again david dwight
okay thank you david dwight please raise your virtual hand
i see two people answering to that name in the virtual audience today
okay once more david dwight please raise your virtual hand and wait to be sworn in
Mr. Consul, you're an officer of the court.
Yes, sir.
We'll take your testimony. Questions from the board.
Oh, I heard a pop.
Questions from the board.
Questions from our attorney.
Chair, excuse me, Mr. Wright, Mr. Dwight has raised his hand.
What did you say?
David Dwight has raised his hand.
Okay, good. Thank you.
Yeah, promoting him to panelists waiting until he accepts chase. We're having a hard time hearing it. Jason.
I'm sorry, Mr. chair.
Yeah, just promoted him. Sure. Thank you. Looks like they declined. I'll go ahead and let him speak.
Good evening, sir.
Hello, can you hear me?
I can, sir.
Could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer?
Okay, my name is David Dwight.
Sorry, I'm having a hard time getting one.
No, it's okay.
It's okay.
Could you spell your name for the stenographer?
David, D-A-V-I-D, Dwight, D-W-I-G-H-T.
I'm the third.
All right, do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Counsel, please proceed.
uh mr dwight did you um hear my testimony just now regarding um your family's property at 8521
mansfield avenue i did it was my great aunt's property great aunts i apologize uh and do you
adopt that testimony as your own yes i do all right and it's your contention this property
has been set up for you know as far back as you can remember as a duplex uh yes it has always been
a duplex okay nothing further since tomorrow attorney um i just want to put on the record
i believe council mentioned that um there's two accessory um indoor uh parking spaces and it also
looks like there's two parking spaces um outside um questions or comments from the virtual audience
i do not see any further hands mr commission
Michael Gall with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing RSA 3 residential single family attached zoning at this location.
The appellant has not demonstrated that there are unique circumstances or physical conditions of this property that would prevent it from being used in strict conformance with the zoning code.
A search of nearby properties does not show any multifamily conversion.
So the proposal is out of character with a single family community context.
Therefore, the city planning commission recommends the board deny the request of variance for multifamily household.
MI 2026-002-649-8521 Mansfield Avenue, I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Carol Gaston, my vote is yes.
Danetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Maya McAdams, my vote is yes.
Taya Nguyen, my vote is yes.
Layla Beebe, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Mr. Consul.
thank you uh mr dwight thank you board okay number nine mi2026 zero zero two zero four four
4450 Main Street,
4450 Main Street, William O'Brien is the attorney.
William O'Brien is the attorney.
mr o'brien yes uh oh there you go sir could you please state your name and spell it for this
Yes, William O'Brien, W-I-L-L-I-A-M, O-B-R.
Can't hear me?
Do it one more time.
Do it one more time.
We're breaking up.
It's William O'Brien, W-I-L-L-I-A-M, O-B-R-I-E-N.
All right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Mr. O'Brien, could you identify your client and relationship to the property?
yes the uh owner of the property my client is manioc historical properties llc all right our
vice chair has a few questions good evening um have you submitted your documents and exhibits
five days in advance of this hearing yes the documents have been exempt have been submitted
okay thank you and do you waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
i do all right thank you you can share your screen to begin with your case thank you
uh this is a request for a change in use um to visitor accommodations uh here's copy the refusal
that is the only item on the refusal is that use issue um this is a copy of the uh rco's letter
of no opposition. It was unanimous in that regard. And I want to point out some of the
explanation, which is on the screen. It's highlighted. However, they start with saying
that they generally oppose visitor accommodations in the neighborhood. And then they go on to say,
however, this proposal is in the Main Street Commercial District, where we believe visitor
accommodations are a beneficial and natural extension of the commercial district's mix of
commercial space and rental housing. We question why visitor accommodations were excluded from the
commercial districts in the first place. Here's a map of the area from Atlas. This is the subject
parcel. It is between Main Street and the same Maniunk Canal and towpath that you heard earlier
today. This is the iconic Maniunk Bridge. It's right next to that and the area is generally
CMX 2.5. Visitor accommodations don't begin until CMX 3. So that's why this is a refusal.
This is a zoning permit that was issued in 2024. The property was badly damaged in September of
21 in Hurricane Ida. My client did not own the property then. They purchased it vacant and in
pretty bad condition. So they got the zoning permit, which changed the use on the second
floor from office to multi-family. That was done over the counter. And then the following year in
2025, they were issued a commercial building permit for level three alterations for almost
$750,000 to bring the building back into shape. I will note that the building is a contributing
resource in the Main Street Manioc historic district the National District and at first
my client had interest in putting a third floor on the historic commission staff discouraged that
and my client accepted the commission staff's opinion here is a photograph of the facade of
the building I think I have to change bear with me
well can you see that yeah so there's the facade the first floor is vacant commercial
I understand that there is an interested tenant and this may be occupied as soon as next month
and then the second floor is our three apartments I'm going to skip to page 26
and you can see the approved floor plans.
approved floor plans. This goes back to 2024 when the zoning was approved for
three apartments. Going from the south side of the building you have a one
bedroom unit on the second floor. In the middle of the building there is a two
bedroom unit and on the north side of the building another one bedroom. I'll
show you some photographs okay this is the entrance staircase on the right side
of the building this accesses the one bedroom on the north side
This is where the staircase enters, the living space in that apartment, the bathroom in that apartment, the bedroom, laundry, and utilities.
This is the staircase on the south side of the building.
This is the hallway from that second floor hallway.
You see a door facing you, and then there's a door frame on the right.
Those are the entrances to the two apartments. The one on the right where you see the door frame is
the one bedroom. The door in front of you is the entrance to the two bedroom apartment.
There's the kitchen for the one bedroom. That's the bedroom, bathroom, laundry, and utilities,
mechanical rather. This is the kitchen for the second bedroom, the bathroom for the second.
This is a picture of the historic Engine 12 building across the street.
First bedroom, second bedroom.
And that's about my presentation.
I do have the managing member of the LLC, the owner, on with us.
I think their intention, although they're allowed to rent it one night at a time,
I think their intention is to limit it to three nights so that there's not going to be frequent turnover, that there'll be at least three nights minimum use.
And then the other documents in the exhibit package include the zoning notice, the application, the deed, the zoning photographs or the zoning poster and revenue clearance.
We have everything.
I would ask Brian DeMurg to raise his hand.
Brian?
Mr. Chair, they will be coming back in as a panelist.
Thank you very much.
Understood.
I just noticed, Mr. Demurg's joining, that Maniunk does not have any temporary housing.
we did have a bed and breakfast uh very close to this location on gay street
but that recently sold and the purchaser is going to convert it back to a single family home
so this busy commercial district really could use some temporary housing for the many shops and
restaurants all right brian hi how you doing hi could you please state your name and spell
for the stenographer it's brian b-r-i-a-n domerg d-o-m-e-r-g-u-e do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes i do counsel uh mr demurgo are you a uh managing
member of uh manioka starker properties llc i am and were you in the audience and did you hear my
testimony? I did. Is it truthful? It is. And do you adopt it as your own? I do. Just one other
quick question. You have two entrances, one here on the right side which accesses a one-bedroom
and then here on the left side or south side of the building another entrance that
accesses the other two. Are there areas of trash storage for those apartments? There is trash
receptacles uh closets on both sides of the building on the right and the left that all
the tenants can store their trash in great i've got no further questions perhaps questions from the
great i've got no further questions perhaps questions from the board
yes do you have prior experience with um visitor accommodations i i do i did have uh temporary
rentals in uh in myrtle beach at one point in time we also have multiple uh residential units our
group in maniunk in rocksboro and around the city and outside the city uh we also you know have uh
on staff property maintenance, and our office is located on Main Street down the street from this building.
Questions from our attorney.
No questions at this time, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Chair, I do not see any further hands.
Planning Commission.
Michael Gall with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing CMX 2.5 commercial mixed use zoning at this location.
There is no unique circumstance or physical condition of this property that prevents from being used in strict conformance to the zoning code.
A search of nearby properties does not show any close by conversions to visitor accommodations.
And this is a high traffic location, which gives this proposal a high potential for community nuisance, making it out of character with the location.
Therefore, the city planning commission recommends the board to deny the request of the area.
Thank you.
MI 2026-002-044-4450 Main Street I vote yes with proviso temporary variance to expire
8-13-29 and also use limited to second floor with other previously approved uses to remain
michael johns my vote is yes with proviso
daryl gaston my vote is yes with proviso netta graham my vote is yes with provisals
brian mcadams my vote is yes with provisals tywood my vote is yes with provisals layla
baby my vote is yes with proviso mr o'brien thank you very much we're sorry we kept you so
i'm glad we got it in done today i appreciate it thank you mr chairman thank you for sure
thank you okay is there anyone in the audience um whose two o'clock case has not been called even
though it's 6 39. chair i do not see any hands raised oh good okay so we're going to go right
to our our 3 30 list um good evening everyone my name is bill bergman i will be chairing this
meeting of the zoning board with me as our vice chair tenetta graham president mr chairman sec
our board secretary Cheryl Gaston present Mr. Chairman board members Michael John present Mr.
Chairman Iowyn present Mr. Chairman Ryan McAdams present Mr. Chairman Laila Beebe present Mr. Chairman
our attorney is here Lynn Reuter-Huber and also our executive director Ian Haggerty
this hearing is being recorded and will be posted on the ZBA website by participating you consent
to be recorded this is an in-person meeting with remote participation whether in person or on zoom
if you're called to speak please state and spell your name wait to be sworn in after that state
your name each time before testifying 200 appearance indicate the property address on
your zoom webinar speak with a staff member call the zba office by the close of business tomorrow
call 215-686-2479 leave your prop leave the property provide with your name email and the
case address remote participation raise your virtual hand when directed so that we can have
you speak. Please, when we call on you, click the join as a panelist button. Use the Q&A
for procedural questions, not about the case. And if you are joining by phone, press star
nine to raise your hand and star six to unmute. Let's go and check our schedule for today.
Number two, MI-2026-001-150, 614-16 Rodman Street.
This case has been continued until 1-13-27 at 3.30 p.m.
Number four, MI 2026-001.
MI 2026-001350, 3301 North 6th Street.
This case has been continued until 1-13-27 at 3.30 p.m.
Number six.
okay am i at number six mi 2026 002 005 36 36 survivor street this case is continued until
1 13 27 at 3 30 p.m are there any requests for continuances other than that
We're going to go to our case number one.
MI 2026 001 143 1925 Page Street.
Now, dear Austin is the owner applicant.
This is a pro se.
good evening mr chair this is jason hand i will be a co-host for this session
they are coming back in as a panelist thank you
hello everyone i i'm sorry we're here so late but we we had a lot of cases today
could you please state your name it's spelled for the stenographer nadir austin n-a-h-d-i-r
austin a-u-s-t-i-n do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the
truth yes i do our voice chair has a few questions for you good evening have you uh submitted your
documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing yes i did okay and you understand
that you're here for application for a personal care home that's correct yes and that you are
requesting a special reception um approval for this district yes okay all right thank you you
share your screen and tell us what you're trying to do okay give me one moment
so i'm going to start with this uh brief presentation slide deck and then go through
the interior pictures within my exhibit that i submitted but this is just a special exception zba
um this is a notice of referral i'm requesting a personal care home
the deer deer you froze up oh you can't yeah could you do it again please yes can you hear me now
we we can okay yeah so i was saying that this is actually let me just go to another area of my
house i just said my connection was unstable if you give me like 30 seconds i just want to move
Okay. I apologize for that. So, notice of referral. I apply for, you know, personal
care home in an RSA 5 district to increase density from three to five individuals. These
are all children. So I just want to go through, this is a chapter 3800 home. It's a youth
residential home. I just want to give a high level program overview. So I requested up
to five youth. These are school age children, target age is from eight to 11. This is residential.
Within the house, it will be 24 seven supervision, adult wake supervision. So it's 24 seven staff
up to two adults per shift. And this is a, again, a chapter 3,800 Pennsylvania regulations.
It's just a normal home for kids that's coming through the child welfare system. So essentially
it's, you know, what a daily life looks like. It's just school, home activities, normal home
with, you know, procedures in place around staff and all that stuff associated with staff.
and that's it the residential character for this is just you know it's no customers you know so no
customer traffic youth don't drive um there's you know adjacent properties no impacted adjacent
properties life safety we're applying you know applicable with all building fire coats and
there's a lot of uh fire requirements from the chapter 3800 um that we we met those requirements
So, no expansion, fixed demand, it's just, you know, for public infrastructure and the
And the physical capacity can does meet the requirements for five kids in terms of square footage.
physical capacity can, does meet the requirements for
So this is the block right here. This is my property.
And adjacent to my property is a one of those three story roof decks student housing, I guess.
This is 19th and page. So this is, you know, just looking at the residential character.
So I think, you know, this does fit well within the residential character.
It's high density, a lot of student housing in the community.
Here's one adjacent to mine that was built up about a year ago, and this is my property
right here.
Then at the end of the block right here, we have four units that's been zoned for four-unit
building, and that's this one right here.
And then there's a lot of development in this neighborhood with three-story houses, higher
density than mine.
And then this particular one next to me is six beds, six baths.
So, and it also zoned as RSA five.
So let me just show you some pictures of the inside,
the property.
So it's been set up, you know, this is,
so this is the living room area.
This is where a staff person would sit right here,
a desk right there.
This is the dining area.
We have like first aid kits.
There's a lot of requirements from the chapter 3,800 regulations
that require, you know, youth rights and different postings that we have on the wall, first aid kits.
And in those that lock medication storage, those types of things.
Here's the kitchen area.
We got a fire extinguisher.
And then this is the back area right here.
So this is a, so before I go ahead, that's the back door going into the back area.
So that's our egress.
And then this is the back area.
so this would be a staff bath staff only bathroom there's a half bath back there
with a washer and dryer and then the backyard just standard backyard and then upstairs so this
is the full bath and then we have a front bedroom right here so bunk bed a desk
and let's see sorry and then this is the yeah that's the front bedroom middle bedroom again
a bunk bed a desk and then this is the back room right here with a single bed
and that's it that's my presentation any questions
of course have you had experience doing this i don't have experience my team has extensive
experience in this uh one of my one of the members of my team actually supervised was
a supervisor at the net net henry house which is a delinquent group home for boys
So what kind of home, what kind of people do you get here?
Uh, so for this right here, this is child welfare. So this is a dependent,
all dependent children. Right. Okay. Are there questions from the board?
Um, yes. So in this facility, are you going to have youth of both genders or of different genders?
Oh, male only. Male only. Okay. And then what are their ages?
Target age range is 8 to 11.
Okay. And then how does this work in terms of schooling? Because I know oftentimes if they're coming from a list, are they immediately getting transferred into school in the neighborhood? Are they going to their original schools?
Yeah, so this is design preferences around school of origin. So, you know, this is local Philadelphia youth. They'll go to their school of origin.
If, for whatever reason, they are unable to attend that school, any safety issues, any issues there, they will go to the local school, but the preference is a school of origin.
And then, I mean, with a kid as young as eight, how are they, like, what is the staffing plan to be able to support them getting to where they need to be during school time and then after school time?
So we'll have a designated driver for transportation. So there's going to be designated drivers for transportation to transport each kid to their school and picking them up from school as well.
Okay. And then I noticed, like, you have the staff bathroom and then the staff sort of has a desk in what is the kind of public space of the house.
What will be sort of the purview of the staff versus what the youth can do on their own?
Sorry, can you repeat that question?
What will be the purview of the staff versus what the youth can do on their own? I'm asking specific to things like house maintenance, cooking.
Yeah, so there's going to be a lot of life skills. I mean, that's something, you know, each youth will have their own individual service plan.
So we're going to have ISPs for each youth in terms of their developmental goals, their developmental opportunities and stuff.
So there'll be opportunities for cooking, maintenance, chores, and just teaching the kids life skills and responsibilities.
And that's built into the program.
And that's built into the program.
The kids will be cooking in the kitchen.
Well, the kids will be cooking in the kitchen, but it sounds like...
Well, I mean, the older kids, so, you know, it's from 8 to 11.
So if an older kid want to cook, supervising, you know, supervised, right?
So everything is about building those skill sets, not just expecting the kids to just cook for themselves now.
Yeah, I wasn't going off of that.
It's just this is the youngest group that we've seen come that since I've joined this board and every other company that's proposed this,
including all the way up to adults has a person on site and the youth weren't allowed in the
kitchen so i think i'm just trying to understand where the zones and the areas in the house that
the youth could be versus what are the areas that are going to be staff only oh okay yeah yeah so
like the back the back of the house back there staff bathroom all that that's staff only right
like and staff will be like don't like there's a washer and dryer back there staff will be washing
clothes and all that kind of stuff so that will be staff only um the kitchen again it's all about
the developmental opportunities. You know, this is youth driven in a way. Like, if they're
interested in, I got a niece, she's, you know, 10 and she's very interested in cooking. So,
you know, if you're interested in something like that, then sure. Supervise, of course.
But yeah, so that's, there are opportunities there. And then what's going to be the plan
if any of the youth have things like medication that they need to take and how are they going
to be secured on site? So, the medication, every staff will be medication administration trained.
So that's a requirement.
And two, for storage of medication, we actually have like a locked storage bin for, let's see, I'm just going to go to that.
So this right here above this little first aid kit, that box right there is a locked storage for locked medication.
And there's also a locked medication cabinet in the refrigerator as well, in case some medications are refrigerated.
So any medications around the kids, all staff will be medication administration trained.
And that's a requirement.
I think my last question is around staffing.
How many staff do you intend to have on site at any given time, and what are their shifts?
Up to two, and they'll be doing 12-hour shifts, 12-hour shifts for continuity, building relationship with the kids, and, you know, you don't want too many people in and out.
So up to two staff at any given time, and it will be 12-hour shifts.
With a 12-hour shift, I mean, I just know from other long shifts, typically there's an employee break area or employee rest area.
It doesn't look like there is one designated here. Is there a space or are they expected to be awake the entire time they're on this?
Well, they are expected to be awake the entire time. Yeah, this is a wait.
Do you have the support of your neighbors on both sides?
Yes. And I submitted that letter for the RCO neighbor support. Yep.
And you said this is a highly dense area. What is your plan? Is there a plan to help
integrate the young people in the community? Yes, absolutely. I mean, so a lot of this
is focused on integration in the community. So we're planning different programming activities
and around the community and resources in the community. There's a lot of resources in this
community with temple university right there so yeah that that's the idea here is to safely
integrate them into the community what's the basement being used for uh the basement is not
being used i mean it's just our standard hvac system down there it's not there's actually a
lock on the basement door that prevents any entry into the basement you're it looks like you're
already set up are you already utilizing it as a program no not currently we you
know I submitted the zoning back in February so we got set up and stuff we
can license at three that we can license at three so I'm doing the I set up for
that licensing process to go through that licensing process as I zone this as
well, kind of doing this in parallel. For your, I know we mentioned that the children being
integrated into the life skills and the cooking. What is the, just the everyday plan for their
meals? So you have a meal service or the staff expected to grocery shop and cook. Is it ran
like a normal household or is there a certain, like a meal plan? Well, it's twofold. Yes,
there's a meal plan. There's going to be a menu for everything, but no, this is just ran like a
Also, staff will be expected to cook.
Grocery shopping, I have a supervisor who's going to be dealing with a lot of the menus and grocery shopping while staff prep all the meals for the children.
Is this the only property you're running?
Right.
And so you have a supervisor, up to two other people working at any given time and yourself?
That's correct.
And five people would support all those people, money-wise?
Oh, no.
well so it's going to be i mean so it's 24 7 staffing so there's a minimum of five full-time
employees right but of the two people at any given time supporting five children myself
But up to two people at any given time, supporting five children, myself and a supervisor.
That's correct.
Right.
All right.
And this is going to be your only job?
I mean, full time.
You have other part time jobs?
Yeah, I do other work.
Yes, that's correct.
But this is going to be like my full time.
Once this starts, this is going to be full time.
All right.
Any other questions?
Questions from our attorney?
no questions at this time questions or comments from the virtual audience
mr chad do not see anyone in that audience with their hand raised
um i'm filling in for planning commission no sure uh nina solomonic the planning commission
nina just for the record could you spell your name uh n-i-n-a s-o-l-o-m-o-n-i-c
All right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
The comprehensive plan recommended a change to the previous RM1 residential multifamily zoning at this location.
In 2014, this property was remapped from RM1 to its current RSA 5 residential single-family attached zoning.
the appellate has demonstrated that the proposed use would not cause detrimental impacts
beyond what might otherwise be expected at this location therefore the city planning
commission recommends the board grant the requested variance for personal care home use
MI 2026 001143 1925 Page Street I vote yes um temporary variance expires 8 13 29
michael johns my vote is uh yes with proviso
carol gaston my boobies yes with proviso another graham my vote is just with proviso
lion mcadams my vote is yes with proviso hi owen my vote is yes with proviso
layla beebe my vote is yes with proviso thank you um number three mi2026
zero zero one two seven three 1425 north 7th street um
that natonal levy and and shimon levy
Mr. Chair, I promoted Nataniel Levy and Barr Levy. They will both be coming back in shortly.
On when we continued number six on the list, it should have been continued attorney moving party.
good evening can you hear me we we most certainly can could you please state your
who's going to testify um i am netanelle levy i'm the owner of the property okay good could
you please state your name and spell for the stenographer netanelle levy n-e-t-a-n-e-l
Last name, L-E-V-I.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Our voice share has just a few questions.
Good evening.
Have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, I have.
And is your application, are you trying to erect a structure for single-family household living?
Correct.
It's already done.
No, it's vacant land.
Okay. Okay. All right. And you know, you've been refused, um, for, you have several refusals for
height and as well as, uh, the parking. Correct. Okay. You can share your screen and, uh, tell us
what you'd like to do. I am going to pass it to my brother, which is the architect on the project.
Uh, he can, he'll present everything and show you the exhibit and floor plans.
sir sir yes can you hear me okay no no listen to me sir you're the owner you have to testify
you can call your brother if there's certain things you want to point out but you're the
owner you're the one oh sure sure sure i can he share the screen uh he has all the exhibits
he's the architect on on the project just uh i understand but let him share the screen and you
can we have by the way we have all your paperwork wonderful so all the paperwork so what i would
recommend you do is go to photos and plans and show us the property can you see the screen okay
now you can you get can you see the screen okay now
we can see make you might want to make it a little bit bigger
Okay, so this is a vacant land that I owned for many years.
okay why don't you start so so this is a vacant land that i own
It was actually previously approved for a three-unit building.
I live in the neighborhood at 1319 North 6th Street.
And unfortunately, I contributed to some of the development in the area and felt like
multifamily is not needed anymore due to density in the neighborhood.
So I decided to make a single family. And again, the refusal is just for two feet higher than the 38 and accessory parking. And if you can see in the picture right next door, there are garages and many other houses on the street have garages.
um the backyard is pretty large uh it's a three-bedroom house um and if you want i can go
over the plans why don't you go over the plans go ahead bar if you can give me the
floor plans uh show me the picture of uh actually bar if you can go down show me the picture of the
of the streets from different angles so if you can see that's uh north 7th and jefferson street
uh many multi-families uh in the area and you see the bottom right picture
the garages on the adjacent homes to the lot now if you can go down to the floor plans
okay so uh supposedly basement and for and uh first floor kind of thing it's the
the parking is going to be on grade and then the rear will have a bedroom um bar can you
can you tell me what's uh how much we're going down in the base three feet one inch uh we're
down for this uh that's not gonna be the entrance to the house you can see the entrance to the house
uh is different going up to the first floor it's a pretty interesting and unique layout uh split
level on this floor uh living room and kitchen in the living living room dining room in the rear
And you see the rear yard is 36 feet, which is very big for a rear yard.
Then going up to second floor, two bedrooms, bathroom.
And it's actually not a bedroom in the back.
it's a more like an office bathroom in the middle washer and dryer side by side and going up to the
third floor it's the master suite so pretty straightforward design for Philadelphia houses
again we're asking for front load parking that it's covered so we're not really
showing a lot of setback if you can show the renderings bar
Yeah. Yeah. So that's basically what it is.
Okay. Um, questions from the board.
Is there a section?
Thank you.
I do just want to point out this is a four-bedroom house.
While I understand what you have listed on the second floor,
that is going to be considered a bedroom.
We won't consider it as a bedroom.
It doesn't have a...
It's not about you. It's about L&I.
It will get appraised as a bedroom because of its size
and because it has a window and it has a closet.
Okay, but what was the how did the community of their RCO meeting go?
And was there any opposition to the the parking?
No, no, we we had support. We met. We met with APM and and Moss from old Kensington was also there, and she was perfectly fine with that.
We didn't have any opposition.
should have it here oh there it is yeah houses on the block have front loaded parking yes
how many houses on the block oh how many houses um parking
well there's garages not uh well we'll call that garages how many have garages garages
well there's garages not uh well we'll call that garages how many have
i don't exactly i know that the two right next to us have it or do you have pictures of the of the
block uh that will show more i i didn't count this is kind of an attorney thing to do but there is
there are quite a few i want to say all right all right all right so both places next door have
correct rogers okay questions from the board
questions from our attorney no questions at this time questions or comments from the virtual audience
to chair i do not see any hands planning commission in the salamonic the planning
commission the comprehensive plan recommended a change to the previous rm1 residential
multifamily zoning at this location in 2014 this property was remapped from rm1 to its current rsa
5 residential single-family attach there's no unique circumstance or condition of this property
that would prevent it from being used in strict conformity with the zoning code therefore the city
planning commission recommends the board deny the requested variances for accessory parking
and maximum height.
MI 2026, 001 273, 1425 North 7th Street, I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Carol Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
I'm McAdams, my vote is yes.
Sia Nguyen, my vote is yes.
Layla Beebe, my vote is yes.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
um number five uh mi 2026 001 574 3118 solomon street um
stacy barton is the owner of applicant
mr chair they'll be coming back in as a panelist shortly thank you you're welcome
Hello. I'm Stacey Barton, STA. Do me a favor. Listen, why don't you state your name,
state your name and spell it for the stenographer. Yep. Stacey Barton, S-T-A-C-I-E,
Barton, B-A-R-T-O-N. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but
the truth? Yes. Our vice chair has a few questions for you. Okay. Okay. Hi. Good evening.
have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing yes i have
and do you understand that you're here for visitor accommodations yes that's correct okay and that you
do you understand you were refused because it was the visitor accommodations are prohibited in
nestona district yes all right thank you you can share your screen and show us what you'd like to
do okay um just to make this go as quickly for you guys as possible do you want me to just go
take your time okay i think i'm like the last one right so i'm like get y'all out of here
um okay so let me share my screen okay um okay so uh here is my notice of refusal um
do you guys want me to just run through all my documents then so we have all of your documents
So what I would recommend you do is go to photos of what their property looks like, okay?
Okay, sure.
And then tell us, you know, just say what you're trying to do.
Yeah, so basically, this is my home.
I have lived in Philly for a long time, specifically on this house since 2021.
at the time when I purchased it, I did not anticipate moving, but I do travel a lot for
my job. And so about a year and a half ago, I started doing short-term rentals when I would
be away from home. Now, fast forward, we have since moved in my dad and my sister with special
needs. And now my fiance, we're getting married next year. So we need to figure out different
housing. We couldn't live here. And so now, but my business is still based primarily out of
Philadelphia. I run my own business. And so I travel back and forth and come up to Philly
several times throughout the year. So I would like to be able to keep it as a short-term rental.
the reason i'm applying for the visitor accommodations is because based on the rules
with philadelphia it has to be your primary residence and we actually purchased a home
it has to be your primary residence and we actually purchased a home at the
beginning of the year that I have now made my primary residence and so hence
the change of use request I can show you do you guys want to see pictures I
of the shows the photos okay sure um here is the outside of the house um and then
uh these are just all the ones that are up on my airbnb
um here's uh the living room area and then
bedroom
And then there is a second bedroom, but it's so tiny.
So it's really just primarily an office.
And then where's my kitchen?
My kitchen and the bathroom is right here.
And then there is a backyard area as well.
but yeah, those are, so that's the house. If you need to see other photos, I'm happy to pull
anything else up. These are all on. Who's going to, who's going to manage the place for you?
So I actually am the one who does all the bookings. I communicate with everybody who
comes to my house. Um, so I actually have a friend though, who has been coming to the house,
uh, for a very long time for about the, about almost a year. She comes and waters my plants.
Normally when I'm away, she makes sure that the bed is made properly, that things are stocked up like toilet paper, paper towels, stuff like that.
And then I also have a cleaner who comes separate.
So I have two people who are constantly coming in and out of the house attending to it when I'm not there.
And then when I am there, I'm the one that does all that.
Questions from the board.
yeah i guess what's your emergency plan if something happens with a tenant they need to
get in contact with someone immediately when you're not in town yeah that's a great question
um so my friend jen the one who she's like my boots on the ground basically so she pretty much
runs everything for me um she's a very quick drive away um and can handle anything uh i haven't had
any emergencies in the year and a half that i've been doing airbnb but luckily i do have many people
on speed dial who would be able to help me i also have several neighbors who keep a very strong
watchful eye on the property for me that i can call at any point who would quickly go over there
and check on everything so um i'm very fortunate to be a part of like a strong almost like
neighborhood watch street um people who have lived there for a very long time which i appreciate so
okay and then how are you managing trash removal is that the cleaner are you putting it on your
renters or your short-term stays when they visit are they putting it out just on normal trash day
great question that is all run by my friend jen or my cleaner okay all right other questions
questions from our attorney not at this time mr turner questions or comments from the virtual
audience i do not see any hands raised planning commission nina solomonic the planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing rsa 5 residential single family
attack zoning at this location there's no unique circumstance or physical condition of the property
that would prevent it from being used in strict conformity with the zoning code therefore the city
planning commission recommends the board deny the requested variance for limited lodging use
thank you so mi2026 001 574 31 18 solomon street i vote yes temporary variance to expire 8 13 29.
michael johns my vote is yes with proviso
carl gaston my vote is yes with proviso vanetta graham my vote is yes with proviso
ryan mcadams my vote is yes with proviso tayo win my vote is yes with proviso leila beebe my
vote is yes with proviso thank you you have your votes all right and and number six mi2026002005
3636 survivor street the vote on this has been changed to attorney moving party okay
you said vote the what you said vote okay this has been changed to attorney moving party
okay all right um is there anyone in the audience whose case has not been called
okay all right um is there anyone in the audience whose case has not been called
well i want to thank everybody but i got to tell you cheryl yes you hung in there the whole day
i wanted to say just stop go back and lay down somewhere cheryl you are one tough cookie i'm
going to tell you right now that's why when you were a lawyer i always voted in your favor i was
afraid of you. Thanks everybody. Well, I just wanted to let you all know everything went well.
Oh, thank you so much. Thank you so much. We all appreciate your work. Yeah, he said that, you know, I'm good. I don't have any restrictions.