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.