called by Max last night after, or yesterday afternoon after reaching out to the RCO. They
They apparently held a meeting without inviting us to it in which they, I guess, discussed our matter and came up with, I guess, some conclusions.
I guess discussed our matter and came up with I guess some conclusion that we're unaware of I
would prefer to not listen to any testimony about that meeting or have any information from that
meeting be you know allowed on the record because we weren't invited to it so I don't know how the
RCO can request additional time and then and ask for more inclusion and then not invite us to that
meeting so yeah i thought we at the time if correct me from wrong that a woman by the name
of mango i believe it was m-a-n-g-o uh she was uh i think she is the uh zoning director or whatever
of the rco and all she had said is she wanted some time uh to speak to the near neighbors who
may not have been aware of what was going on and i think it's a by right development if i recall
it's by right except we are just asking for a variance to not provide a curb cut on walnut
street because it's a state highway right and they asked to have another meeting so that more people
who live nearby could participate in the meeting and then we weren't invited to that meeting so
i i don't know if near name more near neighbors showed up i don't know what was discussed um
again i think it's a moot point it's a by right and the the curb cut is not something that you
had in your application anyway so I don't know what the discussion is would
be about right I would just like the board to vote the case so that we can
move forward with this project and what is that calendar number again three nine
do you have it Sharon by any chance I'm looking shower and you have it I do it's
calendar number 39828 and can i say that the refusals in this matter were for not providing
three required parking spaces and one required accessible spaces is that correct rachel correct
and you were not able to provide those because they would have required a curb cut correct that
would have to get approved by PennDOT. And that address again is 550? 5230 and 32 Walnut Street.
Okay. All right. I know you don't want to hear any testimony, but I have to,
courtesy, if anyone is on regarding this matter, please raise your hand if you haven't already
done so. Max Weiss, you can unmute yourself and speak. Hi, this is Max Weiss, W-E-I-S,
ASS, Director of Legislation and Policy for Councilmember Gaudier. As Rachel said,
Cobbs Creek neighbors did hold a meeting last night. And, you know, we were surprised that
Rachel and her client were not included. And, you know, that was just an unfortunate mistake.
the near neighbors did appear at the meeting last night there were two folks who did express
concerns about parking on the block being very congested because a lot of people park in the
area during the day and then take the L downtown and then come home at night and then drive home
so you know they did express that concern about parking and um the community group does um remain
opposed to the project and just um you know so we we we still do stand behind them in opposition
understood all right just to clarify max um you're stating that they the neighbors have a
concern about parking and that their thought would be that if we do a curb cut it'll eliminate
more parking on the street, which is already
a problem.
Yeah, which was part
of the conversation we had initially.
Right.
Be careful what you wish for, right?
Yeah, I just wanted to clarify that point.
Okay. All right. Anyone else
on this case?
Nothing, Chair.
Thank you.
Hold on, please.
i'm working on a small little table here and i can't everything okay calendar number
three nine i'm sorry no i was going to give you the calendar number again
okay calendar number three nine eight two eight five two three zero dash three two market street
my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes thank you any other requests
Sorry.
Thank you.
No problem.
I think we've handled all the continuance issues, correct, Tonya?
the continuance issues correct tanya yes chair you can move forward okay calendar number 39373
Yes, Chair.
1401 north fourth north fifth street number five street north 15th street north 15th
Adam who is it I'm sorry good good morning Mr. Chairman members of the board Adam Laver of
Blank Rome on behalf of Michael Al-Haddad owner of the subject property at 1401 North 15th Street
I'd just like to clarify that the address of the property is 15th 15th Street thank you I had it
I had it down for Fifth Street, so noted, it's North 15th Street.
No worries at all.
I am going to try to do screen share one moment here.
Are you able to see the aerial photograph up on my screen?
Very good.
I've submitted exhibits with Exhibits 1 through 12 to the board previously.
Michael, who has appeared before this board, owns several properties within the community.
He has established a reputation for honesty, good business practices, and open communication.
The exhibit packages that I've shared with the members of the board include RCO support at Tab 5, not only from the coordinating RCO, but from two additional impacted RCOs which lend their support.
Michael being based in the community does have a very good working relationship with these folks
and had hoped that they could be here today but there are computer accessibility issues and there
was not comfort with the with calling in by telephone unfortunately so I would ask that
the board take note of the three letters at tab five the subject property as you can see on your
screen is located in an RM1 zoning district. I'm circling it with the cursor right here. It's the
large brick building that fronts on North 15th Street and runs along Master Street through to
Carlisle Street. It is located, I'll give you another view here, it's the brick building on
the right. It's located across the street from a CMX4 high-density zoning district. The property,
as you can see, is four stories. It's over 17,000 square feet in size. The existing registration for
the property is 12 apartments. We are proposing to register the use for single-room residences,
a total of 39 rooms. The referral is at tab 9. This is not a variance. It's a referral.
there is one referral for this use. It won't come as a surprise I'm sure to
members of the board that we're here in the Temple University neighborhood and
the property largely serves as off-campus housing. In this instance the
property really meets the demands for quality student housing in the
neighborhood and the project is supported by the community due to the
single-room residency, better allowing regulation of student behavior through individual leases that
will hold students accountable and allow appropriate operation of the building. It becomes a win-win
for the university, for the surrounding residential neighborhood, to have a contained well-known
building and a local operator, which is why this makes sense. I can't help but recall, as some
members of the board will. I think it was in 2018 that there was a terrible fire of an unlicensed
single-room residency property. And at the time, Commissioner Perry spoke about the importance of
having properly licensed buildings such as this that are sprinklered, that have security, that are
well-maintained. In this instance, local residents are employed to handle trash and maintenance with
Michael, long-term employees. Michael partners with community leaders in his ownership and management
of the property. Let me show you some additional photographs here of the interior, just so you can
get a sense of the finishes. Here you see a kitchen, for example, and one moment,
well-lit, nicely renovated space for bedrooms. The authorization of certificated relief will
The authorization of certificated relief will not alter the character of the neighborhood
not alter the character of the neighborhood or
or district or be detrimental to the public welfare.
The proposal fits into the surrounding neighborhood as evidenced by the support of the community
and speaks to granting of relief being of benefit to the public and within the spirit
of the zoning code.
The special exception will represent the minimum modification to afford relief and will represent
the least modification possible of the regulation at issue.
the grant of certificated relief will not substantially increase congestion in
the public streets increase the danger of fire again I remind you this is a
fully sprinklered building with two means of the egress through the property it
will not otherwise endanger the public health safety or general welfare there
are no additional issues I've sent in a full record I believe this exhibit
package has 57 pages. Michael is here to adopt and affirm at the appropriate time, and I'm here to
specifically answer questions that the board may have. Let's hear from your client. Mr. Al-Haddad,
would you please raise your hand virtually, and when given permission, state your name and address
for the record. Good morning. You can unmute yourself and speak. Good morning, everyone. My
name is Michael Al-Haddad. I'm the owner of the property of 1401 North 50th Street. Mr. Al-Haddad,
please spell your name and provide your address. Michael Al-Haddad, A-L-H-A-D-A-D.
my office address is 1000 West Gerard Philadelphia PA 19123. Thank you. Mr. Al-Haddad do you swear
and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Yes I do Mr. Chairman.
Thank you. Thank you for completing that oath. Mr. Al-Haddad my understanding is that you've
been participating in virtual hearing from the start is that correct? That's correct.
And would you adopt and affirm my testimony as your own?
Yes, I do.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you.
Is there anyone who wishes to testify in this case?
If so, please raise your hand.
Mr. Chairman, I should further mention to you that I briefed Council President Clark's thoughts regarding this matter.
They're aware of community support.
Thank you.
here we have destiny flores destiny you can unmute yourself and testify regarding this case if you
wish hello um this is for the howden plaza correct
i'm sorry ma'am would you please identify yourself with a record
um i am destiny flores a resident of south philly
down Philly this is in 1400 North 15th Street okay what case are you here for
um the how been plaza the development there where is it how been I think it's
carpenter 1600 carpenter yeah yeah that case is being being continued you can
check with your local RCO on the date they're going to we're continuing that case okay thank
you thank you anyone else anyone else for 1401 North 15th Street Jeffrey Young are you here for
this case your hand is up
no chair that's all okay thank you questions from the board
planning commission
this property is indicated for residential use on the city plan we have no objection to the
granting a special exception thank you calendar number 39373 1401 north 15th street my vote is
yes my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes thank you all right mr labor you have the next
case calendar number three nine four one three one four oh eight east oxford street
you've already been sworn in so please proceed thank you uh mr chairman members of the board
for the record adam labor flank rome one logan square and i should and i i forgot to read
confessor carol usually does this do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate
to its accuracy yes i i do mr chairman thank you thank you please proceed okay i'm
yes I do mr. chairman thank you thank you please proceed okay I'm going to
share the screen and pull up there with just one moment oh mr. chairman members
of the board in the interest of the board's time I would like to suggest
that this case 39413 be heard with its companion case 39418 which is 325
Belgrade Street the properties are located immediately across the street
from one another they are the same developer they were reviewed by the
community which supports the both projects and it may be faster for you if
I do it that way.
Okay, so we'll hear it.
I'm sorry, Mr. Chairman.
I was going to say that that is number six on your list of cases, and it's calendar 39418325 Belgrade Street.
Got it.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
So I'm going to start with the first case that you called, and I'll distinguish within my testimony.
I'm here on behalf of Dora Berkovitz, B-E-R-K-O-V-I-T-Z, and Devir Aharon, that's D-V-I-R-A-H-A-R-O-N, who are the owners of the subject property, and in fact, both properties, and in fact, the two of them, as I'll mention later,
hope to move their families into new construction homes across the street.
Regarding the first property, which is up here on the screen, I'm showing you with the cursor,
it's a very large property. Here is Oxford Street, a long expanse along Oxford Street,
and then here with the mouse, I'm showing you frontage on bell braid. You have exhibits one
through 17 for that property. And then across the street, I'm circling that and I'll show you
close-ups later. Across Oxford is the other property, number six, I believe, on your agenda.
You have a separate exhibit package with one through 15 on that. In both exhibit packages,
you'll find RCO support from Fishtown Neighbors Association at tab five in each. A couple
Profitory notes as I begin. We have been in touch with Council President Clark's
office regarding these matters. I've spoken with Mary Jones, who I do not
believe is able to attend this morning, but recognizes the support from FNA.
Additionally, it's my understanding that there are several supporters from the
community who have taken the time to attend this virtual hearing and may
offer their support if the board wishes to hear from them later. As I've
mentioned, we've worked closely with the Fishtown Neighborhood Association on the plans before you,
which reflect revisions. There is a revised proviso plan that was submitted
that is only for this 1408 East Oxford Street development has revisions. The plans incorporate
valuable suggestions including a height modification. That's the main
change which I'll get into in a moment. Both of the projects have been designed
by Ambit Architecture. Rich Villa of Ambit Architecture is here to speak to
the board as needed. The larger of the two projects is the former National
Metal Crafters site with frontages along Oxford and Belgrade. It's an unusual
configuration which you can see in this photograph that I have up on my screen.
The size of the property is 14,403 square feet. Despite the industrial
nature of the former use, the development site is owned RSA 5. That's really what
brings us here today. There is a nearby significant presence of CMX 2 and you
can see that just looking at the aerial photograph and the developments that's around here in terms
of height, most visibly, for example. A stroll by the site, I'm going to skip to another page here,
depicts a changing neighborhood as shown in the photo that I've pulled up from tab three.
The subject property is surrounded by approved development projects that are changing the
neighborhood pursuant to the city plan and permitting denser development. It is estimated