I come, come, good, yep, okay, fine.
Not a problem.
Not a concern, Tom, thank you.
Right.
Okay, Chair, we have 20, we have 30 attendees and we can start when you wish.
Thank you. Good morning. My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing today's EBA hearings. With me is Carol Tenere, our vice chair.
Present, Mr. Chair.
Ishmael Shaheed, our board secretary.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Thomas Holliman, our board member.
He's here. He just got off the phone with me.
and James Snell, our board member. Present, Mr. Chairman. Also here is our board attorney,
Hillary Emerson, and our ZBA hearing supervisor, Lakeisha Dandy. Before we begin, here's our
virtual format. The proceedings are being recorded by participating in a knowledge agreement to be
recorded. The video will be available by contacting tonyasunkett at phila .gov. But for the benefit of
our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you're participating by phone, if you wish to testify, press star nine to raise your hand
and star six to unmute. To enter an appearance statement, call 267 -270 -5548. Leave your email
address and the address of the property in question. And lastly, the question answer box
on the screen is not for comments or testimony. Any comments have to be directed to our executive
director, Tony Summers. So let's look at continuances for this morning's hearing.
Number two, MI 2022 -003 -753 -825 South 13th Street. That case is continued.
Is there anyone in the audience who has a comment relative to that case?
good morning mr chair my name is jason hand i'm coasting this morning
we have a hand up from miss paula carter i have allowed her to speak okay
yes good morning i just good morning paul could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
please yeah paula carter c -a -r -t -e -r right do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth yes i do are you are you relative to case number two uh the property
address is 886 north judson street uh i would say so i so do you have a request for a continuance
for that case no i just you know i just was expecting to see myself on the zoom so i just
wanted to make sure that i was part of the okay all right so i'm still on 825 south 13
what's the Jetson case? Mr. Chair, that is number 13. We did not receive any exhibits for that case.
All right, Paul, I'm going to call that case in a couple minutes, okay?
Mr. Chair, are you going through the add -ons first?
No, I'm doing the continuance first, Carol. Okay. So I was on number two
of the continuance. Number two is continued.
Okay. And then what I'm going to do is I'm going to go to the ones that we don't have any.
Is there any other requests for continuances?
Mr. Chair, this is Hillary.
We received a request for continuance for number 9, 1529 West Butler Street.
Okay. All right.
So MI 2022 -003 -653 -1529 West Butler Street.
That case is continued.
Are there any other requests for continuances?
Are there any other requests for continuances?
Thank you.
Mr. Chair, there was a hand raised a moment ago, but it has since gone down, so I will say that there are no further continuances at this time.
Okay, so I want to go now to cases that we don't have any exhibits.
number three MI 2022 003 655 1021 Dickinson Street Frank Mortarano is the owner we have
no exhibits this is the first listing I don't see any hands Mr. Chair okay so that's the first
listing, so MI -2022 -003 -655 -1021 Dickinson Street. That case is continued. We also have number four,
MI -2022 -003 -648 -513 North Holly Street. Matthew Regana is the applicant. No exhibits, first listing.
again for this case Mr. Chair no hands okay so MI 2022 003 648 513 North Holly Street
that case is continued number six
MI 2022 003 512 941 Dorset Street. Sonny Rochelin is the listed applicant. This is the first listing.
Again, Mr. Chair, wait a minute. There's a hand up for Mr. Franz Pierre. I have allowed him to speak.
Okay. Sir, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Mr. Pierre, please unmute yourself.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Hello?
Yeah, Mr.
Pierre is uncut off.
I'm sorry.
Jason, is his hand up?
No, he must have
uncut off, sir.
My apologies.
All right, so MI 2022
003 512
941 Dorset Street.
That case is continued.
Number seven.
MI 2022
003 671
1825 South 22nd Street. Rene Adams is the owner. No exhibits, first listing.
Ms. Adams, if you're in the virtual audience, please raise your hand.
Ms. Adams has been allowed to speak, sir.
Hi, Ms. Adams, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
okay and spell for the court reporter please r -e -n -e -e last name is adams adams right do
you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes um for your case
we do not we have not received any exhibits i have exhibits this is based on an airbnb
so ma 'am ma 'am ma 'am i'm aware but you have to send the exhibits in to the zoning board i did i
do uh we don't have any exhibits for you ma 'am um could you i the person name is salty i can't
pronounce the last name is s -u -l -e -t -a -b -a i sent it to rzcba at philly .gov okay um
hillary we have no we don't have anything for this right now right
um no i'm i'm checking i'm checking now i'm not seeing anything come up for
for miss adams um and i know this the staff had already checked the rcozba box and did not
see any so so miss miss adams this case is going to be continued what i want you to do is contact
the zoning office and they'll make sure for the next one that everything's intact okay okay all
right. Thank you. Thank you very much. So MI 2022 003 671 1825 South 22nd Street. That case is
continued. Number nine. That's continued. Number 11. MI 2022 004 490 218 West Tabor Road.
0 -0 -4 -4 -9 -0 -2 -18 West Tabor Road. Daniel Franklin is the owner. No exhibits first listing.
I did not see any hints for that case, Mr. Chair. So MI 2022, 0 -0 -4 -4 -9 -0 -2 -18 West Tabor Road.
That case is continued. Case number 12, MI 2021 -000 -981 -5415 Cedar Avenue. Lisa Bethay is the owner -applicant. No exhibits. This is the second listing.
no hands for that case either so mi 2021 000 981 5415 cedar avenue that case is continued
mark must be tried and number 13 mi 2022 003 652 886 judson street paul carter who originally was on
Please come back.
Ms. Carter?
Carter, if you're still in the...
Wait a minute.
Okay, I have her allowed to...
Okay, I'm here. Thank you.
Okay, Ms. Carter, you were already sworn,
and your name was spelled for the court reporter.
This is the first listing for this case.
We do not have your exhibits.
can you give me more information about what you're looking for okay so here's here's what
i want you to do we're going to continue your case today you call the zoning office and they
will help you for the next case to make sure that you have everything in order okay
what's how do you reach someone when you call the zoning department um
Lakeisha, what should we should we direct her to the chat? What do we want to do with that?
Lakeisha? She's muted. Yes, Chair, I'm sorry, I couldn't unmute myself. That's okay. So could you
direct her proper way to get a hold of the zoning board? If that's in the chat, whatever you want to
do. Yes, we're going to put the email in the chat. Can somebody put the RCOZBA email in the chat and
you can email us and reach out to us that way. And we want to put the phone number in the chat also.
Okay. I go to this chat down here for that. Okay. Thank you. All right. Thank you. So,
0 -0 -3 -6 -5 -2 -18 -8 -8 -8 -6, Judson Street.
That case is continued.
Okay, so we're going to go to our add -on list.
Number one, MI -2022.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair.
Sorry, just one second.
I just wanted to note for the record that Mr. Holloman has now joined us.
Oh, good.
Thank you.
I know he was there.
I know he was there. We spoke on the phone. Yes, it just took him a minute to get on.
All right, so MI2022 -004 -396 -2901 Grant Avenue.
First thing I'm going to do is I want to certify that I watched the video of this case.
And Ishmael? Yes, Ishmael Shaheed. I would like to certify that I watched this video
prior to moving forward with this case.
Okay, so I vote no for this case.
Carol?
Am I revoting it?
My vote is yes.
Carol Tenere.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
okay number two mi2022 000477228 north 63rd street parcel a brandon saberman is the attorney
i vote no
mr chair i'm not voting on that case thomas thomas holloman my vote is no
james snell my vote is no
ishmael shaheed my vote is no
Number three, MI 2022 -00.
Number three, MI 2022 -003 -078 -4011 Meriden Street. Lynn Nichols is the attorney. This is a request for reconsideration. I vote yes.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair, can you specify yes to reconsideration and rehearing, please?
I vote yes for reconsideration and rehearing.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes for reconsideration and rehearing.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is no.
James Snell, my vote is yes to reconsideration and rehearing.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes to reconsideration and rehearing.
Number five, MI 2021 -003 -524 -321 -47 North 16th Street. I vote yes with proviso. Revised plans,
two pages, stamped by ZBA on November 30th, 2022, maximum 43 units, interior storage of trash and
recycling, roof access for maintenance only, old bicycle parking structures located within
the deed of property lines, and garbage disposal in all units.
Mr. Chair, I don't vote on that.
Thomas Holliman, my vote is yes with provisos.
My vote is yes with proviso.
James Snell
Ishmael Shaheed
my vote is yes
we'll provide those
okay thank you
we're going to go
to the regular list
excuse me Mr. Chair
we missed number four
on the add -on list
what was four
50th Street
okay yep
I'm sorry
MI 2021
South 50th Street
I vote yes
Excuse me, Mr. Chair, Carol needs to certify that she viewed the video of the hearing.
Thank you.
Carol Tenere, I did view the video of this hearing, and my vote is yes.
Thomas Holliman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Okay, now we go to the regular list.
MI -2022 -003 -664 -4656 Brown Street, letter of support from Mill Creek Advisory Association,
letter of support from the affected RCO Drexel Area Property Association.
Attorney is Samantha Lyons.
All right, Ms. Lyons has been promoted to panelist.
Hi, Ms. Lyons, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Ms. Lyons, S -A -M -A -N -T -H -A -L -Y -O -N -S.
Right. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir, I do.
Could you identify your client, a relationship to the property?
The client is known as the Men of Mill Creek.
They're a nonprofit organization that owns the property.
Okay. Thank you.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Hi. Good morning.
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with the required documents consisting of proof of ownership, tax compliance,
a copy of the refusal or referral, photos under plans of the property five days in advance of
this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter? Yes, yes, and yes.
Okay, this is an application for a partial change in use to a sit -down restaurant on the first
floor front of an existing attached structure. There's one use refusal. A sit -down restaurant
is prohibited in the RM2 zoning district. You may proceed with your case.
Good morning. Thank you for having us. I'm representing the men of Mill Creek.
They're a non -profit organization that is looking to open a restaurant on the first floor of this
property. They've owned the property for a while. They're looking to outfit it according to the
plans which have been approved. The restaurant itself will have approximately a max capacity
seating of approximately 30. It will be open seven days a week. Council, could you share
Councilor, could you share your screen with us?
your screen with us? Sure.
Let me open up their plans exhibit.
Or actually, I'm sorry, is there a specific exhibit you would like to see?
If you could, could you put your package up?
I mean, obviously, we want to see pictures of it.
Photos of it.
the green share screen on the bottom oh no i know how yes sir my computer is actually just moving
really slow okay fine of course
Okay. Are you able to see that? Yes. Okay. So this property is located on the corner of 46
and Brown. That's the property specifically right there. You can see that the postings have been
done. This is the side of the property. So this door is the side door and there's another door
that you just saw to the front. The restaurant, in addition to providing basically a sit -down
restaurant and 12 to 15 jobs within the community, they will also provide safe serve classes.
So that residents of the community can begin to receive their safe serve licenses in order to work in the restaurant industry trash collection private, there is available parking if you can see here.
All along brown street along 40 free parking all along 46 and along brown street right here, let me scroll back up to this.
so free parking all up and down the street um
essentially uh you know we met with the rcos in the community um this organization this group
has a long -standing relationship with the community everything from already providing
meals, as part of community engagement, to providing services, classes. There's a barbershop
upstairs, I believe, and other people that rent within the space. This is something they would
like to take on themselves in order to provide this additional assistance, additional opportunities
within their actual community. This is the inside. As you can see, it's not necessarily huge. This
This is from the front door, or what I'm calling the front door, so from this door right here, if that door is behind me.
That's the restaurant through.
Obviously, it hasn't had any.
It will be hooded all the way around from this wall, if you can see my cursor, all the way out to this side of the property.
The inside itself will have seating along this side, along with a counter, and basically you can see there's some kind of refrigeration storage, but they'll set this up and outfit it with a counter as well as seats along the side.
There are two, there's a window over here, and there's another window right back here behind this refrigerator, this angle.
And essentially, after meeting with the community, I believe that we answered all of their questions, addressed, let them know that any concerns, if there were any were addressed, shared what the hours of the restaurant would be.
um a lot of people are really interested in the job opportunities and the safe serve opportunities
and the classes that would be available through the restaurant and i believe we receive pretty
strong support from the community and i will keep my presentation short um for any questions
do you have someone to adopt your testimony
we have on the on the call i believe we have um
derrick long stan allen and john adams just just one will be fine derrick long
can you hear me yes hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
thank you chair my name is derek long d -e -r -r -i -c -k -l -o -n -g
do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
derek yes did you do you hear do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth yes i do thank you counsel
yes so um essentially i would ask mr long um if he wants to share
any of his information anything about the restaurant and their plans um
so i think i think we're okay with that council why don't you just have him say that he adopts
your testimony as his own okay and i see oh mr long are you willing to adopt the testimony that
i just made on behalf of no milk creek and your plans as your own i do okay thank you
questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chair no mr chairman
um questions or comments from the virtual audience
good morning mr chair i do not see any hands planning commission good morning chair bergman
this is ian hegarty here on behalf of the philadelphia city planning commission last
name is spelled h -e -g -a -r -t -y all right do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth
is nothing but the truth yes sir proceed thank you good morning board members the comprehensive
plan recommends no change to the existing rsa 5 single family zoning at this location however
the proposed sit -down restaurant use is consistent with the physical configuration of the building
the city planning commission recommends that the board grant this variance thank you so mi 2022
2022 -003 -664 -4656, Brownstreet.
I vote yes.
Harold Tenere, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you, guys.
Have a great day.
Thank you.
Number five, MI -2022 -003 -642 -514 West Burke Street.
Coordinating RCO's South Kennedy Community Partners did not take a position in this case, as the vote was three to three.
Vern Anastasio is the attorney.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning.
could you state your name, please, for the court reporter and spell it?
Sure. Vern, V -E -R -N, Anastasio, A -N -A, S -T -A -S -I -O. And for the record, I'm sorry, go ahead.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
For the record?
For the record, the letter from the RCO came to us entitled A Letter of Non -Opposition.
Okay. Okay, thank you for the record. Could you identify your client,
the relationship to the property? Sure. Burke Street Investment, LLC, Principal Adam Akay.
Okay. And our Vice Chair, Carol Tenere, has a few questions. Thank you.
Hi, Vern. How are you? Have you emailed the exhibit packet with the required documents
consisting of proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal referral, photos under plans of the
property five days in advance of this hearing? And have you met with the RCO and do you have a
letter. Yes, to all that. Okay, great. You may proceed and begin to share your screen. Thank you.
I've already shared my screen. I ask that the administration please promote architect Ian
Toner of Toner Architects. He's the architect on the project. I'll walk you through preliminary
notes that I have on the refusal, and then he will walk us through the project itself and the
changes that were made as a result of feedback from the RCO. Mr. Conner, state your name and
spell for the court reporter, please. Sure. Ian Tonner, I -A -N -T -O -N -E -R. Do you swear for him to
tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes. Proceed, counsel. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We're talking 514 -16 West Burke Street.
It's quite a large property.
We are proposing the construction of a multifamily dwelling.
of a multi -family dwelling. Here's an exterior rendering. Initially, we had proposed a 15 -unit
Here's an exterior window.
building. After feedback from the community, we reduced that number to 12 and removed all
living space in the basement. And I'll get to that here. We have bike storage we added,
tenant storage for tenant materials that can't fit into the units, a larger utility room.
There's a trash room on the first floor. There's additional bike storage for the 12 units.
We are here because of some dimensional variances, the height, occupied area and rear yard.
Those three are de minimis in nature.
In fact, because it's a multifamily dwelling, our outdoor space and rear yard is actually larger than other commercial and or multifamily units on the block.
We do now, in fact, provide plenty of bicycle parking, which eliminates altogether that refusal. And the use is peculiar because typically it's CMX2 and what is required is some sort of commercial space on the first floor.
That was really the rub that caused us not to have overwhelming support, and it became a non -opposition instead of full support.
That was really the rub that some of the neighbors had.
They would have liked to have seen us maintain some sort of commercial space on the first floor.
Unfortunately, the market conditions on this block just don't support that.
the only new construction on the block was 100 percent residential right immediately next door
and it was multi -family the same variance was granted by this board for them to have that
that we're seeking today and as you can see there's lots of disinvestment on the block
Not a whole lot of action going on.
Here's an aerial view of more empty lots.
There's huge parcels behind us that are just empty and vacant.
And then there has been, for many years, lots of disinvestment.
There is a shopping mall across the street, but there absolutely is no POS, no point -of -sale commercial on Berks whatsoever.
There is a daycare center.
uh and again that's not akin to what uh what's being asked of us here here's burke's again
here's an empty factory lots of empty space large portions of it are just underdeveloped and
undeveloped there's the daycare center that we talked about it's really the single only
space that is truly commercial along Berks that's fronting Berks as you can see there's that empty
warehouse again so we did meet with the community twice first with the committee who gave us some
recommendations and we went back and then met with the community as a whole here's the flyer
that went out to the folks who are mostly impacted. Here's the proof of mailing. It's
42, only 42 households anywhere near this space, unfortunately. That's how much disinvestment has
happened in this immediate area for quite some time. We have a proviso sheet that shows that
we removed three units from the basement, reducing the total unit count from 15 to 12.
We removed three window wells from the front sidewalk, five window wells from the rear.
We added tenant storage and bike storage in the basement and additional storage on the first floor.
And we added two street trees as a result of the neighbor's feedback and input.
With that, I'm going to have Mr. Toner just talk a little bit about the design, the trash plan and things like that.
Sure. So we have four stories, three units per floor. On the ground floor, we're right at sidewalk level. So those units will be type B accessible units. And we have some storage and bike storage on the first floor for residents of the building who can't make it to the basement.
In the basement, we have a large bicycle room, and as you saw from Vern's photos, there's also indigo right across the street.
And as you saw from Burns' photos, there's also indigo right across the street.
So there's lots of access to transportation other than, and we're also close to some bus routes.
So lots of transportation, no need for cars here.
We have the three uppermost units on the top floor with access to the roof,
and those pilot houses are pulled nice and far from the edge of the building,
so we're not going to see them.
And if you look at the rendering, you can see that pilot house is in the model, but it's not you know, they're not showing up in the rendering because they're they're set back.
So we're excuse me, excuse me, Mr. Toner. Sorry, this is this is Hillary.
Mr. Chair, did you swear in Mr. Toner already?
Yes, you did. OK. All right. Thank you.
Nope, no problem.
And also in the rendering, you'll see that we tried to scale the height of the building to be as close as possible to the neighboring structures.
So we're not overshadowing anybody.
We do have a trash room right by the exit door on the first floor.
So it's very convenient for the residents to be able to drop their trash and for the trash collection people to pull the cans out and empty them as needed.
and these are all one -bedroom apartments thank you Mr. Toner with that I'd like to call my first
witness Mr. Chair Ms. Dorothy Rondamski who is a realtor in the area and she's going to be
testifying as a witness okay Ms. Rondamski please raise your virtual okay
hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
Hi, my name is Dorothy Rondamansky, D -O -R -O -T -H -Y, R -O -N -D -O -M -A -N -S -K -I.
Right. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Proceed.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Rondamansky, can you please state your profession and your credentials as a realtor?
Yes, I'm a realtor with Berkshire Hathaway.
I have been for a few years now, and I work primarily in Philadelphia, but in Pennsylvania
in general. Okay, and you are intimately familiar with this neighborhood, this area, is that correct?
Yes, I am. Okay, and you understand that the underlying zoning classification at this particular
property parcel does require, without a variance, commercial first floor activity, is that right?
In your expert opinion, if we were to build this to comply with the commercial requirement
on the first floor, would it remain empty or would it be an easy marketable space for
commercial activity?
I think it would be really hard to fill that space.
I picture it would be vacant and leasees probably wouldn't stay very long if they did at all.
Right. And that is that because there's no other point of sale retail or commercial otherwise on that block?
Yeah. OK, thank you, Mr. Chair.
I have nothing else. And I. Oh, by the way, I would like Mr. Adam McKay to raise his hand.
He's my client. Mr. McKay, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Adam McKay, A -D -A -M, last name McKay, A -C -C -A -Y.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you. Mr. K., did you hear my presentation to the board today?
Yes, I did.
Is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge?
Do you adopt it as your own testimony?
Did you, in fact, appear with me at the first RCO meeting and as a result, agreed to reduce the number of units, remove all living space on the first on the basement floor, all window wells being removed and adding both trees and bike parking?
Thank you very much. I have nothing further.
Before I open it up, that's that's a pretty large shopping center, Christy, right?
It is. It's very, but it's, of course, it's off. It's sort of tucked out away from the property line on Burks. I think one of the reasons why it's so difficult for POS retail or any sort of commercial on Burks is because it has to compete with that shopping center.
Right, right, right. Okay, thank you. Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Mr. Chair, this is Hillary.
Just a quick note.
We received the tax clearance for 514 BIRCs, but there are.
We received the tax clearance for 514 Berks, but there are outstanding balances on 516 and 518, so we will need to hold the vote on this matter until those are resolved.
Thank you.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
We're not seeing any hands, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission?
Thank you, Chair Bergman.
Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
board members in 2021 the zoning map was amended in this area in accord with a community request
this parcel was intentionally left as cmx2 to reflect a request from the participating civic
associations in that zoning remapping i'm going to go through um the refusals one by one um the
city planning commission recommends that the board grant the variances for occupied area and yard
dimensions. These proposed variances are minimal and do not conflict with the purpose and spirit
of the zoning code. City Planning Commission recommends that the board deny the proposed
variance for ground floor commercial use. The appellant's hardship claim is based solely on
economic considerations and has not been justified with evidence of unique physical circumstances.
It also conflicts with the stated intent of the civic associations who requested that this parcel
remain cmx2 during the recent remapping most significantly the city planning commission
recommends that the board deny the variances for height and for dwelling unit count the appellant
has not exhausted administrative remedies which would have allowed additional dwelling unit
count and height bonuses in exchange for deed restricted affordable dwelling units or green
roof only five dwelling units are allowed by right on this size of parcel without using bonuses
And so these variances are therefore not the minimum necessary.
For the record, I appreciate the planning commission's take on it, but the civic association
did offer non -opposition considering the current conditions and the immediate property did
receive the same exact variance that we're seeking, which is the elimination of commercial
activity on the first floor.
And with that, I'll be sure to get you the other two tax clearances as soon as the
system updates itself. So we will hold the vote on this to the tax. It's clear. Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Number eight, MI 2022 -003 -437 -6900 Chester Avenue, Parcel B.
we do have word from the coordinating RCO
we also have a petition of opposition
and there was a letter of support from
Southwest Community Development Corporation
Development Corporation
Al Shermer is the attorney
I'm sorry Mr. Chair if you're still in the virtual audience
okay he's in
yes good morning Mr. Chairman good morning Mr. Shermer how are you could you state your name
and spell for the court reporter please yes name is Hal H -A -L last name Shermer S -C -H -I -R -M -E -R
I'm here firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth I do could you identify
your client and the relationship to the property my client is Tariq Ryan who is the owner of the
property. I do have a bit of a detour. Right after the chair asked about requests for continuances,
the councilman's office contacted my client. He contacted me. We are at the suggestion of
the councilman going to request a continuance to go back to speak with the neighbors. We think we
have, this is the first listing, we think we can iron out some of the differences with the neighbors.
there are several letters of opposition to a takeout restaurant, but we're not doing a takeout
restaurant. This is going to be the smallest one, simply prepared food shop. We seem to have gotten
some things lost in translation, so I request to continue it, sir. All right. Thank you, Mr.
Shermer. So MI 2022 -003 -437 -6900 Chester Avenue, that case is continued.
Number 10, MI 2022 -003 -577 -2111 to 15 East Susquehanna Avenue.
Leo Movahill is the attorney.
Recommendation of support from the East Kensington Neighbors Association.
Letter of non -opposition from Councilperson Mark Squilla.
Thank you.
all right good morning chairman and members of the board hi mr mr mulvihill could you state your
name and spell for the court reporter yes it's leo l -e -o last name m as in michael u -l d as in
victor i h -i -l -l mr mulvihill do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and
nothing but the truth. I do. Could you identify your client and relationship to the property?
Yes. My client is Rob, R -O -B as in Bravo, Goodman, G -O -O -D as in Delta, M as in Mary,
N as in Nancy, of Goodman House, LLC. Okay. And our Vice Chair, Carol Tenere, has a few questions.
Yes. Hi, Mr. Mulvihill. Do you agree to wait the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its
accuracy yes have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance refusal
referral photos under plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing and have you met
with the rco and do you have a letter everything except five days in advance with the holiday it
slipped my mind but luckily ms emerson reminded me and i got it to her okay cool you may proceed
and begin to share your screen certainly so good morning members of the board i should be sharing
my screen at this point and i'd like to incorporate this entire packet into my presentation
we have the refusal appeal and project information form page one area zoning maps at eight needed ten
tax clearance at 17 zoning notification at 19 rco letter we have separately which i just received
last night from Ms. Emerson, voters of the property at 22, plans at 40. So members of the board,
this is an application for an existing structure that has multiple units in it. And what we'd like
to do is change one unit, which is routinely been lived in by Rob himself, which is in the
ground story of this building. We'd like to change that to a short term rental, given that Mr. Goodman
has moved into a different unit, that there's a significant demand for this in the area,
and the layout of this building is particularly well suited for a short -term rental in terms of
location, in terms of size, and everything else. That, along with the support of the community,
would show that this is not going to harm anything or anybody, and that this variant should be
granted. Our refusal is here at page 4. This is an IRMX property. Previously, this had
been the home of Little Baby's Ice Cream before they closed. There's currently music lessons
being taught there as well in addition to other dwelling units. So there's really not
much of a change other than from a long -term rental to a short -term rental for this specific
unit. Looking to this area zoning map on page 8, we can see that we are zoned in that pink
IRMX zone area in the middle of RSA 5 with some CMX, some multifamily, and another bit of IRMX in the area.
And this is just the overhead shot of the immediate area, so we know what we're looking at.
We're located close to Kensington Kappa, to NAR Square Park, the Conrad Square Park,
And most importantly, we're very close to the L, specifically the Berk stop, which means
that this is going to be suitable for public transit and people want to get out and about
in the neighborhood and in our state.
This is our deed.
This is our tax clearance showing that we have no balance due.
This is our letter that went out back in July.
Our community meeting with a proof of mailing.
Initial photographs of the property.
This is the interior.
These are the exterior photos showing the posting.
So this is from the corner of Susquehanna Avenue.
To the left, you see the orange sign behind the tree.
That's going to be the main entrance to this unit.
And it's a private unit.
Off to the right, maybe not so visible in this picture,
is the second zoning sign,
which is posted right on these handicapped accessible stairs.
These will lead directly into the Philadelphia music, guitar lessons, businesses located
in the building.
These are just some other shots of the immediate area.
This is looking down Susquehanna Avenue, eastbound toward Trenton, and it's looking westbound.
Newark Construction Homes Across the Street, which I believe were part of the $100 ,000
Home Project. This is the side of the building with the handicapped accessible entrance,
showing the posted sign on the side of the building. There's from the front of the building
where the entrance of the unit is, 2 ,111. And this is the overall floor plan, specifically
And this is the overall floor plan, specifically with respect to the one downstairs unit, storage
with respect to
is in the basement.
We're going to speak specifically as to the ground storage unit, the door that I showed
you all on the brick facing side of the building with the 2111 street number, and the mailbox,
that's indicated here on this plan where I'm indicating with my cursor.
You come in, hang off to the left, and you have about 650 square feet.
So it's a decent sized unit, not too big, not too small, is to encourage longer short
term visits from my clients, they've owned a number of properties in the area, they've
owned this particular building for a long time, and we just respectfully request that
this be used as a short term rental versus a long term rental due to the increasing nature
of it.
Due to the fact this is not a single family home that we're asking to convert, it's
existing apartment that's already being that was already being let out we're just kind of
switching the modes we're just seeking the legal ability to do so under the zoning code
so with the full support of east kensington neighbors association the fact that there's
no reason that this ought not be granted considering the underlying zoning and considering how
pardon me the proximity of this property not just at the berk street l 39 bus 5 bus and 25 bus this
makes it an ideal location for a short -term rental and we would ask that the zoning board
support the granting of this variance thank you would you want to have your testimony adopted
mr mobile i would mr goodman if you're on the line would you please raise your hand
wait and wait to speak once you are unmuted
not to speak hi mr goodman could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
Sure. It's David Rob Goodman, D -A -V -I -D -R -O -B -G -O -O -D -M -A -N.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Yeah. Good morning, Rob. You've heard my testimony today?
I have.
Is there anything you'd like to add at this point?
No, I think it was sufficient.
With respect to the unit itself, you're familiar with the layout, yes?
And in your opinion, it's a suitable rental for short -term purposes?
Yeah, very suitable. Perfect, in fact, yes.
Currently on the premises, is there a property manager or somebody else responsible for ensuring that the property is maintained?
I'm currently on the premises. I actually live directly above the unit in question.
so suffice it to say you're going to be vetting every single person that
were to rent out this place because it directly affects you as well right it does okay um i don't
have any other questions questions from the board thank you no mr chairman oh you know mr goodman i
forgot the magic words do you without my testimony as your own if he's already muted i'm just gonna
to say he does well you're an officer of the court mr movil will accept that thank you
questions or comments from the virtual audience
here's some information do not see any further hands mr chair planning commission
thank you chair bergman and higarty for the philadelphia city planning commission
board members in 2016 the zoning map was amended from i2 to irmx in accord with recommendations
from the comprehensive plan this proposed use is consistent with the configuration of the building
and with the existing non -residential uses on other sections of this irmx property the city
planning commission recommends that the board grant the variance mi 2022 003 577 21 11 to 15
East Susquehanna Avenue I vote yes with proviso temporary variance until 12 -1 -25
and use limited to unit number one. Carol Tenere yes with proviso.
Thomas.
James Snell yes with proviso.
thank you mr mulvihill just to clarify for purposes of what we're showing on the plan
and your proviso the unit is 1b as shown in our plan just okay so we'll hillary will change that
to 1b yes we can update to 1b i was going off of what was on the refusal thank you mr mulvihill
thank you we appreciate that
have a good day everyone
is there anyone in the virtual audience
whose case has not been called
don't see any answers okay see everybody two o 'clock
don't see any
see everybody at 2 o 'clock
all right thank you all right thank you thanks everyone oh
good afternoon my name is bill bergman and i will be chairing this afternoon's eba hearings
with me is carol tenere our vice chair
I believe she's here, so we'll get back to her.
Ishmael Shahid, our board secretary.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Thomas Hollman, our board member.
And James Snell, our board member.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also with us is our attorney, Hillary Emerson, and our ZBA hearing supervisor, Lakeisha Dandy.
Before we begin, here's our virtual format.
Be advised proceedings are being recorded.
By participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded.
A video will be available by contacting tanyasunkett at phil .gov.
For the benefit of our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you are participating by phone, if you wish to testify, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.
To enter an appearance statement, call 267 -270 -5548.
Leave your email and address of the property in question.
And finally, the question and answer box on the screen is not for comments or testimony.
Any comments have to be directed to our Executive Director, Tanya Sunkett.
Let's look at our continuances for this afternoon.
Number two, MI 2021 -003 -767, 2622 East Allegheny Avenue.
Number 12. MI 2022 -003 -964 -2236 North 16th Street. And number 13. MI 2022 -003 -991 -4076
6 spring garden street that is a continuance attorney moving party are there any comments
relative to the three continuances i just called good afternoon mr chair this is jason hand i do
not see any hands at this are there any other requests for continuances
once again sir no hands at this time thank you we're going to go to our add -on list
hold on one minute our first add -on list is MI 2020 000 631 4230 Otter Street number two
for point of information RCO Belmont Alliance Civic Association has a letter of support
RCO West Belmont letter of support and the People's Emergency Center has a letter of support
and Councilwoman Gauthier also supports this project. Planning Commission could you please
give your recommendation? Thank you Chair Sarah Bond S -A -R -A -H -B -A -N -H.
All right you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Proceed.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing RSA 3 single -family semi -detached housing.
The applicant has failed to demonstrate a hardship.
Accordingly, the Planning Commission recommends the Board deny the variance.
Thank you.
MI 2020 -000631 -4230 Otter Street, number two, I vote yes.
Carol can't vote on this.
I'm not voting on this.
Great.
Jim? No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Carol. I did watch. This is Hillary. I watched the video.
You were present for this. You can vote on this one. I had to rewatch it and you were on there.
So, you know, I thought I was. It's Otter Street. Carol Teneri, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Sahih, my vote is yes. Thank you. Our second add -on.
MI -2022 -00.
MI 2022 -003 -642 -514 West Burke Street.
I vote yes with proviso.
Revised plans, two pages, stamped by ZBA, November 30, 2022.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes with proviso.
James Snell, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Thank you. We're going to go to regular list.
MI 2022 -003 -963 -10700 -NITROVE.
Ronald Patterson is the attorney.
Letter of support from West Tarsdale, Morrell Park Civic Association with a Proviso.
and letter of non -opposition from Councilman Brian O 'Neill.
Patterson will be rejoining as a panelist.
Okay, thank you.
Hi, good afternoon.
Hi, Mr. Patterson.
Could you state your name and spell please for the court reporter?
Sure. Ronald Patterson, P -A -T -T -E -R -S -O -N, with Claire Harrison Law Firm, that's K -L -E -H -R, 1835 Market Street, Philadelphia PA 19103, on behalf of the owner -applicant, which is Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson Medicine.
Thank you. Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Hi, do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, the refusal or referral, photos under plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Yes, I have, to all of the above.
Okay, great. You may proceed and begin to share your screen.
Great, thank you.
You see my screen?
Just about.
Beautiful.
That's gorgeous.
Yeah. So thank you. This regards 10700 Knights Road. It is a satellite standalone building as part of the Jefferson Tarsdale Hospital complex. And this picture you're looking at as part of the complex.
This is the site here, which is a little bit down the street. But the complex houses the hospital, a trauma center, and a Kimmel Cancer Center. So with regard to this property, it's a standalone building.
um it's located in an rsa4 residential zoning district although as you can see by the building
was never built for residential uh there's an existing music school saturn music school has
has a program there uh it was last used for treatment of of patients and rehabilitation
but so this application uh is for a new medical use that's called it's an outpatient
Vestibular Therapy Program, or VRT as it may be called. It's for patients that have equilibrium
and balance disorders. It's caused by many, many causes. But in this location, which would be half
of the building, the Settlement Music School would stay on the other half of the building.
Let me just locate this here.
We would occupy half of the building and the half of the building, which would be the half that is facing.
Let me get to the site plan here.
This upper half is settlement. This half would be the Rehabilitation Center, access off of Knights Road with a parking lot, having, I believe it's 24 parking spaces.
So access is from there.
Operations would be Monday, 8 to 8 p .m., Tuesday through Thursday, 7 to 8 p .m., Friday, 8 to 4 .30 p .m., no weekend hours.
Approximately 10 employees with 40 to 50 patients per day, which translates into about 10 to 12 per hour, which is important to show about the no adverse impacts.
The entrance, as I mentioned, is off a night road. There are 28 spaces, which, based on the numbers I just mentioned, will be more than adequate to suffice for this particular use.
for this particular use. As you can imagine, here's the building. Yeah, it's in a residential
district, but the hardship lies in the design, the configuration, the past and current uses of
the building. Clearly not a single -family dwelling unit and not, you know, viable to convert it to
one. Yet the property can be used to accommodate this use, which has used a medical use in the
past, causing no adverse impacts on the public health, safety, welfare, or traffic, and actually
I would call it a beneficial use for this location. As Chairman mentioned, we did meet with West
Tarsdale Morrell Park Civic Association. The property is also located in a northeast overlay,
which permits no medical uses for historical reasons, but in reality what happens is you
You then meet with the local RCO and explain what your use is and the actual nature of the medical use, which is what we did.
And we do agree to the proviso conditions that were set forth in the association's letter, which I'm putting on the screen here.
So with that said, I'd like to promote one witness, John Malara, M -A -L -A -R -A.
John, could you please state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
Sir, if you're in the virtual audience, please raise your virtual hand.
He's been about to speak, sir.
Do we see him?
Yes, he's been allowed to speak, sir.
Okay. Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell it for the court reporter?
Sure. Thank you, Chairman. My name is John, J -O -H -N, Malara, M -A -L -A -R -A.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceeding counsel.
Thank you. Hi, John. Could you tell the board your position with Jefferson?
Thank you, Ron. My position is a senior director, clinical operations of the service line, one being physical medicine and rehabilitation.
Okay. And so you're overseeing this project, we could say?
Yes, that's correct.
Okay. And you've heard my presentation. Would you agree that it's true and accurate and you would adopt it as if it were your own?
Would you like to add anything about what the services that are being provided here, rehabilitation services?
Sure. I'd be happy to. Thank you, Ron.
And this is a long overdue, really, initiative for the Tarsdale Hospital and really the respective community.
At the present state, we have a physical therapy, occupational therapy, and physiatry location that is in the hospital proper.
As you can imagine, the patients have to come.
They park in the parking garage.
You know, some walk almost a mile to navigate the hospital and the wayfinding to that present
location, and as you can imagine, from a physical therapy standpoint, some of those patients have
significant challenges. This new location, standalone location, would allow for improved
access, and we will be providing services of physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech
therapy and physiatry, which would be EMGs. Great. And as you mentioned, there is parking
here as shown on the screen. And is it your position that this parking is adequate to serve
the number of employees and patients you expect to receive per hour? Yes, it is. And you also
are aware of the provisos and we agree that there's proviso conditions, John? Yes, I do.
Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That's all I have. Thank you. Questions from the board?
no mr chairman no questions or comments from the virtual audience
no answer mr chair okay planning commission thank you chair sarah bond philadelphia city
planning commission s -a -r -a -h -b -a -n -h board members the proposed use is consistent with
documented previous uses on this property the city planning commission recommends that the
Zoning Board grant the variance. Thank you. MI 2022 -003 -963 -10700 -NITRODE. I vote yes with
proviso. Use limited to provisions of physical, speech, occupational therapy, as well as
electromyography testing. Carol Tenere, my vote is yes with proviso. Thomas Holliman.
Harold Tenere, my vote is yes with provisos.
Thomas Holliman, my vote is yes with provisos.
James Snell, yes with provisos.
Ishmael Shaheed, yes with provisos.
Thank you counsel.
Great, thank you. Have a great day.
You too.
Number three, MI 2022 -004 -017 -5427 Wayne Avenue.
So, Dorothy Ann Hamill is the attorney.
Letter of support from Faith Community Development Corporation.
Councilwoman Cindy Bass is not opposed to the granting of this variance.
Mr. Chair, this is Hillary.
I just wanted to update a couple things on this case.
One, we have to receive the tax clearance.
So, unless the board would like to deliberate on this case,
after it hears it. It can be voted on today. Secondly, we received a letter from Swampoodle
Neighborhood Parcels Association, another RCO in the area, asking for a temporary three -year
special exception and that the trash be stored in another location. Councilman Bass was in support
of a temporary three -year special exception. Thank you. Thank you very much. Dorothy Ann Hamill,
Please, the attorney.
Mr. and promote it to the panel, sir.
Hi, could you state your name?
Good afternoon, members of the panel.
My name is Dorothy Hamill.
I represent the owner of the property.
This is an application to, for a zoning, for a.
Yeah, so why don't we do this?
Why don't you do me a favor?
Could you spell your name for the court reporter first?
Oh, sure. I totally forgot. Dorothy Ann, D -O -R -O -T -H -Y -A -N -N -E, one word. Hamill, H -A -M -I -L -L, with Sherlin, Lesser, and Benson.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client in a relationship to this property?
My client is the owner of the property at 5427 Wayne Avenue.
could could you tell me who that owner is it's colonial apartments okay colonial garden apartments
llc all right so our vice chair has a few questions i'm the samuel do you agree to
wave the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy i do have you emailed the exhibit
packet with proof of ownership tax compliance refusal referral photos under plans of the
property five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter
i do okay you may proceed and begin to share your screen which is already up let's see
sorry i got ahead of myself this is uh so this project at 5427 wayne avenue this property is
an apartment complex consisting of 72 units, and there are two non -residential spaces at the
property. The proposal today is for the operation of a group daycare, which has a maximum
occupancy of 12 children. The plan is for children between the ages of three months
and three and a half years. I've provided a copy of the deed showing ownership of the property.
This is a copy of the application for appeal and the referral. I've included copies of the postings
at the property, a copy of the letter to the RCOs and the neighbors, a copy of the
certified letters that went out to the neighbors for the hearing. And so these additional pictures,
So to give a little background, we had met with the community groups about three and a half weeks ago by Zoom, obviously.
And at the time of the hearing, there were the members of the local community organization's management, but there were no actual community members.
So the RCUs asked us if we would reschedule the meeting, try again, and flyer the neighborhood.
and flyer the neighborhood. Bright colored postings to be delivered to the houses within
Bright, colorful.
the 200 block area. Postings all within the building and down the main corridors.
which we did and I have here I have a few pictures of the postings within the building I can also
share if need be which I received today pictures of postings taped to sidewalks the quarter
quarter sidewalk walls, the telephone poles in the neighborhood, various areas to notify the
neighbors of the second hearing. We had the second hearing with the RCO on Monday,
made our presentation. At that time, the same, the issue arose, which was the same issue that
arose in the first hearing, which was not particularly about the use, but regarding
the trash situation at the property. And the trash, this is pictures of the project
and down the street uh our client has had to own the property for about four years
they made significant upgrades to the property uh security cameras lighting uh updated the
apartments and um have done a lot of work to the property and have now looking you know have had
some interest for the two non -residential spaces, which is where the tenant comes in.
This is the layout of what the space will look like, and then this is an actual interior
picture. So the issue with the trash is that the only place for the trash container to be
is to, if you're looking at this picture, to the right of the building that has the
yellow signage in front of it, there is the enclosure for trash. It is the only location
available for the trash receptacle because the trash trucks have to be able to access
the dumpster and the alley that is behind the property is not big enough. We had we actually
had the trash hauler come out to to take a look and give us their opinion and they said their
trucks would not be able to access the dumpsters from another location. So because of where the
property is located it's on a major thoroughfare in germantown and the um
the they and we had residents who were at the zoom hearing who with the rco testifying that
people come by and just throw their trash not residents but people driving by get out or don't
even get out. They just throw their trash. People walking by throw their trash in the property. So
when this was raised three weeks ago at the RCO meeting, before we even had the second meeting,
we contacted the trash hauler, and we increased the pickups from four days a week to six days a
week. In addition, we had the trash hauler come out, show them the area, explain to them that
when they remove the trash dumpsters, they also have to make sure that they're sweeping up whatever
gets left behind as a result of them removing the dumpsters. We have also ordered a new door
for the trash and closer new locks. We're also having new dumpsters delivered. The current
dumpsters are functional, but they have some graffiti on them. So we've asked them to provide
us with additional dumpsters. In addition, there is an on -site management office that is currently
being constructed. As a result, there will be an on -site manager Monday through Friday from 9am to
Monday through Friday from 9 a .m. to 5 p .m. In addition, there is an on -site maintenance
supervisor who lives on the property who is available 24 -7 and is available if anything
comes up. We think that because the commercial spaces that are at the front of the property
you know, due to the pandemic have been vacant. I think, you know, it
I think it encourages people, you know, walking by not to respect the property and just
toss their trash. You know, we've had a little vandalism with the locks and things like that.
So we think that a combination of new doors, new dumpsters, new locks,
every day, every weekday, on -site management, an occupied commercial space, and
the continued on -site 24 -hour maintenance supervisor, that that should
significantly reduce the trash issues that have happened in the past.
um we've put those new protocols into place the new dumpsters endure and locks will are to
are supposed to be delivered and put in place uh before the end of the year um the the current
so that deals with the trash as far as the use this is a um group daycare which limits the
number of children to 12. The operator who is on the call will be on site every day.
She will also have two to three additional employees on site. She is a retired nurse
and is a resident of the city.
She is not a Germantown resident,
but she is more of a, I believe,
West Philadelphia resident.
So she's familiar with the city.
She's met with the city and the state
and has submitted what she can to date
in order to obtain her certifications
and approvals that are needed.
Obviously, you know, if she's successful, if we're successful today and she obtains her zoning approval, she'll be able to move forward to obtain the rest of the approvals, complete the work within the space and be able to to operate.
So, why don't why don't you have your testimony adopted by her?
Absolutely.
okay uh could you call her name please and we'll get her to raise your hand
sure hold on just a moment i uh i have uh steven jaffe could i have him uh i'd like to him to
adopt the testimony as far as the trash is concerned. Stephen, could you, Stephen Jaffe,
could he be promoted? Sure. Could you raise your hand, Mr. Jaffe?
Mr. Jaffe has been allowed to speak, sir. Okay. Could you state your name and spell it,
please, for the court reporter? How are you doing? My name is Stephen Jaffe. Last name spelled
j -a -f -f -e i'm with 5427 wayne avenue right do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth i do proceed counsel mr jackie you've heard my testimony with regard to
the proposed use the um what was done in order to uh deliver notice to the residents uh within the
200 foot radius of the property and the testimony with respect to the trash and the steps that have
been taken to improve the trash. Correct? Yes. And do you adopt, do you confirm that my testimony
is true and correct? And do you adopt that testimony as if it was your own? Yes, definitely.
All right. Thank you. Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual order?
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Mr. Chairman, I have Ms. Allison Weiss with her hand raised.
I have a loud voice.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Allison, A -double -L -I -S -O -N, Weiss, W -E -I -S -S, Solo Germantown Civic Association.
Hi, do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed.
Sorry, one second. Allison, I'm sorry I misidentified you as a swab poodle earlier. I had a lot of emails going back and forth today. So I apologize. Chair, the letter that we received was from I'm Sola Germantown.
I understand. I recognize this voice right away.
Okay. Thank you. I still am not clear on how the trash is used. It appears that it's used by each and every tenant. So will there be a key given to each and every tenant to access the locked storage that you're proposing?
so so why don't we do this why don't we you you tell me your issues when you're done testifying
i'll bring the attorney back on and she'll answer okay what other issues do you have
okay well it's basically about the trash and we're um suggesting that um the special exception be
we have i understand that yes and i understand the council is supporting that so thank you
All right. Counsel?
I'm happy to address that.
Just address the trash where it's going to be and will there be a key?
The trash will remain where it is.
There will not be a key because I think that would be very cumbersome.
So the idea is to have a lockbox on the trash dumpster and the residents of the community will be given the three digit lockbox code.
so that only they will be able to access the trash area and the trash dumpsters.
Thank you. Thank you.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Mr. Chair, this is Hillary.
Could Ms. Hamill comment on the request for a temporary special exception?
Ms. Hamill, are you okay with the special exception?
Yes, we're fine with that.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
no answer mr chair hi planning commission
thank you chair sarah bond city planning commission s -a -r -a -h -b -a -n -h
the proposed use is not likely to cause detrimental impacts beyond what reasonably
might be expected therefore the city planning commission recommends that the zoning board
grant the variance. Thank you. MI 2022 -004 -017 -5427 Wayne Avenue. I vote yes with proviso. Trash
stored in dumpster and commercial trash pickup six days a week. Carol Tenere, my vote is yes with
proviso. Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes with proviso. James Snell, yes with proviso.
So, Ishmael Shaheed, yes, we're providing them.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you very much, everyone.
Have a good day.
Thank you, too.
So, number four, MI 2022, 432 Cancel Street.
Rachel Pritzker slash Brandon Sabrin are the attorneys.
Letter of non -opposition from 7th Street Civic Association.
Concerns raised about living quarters in the basement.
and letter of non -opposition from Council Member Mark Squilla, noting concerns from the RCO.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.
Brandon, please state your name and spell it for the court reporter.
Sure. My name is Brandon Saverin. That's B -R -A -N -D -O -N. S as in Sam, A, V as in Victor, R -A -N.
All right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do. Could you identify your client and their relationship to the property?
Sure. So my client is BVG Property Group LLC. They are the equitable owner as they are under
contract to purchase the property from the Philadelphia Land Bank, who is the title owner.
Thank you. Our vice chair has a few questions.
Hi, Brandon. Do you agree to wait the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, I do.
Yes, I do.
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal, referral, photos, and or plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing? And have you met with the RCO? And do you have a letter?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership?
Yes, to all of the above.
Okay, great. You may proceed and begin to share your screen.
Thank you. Okay.
Good afternoon, members of the board.
I'm here today to discuss a proposed subdivision and development of a double -wide lot known as 432 -34 Cantrell Street.
I'll just briefly note that I will discuss the RCO's concern with basement living quarters.
I have floor plans to show you. And I would just note that under my client, the applicant's purchase agreement with the land bank, these two homes that we're proposing to build must be sold rather than rented.
So these are going to be single -family, owner -occupied homes. As such, I don't think it's personally particularly necessary to restrict what the owner of a private home can do in their basement, but nonetheless, I'm happy to discuss that as you see fit.
So I'm going to show you some exhibits. All of the exhibits I'm going to walk through, and I'll try and do that expeditiously, are in our exhibit binder, with the exception of the Atlas webpage, which I have up in front of you right now.
I like using Atlas because I can sort of pan the images, but I do have still aerial photos in the exhibit packet that you can also view.
So this is a close up in this upper right quadrant of the property here on Cantrell.
In the bottom, this is sort of a bird's eye view.
This is Snyder Avenue where my cursor is.
And south of the property, what you have is a section of homes between 4th and 5th Street
that basically, with the exception of this apartment building,
they all look exactly like what we are proposing to develop which is two -story homes on lots that
are almost exactly the same size as all of the surrounding homes so the goal is to fit into our
surroundings nothing more nothing less moving on so the current lot is a double wide lot of about
1 ,300 square feet. So step one of our proposal, and this is the piece that actually drew the
refusal, is to subdivide the lot into two so that it's no longer double wide and is roughly the same
size as all the other parcels on the street, on the block. Here's the refusal that was generated
by our zoning permit application. It says that we are proposing to subdivide the lot into two lots
and then erect an attached single family home on each lot.
No refusals other than for minimum lot area
because the lot area of each lot
is only going to be 658 square feet.
But although that does not meet the code,
I've discussed in my memo of law here
that on our block,
we are really fitting in with the neighbors.
So a lot of lots are also exactly our size and some are a tad bit larger.
This is an excerpt of the application that my client made to PHDC, which is an organization that is a parent organization of the Redevelopment Authority, who at the time of the application owned this double wide lot.
And what my client applied to do is purchase a series of properties, including the subject property and others from the RDA via a transfer from the RDA to the land bank.
And my client would be obligated to develop all of these properties for sale at prices that are affordable to folks making under 120 % of area median income for Philadelphia.
This is the page of the application that shows and discusses that.
You'll see way down here, one of the properties they applied for is the subject property at 432 -34 Cantrell.
This was met with acceptance by PHDC.
So as a result, we got these letters authorizing us to make this application.
Broadly, it says that BBG Property Group, my client, may obtain building permits, zoning permits, zoning.
Uh, BVG property group, my client may obtain building permits, zoning permits, zoning variances,
and any other zoning relief necessary to develop these 14 residential units or properties. Um,
and then here's a letter that's specific to this case that says BVG property group can start the
process of subdividing, uh, the Cantrell property. We also have, which I'm not going to flip through,
a more formal, full -length purchase and development agreement that governs all of this.
Mr. Chairman, you mentioned the RCO's decision letter, which was taking a position of non -opposition.
The basement issue I'm going to turn to in one moment, they also sort of expressed that they
would like the units to be sold even more cheaply than the land bank is obligating my client to sell
them for. But I think that that's not exactly a zoning issue is my primary concern with that.
I also don't know that it's my job or the boards to sort of second guess the economic work of the
land bank as they are experts in affordable housing. This is the floor plan, tentative
floor plan set. So two family dwellings with, sorry, two -story dwellings with a basement,
no roof deck. So here's the proposed first floor of each home, which really no bedrooms on that
main floor. Again, these are, you know, lots of under 700 square feet, which is typical for this
neighborhood. So, you know, really sort of traditional Philadelphia layout here, kitchen
and living room uh in on the first level um basement would have um uh sort of like two areas
if you will um one we're calling a media room one we're calling a bedroom the bottom line is they're
really rooms with which the owner of the homes can do whatever they'd like it's not going to be
my client's house at the end of the day um and you know they will have um the egress well to code
and have a bathroom, a secondary bathroom down there.
I mentioned no roof deck that's shown here.
And then here is the second floor of each home,
which would have a master bedroom and a master bath.
And what we're currently showing is a den on the other end.
I have asked that the board grant these variances
if they are inclined with three pages of stamped plans.
those three pages are a zoning plan for each proposed home and a lot line relocation plan
there were very very minor adjustments made to these plans since our initial application and
that necessitated our asking you to stamp the the three pages via proviso for revised plans
this is one set of zoning plans here's here's the other one application but it concerns
both homes since it's currently one lot. Real briefly, before I bring my client on,
I will just touch on the hardship. If I go back to Atlas, you'll see that the subject lot
has been vacant if you flip through the historic imagery since at least 1996.
So I believe that over most of that time, it's been owned by public -related entities.
uh uh well it looks here that that's been the case since 2005 um the city or its uh related
entities have had no success getting this property developed uh as a double wide lot so what that
says to me is that um we need to to subdivide this to fit the fabric of the neighborhood
in order for a um in order for the market to want to build something here um you know that's
a very good reason to grant a variance under hardship law. The current shape of the property
is not viable. It's not developable. And that's because nobody needs or wants a double -wide home
here for the construction price. Beyond that, I think that I will rest. And Justin Veazey is
the gentleman from BBG Property who would be adopting my testimony. Hi. Justin, could you
state your name and spell for the court reporter?
So it's
Justin Veazey, J -U -S -T -I -N
V -E -A -S -E -Y. Right.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth? I do.
Proceed, counsel. Thank you, Mr.
Chair. Justin, did
you hear the full extent of my
testimony in this case today?
yes and was it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge yes um and would you therefore
Yes. And was it true
and accurate to the best of your knowledge?
adopt it as if it were your own testimony yes okay thank you thank you questions from the board
no mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no answer mr chair planning commission
Thank you, Chair. Sarah Bond, City Planning Commission, SARAHBANH. The proposed dimensions are consistent with nearby properties. The City Planning Commission recommends that the Zoning Board grant the variance.
Thank you. MI -2022 -005 -283 -4032 Cancel Street. I vote yes with proviso. Revised plans, three pages, stamped by ZBA, November 30, 2022.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes with proviso.
James Snell, yes with proviso.
ishmael shaheed yes we're proviso thank you counsel thank you all thank you number five
mi -2022 -004 -586 -7111 germantown avenue steve masters is the attorney letter of support from
east mount airy neighbors councilwoman bass has no opposition
still waiting for a tax clearance
mr masters yes good morning mr chair members of the board
steve masters s -t -e -v -e m -a -s -t -e -r -s i'm with the law firm of just laws and i represent philly
office retail the property owner in this matter do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole
truth and nothing but the truth? I do. Our vice chair has just a few questions.
Mr. Masters, do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes. Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal
referral, photos and or plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing? And have
you met with the RCO and do you have a letter? Yes, to all of your questions. Okay, great.
you may proceed and begin by sharing the screen.
Mr. Masters, is the tax clearance?
Yes, I wanted to address the tax clearance.
We are in the process of getting it,
but we do not have it at the moment.
Okay, thank you.
All right.
All right.
we are here today on 7111 Germantown Avenue. This is the second time that this project has been
before the board. In our first appearance earlier this year, the board approved a special exception
for the Lantern Theater Company to occupy the vacant church sanctuary building. And this time,
we are here for a single dimensional variance for our lot adjustment to basically subdivide and
separate out the Lantern Theater Company's structure from the remaining portions of the lot.
There won't be any physical changes to any structure with the granting of this subdivision.
The property will look exactly the same. It is a non -conforming property. It was built
in the turn of the last centuries before our zoning code and as we'll see in a moment
there is a a rear yard setback that that is not in compliance with the current zoning for cmx2
the refusal here is a fairly technical one and it's so parcel b is the one that where the lantern
theater company is going to operate out of. And as I'll show you in a moment, it used to be
the whole structure was one single detached structure. Now with this subdivision, it becomes
two semi -attached structures. And because we have a party wall, we no longer have any rear yard
behind the part of the, behind the building where the Lantern Theater will be.
So we have here the letter of support from East Minorie Neighbors,
and we had a full discussion, and they were happy to support this subdivision.
I'm going to skip down.
I'm going to skip down. In our exhibits, we have the full condominium declaration,
And we, in our exhibits, we have the.
which was recorded, and then a second declaration that was recorded to correct
certain aspects of descriptions dealing with the building that we're talking about,
where the Lantern Theater is going to be. In that second condominium declaration,
it clarified that the condominium association for the residents who live in the remainder of
the property doesn't have jurisdiction over this new building that we're creating the new building
with the subdivision where the lantern theater will be. And that's really why it makes total
sense to have this be subdivided and have it be a separate structure since the entire rest of the
lot is all belonging to and for the use and enjoyment of the residents of those condominiums.
So here we have here.
Here we have the site plan.
So, as you can see, all of these spaces here are the residential condominiums.
This is a parking area that's only for the use of the residential condominiums.
And this is the building that we are going to be subdividing out, and that's where the Lantern Theater Company will be.
Right now we can see there's an existing nonconformity.
The rear wall of this structure is too close to the property boundary.
And if when we subdivided it, that nonconformity remained the same extent, then it would be by right under the zoning code.
But because this is a party wall and it's fire rated completely for being a separate structure, there are no means of ingress or egress between the residential area and the theater area.
But because now this is a party wall where there's literally no setback, that's why it triggered the refusal for that dimensional variance.
Whoa, all right, let's bring this guy back.
We also have the deed, the RCO letters
and the proof of mailing.
Photos.
Yeah, these are external views of the property.
This area here is where the Lantern Theater building is.
This is the parking area I referenced, and these back here are parts of the residential condominiums.
This is another view of the Lantern Theater Company's building, and it goes kind of midway down here, and then the residences come in towards the rear.
This is the end of the Lantern Theater building, and the residences are behind here.
This is our zoning notice poster and refusal postings, both in the front and on the side of the property.
and we do have um a number of different um hardship um claims here uh basically in order
for us to put a 10 .4 foot rear yard setback we would have to essentially demolish the church
sanctuary which is a historically designated building and to create a new building with a
rear wall that is at least 10 .4 feet away from the front wall so strict compliance with the
dimensional requirements would require us to destroy a beautiful historically designated
building. It would also violate the terms of the condominium declaration, which specifically
outlines the precise boundaries of all of the structures on the lot. And it would violate the
historical code of the city to destroy a building for no legitimate reason. In terms of the minimum
variance, the elimination of any rear yard setback for this parcel would be basically
the variance that we have is the minimum variance because there is no way to provide any amount of
rear yard setback between parcel B and parcel A without destroying the sanctuary. I wanted to
parcel b and parcel a without destroying the sanctuary i wanted to um i wanted to at this
time ask kate sconer from philly office retail to testify to um one of the urgent needs for
this subdivision at this time um which which arose because of an issue dealing with pico
and electrical service so if kate could raise her hand i could you state your name please
and spell for the court reporter. Hi, my name is Kate Schoener, K -A -T -E -S -C -H -O -E -N -E -R.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do. Proceed, counsel. Sure. First, Kate, you've heard my testimony up till now. Do you
affirm that it's true and accurate and adopted as your own? Yes, I do. Great. Kate, can you talk
to the board about the issues that have arisen with PICO, with applying for enhanced electric
service to the new Lantern Theater Company? Sure. So in last summer 2021, we signed a lease
with the Lantern Theater Company. They're undergoing a full renovation to what we refer
to as the sanctuary portion of the building. And in their engineering and design, it was
concluded that they needed a larger electric service than what is currently provided for the
building. We immediately applied for a new PICO service last December of 2021. I immediately
received a notice back from PICO and we scheduled an appointment to view the building in January 2022
due to the multiple services that would need to come into the to the building. It was immediately
determined by both PECO and a representative from licenses and inspections that a separate address
would be needed in order for us to receive a second electric service from PECO.
And what this means is there is currently an upgraded electric service transformer
in the rear of the property for the condos only. PECO gave us two options. Either we
tap off of that existing electric transformer in the rear, which would mean that we would need
the approval from the condo association, and we would need to disrupt multiple condo units that
have already been finished and sold to new owners. So it would be nearly impossible for us to
use the existing transformer and bring in a new service to the sanctuary building in the front.
The alternative is that we would need to receive a second, sorry, a new address from the city of Philadelphia in order to receive a second electric service into the building.
I immediately reached out to OPA and there's no method of receiving a second address without fully subdividing the property.
And so that's why we've come before you today.
Thank you.
That's all we have unless we have an architect available if there are questions.
No, we're fine.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Mr. Chair.
Hi, Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chair.
sarah bond city planning commission s -a -r -a -h -b -a -n -h the proposed variance is minimal and does not
conflict with the purpose and the spirit of zoning code the philadelphia city planning commission
recommends that the zoning board grant the variance thank you hillary will hold the vote
for the tax clearance yes mr chair so uh mr masters uh we're closed and as soon as we get
the tax clearance, we'll get you back in here, okay? Okay, thank you so much. Thank you.
Number six, MI 2022 -004 -118 -1101 -53 Chessna Street. Stephanie Boggs is the attorney.
Recommendation of non -opposition from Washington Square West Civic Association.
Letter of non -opposition from Council Member Mark Squilla.
Mr. Chair, I have a hand raised from KHHB LLC.
I will allow them to speak at this time
so they can -
...by themselves.
Hi, could you state your name, please,
and spell for the court reporter?
Yes, Carl.
proceed
Proceed.
I'm sorry
I'm sorry, sir.
C. O 'Neill
Stephanie's still on maternity leave
so we're filling in for her
also on the line
should be
could you do me a favor
just state your name again
Carl Primavera
B -E -R -A
and then also hopefully on the line
we will have Bill McDowell
and Charles Norman from
National Realty
uh hopefully i'm going to just be available to adopt my testimony all right and you also have
available i assume uh hugh lowry uh and uh we also have the assistant counsel uh sherry hanley from
tju so call call why don't why don't we why don't we swear you in first right yes you swear a firm
to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do could you identify your client
and the relationship to the property?
Yes, my client is 1101 Chestnut Street LP.
It's an affiliate of National Realty.
And they ultimately are also going to be
turning over the completed hospital building
to Thomas Jefferson University.
But as of right now, National Realty is the applicant.
So our vice chair has just a few questions.
hi do you agree to wave the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
uh yes uh it is a referral for a special exception okay have you emailed the exhibit packet
with proof of ownership tax compliance refusal referral photos under plans of the property
five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter
yes to all eva okay great you may proceed and begin to share your screen um jason i just
wanted to know, this is Gussie O 'Neill. I'm helping out with the exhibits, and I'm going to be doing
it from another computer. I'm going to identify myself. If you could allow that computer to be
the share of the exhibits. Okay. I see your hand raised. We can do that. Yes, I'm promoting this
O 'Neill to our panelists at this time. Thank you so much. Thank you. So very briefly, the property
is in a CMX 5 zoning district. This building is actually completed from the exterior. It's a large
building, which is going to be called the Medical Office Building or Pavilion from Thomas Jefferson
University. It's part of the Girard Estate parcel that's been under development from Marcus Street
all the way to Chestnut Street by National Realty. And it's been a transformative project
uh throughout the process as you cross chestnut street to the south o 'neill could you miss o 'neill
could you put the photos up yeah it's uh i hit share and it's are you not seeing what i'm showing
no we're we'll see anything let me see if i can back out of this one second
mr primavera are you able to come on the can turn your camera on oh i'm sorry you should be on
I'm sorry, Ms. Emerson and Mr. Primavera, Ms.
There we go.
So we see the exhibit. Am I visible at this point?
We do not see you.
All right. How about...
Well, as we're working on that, with your permission, I'll just proceed.
Proceed.
Thank you. So you'll see in the red,
the location of the pavilion. And as we head south, we are pretty much in the Thomas Jefferson
campus area. So this plays an important role of connecting the Girard Estate redevelopment with
the expansion of Thomas Jefferson University and hospital. This is a special exception because
the special exception is required for use of the 15 -story roof as a wellness deck for patients
and their families. And we'll have a photo of that. And that's the exterior. Let's go back,
Gussie, on that. You'll see a view of the exterior there. And the lower portion of the building is
the 15 -story roof, which we intend to use for the roof deck for patient care. People who will be
coming to this facility will be primarily receiving treatments either as part of the
Kimball Cancer Center or some of the other facilities, urology, cardiology. And, Gussie,
if we move to the picture of the terrace, you'll see what a great opportunity for patients and
their clients and patients and their families to be able to have what we're calling an open
space for reflective wellness and for some other, you know, activities, no necessarily.
and for some other activities, no necessarily medical treatment, but part of the wellness
experience. And we've been through a very elaborate process originally with the building,
and we had CDR, and we had the other process for the as -of -right permit for the building.
And more recently, in November, we were in front of Wash West, and we have their letter of no
opposition. The one thing that they did ask us to confirm, and we're confirming here today,
there will be no heliport. There was a rumor somehow that there was going to be a heliport
on this terrace or on the building. There is not. That was a rumor that was unfounded.
So we are stipulating and we are committing that there is no heliport component
to this project at all. We believe that under the criteria for special exceptions,
this is an additive and beneficial part of the building and of the community,
no adverse impact. So we believe that we certainly meet all the criteria.
What I would like to do is have Bill McDowell, if he's available from National Realty,
uh just state his name on the record and adopt his adopt my testimony as his own if he's available
to do that he's been allowed to speak sir i could you could you state your name please and spell for
the court reporter hi it's bill b -i -l -l mcdowell m -c -d -o -w -e -l -l right do you swear or affirm to
tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do proceed counsel and bill uh you
You heard my testimony. I'm not going to repeat it, but do you believe it's accurate and truthful to the best of your knowledge as probably the most informed person about this project with National Realty?
Yes, absolutely. And I think as you stated, Carl, we have a setback of the building on the 15th floor.
and basically would like to occupy that floor and have designed it as a healing garden for the
cancer center, which begins on the 15th floor. It's been designed with some sun shading
protective devices, some above paver containers with plants and loose seating around. It also has
a glass protective wind barrier around the entire perimeter that goes up to about seven feet.
And we think that this will be a very beneficial addition to the hospital and especially to the
cancer center. Now, what condition or what is the state of the building in terms of completion?
the building is nearing completion we have national development is delivering the core
and shell of this building to jefferson and we will complete our work in june by june of 2023
and then this this terrace will be you know nearly complete but for the ffne for that jefferson will
then be performing, is already performing, but then they will spend some additional months
completing the tenant improvements and the clinical build -out, and will be opening the
building in accordance with their schedule sometime in 2024. So the terrace would be in
operation when they open the building for patients in probably the second quarter of 2024.
All right. And as we get to the closing, I just want to make sure. So the design of the building, including the terrace, has been done with specific input to the TJU requirements?
Very much so. TJU really performed the design of this based on their clinical needs and, you know, based on what they perceive as the best practices for the patients. They gave us the design and we're now in the process of completing it.
All right. I have no further questions.
All right. Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chair.
no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands mr chair hi planning commission
thank you chair sarah bond city planning commission s a r a h b a n h the proposed use is not likely
to cause detrimental impacts beyond what might reasonably be expected the city planning commission
recommends that the Zoning Board grant the variance. Thank you. MI 2022 -004 -118 -1101 -53
0 -0 -4 -1 -1 -8
11 -0 -1 -to -53
Chestnut Street.
Chestnut Street. I vote yes.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote
is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
You have the votes,
Mr. Primavera. Thank you very
much. I appreciate you're
indulging us with the technology snafus.
Thank you.
Bye now.
Number 7, MI
2022 -003 -965 -334 -South 24th Street, letter of non -opposition from Center City Residents
Association. Applicant also provided two form letters of support, non -opposition from neighbors
on the 300 block of South 24th Street. Mr. Orphanetes. We're joining us as a panelist, sir.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the board.
Hi, Mr. Orphanides. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Certainly. David Orphanides. Last name is spelled O -R -P -H -A -N -I -D -E -S.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client in a relationship to this property?
Certainly. My clients are Zachary Shapiro and Devin Maley. They are the owners of the property.
All right. Our vice chair has a few questions.
Hi, Mr. Orphanides. Do you agree to read the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal, referral, photos under plans of the property, five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Yes, on all the questions.
Okay, great. You may proceed, and I see that the screen is up.
Great. Okay. Again, my name is David Orfanides. I'm with the law firm of Orfanides & Toner here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1500 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Suite 800, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19102.
And again, I'm representing Zachary Shapiro and Devin Maley, who are the owners of the subject property.
This is a project. It's not an investment project. It's a project for them to reside here at this property.
um the uh you'll see in a couple minutes um that there is an existing three -story building
um located at the subject property which is on the northwest corner of south 24th and panama
street across from fitler square um that proper that existing structure uh takes up a large
portion the lion's share of the property it occupies there's 85 occupied area um and we're
looking to erect two one -story additions in the existing open area that reduces it to 93 point
or increases it to 93 .8 percent of open area but you'll see or occupied area I'm sorry but you'll
see with the presentation materials that we have that there are existing structures that surround
us that are as deep or if not deeper than our than our proposed structure that create kind of a well
in our backyard, that we won't have any impact on the air and light to neighboring properties.
Existing structure across the street on the southwest corner of Panama and South 24th Street
has a similar non -conformance in occupying the lion's share of the property with a small carve -out.
And you'll see that the basis for the granting of the variance will be established.
again as far as the rear yard depth presently it's a non -conforming rear yard depth
that there's an area that is presently covered with a shed roof and we're looking to just build
a one -story addition in that area that would bring us up to the wall sidewall the property
to the west of us on Panama Street again these additions will not be any deeper than the property
to the north of us and we have a letter of position letter support from that owner as well
as the next owner to the north of us and it will to the extent extends deeper closer to our rear
property line is up against you'll see the side wall uh the eastern wall of the property that
abuts us to the west on panama street again as indicated there is a letter of we did meet with
the coordinating rco which was ccra we advertised and emailed or not emailed but mailed by first
class certificate mailing to the list of addresses from the planning commission's website so it was
properly noticed in accordance with the requirements of the zoning code and again that meeting was back
in july and the ccra's position following that meeting was one of non -opposition and as reference
and the CCRA's position following that meeting was one of non -opposition. And as referenced,
the two neighbors to the north of us are both in support. Here's a letter from the abutting
property to the north of us at 332 South 24th, signing off on the drawings and a notice of
refusal, as well as the owners to the next property to the north. Judy Wicks is the owner
of the property butting us to the north and then um inga saffron and ken calvis are the owners of
the next property to the north so as i mentioned um the subject property is located right off of
fitler square um this is the property right here it's right off the south or northwest corner of
Fittler Square. There you'll see in a minute with both the zoning map and the Sanborn maps,
existing structures around us. The lot sizes, most of the lot sizes are larger to the extent
that they have more open area, more rear yard depth. The lots that are of a similar small size,
our lot size is only 711 .6 square feet. At our longest point, which is along Panama Street,
We're only 46 feet, two and a half inches deep.
You'll see in a minute that it's a very irregularly shaped lot and that we're only 15 feet wide at Panama Street.
But the other lot, there are a couple other lots, including the property across the street from us at 336 that are of a similar size, but similar to what we're looking to do here.
Their structure occupies most, if not all, of the property.
Here you can see a zoning map.
I'm just going to zoom in for a minute.
And you'll see a little bit of the irregularity here.
You can see here, but you'll see more in the zoning drawings.
But again, you'll see the property to the west of us occupies a large portion of the property, as well as the properties across the street.
Yes, sir.
Here's the zoning plans.
We do have revised plans.
we made two changes. One was to revise the occupied area to reflect the existing shed roof
at the subject property. The other was a streets issue regarding the curb, the ADA ramp at the
corner. And if approved, we would ask you to stamp those. That's one page that we've included
with our exhibit book and submitted. You can see right now, and I'll show you photos presently,
there's this open area here there's a shed roof over this area right here you'll see photos that
were installed by the prior owner my clients purchased a property in July of 2021 and have
been working on this project since then they have not moved into the property as of yet and then
here you'll see the one -story addition here that brings us up against the close to or up against
the western eastern wall the property abutting us to the west 2403 Panama Street and again you
can see here there's an existing fence wall and our property line actually extends on the other
side of that. That's been built over and is occupied by the property to the north of us at
332. And again, you can see that their building actually extends further to the west than ours
does. And then you can see again that we're in line with the depth of the building abutting us
to the west 2403 Panama Street. So one story addition here, one story addition here, and then
we're leaving an open area in this area right here. I will say that there was some communications
this morning from on the, I guess, the server for the some residents on the block. There may
have been some confusion regarding what was being proposed. Originally, we had gone to the
we had gone to historic commission to extend the third story roof to increase the height of it
and you can see that right here and it was that this addition additional bump up
and that you can see right here that was we elected following our meeting with the historic
commission they did not approve that even though you can see it's kind of in keeping with the
other properties to the north of us. And so the change that we've made is instead of increasing
the height at the third floor level of the existing roof, was just to do these two smaller
one -story additions. So some existing photographs again right off the corner of Fittler Square.
there is um this this is the area of the addition um there's an existing
There's an existing fence wall with a gate in it.
fence wall with a gate in it there's an existing glass structure
There's an existing glass structure right here that you can see, you can presently see from the street.
The idea, and you'll see in a minute, is the addition is going to have a sloped roof that's going to be made of all glass.
That's going to extend about the same height above the existing fence wall and then slope down.
And then beyond that, you'll see the one -story addition, but that's to the rear of the existing extension of the building to the west, that again, largely concealed by the existing fence wall.
This is the shed roof that the prior owner installed, and that's basically the area where the one -story addition that I had indicated that goes up to the western, the property to the west of us will be located.
And then this is the location. We'll remove this glass structure, remove this planter, and that's the location of the other one -story addition with the sloped roof.
And this is the existing fence wall that exists there right now that will remain.
We're going to keep that there and then build within that so we're not altering that fence wall.
Here are renderings of what the proposed addition is going to look like.
so you can see right here this is the roof of the addition it's going to be all glass
and the fence wall again will remain with a new door that's going to be located in it
and then some here's some additional renderings
there's not a lot of visibility uh other than directly across the street
of our property. As you extend down Panama Street, and these are photos that I took,
that rear yard area quickly becomes less visible. This is a 2414 Panama, 2416 Panama,
and you can see by 2420, 2422, you can't see it at all. It's a narrow street, a lot of trees,
a lot of foliage. This was taken, you know, back when the trees still didn't have leaves.
You can see, and I'll show you again on the zoning drawings.
Let me zoom in here. Again, this is a very small lot, only 711 square feet.
16 square feet of it is actually located on the other side of the wall that's utilized by the
abutting property owner, but you can see how it jogs around here. It has a little hook that extends
off of it. So it's regularly shaped. It's very small. The existing occupied area is 85%. So we're
only looking at an increase of 8 .8 % in occupied area, which is about, given the lot size, which
is a little over 62 square feet of lot area. Presently, as you can see, we don't have a
compliant rear yard depth and um and then we'll be extending that area all the way to the west
i did include the zoning archives for the properties uh surrounding us and across the street
uh let me just get here um and i think it's important here you take a look at the property
across the street and you can see on their plan you know that talks about the uh the small art
yard area. I did not have photos of that, but I didn't go on to Atlas, and you can see, I mean,
not Atlas, but on Google Street View, and this is what's located directly across the street from us
at 336 South 24th, you know, very small area that's been built over with a deck
open area, and then here's our existing building right over here, and then again, the building
directly to the west of us, so it's pretty tight quarters back there. You can see the property to
the north of us has a you know the one story that extends in the area of our lot past our rear
property line then they have a balcony to the rear and again we have the letter of support from that
owner. We did post the property in conformance with the requirements of the zoning code a copy
of that zoning notice that was posted along with the notice of refusal to attach a tab 18 along
with photographs of the posting at tab 19, both along South 24th Street and Panama Street.
Deed for the subject property showing my clients do own the property are included at tab 20,
a copy of our zoning board appeal, the project information form, the 14303 notice that went out
to the community group to the community is attached and then I did include Sanborn maps
and you can see historically this building has extended to the rear property line on that
section that extends deeper on the north portion of the property dating back you can see here to
1946. And then through the present day. And again, you get the sense of
And then through the present day.
And again, you get the sense of the, this doesn't really properly reflect the property to the north of us, the property to the west of us.
And you can see here the properties across the street.
I think if you take a look at the zoning map again, you can see how much smaller we are than a lot of the surrounding properties.
We're way shorter than the properties to the north of us on our side of South 24th Street.
Again, here's the property across the street that I showed on with street view that has a small cutout.
And then you can see other properties are largely, you know, extend deeper, have a lot more open area.
The property to the west of us you saw occupies almost all of that lot.
There's a very small area to the rear that looks not to be occupied.
And you can see that in the hand -drawn plans on the right here.
It looks like they only have a two -foot rear -yard depth right here, and that's in the zoning archives from the city's website, Atlas.
So, you know, given the irregularly shaped lot, given the small lot size, given – oh, one other thing.
I'm sorry.
I didn't get to the shadow study.
So real quickly, we did perform a shadow study, and what we did is we compared existing versus proposed, and then proposed versus a buy right.
this is it this property is an historic district and we understand that demolishing it and tearing
it down and building a 38 foot tall building with the roof deck and a pilot house is not
something that's going to happen but at the same time we just wanted to give the zoning board a
sense of how this compares to just a standard by right project and what you can see with the
shadow studies is that not only do we not shadow neighboring properties anymore than what presently
exists but that if you were in the area that's in blue shows how a buy right again if it were to be
approved by the planning commission um how it would shadow more uh we have presented this what
the two one -story additions to the historic commission i said planning commission i meant
historic commission um we did present as i told you the the original proposal for the third floor
bump up was uh presented to hear with hearings before the philadelphia historic commission
That was not viewed favorably. The two one -story additions have been provided to the Philadelphia Historic Commission, and the staff has indicated that that would be a staff review only, not needing full commission review, and that the staff approves of these two one -story additions.
With that, I'd like to have my clients and the architects adopt my statement. So, Devin or Zach could be promoted to panelists, as well as Catherine Treppendahl or Alex Davis from Trade Architects.
They've been about to speak, sir.
Could you state your name and spell, please, for the court reporter?
The owner, please.
Hello? Zach or Devin? Yeah, could you state your name and then spell it, please, for the court reporter?
Hi, Zachary Shapiro, Z -A -C -H -A -R -Y -S -H -A -P -I -R -O.
Can you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes. Proceed, Dave. All right, so I heard both Zach and Devin, you're both on, correct?
Yes. Okay, and you're the owners of the property?
And you purchased this property to live in it with you and your family?
And did you hear the statements that I made to the board today?
And are they true and correct to the best of your knowledge?
And would you adopt them as your own?
Thank you.
Thank you.
And then Catherine Trependall, the architect, or Alex Davis?
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Catherine Trevino, K -A -T -H -E -R -I -N -E -T -R -E -P -E -N -D -A -H -L.
All right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, not to quit the truth?
Yes, I do.
Proceed, counsel.
Catherine, did you hear the statements that I made today to the board?
And they true and correct to the best of your knowledge?
And would you adopt them as your own?
And just a couple quick questions.
You prepared the shadow studies that I have up right now for the board to review?
Yes, I did.
And did I correctly characterize that the proposed one -story additions do not create any additional shadowing beyond what the existing conditions would create?
That is correct, yes.
And that by right, understanding that the Historic Commission wouldn't allow it, but that a by right building 38 foot tall with a 42 inch parapet and a roof deck with a 10 foot tall, 125 square foot pilot house would actually shadow more than what we're proposing. Is that correct?
would actually shadow more than what we're proposing is that correct yes which are much
Yes, would shadow much more.
more it would affect neighboring um house neighboring properties which have solar panels
and uh neighboring 40 yards and did you did you i mentioned to the board that um
you had had some meetings or discussions with the historic commission regarding the two one
story additions um were you the one who had those conversations yes i was and then can you and am i
was it correct in how i stated it that this this this uh project if approved by the zoning board
uh would be reviewed at the staff level only yes they were very favorable toward this design
that didn't say that they would approve it if it were approved by the zoning
david she's really hard she's really hard for the court report yeah i wasn't sure yes thank
Thank you. Sorry, I apologize. I'm sorry. This is the reporter I was just about to.
Why don't we just make it simple? She adopts your testimony.
Okay, that's fine. Okay, thank you. So with that, we feel that we've established,
given the existing conditions surrounding this property, that the, of other structures and
other properties of similar small size and dimensions. Okay. None of them being this
irregular but that has been established that's the minimus variance that's required that there
isn't an impact to uh to conforming neighboring conforming properties to air and light
respectfully request that the variances be granted right um questions from the board
no mr chairman no mr chairman mr chairman all right questions or comments from the virtual
audience. Mr. Chair, I have a Mr. Mark Lord with his hand raised. Okay. Could you state your name,
please, and spell it for the court reporter? Yes, my name is Mark Lord, M -A -R -K -L -O -R -D.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do. Proceed. I live at 2406 Panama Street, and I have since 2016,
and I want to speak in opposition to the request for a zoning variance.
I think the zoning board made the correct decision in originally denying the request
on the grounds that there's not legally enough adequate space on the lot for the additions that
are proposed given the requirements for vacant space in terms of both the percentage of the
area of the lot that can be built on and the requirement for clearance at the rear of the
property which the current home already exceeds. I'm concerned about water runoff, and I'm also
concerned about the precedent that this exception would provide to additional development. The
part of homeowners are using variances that have been granted in the past as precedents for their
request. I think that there's good reasons for both of these rules, and I think that the variances
should be denied simply on those grounds. I also want to note that the Historical Commission staff
claims in its assessment of these one -story additions that the proposed additions would not
quote require the removal of historical materials but from my vantage point which is across the
street. The volume of that empty space that has historically defined the courtyard behind the
house is in fact a material thing with historic and practical and aesthetic values. I'm not a
member of the Historic Commission, but it seems to me that this big glass roof line is not actually
in the historic character of the neighborhood, and I can imagine variants being given on the
basis of a hardship, which I have not heard evidence of. Thank you very much for your
consideration. Thank you for your call, and we appreciate it. Is there anyone else in the
virtual audience? Sir, I have Mr. Andy Delzo with the hand raised. Hi, could you state your
name, please, and spell for the court reporter. Yeah, my name is Andrew Dalzell. Last name is
spelled D as in David, A -L -Z as in Zebra, E -L -L, and yeah, first name is Andrew. All right. Do you
swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? I do. Proceed. I live
at the other end of the block, sort of like the block was a bookend. This would be one end. I'm
at the west side. Yes. And I just wanted to speak in support of the application. I think, to use
David's words, this is the definition of de minimis. I'm excited for Zach and Devin and
Ren to move in. I think the requests are pretty modest, to say the least. And as a fellow parent
of young kids, having a bathroom on the first floor is a real help and to not really impact
is a real help and to not really impact the open area much more than it's already there.
the open area much.
Having to have a potty train a kid up on the second floor, that was definitely a hardship.
So having one on the first floor would be a big one for a young family. So I just think this is
a really nice, very tastefully done project. It's taken a property that was in definite,
in need of repair with an air conditioner jutting out into the right of way and a bunch
of other issues that I think this property owner has done a really, really nice job of improving
for the benefit of the entire block. Again, I actually think the glass is quite tasteful.
And we're not here to talk about historic character per se. But I think if the history
of this building in the future is one that, oh, this is the time that Zach and Devin and Wren
really made it a nice addition to the neighborhood and so that they could live there for a long time,
that's a really good history for the block to have and for this property to have.
so thank you for your thank you for your call and your input we appreciate it is there anyone else
in the virtual audience um yes there's a miss jessica rizzo i have allowed her to speak hi could
you state your name please and spell for the court reporter jessica rizzo j -e -s -s -i -c -a rizzo r -i -z -z -o
right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
I do. Proceed. I live across the street from the proposed addition at 2406 Panama Street, and I'd like to speak in opposition to the variance.
I'm opposed to the variance because, like one of the previous speakers, I haven't heard evidence of a hardship articulated here today.
okay so Ms. Rizzo what I would appreciate is is I know you're in opposition could you tell me
something else than what was originally testified to yes I was getting to that thank you okay
the residents knew that this was a small lot a small house on a small street when they
purchased the property I understand about the difficulties of raising children in a small house
like this, but if that was a hardship they had in mind, they could easily have moved to the suburbs
or to a modern apartment building that's more consistent with contemporary standards of living.
There are only a very small handful of streets like Panama Street in Philadelphia. This street
is a precious, unique jewel. It's not just for people like me who happen to be lucky enough to
live across from the proposed addition. Our street regularly sees people traveling from far
and wide to take engagement photos on our street, to bring their children trick -or -treating on our
street. It's a place that is cherished by Philadelphians and people from the greater
Philadelphia area as a kind of time capsule and a reminder of a time when aesthetics were valued
more highly than they are perhaps today um that's that's why i would like to oppose the variance
okay thank you very much for your call we appreciate your input is there anyone else in
a virtual audience i do not see any further hands mr chair okay um planning commission oh wait excuse
me mr chair i'm sorry to interrupt you but uh mr france pierre put his hand up okay hi could you
state your name please and spell for the court reporter yes good afternoon everyone that's france
It's Pierre, F -R -A -N -T -Z, last name is Pierre, that's E -I -E -R -E.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and fellow board members.
At this time, a council member has joined CCR's office to...
Mr. Pierre, could you try to speak up?
We're having a hard time hearing you, sir.
Can you hear me now?
Hello?
Yes, we hear you.
Perfect.
At this time, council member Johnson's office does join the coordinating RCO.
in the non -opposition to the appeal as they receive the feedback from the community and it is
majority in non -opposition thank you okay thank you i appreciate it is there anyone else
no sir you may proceed planning commission
thank you chair sarah bond city planning commission s a r a h b a n h
The proposed dimensions are consistent with nearby properties with regards to the rear yard setback.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant the variance.
the city planning commission recommends that the board grant the variance thank you mi 2022
Thank you. MI 2020.
zero zero three nine six five three thirty four south 24th street i vote yes with proviso revised
plans one page stamp by zba on november 30th 2022. carol tenere my vote is yes proviso
Thomas Solomon. My vote is yes with proviso. James Snell. My vote is yes with proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed. My vote is yes with proviso. Thank you, counsel. Thank you.
Thank you. Number eight, MI 2022 -003 -939 -850 South 2nd Street. Mike Gumbel is the attorney.
letter of support from Queen Village Neighbors Association letter of non -opposition from Mark
Squilla. Mr. Gumbel. He will be rejoining as a panelist, sir. Thank you.
Good afternoon. Hi, good afternoon, counsel. Could you state your name and spell for the
court reporter, please. Sure. Michael Gumbel, last name G -U -M -B -E -L. Do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? I do. Could you identify your client in
relationship to this property? Yes, I am actually the client. Okay. Property. All right. Thank you.
Our vice chair has a few questions. I do agree to wave the reading of the refusal and stipulate
to its accuracy i do could you email the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance
a copy of the refusal or referral photos and or plan photos under plans of the property
five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter
uh yes to all of the above except that the exhibits were sent on monday due to the holiday
okay you may proceed and begin to share your screen
okay can you see the screen we can yes we can okay um good afternoon committee uh my name is
mike gumbel uh i'm here for 850 south second street which is located in queen village it's
the corner of 2nd and Christian. The property itself is actually owned by MJDFG Holdings LLC,
which I'm 100 % owner of. This property is a CMX1, which allows for commercial on the first floor
and residential above. I, for the last 12 years, have operated my law office and real estate office
on the first floor. And then on the second floor is a long -term tenant. And on the third floor
is another one -bedroom apartment, which we would like to receive the variance for to be used as
short -term rental. I've been a tenant in the building since about 2010, and then last year
I purchased it from my landlord, and my wife and I have been trying to make improvements to the
building and basically use it as a long -term investment for my business and for our family.
um so going down after we initially purchased it we tried to rent out that third floor unit
for about six months uh we couldn't get anybody in there um we then both of our families are out
of state so we thought about using it as an apartment for our families to come visit our son
and have a place for them to stay the only issue with that is that they're not here all the time
and I need to be able to bring in some income to be able to support the mortgage on the property.
So at that point, we considered turning it into an Airbnb or short -term rental,
which we have tested out this summer with some success. So if you're looking at the pictures
here, you can see my building is in the middle. It's the law office and real estate. The entrance
to the apartments is this black door. Next to me on one side, I have Lucky's Last Chance Bar.
And on the other side is Philadelphia Java Company, which is a cafe espresso bar.
And here you can see that mine is in the center there.
Here I have some pictures of the apartment itself.
It's basically just a single one -bedroom apartment.
and then following that i have uh an example of our the listing that we've used for airbnb
uh and some sample reviews from uh the people that have stayed with us
uh i think we've found a real niche as
I think we've found a real niche as kind of a Queen Village and South Philly -centric place for people to stay at.
It's kind.
We've tried to make it a very community -focused spot.
So, for instance, we've worked with the coffee shop and the bar and some of the other businesses in the neighborhood to get coupons that we pay for,
and we provide them to our guests so that they can patronize the local establishments.
we've also tried to be a resource for people in the neighborhood a couple months back one of the
houses around the block burned down and we made the place available for those homeowners to stay
at for that short term while they needed to until they got back on their feet another example is
there was a family that recently sold their house rather than having to stay in a hotel for several
weeks they were able to stay with us so that their kids could walk back and forth to merida's school
where they go to. So we've really tried to reach out to the community and offer our services for
them. Probably 75 % of the people who stayed with us are people who are coming to visit
children or grandchildren who live in Queen Village. So it's really provided a service to
the community in that sense, making it convenient for those people to be near their families.
um we've had our guests pretty strongly we don't allow anybody who does not have a five -star rating
or reviews uh we always ask people why they're coming in so we can determine what what's bringing
them here and make sure that it's something that is compatible with what we want we do not want
parties we do not want and i think part of what council tried to do was eliminate party houses
And so we've very much tried to enforce that and been successful in doing that.
Other than that, I'm pretty much here six to seven days a week on premises.
As I said, I have my offices here.
We have a lot of personal items here, so we're constantly going back and forth.
I do have a security camera on the front of the building to keep track of who's going in and out.
And I also have private trash service, which comes to pick up the trash for the building so that we're not overburdening any of the city resources.
Thank you. Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Do not see any hats, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chair.
Sarah Bond, City Planning Commission, S -A -R -A -H -B -A -N -H. The comprehensive plan recommends
no change to the existing commercial mixed -use zoning at this location. However, the proposed
use is not likely to have impacts more than reasonably expected. The City Planning Commission
recommends that the Zoning Board grant the variance. MI 2022 -003 -939 -850 South 2nd Street.
I vote yes for a temporary variance that will expire 12 -1 -25.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes with proviso.
James Snell, my vote is yes with proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you very much.
number nine mi2022 -003 -960 -630 east chelton avenue alan knockamson is the attorney
letter of support 12 -4 democratic committee rco coordinating rco letter of support from
chew and chelton cdc which is the affected rco councilwoman bass is not opposed to the granting
of the variance. Applicant provided petition of support signed by nine area residents plus four
residents who listed the subject property as their home address. Also two form letters of support
from residents of the 600 block of Chelton. Good afternoon Mr. Chair members of the board
Alan Nockmson, A -L -A -N, last name Nockmson, N -O -C -H -U -M -S -O -N, 123 South Broad Street, Suite 1600, Philadelphia PA, 19109.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, please, in the relationship to the property?
Yes. My client is LP Real Estate Investment, and in the virtual audience is Lindsay Patterson.
the member of that corporate entity. Right. Our vice chair has a few questions. Counsel.
Mr. Nockmson, do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
I do. Have you emailed the packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance,
refusal referral photos and their plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing
refusal, referral, photos, and their plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing?
and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter yes your respects okay great you may
proceed and begin to share your screen thank you welcome back i know i feel like i haven't seen
you guys in a while yeah i do i do turn these in one day i think i need to be in detox i was
going to say it's like detox did you get a notice in the mail of your record -breaking performance
um i was waiting actually for the cameras to come out
and i was also waiting for the city of philadelphia to give me my stipend for the day
all right 630 east shelton avenue uh uh this is a very straightforward project it's an 8 000
square foot uh rsa uh three lot uh that we're looking to subdivide uh and there's a building
structure that's currently there that's a that's being used as a duplex and it has a history of
multi -family use going back almost 100 years and when my client purchased the property it was a
duplex and we had photographs in that respect we're hoping to legalize the duplex and to subdivide
the property which was previously two separate lots to begin with uh so you'll we'll go over
notice of refusal, the correspondence from the 12th Ward Democratic Committee, which they support
our project, as well as there is an email from Chu and Shelton CBC, another RCO for this property,
which is also in support. We have letters of support and petition signed by nearby property
owners. Then you'll see a use registration of number 44243, which shows that in 1943,
this property was converted from a quadplex to a triplex, just showing the long history of
the building structure that's currently existing. Then nearby recently granted multifamily variances,
which are RSA3 properties. Again, it's not out of character for this property to be multifamily
in nature. And it's also not out of character for nearby properties to be in multifamily nature or
the ZBA to grant such variances. And then I just wanted you to understand that this
subdivision is not out of character for this block. And we have lots of sizes of nearby RSA3
properties on our side of the street. Actually, even with this subdivision, we are still larger
than most of those properties on our side of the street. Then we'll have maps of the area,
photographs of the property or plans and drawings pretty basic again this is an existing use that
my client purchased and all he's trying to do is legalize it so he can get a housing inspection
license and the proper certificate of office and see um after that we'll review the rco meeting
notice we did meet with community twice uh the second time it was first time we mailed notice
by way of the rules of the zba the second time they asked us to actually hand deliver the notice
which we did, and I have an affidavit from my client indicating that he hand -delivered it
for the second meeting. Our application for appeal to the CBA or deeds to the property
showing LP real estate investment as the owner of the property or certificate of tax clearance.
And again, in the virtual audience, it should be Lindsay Patterson, the member of this corporate
entity. Our notice of refusal, again, we're an RSA -3 property. It's for a lot adjustment to
create two lots from one deeded lot at 630 East Shelton Avenue. And there's a building structure
which will be on one lot, which we're requesting to have as a two -family structure and as a vacant
lot for the other proposed lot. Our only refusal has to do with the fact that this is an RSA3
property and technically multifamily use is not allowed. We met with the 12th Democratic Board
again twice. They were supportive of us, not only because of our presentation, because
also of our significant community outreach. This is an elderly portion of Philadelphia,
which have limitations on technology. So that was why we had the second meeting, was it was
asked of us to hand deliver those notices and to distribute a petition, which we did.
and Douglas Rucker of Chew and Shelton CDC who also attended both of the community meetings
also lodged his support personally because he lived nearby but also on behalf of that RCO as well
and then our petition as you can see we really just focus on nearby properties so you can see
these are all on the 600 block of Shelton Avenue and then even our letters to support also are
focused on the 600 block in Charlton County.
And our user registration permit, as you can see, in 1943, this property was converted actually from a three unit to a four unit.
And our use registration permit as you can see in 1943
So, again, significant multifamily history.
And when we purchased it, it was configured as a two unit structure.
And then, again, it's not uncommon for the ZBA to grant variances of similar elk.
recently in 2021 they granted us a 617 locust avenue to allow for three units and then 535
east shelton also a three unit dwelling and then 533 east shelton avenue a three unit dwelling
and 531 east shelton avenue a three family dwelling and then i also want to give you an
idea of where we are so we're next door to a commercial property which is a general dollar
store but you can see from the size a lot other than this one lot all the other lots on this side
we have 10 other losses examples have almost like 3 ,500 to 4 ,000 square feet which would go in line
with our lot by subdividing it so what we're proposing is not out of character to any approach
And then the maps of the area, you can see where we are on the East Shelton Street, which we're in between McMahon Avenue and Musgrave and East Woodlawn Street to the rear.
And then you can see this lot. This is the building structure that currently exists.
And this is our lot as well. And we're merely just subdividing this in half.
As you can see, there's a walkway from front to back, so garbage can be stored outside for access purposes as well.
The first floor unit has access through the front and the back.
There is no basement living here.
The basement's merely used for the owner or for storage.
And then here's just our zoning hearing notice posting, showing that we posted the property.
And it was asked of us also to post the property for the community meeting, which we did as well.
And then Shelton Avenue is the right of the property.
Shelton Avenue is the left of the property.
And then just to show that, again, this is an existing use.
You can see the electric meters.
There are multiple meters.
There are multiple hot water heaters in this property as well.
And then our plans and drawings are pretty straightforward.
You walk up a flight.
You can go to the perch unit, go on Shelton Avenue, it's two -bedroom, one -bath.
You can go along the sides to go up to a separate entrance to unit number two, which is a two -bedroom, two -bath.
Again, there is no access for the first four units to the basement, so there's no basement living,
that's merely for home or storage.
And our RCO meeting notice, again, we kind of met the needs of the community.
They wanted us to highlight the fact that this was an important community meeting, and we did highlight that.
And we hand -delivered that to 85 addresses, the second one.
And these are the addresses, and this is our affidavit that my client personally hand -delivered to every single address.
And then we emailed that notice, obviously, to all the RCOs.
And our application for appeal, project information form, DTIP property showing that LP, Real Estate Investment and Development LLC, is the owner of the property.
And most importantly, showing that my client's good standing with the city with respect to this property and its taxes, by the way.
With that being said, I would ask that Mr. Patterson virtually raise his hand.
Mr. Patterson, when you get on, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
I have a Lindsey Patterson with a hand raised.
I will have him speak at this time.
Hi, yes.
Hi, Mr. Patterson.
State your name, please, and spell for the court reporter.
Yes, sir.
Lindsey Patterson, L -I -N -D -S -A -Y, P -A -T -T -E -R -S -O -N.
Do you swear or affirm?
Tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Yes, sir.
Proceed, counsel.
Yes, Mr. Patterson, you heard everything I had to say today.
Yes, Alan.
And is it true and correct?
Yes, it is.
Yes, it is.
I personally hand -delivered all those documents to all the neighbors in the community.
And this was during the day.
And several people were outside on their porches.
Like you said, it's the older community.
So everyone that was outside, I stopped and talked to them.
And they gave their, of course, verbal support to me.
I told them about the Zoom meeting.
But as you said, it's the older community.
But they gave me their support.
and do you dot uh my testimony as it though it was your own yes thank you okay questions from the board
yes thank you okay questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman
no mr chair
questions or comments from the virtual audience
i did not see any hands mr high planning commission
thank you chair sarah bond city planning commission s -a -r -a -h -b -a -n -h
the comprehensive plan recommends a zoning change to rm1 residential multifamily at this location
the variance conforms to this proposed district therefore the city planning commission recommends
that the zoning board grant the variance thank you mi2022 -003 -960 -630 east chelton avenue i vote
yes carol tenary my vote is yes thomas holloman my vote is yes james snell my vote is yes
thank you counsel
okay so we're going to take a five minute break
let's give our court reporter a chance and then when we come back we're going to go right through
so five minutes okay
all right so case number 10
MI 2022
003 649
3000 West
Schoolhouse Lane. This is a resumptive
hearing. I need
Mr. Peter Kelsen
and also Charles Miller,
both attorneys.
Excuse me, Mr. Chairman.
Yes, I'll announce it, Tom,
as soon as they go on. Thank you.
Mr. Kelsen, Mr. Miller,
if you're...
We're still in the virtual audience, please raise your hands.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the board, Peter Kelsen, joining.
Hi, Mr. Kelsen, spell your name, please, and I'll swear you in.
Absolutely.
Peter, K -E -L -S -E -N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I certainly do.
Mr. Miller?
Hi, Mr. Miller, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
it's charles miller uh m -i -l -l -e -r right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth i do before we start one of our uh board members thomas hallman has recused
himself from the hearing um so we will have just uh there'll be four of us okay um my understanding
where we are is uh we're going to have uh mr miller present present his witnesses mr kelson
will have a chance to cross uh we'll take testimony from the public and then the planning commission
is we both agree everybody agrees we do mr miller you have the floor thank you mr chairman
I represent Slobodan and Joviana Bucetik.
It's S -L -O -B -O -D -A -N.
And it is Z -V -I -Z -V -I -J -E -N -A.
And they're the owners of 3817 The Oak Road.
and it's located directly across the street from what is known as the Timmons House and
that which is on the Penn Charter campus. My clients have lived at that property since 2014.
They have a child who goes to Penn Charter. Their objections to this application are limited.
They don't object to the renovations that are being proposed to lower school
or any other aspect related to the proposed development. Their interest is only with the
regard as the proposed parking lot across the street at the timmons house um that property
is located at 3850 the oak road and maintains a separate opa number from the rest of the pen charter
school uh i don't know if i'm allowed to share the screen i did present um
exhibits and submit them to the board i've seen that but you can share the screen if you want
blue dot at the bottom the green dot at the bottom
you're up so um that would be exhibit two if you come down uh see it's what i've labeled exhibit
two um the residence on the property on the timmons property is known as the henry w brown house
it has been designated as a historical building by the philadelphia historical commission
and was deemed as the charter house on the oak road due to its historical significance uh that
is been labeled that designation or nomination is exhibit four uh while the proposal before
you today it doesn't involve changes to that building it does uh as my clients would
It doesn't involve changes to that building. It does, as my clients would submit, transform the property, which is still separately assessed from one that is used five to 10 times a year by the school for events involving the school in the small parking lot there.
And which was asked to testify to by the pin charter representative at the last hearing to one that is used nearly every day in connection with the school on the abutting property and overwhelmingly will be used as a parking lot.
not an office meeting or reception room, which is connected to the school, which is how it's used now.
So, in fact, my client's position is that expanding this parking lot on the Timmons property transforms the character of the neighborhood,
of the Oak Road corridor of homes, which currently all residential homes except the one church on the Oak Road,
into more of an institutional use because the primary use will then be the parking lot serving the property that's abutting it.
My client maintains concerns about the general impact of having a school parking lot across the street, the lighting noise, increased usage, all of which have been heightened over the recent years due to unintended impacts, which they have noticed following the school's development of the new athletic center on the campus, which has brought more cars and more people at various times throughout any given week.
um my client prepared a set of slides which includes pictures diagrams charts and maps
uh and i will go through those and summarize some of those um for you um they highlight the
on -street parking which intermittently uh occurs throughout the day on school days uh you can see
here uh the uh parking on both sides of the street uh where it's tight along the where it's a
double lane, so cars coming in and out. Mr. Miller, it might be helpful if just you show
the cursor where your client lives. My client lives at this, this is, they're basically right
here, I believe. Okay. This is their driveway. You can see cars that sometimes pull right directly
abutting the driveway, which makes it difficult right turns and left turns when cars on the other
side. There's concern, as my client prepared for the slide, the slides that are before you now,
the top one is the present -day parking lot, a diagram that the parking lots that are existing
are highlighted in blue, M, K, and S. The property that's involved is in this area. As you can see,
the flow as it is now up on this slide. My client submits and has observed that there
is not a general flow. The flow doesn't cause the students to use the surrounding streets.
The concern is that with this lot, because of the disjointed or disconnected nature of the
proposed parking lots, with T being the new proposed parking lot, students who are intending
to park in this Timmons parking lot, what they believe will happen, I think they would testify
to, is that students will come in on the one -way bus school lane intending to park here.
If the lot is full, instead of coming all the way around throughout the campus, which
would be a long way to visit these other parking lots, what will happen is they'll come straight
through here and end up taking a left and parking on the Oak Road, as students tend
to do and would be, you know, late for school or whatever it is, it'd be easier to park on the Oak
Road and then access it through the pedestrian way, which is being created as part of this
development. So, also, my client studied some of the other schools that are very similar,
and that's shown on this slide that's before you now with respect to how many parking spaces there
are, as you can see, what's proposed is obviously a lot more parking. And obviously, they're
increasing the parking. The concern is that from what they've seen, given that the new facilities,
the increase in the parking, the increase in the amount of students who would be using their
vehicles, thus leading to additional parking on the road, where there are no limitations on parking
on that street. There are also, according to the testimony that I heard, I didn't hear any
suggestions of limitations of who would be parking in the Timmons Road parking lot.
There also is an inquiry as to whether an alternative site for the parking lot would
be available. My client suggests and has seen parking in this, what is called this K lot,
this Kurtz lot. It is currently a field and have observed in this slide before you,
this is a picture of cars being used on special occasions in an overflow lot in this area. It's
highlighted in this blue area here. This is where the photo of those cars. You can also
You can also see in a traffic study, which the Penn Charter Commission back in March, it shows this lot being expanded for 66 spaces.
see in a traffic study, which the Penn Charter Commission back
The study that was presented to you at the time of the hearing shows 53 spaces less parking here.
So we suggest there is an opportunity or at least at some point there was contemplated an alternative location for this parking or some of the parking which is being proposed.
And then finally, the last slide shows pictures from my client's property, as it shows for the wellness center. Again, the concerns of unintended consequences and issues and negative impacts resulting from lighting and other things.
So, in summary, the concern has been, let me back up, I guess using the Timmons House parking area or using this lot for parking was previously contemplated as before this board.
I believe there is here, this was in the 2001, a request associated with the middle school where you can see that there were no changes.
One of the conditions or one of the recommendations that was made was no changes to be made to the Timmons House on the Oak Road.
So my clients do acknowledge that the school has revised its plan over the course of time in an attempt to obviously mitigate some of those impacts.
But there's still concern about the way that the impacts that will still have lighting, additional traffic and other aspects.
And the reality is that based upon the testimony that was presented and how this property will be transformed, we submit that it would change the essential character of the neighborhood from one that is residential along this corridor.
and has this this house has traditionally been used to a parking lot which is directly across
the street from my client's property we would also suggest that either the school by its own
actions and or prior testimony or availability of locations that they're they have contemplated
and that there potentially is an alternative location for additional parking which could be
used as opposed to the Timmons parking lot which has a greater impact that lot is within the camp
campus, in the main campus. Obviously, it takes away some green space, but that's an issue with respect. That's how an issue more or less as to how they want to use the property as opposed to what the consideration of the other individuals on the outside and the neighbors.
Um, so, uh, with that, uh, you know, I would, uh, uh, respectfully submit that, uh, the application, the necessary standards with respect to this issue only, uh, have not been met for that, for that variance and would ask that, um, my clients who I believe are on the line be elevated in order to confirm, uh, and adopt that testimony and then provide any additional comment they may have and be subject to cross -examination by counsel.
Okay. Hi, could you have your client raise their hand?
If they could do so, I believe they are online.
They've been allowed to speak, sir.
Okay. Could you state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
Slobodan Vucetic, S -L -O -B -O -D -A -N, first name, last name, V -U -C -E -T -I -C.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Do you want your second client sworn to?
Yes, if you would, please.
Could you have your wife state her name and spell for the court reporter?
My name is Jiviana Vucetic, spelled Z -I -V -J -E -N -A -V -U -C -E -T -I -C.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
And I would ask each one of my clients if they heard my testimony and the summary and prepared the slides which were presented to the board this evening.
Yes, I confirm.
Okay. And is everything that has been provided to the board and the summary which was presented true and correct to your best to your knowledge and belief.
And as a result, would you adopt my testimony as if it were your own.
Yes, I do.
And you were present also for the applicant's presentation at the prior hearing and other presentations that the applicant has made with respect to this development, correct?
And for Slobodan, do you have additional comments as it relates to your concerns with respect to the proposed Timmons parking lot expansion?
So, thank you, Mr. Miller.
So I think you covered in very briefly some of the major aspects of our complaint.
But maybe I would like to get a couple more minutes and I'll try not to waste everybody's time to make.
couple more minutes uh and i'll try not to waste everybody's time uh to maybe you know clarify
this a few points um so uh if you can please go to to slide i think uh in your deck it's slide 18
which actually i think we are seeing uh
a little bit sorry it's actually 20.
Yeah. So I would like us, if you can maybe zoom in a little bit, I don't know if you can.
So basically what I want first to point out that this is actually on the right hand side,
that's how the Timmons house property looks from actually from our lot. So I just want to point
out that this property basically really looks like a residential house and its use is a very
consistent with how
a big family would use
a house like that so it's
very predictable it's been
occasional parties
events but most of the time
it's just several
employees there and
predictably coming in
around 8 a .m. and leaving
around 5 p .m.
You can't talk I'm on
the screen
Okay bye
uh i'm not sure and can you repeat yeah no just go ahead oh sorry okay so so that's i think one
of the one point so actually the point is really that this uh the street the way it is right now
it really has very strong residential feel it's a historic street that's literally unchanged since
1930s um we believe that by converting this uh particular property into a parking lot
sets a very kind of bad precedent for for the oak road and uh in terms of this would be the first
time there is a kind of really kind of institutional you look on commercial use of the
street and uh i think it opens given the precedent i kind of have to point out that the oak road
On the east, it actually borders with the Germantown -France School, athletic fields.
And the Germantown -France School does not have a single parking spot there.
So what parents do and students do when they have to come to the athletic fields,
they actually use Oak Road and the surrounding streets to park there.
So there are also two very large apartment complexes to the north and south of Oak Road
that also occasionally have a need and we've been witnessing that to to use the oak road as
for parking in addition we have a nearby train station that also like increases demand and
Drexel Medical School and Thomas Jefferson University so I just want to say this is
literally just a very isolated street on East Falls that you know occasionally it has kind of
bursty traffic and burst demand for parking.
So I think that's kind of one of my points.
I just want to make a couple more.
If you can go back to slide, let's see, seven.
So just to repeat something that I think is very important,
it's connectedness.
So currently those parkings that are labeled as M and K, which is majority of these 294 spots, are accessible.
So once you get inside of the campus, you can reach both parking lots from the inside of the campus.
So you don't need to exit to those red lines, which are the outside streets.
And if you go to the next slide, what happens here is that now we have five disconnected lots.
So what I want to point out, a case study, for example, you have somebody who wants to park at the parking lot T, which is this new proposed parking lot.
If they don't find a parking spot there, what will they do?
Well, certainly they have to go outside.
Unfortunately, if you go to the slide number 10, there is an example of what happens then.
It's not allowed for the cars to exit this Timmons parking lot to the right, to the Coulter Street.
So that's where I put the cross sign.
In fact, they need to continue driving and then coming to the Midway Avenue, which has a stop sign.
So it doesn't have traffic light.
And then their option is either to go right on Midway Avenue and their fastest way through is to go to Henry.
avenue which is a major street and then again make another turn go to the schoolhouse lane this
avenue which is a major street and then again make another turn go to the schoolhouse
is 1 .3 mile road and then if actually they want to have a shortcut they will have to do the left
hand turn on this very busy midway avenue street where the speed limit is 30 and in fact
people are driving very often 50 miles an hour with not very good visibility and then they would
need to make another left turn to go through the oak road and another left turn to go to the
school house lane which is another busy street and then finally try to find the parking spot at
the parking lot k so it's kind of a 0 .8 mile trip through the oak road we are assuming that
many students will not end up in in parking lot k they will actually stop and park at the oak road
tomorrow when they want to do the same thing they will not even try to go to park at the parking
lot t they will just directly park either on oak road or some other way of the other streets
so what i want to say this is the consequence of having disjointed parking lots and not being able
to access different parking lots easily and then that's why we have the i have a table on the if
you can go down one more and one more yeah this one so so you know i studied really the the the
Peer institutions, some of them are urban, some suburban, some are a little bit suburban. I wanted to point out that these comparable schools have about the same number of students.
All of those schools have less parking spaces on campus. All of those schools have either one or two disconnected lots. So some of them have just single connected lots, some of them have two.
What this new proposal is actually doing, it's proposing basically five separate lots that all require going back to the street.
And I think also it's important to point to the last three columns here, which counts the number of green fields, sports fields.
I want to point out that pan charter doesn't lack space. So they have, again, compared to all the other than rural schools, they have more sports fields. So I don't think this might be a reason why they need to seek to build this new parking lot on a residential street.
um so just probably one more point um so if you go to slide 10 sorry 23
uh so in in my mind this is a summary really what what we want to we want to point out too
uh so the on the left hand side you have what actually the current plan is proposing uh on
right hand side is one option so we are not as as as neighbors of pen charter we are not
asking for them to do this it's just an alternative and i wanted just to to see kind of
how this alternative compares there is also another alternative that i'll mention at the end
so as you can see here this timon's lot really creates 36 new parking spaces um while on the
other hand there is an opportunity for school to to build uh if they wanted up to 150 new spaces
i'm not claiming it's needed um then uh we with timon's lot you have seven residential properties
at less than 250 feet from this this new parking lot on the other hand if they expand the kurtz
lot there are no residential properties in the neighborhood timon's lot is at the heart
of a residential street.
It sets really bad precedent.
Again, you know, the other schools
and other entities will try to kind of repeat
what is done here.
It happens also that Timo's property
is a historical property,
as mentioned by Mr. Miller,
also on separate parcel.
And, you know, increased traffic and safety concerns.
Again, I'm thinking about even a student
who wants to park in Timo's lot
and starts and having to do all those left turns not just increasing traffic it's really dangerous
we're talking about teenagers who are rushing you know to school and want to kind of park as as soon
as possible um and uh you know as a minor point this timon's house lot has been used for uh social
events several times a year i remember first time when we came because our our son goes to pan
When we first time had a social event at Pancharder, we lived in a townhouse in Roxborough.
To us, this was a very big event, seeing this kind of historic place,
kind of almost being transported to a different era.
And I think it kind of serves some good purpose for the school.
So right now, actually, we are kind of almost removing that opportunity.
so right now actually uh you know we are kind of almost uh removing that opportunity uh so again
uh i think there is a third option and then finally i'll kind of stop there
um the third option is actually we have to realize that if you go back to uh one of the first slides
yeah with the with the maps so there's a slide seven so uh based on on on our count and what
what pen charter is saying currently there are 294 parking spaces and pen charter itself the
representatives mentioned that actually there is no planned increase in student body and there is
no planned increase in the number of staff members and as you can see the current plan is suggesting
351 parking spaces so another option might be actually not to actually add those 334 new parking
spots. In this case, we are going down to 200, around 215, which is still about 10 % larger than
the current parking availability at the parent charter. So with this one, I would stop. And
again, thank you very much for your patience. Okay, I would offer him for cross.
Mr. Chairman, members of the board, I have no cross -examination of this
Thank you. Is that the end of your testimony
Mr. Miller? I don't know, Giovanna wants
I know she wanted to address one minor point about the
Okay, sure
Giovanna, are you there?
Yes, I'm here
If you could speak to the proposed landscaping and other visual screens that the school has proposed with respect to the proposed development of this lot.
Yeah, I would like to acknowledge that the school did propose kind of a visual relief to the parking spot, to the parking lot, but we think that, and my husband and I think and a lot of the neighbors think that the landscaping is not sufficient and it's kind of just a visual barrier that's not going to really hide that the historical character and the value of the house and the Oak Road is going to change permanently.
and definitely. And then there are specific issues that will definitely not be alleviated
just by the landscaping and by the berm that's proposed. I mean, one, it's the visual impact.
First, the berm and the greenery is not going to be at the level when it's planted, and it's going
to take really a long time, and it won't block the view. It will block the view just from the
roadside but it's not going to um alter any um detrimental visual impact from the higher elevation
we have a house that has a second and a third floor and definitely the parking lot is going to
be visible and observable both from our living room and our um in our bedrooms um we also worry
that the continuing maintenance of the landscaping may not be there so long term we don't know how
that will look. There is also going to be an impact of, as we said, the light pollution from
the 20 new lanterns that have been proposed on the 0 .5 acres of the space, and that will
definitely change and, you know, have a detrimental effect on our lives. And we can see that the light
from the Athletic Center building is on 24 -7, 365 days, although it's a school. We do see that
across the year. And then we haven't talked about, you know, the noise of the, you know,
60 plus cars and people getting in and out and just definitely loss of the green space and the
pollution that comes with it. I would offer for cross. Mr. Kelson? No cross examination. Thank
you. With that, in submission of the documents, I would have nothing further. Okay. So what I'd
like to do right now is open it up to the see if there's anyone in the virtual audience
i'm going to go to the board first questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman
questions from the virtual audience or comments okay mr chair i have a mr stephen peitzman with
his hand raised i won't lie hi sir could you state your name please and spell it for the court
reporter? Of course. I'm Stephen, S -T -E -V -E -N, Peitzman, P -E -I -T -Z -M -A -N. Right. Do you swear
or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. Are you a
Yes, I do.
Are you a neighbor?
neighbor? Yes, I am. Proceed.
Yes, I am.
Proceed.
I'm a neighbor.
I live in the Carlton Park Apartments right across from Midvale Avenue and the Oak Road.
But more specifically, I'm president of the East Falls Historical Society.
And in fact, I wrote the nomination to place what we refer to as the Timmins House on the historic register.
Now, I realize that this is zoning, not historic, that they are separate, but they can't be entirely separated, really. And even in at least in one of the previous cases I was listening to, history was invoked.
So I believe that a house which is now over 100 years old and a very handsome one and a historic one, the Oak Road has a very, very remarkable history, not to go into here, of course, that bringing so many cars close to the house is really not appropriate.
And I'm not going to amplify statements already made concerning the neighbors on the Oak Road itself.
I would like to shift just a moment. And thinking about the parking, at the earlier part of this deliberation, there was a presentation from a parking and traffic expert, a Mr. Hyder.
That's right. And there's a paragraph within his report to the Penn Charter School that I find really puzzling and worth exploring or at least paying attention to to some extent.
And I'm going to read that quickly. Based on observation of current parking demand and the results of the driveway traffic counts, a parking accumulation curve can be established for a typical day at William Penn Charter School.
The results of these observations reveal that the maximum number of vehicles on campus for a typical weekday is about 315 vehicles, which will occur at about 3 p .m. during the height of the afternoon dismissal time period, when as many as 80 vehicles are on campus in the queue, waiting to pick up students, of course, and not occupying parking spaces.
Accordingly, only about 235 of the currently available 319 parking spaces will be physically occupied, even during the period of maximum parking demand for the campus.
And that's from the parking consultant engaged by the school.
And I know one of the considerations is that the city codes require even more parking.
So we're the paradox of Penn Charter wanting to increase parking, but not up to the level.
And they gave good reasons why the existing codes for parking per square foot are not applicable.
Right. So it seems that there really should not be need to add parking to the small lot that is already adjoining the Timmins House.
OK. And in keeping and just avoiding that would allow the house and the Oak Road to retain their beautiful and historic qualities.
OK. Thank you very much. Mr. Peitzman, thank you for your call and we appreciate it.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Yes, Mr. Chair.
Nancy Pontone with her hand raised.
I have allowed her to speak at this time.
Could you state your name, please, and spell it for the court reporter?
My name is Nancy Pontone, N -A -N -C -Y, last name P -O -N -T -O -N -E.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Are you a neighbor?
I'm a neighbor.
i'm a member of the church on the oak road okay i do the gardening there i'm on that okay good
proceed with your testimony so i just want to comment about the um the put you know the the
idea of putting a berm and kind of uh covering up or changing the front uh property of in front of
the timmins house it has always been uh you know a level garden there and it gives a good view of
that house and i think to put a berm there and to sort of cover up the house would would really
change the the nature of that historic property it's the entire property that's it's on the
register not just the house itself so i i'm opposed to having a berm and extra landscaping
there i think that keeping it as is with it with the parking that is there right now would be the
most appropriate okay thank you thank you for your call and thank you for your input anyone else in
virtual audience um yes uh paul alia with their hand raised i've allowed them to speak at this
time sir okay proceed sir state your name and spell for the court reporter uh good afternoon
Hi, good afternoon. My name is Paul Aaliyah, P -A -U -L -E -L -I -A, and I'm the acting chair for the East Falls Zoning Committee.
my name is paul alia paul
Okay, sure. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, sir.
Well, I was just dialing in to express our support for the project.
The parking, yes, is always an issue in East Falls, but the school has also recommended and agreed to support permit parking on the Oak Road should the neighbors want to have that happen.
We submitted our letter, we had a vote with the zoning committee, and we had full support for the project.
Okay. Thank you very much for your input and your concern. Anyone else in a virtual audience?
Do not see any further hats, Mr. Chairman.
Hey, Planning Commission.
Mr. Chairman, might I just make one?
You can.
Just one quick statement.
And I'll give Mr. Miller a one, two.
That's a deal. That's a deal. I just want to point out to the board and to all listening in
that the Timmins parking lot is subject to the historical commission review and approval.
And that process will occur subsequent to zoning, but it is fully within their jurisdiction.
We've had numerous meetings with them, but I think it's important to note that their approval
is a prerequisite to the proposed improvements thank you mr chairman thank you mr miller you
have anything i don't have anything on that no thank you planning commission
thank you chair sarah bond city planning commission s -a -r -a -h -b -a -n -h
the comprehensive plan recommends no change the existing residential single family detached zoning
at this location. This proposal was reviewed by the Civic Design Committee, which concluded its
review on September 7th of this year. The CDR Committee offered mostly positive comments,
but noted the overly autocentric nature of the campus design, encouraging greater transit and
pedestrian access, and including traffic safety elements like lighting and speed tables.
We note for the Board that CDR comments relative to design do not impact PCPC's assessment of the
presented variances. The school is an existing non -conforming use and the proposed improvements
to the site do not increase that non -conformity. The variance for the Wissahickon watershed overlay
is de minimis, exceeding the requirement by just over 1%. The earth moving plan submitted by the
appellant meets criteria in the code for a steep slope variance. The city planning commission
recommends that the zoning board grant the variance. Thank you very much. Mr. Miller,
Mr. Kelson, we've heard a lot of testimony, and what I really want to do is go back and have an
executive session with the board. We will do that next Wednesday, and we will vote in public at 2
p .m. Am I right, Hillary? Yes, Mr. Chair, we will vote at the beginning of the 2 p .m. session.
At 2 o 'clock. And by the way, thank the both of you, okay?
Thank you very much. We appreciate the time you spent. Be well.
All right. Number 11, MI 2022, 004 -547 -1849 -51 East Venango Street.
Sean Ward is the attorney. Letter of support from Harrogate Civic Association.
Letter of non -opposition from Councilman Squillip.
And chair, if we may just pause for a second, so Mr. Tom, can we join?
Thomas?
I'm glad you're back, Thomas.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Mr. Ward?
Good evening, Mr. Chair, members of the board.
Sean Ward on behalf of the applicant.
Present with me on the call is George Groves, representing 1849 Venango, LLC.
And just for the sake of the board, could you spell your name for the court reporter?
spell your name for the court reporter. Certainly. Sean, S -H -A -W -N, last name Ward,
Certainly.
Sean, S -H -A -W -N, last name
W -A -R -D, address 331 East Street Road, Trevos, PA -19053. Right. And our vice chair has a few
questions. Mr. Ward, do you agree to leave the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its
accuracy? Yes, I do. Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance,
refusal, referral, photos, and their plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing,
and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter? Yes, to all of you both. Okay, great. You
may proceed and begin to share your screen. Very good. I believe my screen is up. Mr. Ward, do we
have the tax issues straight? Yes, I will address that momentarily. Okay, thank you. Well, I can
to address it right now. We have obviously the tax clearance for the primary address, 1849 -51
East Finango. We have it for 1822 East Pacific. 1824 is a receipt, evidencing payment yesterday.
1830, no balance. 1840 Glenwood, no balance. And then we have an email from GRB Law
they're going to they're going to ink the payment agreement tomorrow for your payment date
convenience. So Hillary and I have agreed that you'll hold the vote pending.
OK. All right. Good. Thank you.
Proof of that agreement. So thank you. So that that is that has been addressed.
I've submitted my typical exhibit packet with regard to the refusal. Carol,
I don't know if you asked me if I would waive and stipulate. I will waive and I will stipulate
in part and take exception to part. The application was for the erection of an eight foot high fence
on the Glenwood Street frontage, the erection or placement of two cargo storage containers on the
site for the creation of 50 accessory parking spaces. However, in the refusal, these two items,
the vacant commercial space at ground floor and what should be 12 dwelling units, not 10,
should have been listed as previously approved uses. So we submit that the two refusals for
the multifamily and a commercial use are listed in error on the refusal. And the only refusals
we're here to seek relief from today are the height of the fence and the fact that there's
multiple principal buildings on the site. So we seek variances for those. And addressing this
very quickly, there was a permit issued in 2020, as you can see, for 12 dwelling units and vacant
commercial space at the first floor. And again, back in 2019, at permit number 978144, indicating
commercial space at the first floor, vacant commercial space at the first floor, and a maximum
of 12 residential units. So in light of that, I believe these were listed in error and this relief
is not necessary to them. In any event, we have attached to the packet our refusal, our petition
of appeal, our PIF, my transmittal letter. We have all the various deeds to the properties.
I don't need to waste the board's time going through those, but they are attached to the packet.
Let me scroll down here to get to where we need to be. There's many deeds. Okay.
We have the site plan, which I'll go through momentarily.
i just wanted to show you the photographs first hold on a second
what are you doing to me here come on
uh view
So this is the former chocolate factory on Venango Street, 1849 -51.
As you can see, it's currently undergoing substantial renovations pursuant to the past two zoning permits which have been issued.
That property is located on Venango Street.
Glenwood Street runs along the top of the photograph and Pacific Street runs kind of on this angle towards the upper right hand corner.
This would be the Glenwood Street frontage and property it's more like a triangular flag shaped lot on the corner.
This would be the street frontage of the Glenwood Avenue property.
This would be the street frontage of the Glenwood Avenue.
The 1820, 22, and 24 are basically the parking aisle, the drive aisle, and this space here.
Those three together are 1820 through 24.
And again, that's the frontage.
And then 1830 is an interior lot out here.
This is also a flag -shaped lot that kind of comes in here and then runs behind these properties here and encompasses this wooded or vegetative area.
And again, this is just a two -story residential dwelling.
This is not part of the application, any development of that.
I'm not sure what we're going to do with that yet.
Probably keep it a residential property.
Again, we have our zoning permit from before.
The zoning map, this represents the Chocolate Factory, Venango Street property.
This is the Glenwood Avenue property, again, IRMX.
And then you come in with the Pacific Street properties, 1820, 1822, 1824, and then 1830.
And again, the overhead aerial view of the property.
So without due haste, let's go back to the site plan.
I am going to do this full screen so it's easier to read.
OK, so as you can see, this is a unity of use application in lieu of a lot consolidation for various financing and separate ownership reasons.
We chose not to consolidate the lots, but the crux of the application is to create ample off -street parking.
The original application for 1849 created 20 off -street parking spaces, but given the residential use and the commercial, predominantly office space use on the first floor,
We felt the need to create additional off -street parking.
And to do so, we decided to go a unity of use to accomplish that.
In addition, we installed a new ornamental fence along Glenwood Avenue.
The Glenwood Avenue sidewalks were just replaced by the city.
So we felt it would be in our best interest and the public's best interest to give that a better appearance.
So the two storage containers are located right here, pursuant to a discussion with my client.
They are basically temporary. They are currently being used for the storage of construction and material for the fit out of the Chocolate Factory building.
So they are basically temporary in nature. We don't imagine them staying there for more than another year or two.
So, given that, that is the sum and substance of the application.
I know it appeared more complicated on paper than what's being presented.
And, you know, I add that it's not that complicated.
You know, it's been reviewed by the Planning Commission.
We have, you know, one -way access from Venango Street coming in this way.
one -way access leading out to the parking field over here off of Pacific Street, which is a two -way
in and out to Pacific Street. The original plan, as approved before, we had a drive aisle leaving
out through to Venango Street, but for fire stair access, we had to eliminate that exit that way.
And so that's why we also wanted to have an additional exit from the parking lot out through this parking lot on to Pacific Street.
You want to have your testimony adopted?
Yeah, George Groves, if he can raise his hand, if he hasn't done so already, can verify and adopt.
George.
He's been allowed to speak as a chair.
Hi, George, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
The girls, please unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
George Grose, T -E -O -R -G -E -T -R -O -V -E -S.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Proceed, counsel.
Mr. Groves, you've heard my representations to the board today?
Yes, sir.
Are they true and correct, to the best of your knowledge, information, and belief?
Yes, sir.
And do you adopt them as your own testimony?
Yes, I do.
Yes, I do.
One other item, Mr. Chair, I don't know if it was mentioned, but I do have a copy of Councilman Squill's letter.
One other item, Mr. Chair, I don't know if it was mentioned, but...
Okay. All right.
We saw that. Okay. Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no answer, Mr. Chair.
Hi, Planning Commission.
thank you chair sarah bond city planning commission s -a -r -a -h -b -a -n -h
in 2017 the zoning map was amended from i2 to irmx at this location in accord with
recommendations from the comprehensive plan the proposed use of multi -family household living
is consistent with documented previous uses of this property the city planning commission
recommends that the zoning board grant the variance with the following condition
The fence and wall is brought into dimensional compliance at a height of four feet.
So, so thank you, Mr. Ward, as per your agreement, would Hillary will hold the vote until the taxes?
We hear from the taxes and we'll try to get you back in as soon as possible.
Yeah, we should we should have that signed agreement tomorrow.
I will get that to Hillary and then hopefully we can have this voted next Wednesday.
All right. Well, thank you very much at two o 'clock. All right. Have a good evening. All right. You too. Bye -bye. Okay. Number 14, MI 2022, 005 -182, 1324 Mifflin Street, David Orphanides.
uh letter of support from east passion crossing civic and letter of non -opposition from councilman
squilla this door for needy sir has been promoted to panelist okay thank you jason
soon. Good evening, Mr. Chairman, members. I'm Mr. Orphanides. Just state your name. You've
already been sworn. Sure. David Orphanides. Last name is spelled O -R -P -H -A -N -I -D -E -S.
Mr. Orphanides, could you identify your client in the relationship to the property?
Certainly. My client is 1324 Mifflin ST LLC and Jenny Weiner.
Okay. And our vice chair has a few questions.
Mr. Orfanides, do you agree to wait the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you also emailed the packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal or referral, photos under plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Met with the RCO, have a letter.
Originally, the packet that I sent had all the information you requested.
We weren't able to pull the tax clearance certificate, so I forwarded what you see on your screen now.
We were just able to pull the tax clearances today, and I'll forward those separately to the zoning board staff and to Hillary.
So everything except for these two certificates of tax clearance were forwarded previously within five days.
All right.
Can you proceed, Mr. Chair?
Oh, absolutely.
So I'm going to try to make this as brief as possible, which you'll all chuckle.
But so back last September, we were before you for 1324 Mifflin Street.
And if you hear the notice of decision, MI 2021 001798, the decision from 924 2021.
At that time, we had an RSA 5 portion of the property, a CMX 2 portion of the property, and was for four single -family dwellings.
You had three in the back portion and then one on the front portion.
And this was all 1324, very irregularly shaped.
Here was the notice of refusal.
The CMX2 portion, they said needed the first 30 feet of the ground floor being non -residential.
This was a CMX2 portion.
Obviously, it didn't have any street frontage.
That didn't make any sense whatsoever.
And we had a height refusal.
Again, the board granted the variances.
We went to the community group, got their support, went to the zoning board.
You granted the variances, got a zoning permit.
and then the approved zoning drawings. And all this is at tab 10.
There are three families. There are going to be four families living in each of
these four single -family homes, all of whom know each other. They've subsequently acquired
They subsequently acquired the abutting property next door to the west at 1326 Mifflin Street, and you can see it right here.
the abutting property next door.
And so then the idea became they added and consolidated 1326 in with the rest of it, and 1326 was owned by Jenny Weiner, and they were going to make a double -wide single -family on the RSA 5 portion.
um that sounds like it should be granted as a matter of right because it's a single family
on an rsa5 lot however because it's split zoned and now you have to look at it all as one large
parcel we now get refusals for having multiple structures because they look at lni looks at this
as one structure even though it's three individual single family townhomes and this is another
structure. In RSA 5, you can't have multiple structures. And then they also look at it as
a multifamily household use because they look at it as a four -family dwelling or four
residential units, even though, again, each one's an individual townhome. So pretty straightforward.
As you mentioned, we went to the coordinating RCO, East Pass Young Crossing. They were designated
as a coordinating RCO by the Planning Commission. We sent out the 14 -303 notices, as you can see,
having the community group meeting, and everything went according to plan. And again,
we got the letter of support. You can see five, zero opposed. Everybody was in support of it.
We have the letter from Councilman Squilla's office of non -opposition. We think, again,
And for the reasons I've just stated, that we are looking to have a single family dwelling on the RSA 5 portion, that it creates a hardship not to be able to utilize it as such.
It doesn't make any sense, and we're just caught in this very odd delineation of this landlocked CMX 2 parcel being behind this RSA 5 portion, or parcel, was parcels, now part of the same parcel.
And as such, we would recommend and request that the zoning board grant the requested variances. Again, tax compliance. I already went through that. We have the no tax balance. We have the certificates. The notices were posted at the subject property in conformance with the requirements of the zoning code.
Here are the deeds.
Again, the lots were just recently consolidated in June.
This is the consolidation permit and plan that shows the addition.
Here you have 1326 here.
Let me zoom this in a little bit.
So again, it was a separate parcel here.
And then you added all that in together and it becomes one larger parcel that then creates,
you know, this situation and condition.
And this isn't necessarily a situation where we're creating the variance or creating the hardship.
You know, we're taking a single family and making a slightly bigger single family, and there's no other dimensional or use variances or refusals associated with that.
And with that, I would request in a very truncated fashion that the board grant the requested variances.
The requested variances. I do have my clients who are on the phone. One of the clients is Rustin Oler, who I think you're all familiar with. He's going to be living in one of the houses at the rear, along with three other families that he knows and he's friendly with. Rustin is ill, a little bit ill, so I would just have him, if he's possible, identify his responses may be fairly truncated, though.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Yeah, Rustin Ohler, R -U -S -T -I -N, last name, O -H -L -E -R, address, 1405 Wharton Street.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Rustin, did you hear the statements I made to the board today?
And they true and correct, to the best of your knowledge?
And would you adopt them as your own?
And you make and you're making those statements, both as the owner, one of the owners of the property of the LLC, and also your Harmon Deutsch -Oler did the architectural drawings for both the project we took to the board in September, last September, and then this one as well, correct?
Yes, that's correct.
Okay, thank you.
Okay, questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Mr. Chair, why any commission?
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chair.
Sarah Bond, City Planning Commission, S -A -R -A -H, B -A -N -H.
The proposed use of multifamily household living
is consistent with documented previous uses on this property.
The proposal for multiple principal uses
is not likely to have a detrimental impact
more than reasonably expected.
The City Planning Commission recommends
that the Zoning Board grant the variance.
Thank you.
MI 2022 -005 -182 -1324, Mifflin Street, I vote yes.
Earl Teneri, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
Jane Snell, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
May be excused.
Thank you.
Yes, you can't cancel.
Thank you.
Is there anyone from the two o 'clock list whose case has not been called?
I do not see any hands, Mr. Chair.
Okay, we're going to move right to the 3 .30 list.
My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this 3 .30 meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
With me is Carol Tenere, our vice chair.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Ismail Shahid, our board secretary.
He may have stepped off a minute.
Thomas Holliman, our board member.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
James Snell, our board member.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also, here is our board attorney, Hillary Emerson, and our ZBA hearing supervisor, Lakeisha Dandy.
Here is our virtual format.
Be advised that proceedings are being recorded by participating in your knowledge agreement to be recorded.
The video will be available by contacting TanyaSunkett at phila .gov.
For the Benefier Court Sonographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you're participating by phone and you wish to testify, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.
To enter an appearance statement, call 267 -270 -5548.
Leave your email and the address of the property in question.
And lastly, the question and answer box on the screen is not for comment or testimony.
Any comments have to be directed to our Executive Director, Tanya Sung.
Let's look at our continuances for this afternoon.
Number four, MI 2022 -001 -680 -5710 Malvern Street.
This case is continued.
Number nine, MI 2022 -003 -722 -35 Ainsley Street.
this case is also continued.
Is there any comments relative
to the two cases I just mentioned?
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.
This is Jason Hand.
I do not see any hands raised at this time.
Jason, we're having a hard time hearing you.
I'm sorry, sir.
This is Jason Hand.
I don't see any hands raised.
Wait a minute.
My hand just went up.
Are there any other requests that continue?
Hillary Langer raised her hand, sir.
I'm allowing them to speak at this time.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Hillary Langer, H -I -L -A -R -Y, L -A -N -G -E -R.
Do you swear, affirm, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, Mr. Langer?
We see what case, sir?
3 ,500 Ainsley Street.
OK, that that case has been continued. I just wanted to clarify the address that it's thirty five hundred and thirty five hundred Ainsley Street.
Good. Thank you. OK, thank you. Thank you. Any other requests for continuances?
I see no hands, Mr. Chair. OK, so I want to also go over real quick a few cases that we don't have exhibits.
Number one, MI 2022 -003 -748 -2026 South 3rd Street.
First listing, no exhibits.
Patrick Moore is the listed owner.
That individual is not in the audience, Mr. Chair.
Okay, so MI 2022 -003 -748 -2026 South 3rd Street, this case is continued.
And number seven, MI 2022 -001 -399 -6642 Marston Street.
No exhibit, second listing, Lewis Cruz is the listed applicant.
No exhibit, second listing.
Lewis Cruz is the listed applicant.
Mr. Chair, I do not see that individual.
Okay, so MI 2022, 001 -399 -6642 Marston Street.
This case is continued.
Mark, must be tried.
And then I want to look at the status of number five.
MI 2022 -001 -759, 120 Rear and 28 West Loudoun Street, Magic Investment Corporation is the listed owner. This is the second listing. Is the owner present?
Mr. Chair, I do not see any hands at this time for that case.
Okay, so MI -2022 -001 -759 -120 -28 West Loudoun Street, I vote to dismiss this case.
Carol Tenere, dismiss.
Thomas Holloman, dismiss.
James Snell, dismiss.
Thank you. We're going to go to the regular list.
Number two, MI 2022, 003701, 5044 Sampson Street.
Vern Anastasio is the attorney.
Recommendation of support from the Walnut Hill Community Association.
verne yep good evening mr chair hi could you just state your name because you've already been sworn
yep uh it's verne anastasio v -e -r -n last name a -n -a -s -t -a -s -i -o right could you identify
your client relationship to the property yep um i uh represent the owners of the property at
5044 Sansom Street, and
I'm going to try and get that up. I thought it was up, but please
excuse me just for a moment. Sure, take your time. Thank you, while I try
and get that.
Here we go.
Yep, thank you.
My client's name is Nyelka Wright.
It's 5044 Sansom Street.
Right.
As we can see here.
And our wife here has a few questions.
Yep, go ahead.
Everton, do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Of course, yes.
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance,
refusal referral photos and plans five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with
the rco and do you have a letter i do i think a letter was sent uh independent of my exhibits
okay you may proceed and begin to share your screen which you thank you thank you i've already
shared my screen 50 44 sansom two family dwelling uh pre -existing non -conforming use
and that's why we're here today.
I want to show you the
interior layout of the property.
Level one
is a front door to the living room, dining room
kitchen, a bedroom, and a bath with
stairs to go up to the second floor.
And then we have two bedroom units with a utility room, a bathroom, and a kitchen on the top floor.
We have some photos that you might be interested in.
Some of them are good and some of them are not so good.
Brewery Yard Basement is nothing but utilities, no living space in the basement.
We have a RCO letter that went out to all interested parties.
And 91 individual households were mailed per this certification on the left -hand side.
91 individual households were mailed.
We have a tax cert.
We have a lease.
And I am respectfully requesting that this be a legalization of a non -conforming pre -existing use.
And as a result, I'm respectfully requesting the granting of the variance in this particular matter.
It's my understanding that the RCO supports this legalization.
So with that, I thank you.
And I'm going to ask my client, Ms. Wright, to raise her hand virtually so I can square her in and get her testimony.
qualified.
He's been allowed to speak.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Sure. It's Nyota Wright.
First name Nyota, N as in Nancy, Y -O -T as in Tom,
A, last name Wright, W -R -I -G -H -T.
You swear, Fern, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Wright, did you hear my presentation to the board this evening?
And is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge?
And do you adopt it as your own testimony?
Thank you very much.
Mr. Chair, I move all testimony, all exhibits into evidence for this particular machine.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
planning commission oh hand sir this is uh ron bednar city planning first name ron r -o -n
last name bednar b -e -d -n -a -r you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but
the truth i do proceed run this property is indicated for residential use on the city plan
given the documented use history of the site recommend that the question variance be granted
Thank you. MI 2022 -003 -701 -5044 Sansom Street, I vote yes.
Carl Teneri, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Number three, MI 2022 -004 -587 -2108 South A Street, Jeffrey Young is the attorney.
Letter of support from the 7th Street Community Civic Association.
Okay, sir. Mr. Young will be rejoining us as a panelist.
Good afternoon, members of the board.
Hi, Mr. Young, how are you? Could you state your name and spell, please, for the court reporter?
Yes, Jeffrey Young, J -E -F -F -E -R -Y -Y -O -U -N -G,
counsel for the applicant, Ms. Cabrera -Thomas.
All right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Hi, Mr. Young.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal
and stipulate to its accuracy?
I agree to read the reading and stipulate, yes.
Okay, great.
Have you emailed the exhibit packet
with proof of ownership
tax compliance refusal or referral photos under plans of the property five days in advance of
this hearing and have you met with the RCO and do you have a letter? The documents have been
submitted however they were submitted late because of the holiday but we do have a letter from the
RCO. Okay great you may proceed and begin to share your screen. Thank you. Hillary before we started
Are we straight with the address?
Yes, Mr. Young and I have discussed over the email, and we're all good.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Young.
No worries, members of the board.
Again, my name is Jeffrey Young.
I'm here today representing Ms. Cabrera Thomas.
She's a tenant at 2108 South 8th Street.
We are here today to present an application for use of the property as a daycare facility.
Here is a brief couple of pages of her lease. Again, her lease is technically for 2108 -2110, but here again, we're just going to specifically talk about 2108.
Here again, we're just going to specifically talk about 2108 South 8th Street, and I'll switch over to Paige, her lease.
I did send the lease separately as exhibits. I do not have the full lease in my exhibit package, but it was sent separately.
As you see here, clause number 13, our use permitted for the tenancy is a child care and day care facility.
Here is our tax compliance of Ms. Thomas.
And I'm going to address the refusal.
So we are in a RM1 zoning district, and child care facilities are prohibited in this zoning district.
This particular property is located in the South Philadelphia neighborhood on the west side of 8th Street near 8th and Snyder between Snyder and Cantrell.
So this area of property has a history of commercial usage, and as such, you know, we feel that this variance should be granted.
Again, if you look across the street, those CMX designated properties, we were located directly across the street.
Again, this would be a buy -write project.
here. These are pictures of the front facade of the properties on 8th Street. Again, historical
use of commercial businesses and office space on these particular properties. And as I go through
the historical use, you'll see that this particular space has not been used as a residential,
has not had a residential use in its history.
So I'm going to start here.
As you can see, this application was in the year 2000,
where this property was actually zoned C2.
So it previously had a commercial zoning designation.
And the use of this property was a toy store with apartments above.
Again, in 2005, again, another application for use as a retail grocery store.
And as far as back as 1978, the property was a carpenter shop.
And even there are also use permits on file for 1933 as the property being used as the carpenter
shop as well. Here are some interior pictures. I see my client has done some renovations to the
property to be able to use it as a daycare. Here's the ADA compliant bathrooms, changing stations,
again, pictures of the bathroom, the industrial refrigerator,
and then also the heating, the cooking, excuse me, the heating area for food. There will be no
cooking food at this establishment. Again, all exit signs illuminated. This is another
half -bathroom located at the facility, and then another angle of the room.
uh here is a layout um of the uh facility here for uh 2108 south 8th street um as you see there are
um multiple uh egresses um uh from the property from the front and also the rear that leads to
an alley that leads to uh can chuck can't trail street excuse me um this here is in our notification
that was sent out to the community we held our meeting on august 19th um at the ford powell
center um on six and snyder um and we do have a letter of support um from mr i believe mr bruce
um uh johnson is his name um and uh with that uh members of the board i uh also sorry we have
pictures about zona notice as well that we posted on the property um and with that um you know we
would take any questions that you
have. Mr. Young, do you want to have
your testimony adopted?
Yes, I would like my client, Ms. Cabrera
Thomas, to be
appointed as a panelist.
There is a telephone number that I believe she's on
the phone.
Ms. Thomas, can you raise your hand?
Do we see anybody?
I'm sorry, the last four digits.
I'm sorry, the last four digits.
Yes, the last four digits.
And it's star six to raise your hand.
The last four digits are 0031.
Mr. Johnson, Mr. Young, you're an officer of the court.
We will take your testimony.
Oh, good, good.
But could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Hi, good evening.
My name is Maria Chante Thomas.
Could you spell for the court reporter, please?
C -A -B as in boy, R -I -A, last name T as in Tom, H -O -M as in Mary, A -S as in Sam.
All right.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I swear.
Proceed, counsel.
Thank you.
Ms. Thomas, are you the tenant at the subject property?
All right, yes.
And did you hear my presentation to the board?
Yes, I did.
And do you stipulate to its accuracy?
And do you adopt my testimony as if it were your own?
Thank you.
Okay, questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I do not see any further hands, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Planning Commission.
Ron Bednar, City Planning.
While this property is currently indicated for residential use on the city plan,
given the physical conditions of the site and its documented use history,
we recommend the request of variance be granted.
Thank you.
MI 2022 -004 -587 -2108 South A Street, I vote yes.
Thank you.
my vote is yes
Thomas Holloman my vote is yes
James Snell my vote is yes
Ishmael Shaheed my vote is yes
thank you counsel
all right have a good one
number six
MI 2022
202 -003 -699 -1709 -North Marshall Street, Vern Anastasio, waiting on RCO letter, APM meeting was held on 10 -19 -22.
turn back in as panelists sir
hello mr chair how are you i've earned just state your name please you've already been sworn
verne anastasio 2016 spruce street philadelphia pa 19103 could you identify your client in
relationship to this property sam to creevy uh who's the owner of the property yeah okay um our
Vice Chair has a few questions. Yep.
Do you agree to waive the reading
of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
I do. Have you
emailed the proof of ownership, tax
compliance, refusal referral,
photos, plans of the property
five days in advance of this hearing,
and have you met with the RCO, and
do you have a letter?
All of that, but I don't seem
to have a letter yet, which
is unfortunate, but
I have tried.
You may proceed and begin.
Burns, we have the tax rate?
Yeah, I think I did send
Attorney Emerson
clearance on this one.
It basically is for
an erection of an attached structure,
roof deck for a two -family
dwelling.
by the way,
I do have an architect here
uh on call if joe joe if you could raise your hand so we can walk through the project i would
appreciate that mr anastasio this is hillary um the last um correspondence i had with you
um was that you uh you said the posting photos and you said the tax
certifications were being worked on um so i have not received it yet that's correct i have not uh
The tax rate that I have did expire 1026.
My client is working on the tax certification and we're working on getting it from the city system.
I think it's been cleared up. Just a matter of getting it cleared with the city.
Well, while you go through your presentation, I'll just I'll just double check the city's the city system and see if it's been cleared up.
the city system and see if they're thank you thank you attorney emerson thank you
Thank you, Attorney Emerson.
we have proof of posting i'm mailing from 124 individual uh households here's the flyer that went
out and if joe the uh the architect could uh please raise his hand we could present him so
that he can walk through the the presentation he's been allowed to speak but i will promote him
hi hi joe could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
hello he's coming back in as a panel okay sure thank you but it's the erection of a
of an attached structure for use of as a two -family dwelling.
And he will go into the design of it.
But it's a, you know, standard two -family dwelling
with a basement plan or first floor plan.
Sir, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Hold on, Mr. Chair. Let me see if I can get him.
It's adjacent to new construction. There's lots of empty space to the east of it. So it's certainly in need of some density. It's been disinvested for quite some time.
but i do want to have the architect talk okay about the uh is the architect
i'm here i'm here okay could you hi do me a favor please state your name and spell for
court reporter joe jankishay j -a -n -c -u -s -k -a right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth nothing but the truth i do proceed counsel thank you thanks joe so unit one is over
a thousand square feet is that right correct and unit two is over a thousand square feet
correct okay and i'm going to uh walk the board through the plans so you could talk to them about
the actual design if you don't mind no problem just just very briefly yeah and go ahead why
don't you do that with uh what i have up okay it's a three -story building the first unit is
on the first floor and it goes down to the lower level uh the second unit when it comes in from
the entry you go straight up the steps to the second floor unit uh and that goes up to the
third floor. Both units have a den. And the purpose of these two units is to create a work
at home environment that we've all become used to. Instead of loading these buildings up with
bedrooms, the top floor will have access to a rooftop deck. And we have met all the setback
requirements, and we've kept the volume or the scale of the building in keeping with the
existing neighborhood. And it's just, even though it's a three -story building,
Joe, it's just a two -family dwelling. Is that right? Correct. And it's consistent with other
uses on the block. Is that right? Correct. And because it's a three -story building,
but only a two -family dwelling, you're using extra space to meet the immediate needs of
more modern homeowners, which is home offices, so that, you know, folks can work from home.
That's what we've designed here, yes.
Yep, thank you.
The property you're attached to, is that a duplex?
Baron?
Say it again, Mr. Chair.
The property that you're going to attach to.
There are the property attached to this property or next to it.
This particular house is a single family, but the rest of the prop, the rest on the other side is just vacant.
They're having a difficult time redeveloping this block.
All right.
All right.
Questions from the board?
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Council, are there other two family units on the block?
On the block, there are several multifamily dwellings on the block.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Questions from the virtual audience.
I see no hands, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
Sir, Ron Bednar, City Planning.
Property is indicated for residential use on the city plan or adopted district plan recommends no change to the existing residential single family zoning at this location.
The applicant's hardship is not supported with evidence of unique physical circumstances or condition of the property that would prevent it from being used in conformity with the code.
Majority of the block face is single family.
Therefore, we recommend the request of variance not be granted.
And I appreciate Ron's input, Mr. Chair.
Again, this is adjacent to a very large, disinvested, empty lot.
And that's why, you know, the neighboring community organization does not oppose this proposal.
So what I'm going to do with this case is I'm going to have it in an executive session next week and talk to the board about it.
Executive session.
Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, sir.
702 -302 -Lamont Street.
John Doherty is the owner -applicant, pro se.
Letter of non -opposition from the Bridge Park Civic Association.
Okay, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Doherty will be back in as a panelist.
Let's see.
Hi, Mr. Doherty.
Sorry, can you unmute yourself, please?
I got it.
Yes, I think that works.
Is that working now?
Yeah, you are.
Mr. Doherty, could you state your name and spell for the court report?
Yes, John Doherty, J -O -H -N -D -O -U -G -H -E -R -T -Y.
Right.
Do you swear, Fern, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Our vice chair has a few questions for you, sir.
Mr. Chair, I can read the refusal in for this one because I forgot the language on Ms. Tanari's sheet.
um this application is for the demolition of rear detached structure and for the erection of a
detached structure for accessory accessory residential storage at the rear as a part of
an existing semi -detached single -family household living size and location as shown on plans
there is one use refusal whereas no more than one principal building is allowed per lot in the rsa
five zoning districts. Okay, Mr. Doherty, do you agree? Is he representing, is this per se?
Yes. Okay. Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance,
a copy of the refusal or referral, voters under plans of the property five days in advance of
this hearing? And have you met with the RCO and do you have a letter? Yes, I have. I have sent
the documents, and I do have a letter also. Okay, great. You may proceed and begin by sharing your
screen. Okay. Well, as the... Okay. Hopefully, that's working for you. So, can you view that?
Yes. Essentially, so... Excuse me, Mr. Daugherty. I got it, Hilary. Mr. Daugherty,
Could you show, could you, we'd like to see you on the screen if we could.
Oh, okay. I'm sorry.
No, that's not.
It should be coming up. I just, we see you now. We see you now, Mr. Doherty.
Okay. I see myself. Sorry about that, Chair.
Here you go.
Okay. Through Atulamont Street.
I live here with my wife and three children. We've been here since about 2005 in the Roxburgh section of Philadelphia.
If you're looking at the plans, essentially we have in the rear of our yard, we have a long, narrow property surrounded by this residential neighborhood.
In the rear of the yard, we have an existing 10 by 8 shed.
And I just had asked that we were, I guess, planned on putting a larger shed for storage and that type of thing in the rear of the property.
and that type of thing in the rear of the property.
We did, we met with the, well, we sent out letters to, I think, 88 neighbors throughout the neighborhood.
We have no opposition from them.
Speaking with the neighbors who are directly connected to our neighborhood, they have no problems whatsoever with putting a shed in.
I think if you can see from the, I guess, the elevations of the drawing, it's just a standard or just a simple building for the rear of the yard.
Like I said, it's going to be used just for storage.
There's no utility connections.
There's no electric, no plumbing, no mechanicals.
I think it fits in to the rest of the neighborhood.
There's several, if I can zoom in on this from the site plan, bear with me here.
There's several properties in the neighborhood that have other sheds in their backyard.
Do you have any photos in the backyard, Mr. Doherty?
I do, yes.
Here we go. Okay. That in itself, that picture right there is the photo of the yard. So, this is the existing shed.
He said the backyard from the front property line to the rear is about 200 feet. That's an existing 10 by 8 shed.
Kid swing set right here. And basically, this area right here would be where the new shed, if granted, would be placed.
Okay. And it's for storage only?
That's correct.
The only one of the things, as I started to say, there was a couple other properties in the neighborhood, even, I think, two doors down, or two doors down, about six houses down, 314 LeMond Street.
About 10 years ago, they had a similar type meeting with the zoning board of adjustments, and they were granted, I think, about a 500 -square -foot garage in their side yard.
I think they were doing a double plot. So that's the only other aspect I would I would like you to consider.
This is about 200 square foot shit. Slightly bigger than that.
It's 20, 22 by 14. So that's closer to 300 square foot.
OK. OK. All right. All right. Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman. No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
do not see any hands mr chair so planning commission it's ron bednar city planning
this property is indicated for residential use on the city plan given the site's physical condition
and the existing storage use recommend the request of variance be granted thank you mi 2022
202 -003 -702 -302 -Lemont Street.
I vote yes.
Harold Tineri, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shahid, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Mr. Docherty.
Good luck with it.
Thank you very much.
I appreciate your patience with me there, sir.
Thank you.
We're fine.
um is there anyone from the 330 list whose case has not been called
i do not see any hands mr chair all right um thanks everyone thank you i tried to pick it up
i wanted to get under six o 'clock but but thank you all yes great job everyone thank you
thank you
have a good night
have a good night
good night