office it was used as a doctor's office okay i was mistaken sorry about that uh and do you
adopted testimony is your own yes all right thank you questions from the board
yeah um can we how how do you get into this property is that a ramp yeah there's a ramp
that's what i'm understanding steven is that correct there's there are two entrances one up
a handicap accessible ramp, and then there's
another entrance on Jackson Street as well.
Is that where steps are? Yes, there are steps there.
Okay, and then the fence just goes around the property from where
the steps are around to where the ramp is.
Yeah, so this is, Stephen, is this the step, the entrance
on Jackson? Yes. And then
this is the ramp on third street that you kind of come up right yes yeah okay all right thank you
welcome questions or comments more yeah i'm sorry do we have um were there interior pictures of the
space yeah drawing yeah we just had drawings it's it's not in that it's not our space yet um
So I do apologize by not giving interior photos.
All right.
Thank you.
Questions or comments for our attorney, Hillary Ambers?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I do not see any further answer, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chairman.
Good afternoon.
David Fechter with the City Planning Commission,
Chairman and Board Members.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the RSA-5 residential single-family zoning at this location.
This property has a documented history as a medical office.
The zoning code contemplates a business and professional office as having no greater impact than a medical office.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the board grant a proposed use variance for a business and professional office.
MI 2024-006-023-2201 South 3rd Street. I vote yes with Proviso. Interior trash storage.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Teneda Graham, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Ayah Lynn, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Thank you, Mr. Nockamson.
Number nine, MI 2024-006-037-2851 Salmon Street.
Michael Phillips is the attorney.
There's a recommendation of support from Southport Richmond Civic Association
and a letter of non-opposition from Council Member Squilla.
Mr. Phillips.
Mr. Phillips, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.
Members of the board, Michael Phillips, M-I-C-H-A-E-L-P-H-I-L-L-I-P-S, with Claire Harrison Harvey Bransberg.
P-H-I-L-L-I-P-S with Claire Harrison Harvey Bransberg on behalf of High Top Real Estate and Development and Salmon Investment.
Excuse me, 2026.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Before Mr. For Ishmael talks, Hillary, do you want to talk a little bit about the corrective refuel?
If you haven't talked to him yet.
Yeah, no, I haven't had a chance and I apologize. Mr. Phillips, on the refusal, it does not list, even though they are in other parts of your documents in your packet, the refusal itself does not list the addresses that are included within the unity of use. And that's something that does need to be corrected by L&I.
um i did note that you um did submit revised plans that would eliminate one of the refusals
so we can either and we can talk about this offline we can either just ask ellen i to issue
a corrected refusal or you can request an amended refusal and have those revised plans as part of
your refusal um instead so but either way we can't we can't vote it today we just we needed that
at a minimum need those addresses on there on the uh okay i thought they were
all there but i do see that they only put um 2851 didn't list the specific so in terms of
listing the parcels because they put you know they said there's eight but it doesn't say one
eight okay um yeah like i said i saw the addresses elsewhere in your packet but they have to be on
the refusal so but we can yeah we get that's not a problem okay um our vice chair our vice
chair has a few questions for you sir yeah i was gonna say we can proceed today that that's not a
problem but we'll just need to get that that corrected and like i said we could even amend
it with your revised plans um if you wanted to do it that way so we can decide that offline
okay that sounds great counselor do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal or stipulate
to his accuracy uh i do with uh the caveat of of what board council just noted understood uh
have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this
case five days in advance at his hearing yes i have thank you counsel um please proceed and share
screen. All right. So good afternoon again. Michael Phillips here on behalf of High Top
Real Estate and Development for a project at 2851 Salmon Street. And just to give all
of the addresses. It would be 2851, 2853, 2855, and 2857 Famine Street, as well as
their addresses along East Cambria that are 2724 to 28, 2730, 2732, and 2734 East Cambria.
And our application proposes to create a unity of use to treat these eight properties as one.
Ultimately, we will consolidate all the properties and to erect two buildings to be used as a total 12 townhomes.
So this would be a planned unit development.
Two buildings, each would have six townhomes in them for a total of 12, and each would have one car parking.
We have our meeting with South Fort Richmond Civic Association, where they voted to support, and Councilman Squilla's letter.
This, to orient you, these are the lots.
There's not a delineation here on this one on the bottom right, but that is split into two.
But you'll see there are eight total RSA 5 lots.
These four are all approximately 2,000 square feet.
They're 20 by 100.
And then these lots fronting Cambria all have 40 feet of depth in their more undersized lots.
Right now it is vacant.
And here's the aerial.
You'll see it's just vacant, unimproved land.
Historically, it's been used as a parking lot, but my client is not using it as a parking lot.
It's just people have parked here historically.
The rear abuts the I-95 overpass.
Here's Cambria, and here is Salmon Street.
And a lot of this property to the rear was condemned as part of the I-95 improvements, just some more aerial views.
So here's contextual just for what the lot looks like.
Here's contextual just for what the lot looks like.
Again, this is...
Again, this is the corner at the southeast corner of Salmon and East Cambria.
And this is the house right next door.
This is 2749 Salmon.
Not our property, but it was recently approved for use as a duplex.
And then to the rear of the property, as you'll see, this is the overpass.
There's all this new parking that SEPTA has.
We've actually been in discussions with them about how members of the community can utilize this parking because it's there.
It exists, but it's underutilized.
So here's the zoning plan.
And as you can see, there are two buildings.
And we propose that they both front Salmon Street so that we can utilize an existing curb cut that's there to provide one car parking for each of the homes.
So the homes would each be 2,250 square feet each.
And here is the visual so you can see the orientation.
We proposed to orient the streets this way in terms of a northwest orientation so that there would be increased light and air.
None of the homes would back up to the I-95 overpass.
and we can provide that drive aisle with one-to-one parking dimensionally the plans
comply there was a refusal issued for not having four bicycle parking spaces but we have
updated our plans to show those spaces here are just some more views from salmon in cambria
this is from cambria 95 again this area here to the to the left of your screen that's you know
where the overramp comes right up to the property.
We just did this so you could actually see, you know, how those units would be oriented.
And this looks down the drive aisle from Damond Street and just a few more views.
In terms of the layouts, we believe, you know, keeping these at 2,250 square feet is contextual with the neighborhood.
We don't want these units to be oversized, but again, we're not looking at this as a density clay.
We're looking at what makes sense here for this overall 12,000-square-foot lot.
12 units on 12,000 square feet equates to about 1,000 square feet per unit.
You'll see we have three bedrooms, two on the third floor with one on the first floor and the one-car parking there.
And then in terms of just showing you some more context of the neighborhood, so here
are the, in red, this is our lot.
You'll see the blue dots are where there are some multifamily.
Again, this is a duplex that is directly adjacent to us.
There are some other two and three unit properties.
The biggest change was this Charles Carroll Public School was adaptively reused recently
and has 69 units with 30 parking spaces.
In terms of also the property sizes,
we'll note the 1,000 square feet is all contextual
with these homes in between Cambria and Auburn,
as well as the homes opposite us on Cambria.
And you'll see, we put the lot sizes here.
They're all between 957 to 1,000.
So again, we think this is contextual
with what's in the environment.
If you look at the eight units, again, the ones fronting salmon are 2,000 square foot lots.
Looking at the project right next to us that received a variance for a duplex, one way of looking at this is if you put a duplex on each of those lots, that's eight plus the four front in Cambria would be 12.
But, you know, we believe that, you know, creating one lot or the unity of use to create one zoning lot will allow us to create this drive aisle and make the homes fit in a way that is much better for the community and especially having that one-to-one parking I know is, you know, very important.
And so, you know, we looked at this as, you know, trying to do something that works for the community.
We're trying to improve this vacant, unimproved lot, bring 12 townhomes.
They would all be for sale and they would all be market rent.
And I have Ryan Lobauer with HITOP Real Estate and Development, who's an in-house architect, who prepared the plans, who can answer any questions the board may have, as well as Jennifer Rosenberg, VP of Development for HITOP, who is online and would agree to accept my testimony as her own.
Why don't we have your testimony accepted, and then if there's questions about design, we'll bring the architect on, okay?
If there's questions about design, we'll bring the architect on, okay?
Why are Lou Barrows being allowed to speak?
Oh, I would ask if Jennifer Rosenberg could be allowed to speak?
I'm sorry.
Jennifer, could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Can you hear me?
I can.
Jennifer Rosenberg, J, E, N as in Nancy, N as in Nancy, I, F, E, R, Rosenberg, R, O, S as in Sally, E, N as in Nancy, B as in boy, E, R, G.
We are affirmed to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Please proceed, counsel.
Jennifer, you heard my testimony a moment ago regarding the project?
Do you agree that everything I stated is true and correct to the best of your knowledge, information, and belief?
Yes, it is.
And do you agree to adopt my testimony as if it were your own?
I do, yes.
I have no further question.
Questions from the board.
Yes, I have a couple of questions.
What's the setback from the property, that triplex property?
Eight feet.
In this front.
where you yeah and i have uh here you can see right here this this setback is uh eight feet
i didn't hear what you say it again oh i've uh eight i believe we have an eight foot setback here
i will uh confirm but i believe it was eight
yeah that's correct mike and what's the what's the so this is all considered one
one parcel yes so the so you said you're going to be subdividing it consolidating it and
subdividing it into two lots right now it's eight lots so um ultimately the plan would be
consolidating it into one lot and this would be um a planned unit development like they would be
12 separate you know condominium or or townhome units for sale
what's the uh i see on your your um plan you show the um drive aisle and you show
um just sort of the the radius of a car coming out of that first
garage but how does the car get out of that end garage i don't see a turning radius or
a three-point turn to get out, but they have to back out.
Brian, can you speak to how this, I guess it's Unit F and Unit L cars would exit out of that?
Yeah, they should have enough room to back out fully and then make the turn back down the drive
aisle. The two turning radiuses shown at the front basically also show they have enough space
because it's just a single um parking space in the end units so they have room to actually
back towards the end of the drive aisle before they begin their turn towards the front so they
would be entering salmon street uh basically with the front of the car pointed towards salmon
the drive out all right is it 20 is it 20 feet 20 22 22 feet
Okay. Any sunshadow studies done?
We did not do any sunshadow studies for this. Again, we kept everything within the 38 feet compliance and are not seeking any height variances.
sorry rendering sorry just to comment on that the the renderings shown here are accurate with
regard to the relationship with the sun um 95 uh is basically to the south and that actually does
create a shading effect on the neighborhood but as you can see as the sun moves east west this
rendering that we're looking at right now on the screen that's uh towards the morning before the
son kind of passes um or i'm sorry hold on a second just get my bearings my concern is that