I mean, self-storage just, and Daniel would testify in his experience across the country, we don't even need 16 spaces to operate this many self-storage units because it's that low impact of a use.
Excuse me, who was the person's name again, sir?
uh his name is daniel lyman mr lyman please raise your virtual hand
okay he's been allowed to speak mr lyman please wait to be sworn in sir
good evening sir please identify yourselves by your first and last name i'll swear you in
my name is daniel lyman last name l y m a n you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth? I do. Thank you. Mr. Molloy, please proceed. Mr. Lyman, were you present on the
Zoom call for my statements about the project? Yes, I was. And can you confirm that what I said
Yes, I was.
And can you confirm that what I said was true and would you adopt it as your own testimony if given the opportunity?
was true and would you adopt?
Thank you. I have no further questions for Mr. Lyman.
Thank you.
No further evidence.
Questions from the board?
Anyone else would like to testify in this case? If so, please raise your hand.
Mr. Chair, Sloan folks have this hand up. I will allow him to speak now.
Thank you. Good evening.
Mr. Folks, you're still under oath from earlier today.
Please identify yourself.
Good evening, Chairman DiCicco and the ZBA board.
My name is Sloan Folks, Office of Councilwoman Maria Keona-Sanchez,
room 508 City Hall.
The applicants having met with the RCO and receiving a lot of support,
the Councilwoman offers not opposition to this.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Anyone else?
planning commission at this time sir
it's uh ron bednar city planning this property is indicated for industrial use on the city plan
we recommend the quest advance program thank you mi 2021 000 733 533 east hunting park avenue my
vote is yes. My vote is yes. My vote is yes. My vote is yes.
My mind. You got it, Carol? And just acknowledge that there are two letters. There's a letter of
opposition from West Overbrook Neighbors and Councilman Jones on this case. Okay.
Calendar number 3464-5753, Jefferson Street.
John Jackson and Cassandra Jackson,
if you're handling this per se.
Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, if you are in the audience, please raise your virtual hands.
Ms. Cassandra Jackson has been promoted to panelist.
Ms. Jackson, can you put your name and address on the record and spell your last name, please?
My name is Cassandra Jackson, C-A-S-S-A-N-D-R-A, and the address is 5753 West Jefferson Street.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Do you agree to strike that? Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership,
tax compliance refusal referral photos and 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 thank you you may proceed
we have a letter from the rco opposing this application and councilman jones
also has sent in a letter of opposition so present your case well my case is this
I am here as owner of this property. I have been an educator for 33 years. I have also been
educated in this particular area. This home belongs to both of us, and we decided that we
would like to start a child care facility in our home, and it is set up as a child care center.
um we've been here three and a half years I'm sorry Miss Jackson yes sorry that was funny
um do you have slides to present no ma'am I do not I'm going to make this real quick
I did send in um documents I've sent in pictures um of the facility uh and I've also had letters
of uh of support from people in the neighborhood who excuse me excuse me how can we see what you're
trying to do well this is my first time here so I'm going to be honest with you I did not know
that I needed to do that I understand that I had to send the end documents to you which I did do
within the five-day period. And I also sent you pictures. I sent you letters that were given to us.
I sent you letters that were given to us through the, from supporting people in the area.
I sent all of that as part of my package. Tanya, is there any way we can see those?
I'll have to check. Let me have the staff do a search for it. And I sent it through email,
so you probably and it was through adobe scan so all of them should be in one adobe scan document
but as you are going through that um i just wanted to let you know we've been here three
and a half years we have never had any adverse communication within the community
uh we keep the property uh we don't have um people who come in and make noise or
there are no disturbances uh from my clients and uh we're just asking basically to have the
opportunity to serve the community by providing more um spot or more slots for children in the
community. We wanted to go from a family daycare and to a group daycare. That's what we're desiring
to do. So did you just buy the house and the daycare was already set up? No, ma'am. This is
my house. This is heir property. My mother-in-law and father-in-law owned this property. My husband
grew up in this property. Okay. Excuse me. Did you come before the zoning board to get permission
to do this yes three years ago yes yes i applied and it was given to me yes
as a family daycare it was a three-year variance was it a temporary variance is that why you're
back no sir i am i'm asking to go from a family daycare with services six children to a group
daycare that can service 12 children 12 children that's all i'm asking for i'm not trying to make
any changes to the property the property is set up just as a center um from top to bottom it can
be arranged for other children for different and we service children from zero to five years old
that is all we're asking for oh hello sir oh look at them now
that is all we're asking for okay um so 12 is too too many well according to the state i have
talked to the state on a number of occasions about going into the group and they say that
we have ample space here in order to service more kids
i checked with everyone before i did in fact i've wanted to do this for a couple of years
and i made sure i spoke with octel and members of people who come in here we've been voted
best daycare for two years in a row um so we've got the quality service here
excuse me yes i i emailed it to everyone on the board
you know what maybe in the interest of time is maybe we can go are there any other individuals
who like to testify in this case because i'm trying to
i'm sir mr gregory allen has his hand raised i won't allow him to speak at this time
thank you mr allen please identify yourselves by your first and last name and i'll swear you in
Gregory Allen, D-R-E-G-O-R-Y-A-L-L-E-N. I'm president and founder of Overwork West Neighbors,
and we are the RCO for this area. Thank you. You swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Thank you. Please proceed.
So, Chair, I think the neighbors, the block captain for the block is here. She would also
like to speak. But I think that the neighbors probably didn't have as much of a challenge with
the property as it was with six children, but now being asked to go to 12 children.
And during the RCO hearing, we learned that the owner doesn't actually live in the property.
So one of the rules for child care license is that it has to be owner operated.
And if you look at our meeting summary, you can clearly see that she said that she doesn't live there.
And it's a very well kept block with neighbors that have lived there for 20, 30 plus years.
So they're concerned about having a business on their block.
So they're concerned about having a business on their block, which is what it would be if the owner didn't live in the property.
Can I respond to that?
Briefly. Speak to the board.
Okay. I do not. This is not my primary residence. I agree.
but it is my property that we own and it is owner run I am here each and every day all day
and when I have the opportunity like tonight I will probably have to stay over because I have
to get up very early in order to meet my children in the morning so I do have the house set up
I have a bedroom that I can live in if I need to, okay?
But this is an owner service center.
All right, hold on now.
Anyone else to testify in this case?
Mr. Chair, there is a Rodney Jameson with his hand raised.
I will allow him to speak right now.
Thank you.
Mr. Jameson please identify yourself spell your first and last name. Good evening it's Miss
oh I'm sorry it's no problem I get that all the time Miss Rodney R-O-D-N-I-E Jameson J-A-M-I-S-O-N
good evening chairman and do you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing
but the truth? I do. Please proceed. Thank you so much for allowing me to speak with you we have
many neighbors joining us on a call this evening, and I would like to say thank you to them as well.
As Gregory Allen has pointed out, I'm the block captain. I'm very engaged with the residents on
this block. Routinely, we do block cleanups. We provide informational flyers to neighbors.
We organize block parties and I speak to neighbors all the time in general,
walking my dog Sam at least twice a day. Our block is very engaged and as a community we
work hard to maintain our block. Unfortunately, I didn't speak with Ms. Jackson. I have never seen
her participate in any of our block activities. We also have on the block several retired teachers,
a retired principal, several people who have owned daycares, and they live on the block and don't feel
the single family dwelling is an appropriate setting for what is being proposed. For example,
there's no outdoor play space for the children and we have never observed the children outside
playing. Also, we are concerned about keeping children inside without proper ventilation
during these tough COVID-19 times. Further, the lawn and area around the building is not well
at. While many neighbors work hard to keep nice yards and patios debris-free, this is not an
example of that. Parking becomes a problem as people want to drop off their children. They
double park, often while other residents are busy trying to go to work. Transient people dropping
off children are problematic, especially because they don't have an investment in this neighborhood.
Many of us have been on this block for 20, 40 and 60 years and are opposed to the zoning changes
that will impede us as taxpayers from enjoying our homes. And I'll be brief. The applicant does
not and have not ever lived in the property her daycare license was issued for family daycare
meaning the owner should live in the property to many the applicant seems dishonest and that her
license doesn't match her residency she doesn't even live in the city of philadelphia we humbly
request that you oppose the special exemption in support of the 86 long-term taxpayers who
actually live here. We were very disheartened that the applicant did not comply with sending
zoning notices to all residents within the 250 feet. I never received such notice as a resident
at 5735, just a few doors away. Thank you for your kind consideration on behalf of all the residents.
Thank you for your kind consideration on behalf of all the residents of the 5700 block of Jefferson Street.
Thank you. I'm going to ask if there are any questions from the board at this time.
Planning Commission.
Ron Bednar, City Planning.
This property is indicated for single-family residential use on the city plan.
We believe the applicant has failed to sufficiently address the impacts related to implementing objectives of the city's adopted comprehensive plan.
It's not consistent with our adopted district plan.
Therefore, we recommend that the request for a special exception not be granted.
Thank you very much.
Excuse me. This is Sharon.
Charles Richardson mentioned to me that someone from his office will be here.
Can we ask if they're present?
We'll get to Councilwoman's office, yes.
anyone representing the councilwoman please uh raise your hand
or councilman i'm sorry councilman jones
the representative jones please raise their hand
i apologize maybe i got that wrong um yeah no worries all right well we'll move forward
MI 2020-003-464-5753 Jefferson Street.
My vote is no.
My vote is no.
My vote is no.
My vote is no.
My vote is no.
Thank you.
That concludes today's hearing list.
Any unfinished business?
Not to my knowledge.
I think we're all done.
Thank you again.
Thank you, everybody.
Thank you.