because we're a new tenant in the building we obviously want people
customers to know where we are. And also, we believe is necessary for safe identification
for motorists and pedestrians going up and down Market Street. In addition,
directly across the street from Market or from our building is an AMC movie theater. And they
also have a sign which is right at their roof line, which actually sits a bit higher than our
proposed sign would be and then uh just another example right across the street from on from 11th
street you you you're i'm sure you're aware up and down market street there are these electronic
billboard signs which are right near the roof line um and also sit a bit higher than our proposed sign
as well and so we feel uh you know in addition to the fact that the prior tenant had an identical
sign of this location um the the commercial uh nature of this dish of this portion of market
street uh and the amount of similar signs up and down that in that area um would would would render
our sign um compatible with the character of the neighborhood and would in any way cause
any adverse impact on uh on the area um we did present this signage plan to the philadelphia
We did present this signage plan to the Philadelphia Art Commission back in September, and we did receive an approval from the Art Commission.
you are commissioned.
We also received an approval from the Streets Commission, I believe.
Tina Arcuri from Coastal Science Services is on the Zoom with us, as is Matthew Boyd.
Who do you want to have to adopt your testimony?
I'll have Tina.
it should be coming back in as a panel shortly council okay thank you
good afternoon hi could you please state your name is spelled for the stenographer
tina r curie t-i-n-a-a-r-c-u-r-i do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth i do counsel mr curie were you here uh on the zoom call and present for my
for my testimony earlier i was okay and do you adapt adopt and affirm uh my testimony as your own
i do okay thank you very much uh i don't i don't have any specific questions for mr curie but the
Board May. All right. Thank you. Questions from the Board. Okay. Context. Is this the Ross that used to be at, what was that, 8th and? Were you at 8th and Market and you moved down into this building?
I do believe that's correct. It might be a better question for Matthew Boyd. He's available online and he can jump on. He's a district manager for Ross.
Why don't you bring them on?
And it's just for context purposes.
I'm not, you know.
No, I understand.
Because it used to be, and it had, it had some weird way went from one building into
another or something that was, you, you went in one entrance, but there were like two parts
to it or something.
and it was something a little unusual in terms of it, but I thought it was a Ross.
It's not too far.
What's his name?
His name is Matthew Boyd.
No, he's here.
He's on his phone.
He messaged me that he's having trouble talking, maybe because he's –
but I can represent to you that you are correct, that that was Ross's prior location.
They moved here.
And how long ago?
Did you move from the 8th and market?
They opened in October of 2024.
Oh, okay.
I don't get down that way that often anymore, but okay.
And so then you're in the space that used to be the Marshalls and the Marshalls was across from the fashion district around 11th and market.
Correct.
Correct.
All right.
And then all your – I guess my only question is about the canopy sign.
Like, how are we approving that, because that's over the – is that over the public footway
in some way, or how do we get that approved?
well the notice of refusal from the license uh from from dni only refused the sign
for this proposed wall sign the canopy sign was approved
really huh interesting okay all right thank you any other questions
questions from our attorney hillary emerson not at this time mr chair questions from
virtual audience i did not see any hands mr chair planning commission amy boy with the planning
commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location from the
current cmx5 commercial mix use the proposal was reviewed by our commission september 2025
the art commission's decisions are not an expression of city council sorry of city
planning commission's recommendations or opinion regarding zoning variances special exceptions or
discretionary approvals associated with this proposal the proposed sign location is consistent
with previous signs on this building the planning commission recommends that the board grant the
requested variance for sign height thank you mi2025-007-537-1026-44 market street i vote yes
michael johns my vote is yes cheryl gaston my vote is yes tenetta graham my vote is yes ryan
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Ryan McAdams, my vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
Thank you, everyone.
We're going to take a five-minute break, but just five minutes, and we'll be right back, and we're going to finish up.
Mr. McShea, thank you very much.
Is there anyone in the audience that had a 2 p.m. case that was not called?
we're we're moving to 330. good afternoon everyone my name is bill bergman and i will
be chairing this meeting of the philadelphia zoning board of adjustment with me is our board
vice chair tenetta grant president mr chairman board secretary cheryl l gaston president mr
chairman board member michael johns president mr chairman board member taiwan
President, Mr. Chairman, and board member Ryan McAdams.
President, excuse me, President, Mr. Chairman.
Also here is Hillary Emerson, our attorney, and our zoning board director, Ian Haggerty,
our board administrator, Lakeisha Dandy.
A recording of this hearing will be posted on the ZBA website.
By participating, you consent to be recorded.
This is an in-person meeting with remote capabilities.
Whether remote or in-person, if you're called to speak,
you must state and spell your name and then wait to be sworn in once you've
been sworn in please state your name each time before beginning your
testimony any person may enter an appearance you can identify the case
property address when you resume webinar registration you can see a staff
member or you can call the ZBA appearance line by the close of business tomorrow
call 267-270-5548 leave a message that includes your email address and the
address of the property of the appeal case. The following guidance is for our remote attendees.
When directed by the chair, you must raise your virtual hand in order to be recognized to speak.
If you're called to testify, you'll be prompted to join as a panelist. Please accept the request
and turn on your camera. Third, the webinar Q&A is for questions about the hearing. Do not comment
on cases in the Q&A. And fourth, if you're participating by phone, press star nine to
raise your hand and star six to unmute let's look at our schedule for this afternoon number one
and number two together mi 2024 002 704 225 west seymour street and mi 2024 002 714
227 and West Seymour Street.
Both cases are continued.
Attorney moving party.
Mr. Chair, Mr. Ward is also here
if you'd like to speak with him.
Sure, you can bring him.
Sure, we'll gladly talk.
Mr. Ward?
Can you hear me now?
I can.
Mr. Ward, I'm not swearing you in or anything in that nature because you're not giving us
testimony.
We all want to make sure that you're feeling better.
I want to thank you so much for the board's patience and courtesies.
I am feeling a lot better.
And now it's just a matter of playing catch up on RCO meetings to prepare for you folks.
But I really, you know, from my heart, no pun intended, I appreciate it.
But we're glad you're feeling well.
We're glad you're feeling well.
And I would tell you, your biggest cheerleader is Cheryl.
Hear me.
Your biggest cheerleader sitting next to me is Cheryl.
Oh, thank you, Cheryl.
And my wife's name is Cheryl.
So I got Cheryl's to the right of me.
Cheryl's to the left of me.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ward.
I really appreciate it.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Be well.
Have a good night.
Okay, number four, MI 2025, 000943, 3210 North Fish Street, MGS Real Estate Investment, listed owner, Bria Kennedy is the DBA, no exhibits, this is a second listing.
Do we see any hands?
This is Jason Hand. I will be your calls for the session. I do not see any hands raised for the matter.
thank you this is the second listing uh we still do not have any exhibits
Thank you. This is the second listing. We still do not have any exhibits.
so mi 2025 000 943 3210 north fish street i vote to dismiss michael johns my vote is to dismiss
So, MI20.
cheryl gaston my vote is to dismiss tenetta graham my vote is to dismiss ryan mcadams my vote is to
dismiss my vote is to dismiss thank you so number three mi2024
zero zero five nine six four fourteen forty four north second street this case has been withdrawn
number five mi2025 000 972 5200 calmly street zenjin is the attorney
good afternoon uh counsel you've already been sworn just for the record state your name
zen jen z-h-e-n-j-i-n right could you identify your client in relationship to the property
yes uh my client's metro commercial uh recycling uh they're the tenant of the property and the
operator of the business. All right. And there's a letter of unanimous non-opposition from
Wissenoming Civic Association. Our vice chair has a few questions. Good evening. Have you submitted
your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing? Yes. And do you waive the reading
of the refusals and stipulate to their accuracy? I do. All right. Thank you. You can share your
screen and proceed with your case. Thank you. I'm going to share with the board what was previously
submitted with this matter it should be the refusal that is coming up on the screen
so if the board can see my exhibit thank you the refusal in this matter is for an application for
use as a waste handling recycling and junk and salvage yard in the property with other existing
uses. This property is actually a very large property that is in a I3 industrial district.
My client is a tenant that owns one portion that is currently a open concrete platform.
And the use here specifically is for recycling. Essentially, my client has other operations that
brings in paper plastic and aluminum recycling pieces the space here the proposed use is to
use it to sort and recycle the materials and then they will be shipped out per requirements to get
them properly recycled and refurbished so the actual use of the location would be limited to
sorting and recycling of these particular materials when we met with the community
the community issued a non-opposition particularly because what's surrounding this particular
property we actually have a metal scrap yard in on the one side of our our property we have a
mechanic truck repairs shop on another part of this property so this space being kind of one
piece of a large space that is away from the residents nearby do not cause any negative
impacts to the neighbors nearby because of this because the way the property is situated and
and where the recycling is gonna take place.
The community felt that there would be
nothing really noticeable from the street
of what's being done there.
Also, because it's really not a salvage yard.
We're not taking in junk cars.
We're not doing anything like that.
This is purely gonna be recycling.
That would not pose a health risk and danger to the community
from the community's point of view as well.
As you can see, there are parking.
in fact on the site both off street and on street for the most part more than sufficient for the
purpose of the various businesses that already operate there so the community does not feel
there's an impact to parking from the lack of off-street parking that is included in the site
itself the other businesses nearby have again trucks that bring materials there the shipping
the streets are capable of supporting the trucks coming in and out so there are no impacts there
from the recycling use based on what has been already provided at the location so this location
again you can see they're off street parking here on the plants already they are all part
They are all part of this overall space.
of this overall space what we're using
What we're using and what we're planning to do is to have the current concrete platform essentially enclosed so that the recycling operation will be done under a cover and protected from the elements.
is it?
The ramps, parking, access, everything's existing.
There's no changes to the design of the property otherwise.