Thank you.
good morning everyone my name is bill bergman i'm going to be chairing this morning's meeting
of the zoning board of adjustment with me is our board member shell l gaston present mr chairman
And then board member Tanetta Graham.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board member Michael Johns.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Michael's not here.
What is today?
Our board member Taya Wynn should be walking in any moment.
And our board member Ryan McAdams.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also present is our attorney, Hillary Emerson, our zoning board director, Ian Haggerty, and
our board administrator, Lakeisha Dandy.
A recording of this hearing will be posted on the ZBA website.
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There are three ways.
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leave a message that includes your email address and the address to the property of the appealed
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or by the staff the main exit is through the double doors in the rear the nearest stairwell
is to the left outside of the doors in case of evacuation the rally point is love park
directly across heart street please remain there so we can account for you let's look at today's
schedule. Number three, MI 2024-004-576-5963, Kimball Avenue. Stephen Gaines is the listed
owner. There is a request for continuance from the Concerned Community Association, RCO.
So is Mr. Gaines present?
Good morning, Chair.
This is Jasmine, and I will be your co-host this morning.
I have a hand up by the name of Natasha Gaines.
I'm going to allow them to speak.
Hello, can you hear me?
Yes, we can.
Please state your name and spell for the stenographer.
Natasha, N-A-T-O-S-H-A, Gaines, G-A-I-N-E-S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you the owner of the property?
No, I'm actually the owner's daughter.
He had a last-minute emergency, and he could not attend today.
So, Hillary?
I just wanted to be here, just in appearance.
I am okay with the continuance.
Well, we are okay with the continuance.
okay yeah so make sure you were aware of the continuance yes Hillary make sure you're aware
of the continuance request um and you have been in contact with the RCO the Concerned Community
Association yes okay great yeah and I'm sorry and I'm like okay so hold on so MI 2024 004 576
5 7 6 5 9 63 kimball avenue this case is continued to 11 19 25 at 9 30 a.m thank you for calling in
5963 kimball avenue this case is continued
and hold on one more case here so mi 2025 000 432 51 18 north broad street verne anastasio is the
The attorney, Mr. Anastasio.
Vern Anastasio has been promoted to penalist.
Mr. Anastasio, could you please state your name as Bell for the sonographer?
Good morning, Mr. Chair, members of the board.
Vern Anastasio, A-N-A-S-T-A-S-I-O.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Mr. Anastasia, we do not have proof of posting for this location.
And neither do I, Mr. Chair, which is why I'm going to need to ask for a continuance.
My client is out of the country and wasn't able to post.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you.
So MI2025-000432-5118 North Broad Street, this case is continued to 11-1925 at 9.30 a.m.
Thank you, sir.
And I'm sorry, Mr. Chair, Mr. Anastasia, I just want to note for your other matter, we do have proof of tax compliance.
So we're all set to proceed with that case today.
I do appreciate it. Thank you.
Are there any other requests for continuance?
I see no hands at this time, Chair.
Okay. So, MI-2025-004-676-1701 Market Street. This is an appeal against L&I. Adam Laver is the attorney. Leonard Reuter represents the city and L&I. Mr. Laver, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the board. Adam Laver, L.A., V as in Victory, E.R.,
Blancrum, L.L.P., 1 Logan Square, on behalf of 1701 Market, LLC.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, Mr. Chairman, I do.
Mr. Reuter, please.
Thank you, May. Please, the board. Leonard F. Reuter, R.E.U.T.E.R., Senior Attorney, City of Philadelphia.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
i do uh mr labor thank you mr chairman and members of the board
thank you ms emerson uh members of the board i wish that we weren't here today um and uh we take no
joy in being here and hope that we can make this as brief as possible i represent 1701 market llc
which is an Altera Property Group entity, the owner of the subject property at 1701 Market
Street, along with its co-founder and managing partner, Leo Adamondo. Joining me today, just
sitting behind me from Altera Property Group is Jared Kern, KERN, who is the director of
mixed-use development for Altera Property Group. The subject property has recently been rebranded
as 17 Market West. It's a very prominent property in the central business core, located just south
of the Comcast Building headquarters across John F. Kennedy Boulevard and running south along 17th
Street and through to Market Street. 1701 Market Street was built in the 1950s. It was the former
home of morgan lewis uh i believe the largest law firm in the city of philadelphia it's an 18 story
or it was an 18 story office building consisting of ground floor retail four levels of above grade
parking and 13 levels of office space leo adamando and altera property group acquired the property
in September of 2023 as the world was emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic. And Altera redeveloped
what was a vacant office building because Morgan Lewis had moved into a new construction
property at 23rd and Market. Altera redeveloped the vacant office building into a luxury apartment
complex with 299 residences, retaining 190 parking spaces approximately, and adding a
rooftop swimming pool along with a plethora of other state-of-the-art amenities. The subject
property itself is zoned CMX5, as we know the most generous zoning in the city of Philadelphia.
Zoning permits for the conversion of the property, as I described, were approved entirely within the
were approved entirely within the parameters of the zoning code and building permits were obtained
parameters of the zoning code. And building
I don't know.
and i walked through the property recently and anyone is invited to do so 17 market west itself
was the first major office to residential conversion of the post-pandemic era in our city
leading the way in the mission 30 000 charge and this is where we get uh relevant to the issue
before the board shortly i'm setting the stage giving you a little bit of background the new
entrance to the residences is located off of market street along the western facade of the building
uh across from what i still think of as the mellon bank building but i think it's now
bny or a different name but although the residents have started to move into the
rebranded 17 Market West apartments, accessory building identification signage for this very
prominent building is missing because of an L&I interpretation regarding Table 14-904-1 of the
Philadelphia Zoning Code. That is what brings us before the board today. So as the transformation
of the former office building concluded, Altera filed applications through a sign expediter
with L&I for flat wall accessory signage, which I'll share with you momentarily,
identifying the former office building to be known as a new residential building, 17 Market West.
I ask members of the board that in considering this matter and the screen sharing that I'll
share with you momentarily, that we suspend the human impulse to read in between the lines of
the zoning code and to do as a matter of law what must be done and take the letters of the zoning
code as what they are. And furthermore, in doing so, to do it in the light most favorable to the
property owner. Allow me to screen share for a moment. This is what Altera proposes. This is not
what is at the property if you walk by. There has not been any signage erected without approval.
this is a conceptual rendering. So we're on Market Street, the south side of the property.
We're looking east towards City Hall. There you can see the residential entrance in the rebranded
office building, former office building, now residential. And the proposed signage is on the
screen above you. The proposed signage would consist of three flat wall signs grouped together
to read to the public as one, including the building logo at the top and identifying the
building as 17 Market West. I switched to a nighttime rendering, all in the file with L&I.
Alterra believed, based on the plain language of the zoning code, that the proposed accessory
building signage conform to code requirements. However, L&I has disagreed. That's the issue.
Essentially, what L&I is doing in this instance, and we're not looking to rewrite the code or set
precedent, this case is about this particular case only. But the L&I interpretation essentially
states that the presumptive the presumptive intent of the code provision must be considered
and that the presumptive intent behind the actual code provision controls presumption
is not part of the code and one could imagine the burden on the department of licenses and
inspections in considering presumption and the preamble of the zoning code and other provisions
every time an examiner looks at a zoning provision.
I respectfully submit that due to this overreaching
and in fact punitive interpretation,
Altera was respectfully forced to file this appeal.
Let's turn to the notice of refusal which was issued.
And I've highlighted some sections for you to see.
You can see at the top that it's a refusal.
all. It references the zoning application. It describes what I had shared with you,
erection of three flat wall signs, which I had shown you are proposed to be grouped as one.
Flat wall signs, which I had shown you, are proposed to be grouped as one.
And there's one use refusal, citing table 14904-1, which reads on the refusal, quote,
whereas the maximum sign height is the lower of the roof line or second floor windowsill,
and the signs extend above the second floor windowsill.
In an instance such as that, the signage is not permitted, and one would have to appear before this zoning board for variance relief.
Let's move to table 14904-1 of the zoning code.
And again, I've highlighted some section.
I mean, it's not a lot.
It's really a straightforward issue.
Table 14904-1 of the Zoning Code permits accessory wall signs within the zoning district
so long as the maximum height is, quote, the lower of the roof line or second floor windowsill, end quote.
Actual conditions of the property.
I took this photograph.
This depicts a view of the subject property facing northeasterly from Market Street.
The corner is the entrance to the building lobby, which is a high ceiling, single story space with bands of glass.
It's actually, I remember it from when Morgan Lewis was there, it's actually a refreshed lobby in the same space.
Members of the board, you can see from the exterior, the bands of glass, the bands of glass that run up, and I guess I should show you with my cursor, right up to that point.
That is the ceiling of the lobby, and I'll show it to you from the interior, too.
So not only is there not a second floor windowsill, which the code provision dictates, there's not a second floor, but that's irrelevant.
There is no second floor windowsill.
here is another view position looking north the glass that you see all of the glass that you see
is part of the first floor uh lobby that you walk into
there is no second floor window sill there are no second floor windows
windows, but that's not what the code speaks to.
It speaks clearly to the lower of the roof line or the second floor windowsill.
Another important provision in the code section 14-20114 of the zoning code concerns rules
of interpretation.
It is here that the often cited principle is stated that code restrictions shall be construed
in favor of the landowner.
although mr chairman and members of the board we do not believe that there is any ambiguity
whatsoever it is clear that there is not a second floor windowsill that restricts placement
of the intended signage before uh below the roof line but let's take a look inside the lobby to
observe the interior conditions you don't have to believe me i'd like you to just see it
the only lower level windows that observers will see from the exterior are ground floor glazing
off of the lobby in a banded style and you can see from the inside that banded style
here is the site plan that was submitted to the department of licenses and inspections
I know it's small, but the detail really isn't relevant, although I can zoom in if the board members want to see anything specific.
I'd simply like to show you here that this shows the proposed placement of the building identification signage here in that corner at Market Street,
which meets the code requirements for the generous CMX zoning, meaning the placement itself meets the code.
requirements. That's a non-issue regarding the size of the signage, even though I would say it's
actually quite reasonable and appropriate, and I can't imagine any issues with it.
And then we have the elevation. The elevation shows that lobby area with the banded windows,