nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, Mr. Nocklinson.
Yes, Mr. Popak, you heard everything I stated today.
I did.
Is it true and correct?
And do you adopt it as your own testimony?
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
Tom, I know you raised a question, Tom, about some greenery.
uh mr knockinson explained i think that the community was not uh that was something they
were interested in or it wasn't a concern of them we do have a significant amount of landscaping
if you look at the rendering itself um and then we can go through the rest but like there's a
significant amount of landscaping throughout this project you know yeah does landscaping meet the
code requirements the landscaping that we did provide yes other than then and you can see the
why'd you get a refusal no i was going to say other than having the this this one area right
here this is the only part that we did not meet this one little area right here and there's no
way to fit landscaping in without losing and again i don't want to i i don't want to misstate
but at least one if not two parking spaces we're trying to give we're trying to give as many
parking we're trying we have 36 units we have 48 parking spaces so we're trying to give one
parking space per unit and then have a floating like 12 for guests so you know we we really given
the fact that you know this is a common driveway uh that's pretty wide uh and that the neighbors
and i think i have pictures but they're the people here on this street they they also have their
driveway here and that's all they have it's not a backyard for them we thought it was appropriate
under circumstances but we defer obviously you know to the board thank you okay thank you
any other any questions mr pobak you were going to say something oh yes adam was going to chime
in as well for the landscape in the in that back corner there okay i do have the address yeah so
the architect's on on on the call so i think it's probably more appropriate for a real the architect
to give an explanation and see you know if there's any alternatives so um adam can you virtually
raise your hand long time to talk now mr chair thank you sir please identify yourself with the
record? Hi, this is Adam Rogers, ROGERS of Cadre Design, 123 Leverington Avenue, Philadelphia PA
19127. Thank you. And you're swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do. Thank you, Alan. Okay, Mr. Rogers, did I explain it accurately about this issue,
the landscaping refusal? Yes. So what I wanted to add was actually more of a civil engineering
The issue was less about how many parking spots we would lose and more about the turning radius because of the shape of the shared drive and the one way traffic that we have going through the rear here.
We were cutting off a lot of turning radius to be able to provide the code required landscaping.
We would actually have to pull it in almost three spaces to be able to make the turn back on to that shared driveway.
um does that answer your question okay okay thank you all right thank you um okay uh
any questions from the board no anyone else would like to testify in this case if so please raise
your hand.
Chair, there's a Sandra Broadus whose hand is up. I will allow her to speak right now,
Good afternoon, ma'am. Please identify yourself for the record. First and last name.
My name is Sandra Broadus, S-A-F-D-R-A-B-R-O-A-D-U-S. I am representing a concerned community association,
the rco on um this particular appeal and he's swearing a firm to tell the truth the whole truth
um this particular appeal and do you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing
but the truth i do please proceed um first of all i'd like to say that um i apologize that we sent
our letter to both the board and to um allen's office this afternoon so they are in their in
everyone's inbox if you have not seen it but i would like if you would indulge me for one minute
to read the contents of that letter for the record. Is that okay?
Yes, please.
Okay, so this letter is to note for the record that the community represented by a concerned
community association is literally horrified by the prospect of a new apartment development
being built anywhere on the 1400 of West Grain Street. To clarify this fear, this fear stems
from the following. A wave of shootings and gang warfare over the past several years that has
resulted in frequency of helicopters flying over the 1500 block of West Grain Street as altercations
randomly break out leaving death and property damage. Teddy bears, large memorials on the sides
of buildings police cars permanently assigned to randomly sit along 16th street from chance
plus street to on the avenue to deter congregation ma'am i'm sorry sorry for the interruption
but if you can speak to the issues of this particular application uh we understand the
other issues that are going on and if you can just talk to the development of this project
Okay, I had a feeling. Okay, so particularly, this particular development is proposed in front of yet another development, which if you go to the location is literally the same spot where 63 apartments are being proposed.
They are both proposing to use the same curb cuts, meaning adjacent to the residents on
the 1500 block of 5600 on 15th Street is the block that you're talking about with regards
to the landscaping.
And then on Grange Street, there is another curb cut that used to be a parking lot, a
huge parking lot, which is where the other property is proposed.
We are concerned that, A, the curb cuts are not going to adequately serve the purposes for which they are proposed.
And we would hope that, well, that's going to reveal itself as time goes by.
We're concerned that the traffic that the community relies on to access Grange Street,
which is our way in and out of off on and off of Broad Street from the community will be congested as a result of of the congregation.
And further, the the saturation of the use of the space is an issue because the apartment directly behind the driveway that this property is being proposed on
has been a nuisance property and significantly responsible for a lot of the unrest in the
community because there are residents in the property with no place to go because there is
no outdoor space proposed, similarly proposed by this unit. So the neighbors are fearful of what
going to look like. They are fearful of how this property is, that the property owner
has maintained it in a very egregious manner in the past. It's been a junkyard, a parking lot,
and a lot of things with thousands of 311 calls and requests for interaction with,
interception from the council office. And having said all that and wanting that
clearly documented on the record. The last thing that we were concerned about is the fact that
because there is another project being proposed, we were not clear, except for the statement that
was just given to us by the developer that these are not one in the same development, meaning
they're proposing 34, I think, units and the other one is proposing 63. And we are very concerned,
which is what all the confusion has been, because when these projects became before us,
we were not getting any information about what was going on.
about what was going on. We just saw two developments going up in what appeared to be the
We just saw two developments going up in what appeared to be the same.
same location, front and back. And when we made inquiries, we were not getting that information.
And I apologize if ACCA has become a nuisance with regards to this property, but we have valid
reason to be concerned about the saturation and unloading of lots of tenants in apartment
building in a space where the community already has unrest from people who are hanging out loitering
in an area because there is no outdoor space proposed for those apartments. Now I'm sure you
can see that based on the reasons that this property was refused, there is really no recourse
and as a community we have looked at this property it is a handsome property it is the lesser of some
of the alternatives that could go in the space and so we are making a point um for the property
owner who i hope is listening the attendant on the attorney i did talk to alan about ma'am ma'am
if you can summarize we'd appreciate that summarizing um yeah i mean summer in summary
ACCA, send a letter of support, okay? Wow.
Anyone else would like to testify in this case, please raise your hand.
We'll leave this in my hands, Mr. Chair. Thank you. Planning Commission.
this is ron bednar city planning properties indicated for commercial mixed use on the city
plan of the existing zoning of cmx2 and recommended zoning and the comprehensive plan of cmx3 with a
transit-oriented development overlay requires active ground use to foster walkable public realm
The building, enabled by the proposed variances, would present a blank masonry wall adjacent to a sidewalk. In addition, the hardship is self-created by the applicant's design decisions.
The two use refusals are driven by a very high number of off-street parking spaces.
Given the excessive high number of parking spaces in conjunction with 1407-09 Grange,
which is also being redeveloped, we recommend the request for variances not be granted.
um i'm a little i'm not i'm a little confused about the parking you're saying there's an overuse
of parking ron is that what you're saying what we're saying is is that there's already a very
high volume of off-street parking in that location based on the other redeveloping
new development that's occurring at 1407 to 1409 Grange. So in other words it's a very high
concentration of off-street parking which you know could result in safety issues and a lot of other
concerns. Yeah Mr. Chair a couple things. First we're utilizing a pre-existing curb cut
and this you know the history of this property shows that the use that we're proposing is a lot
lesser than what has been done in the past as far as any proposed project to the rear of us
my understanding is that the board has not decided that matter yet but you know as far as our project
as the community stated they're in support of this project
and this will help support the commercial corridor without taking parking away from the
from the residents on a lot size of almost 30,000 square feet okay thank you but the community did
send a letter of support correct they did actually I found them I wasn't paying attention at 1 50
p.m. they sent it to me I don't know who's on it but it's a letter of support okay there's no
letter or any correspondence from the council president's office i've reached out to them i
haven't heard back this jones is not on i assume um i believe it's mr richardson
oh green javan i apologize yeah is mr richardson on
Mr. Richardson, please raise your hand if you're on.
mr richardson please raise your hand if you're on
I believe he is on, Jim.
No hand?
No, sir.
Okay, thank you.
0014601419 West Grange Avenue.
my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes
my vote is yes thank you my question thank you my question to the sonographer
we have three cases do you need a break now would you like a break now
three cases left before we get into the 3 30 list
if we can wait until we start to 3 30 and do it then i'm fine with that
okay thank you thank you thank you so number 10 calendar number 2041 101 east sedgwick street
the attorney is rachel pritzker
Brandon Savern from my office is going to present for this matter and I'll take care of 1029
East Columbia that's okay with the board
okay Mr. Savern a panelist Mr. Chair thank you good afternoon please identify yourself
for the record spell your last name and i'll swear you in sure my name is brandon saverin
um s as in sam a v as in victor r a n uh of pritzker law group uh 1635 market street suite
1600 philadelphia pa 19103 thank you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing
but the truth i do thank you carol yes do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and
stipulate to its accuracy yes i do have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required
documents consisting of proof of ownership tax compliance refusal or referral photos and plans
five days prior to this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter yes yes and
yes thank you thank you thank you you may proceed thank you madam vice chair um i am going to share
my screen. Okay. Can everybody see the satellite image here? This is the property. It's in East
Mount Airy. It's a single family home with, on the corner of Sedgwick and Chew, large lot,
21,000 square feet lot that has this little outbuilding here that is currently, let me get a
better look at it for you there's a property from the street by the way um here's the outbuilding
it's a garage at the end of the driveway um that is currently you know set up for automobiles on
the bottom floor and has sort of like a little attic space um the project is that the owners
would like to turn that outbuilding into a separate little mini house for um their mother
and mother-in-law for her to live in. This isn't allowed under the code, and we got our variants
prohibiting that use. And basically, in a nutshell, this is called an accessory dwelling unit,
and ADUs are currently only permitted in historically certified structures, which this
is not. And it's kind of funny because there's this .2 reserve there. It's almost a place where
the code seems to contemplate designating non-historic structures in which these would
be permitted, but that hasn't occurred yet. So that's why we require a variance.
We met with the RCO twice. I have a letter of support here. And I'll leave it up to the
board. I have the architect on the line, and he is able to run through these plans, but
I have site plan elevations and floor plans um I also have the um one of the owners um
here um and uh we'll have him adopt my testimony at the end um would you like to hear from the
architect uh do you have any other diagrams uh that other than the one that's on right now
yeah sure so that's visual and then then we can move on yeah these are elevations and again this
is this is the structure in a photograph so here are the elevations and um really the only
But really the only construction that is noticeable from the exterior would be the extension of the roof dormers to create some additional space on the second floor.
construction that is noticeable from the exterior
That's indicated in these shaded areas here in the bird's eye view.
Otherwise, it's really a refurbishment of the interior of that outhouse.
And it's going to be somewhere suitable for the mother to live in.
and beyond the property, but not driving her son crazy in the same house, which I think we can all
relate to. And here is, here's floor plans. I think that's okay. I just wanted to look at what
there's really no other than the roof. There's no other change to the structure, correct?
I believe so, Mr. Chair. Let me just pose that exact question to Ryan so I don't misspeak.
Is that okay by you?
Ryan, can you raise your hand if you're out there?
Ryan Luceno would be the person we're looking for.
Okay, Mr. Luceno has his hand raised, and I will let him speak right now.
Good evening, sir.
Please identify yourself with the record.
Spell your last name.
Ryan, you there?
Mr. Lucino, are you available?
Okay, it doesn't appear that way.
It just looks like the roof.
like you said a lot of interior work so we can move on if you want to get your uh
yes client testimony yes absolutely um dan um can you raise your hand um
daniel cruisen is uh who we're looking for
thank you sir please identify yourself for the record uh Daniel Crewson that's k-r-e-w-s-o-n uh
101 East Sedgwick Street Philadelphia EPA 19119 thank you swear in the frame to tell the truth
the whole truth nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed