Kelly, can you raise your hand? Yes, I'll be coming back in as a panelist. Thank you.
Hi, could you state your name and spell it please for the court stenographer?
Yes, it's Kelly, K-E-L-L-Y Jennings, J-E-N-N-I-N-G-S. Do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Proceed, counsel. Thank you, Kelly.
um walk me through the screens as you want me to flip through them but otherwise can you explain
what the the full new signage package includes and then we'll focus on the digital signs
absolutely so um this slide that you're this page that you're showing here has the merriam
theater signage before the temporary miller theater cover went up so this just shows some
context of what was there before that and stephanie can go to the next page and then this gives you an
overview of the proposed signage so we'll go into a little more detail about this but essentially
we're putting anodized bronze letters that say Miller and those are back illuminated as well as
internally illuminated white letters that say theater on either side and then as Stephanie said
the two projecting on either side of that canopy are digital screens that would show in a really
limited capacity, the name of the upcoming show, the date and the time, or Miller
Theater that would only change when a show changes. So again this just shows
the relationship between what was existing and the newly proposed and some
of the materials that we're using which we'll point out in the next couple pages.
notice. And so this page shows that digital sign that we set are on either side of that canopy. So
as Stephanie stated, this would be white text on a black background. The example you're seeing now
of a show name, the date and the time would be what is typically displayed there for just the
next show. And if the theater is dark and there is not an upcoming show, it would show Miller or
Miller theater on that screen. The messages will only change, like we said, when the shows change.
And this is the, on the front side of the canopy, you're seeing here the letters that are the bronze,
anodized bronze letters, and you can see that there's some backlighting there,
so it'll be a halo lit letter at night. And these are the sign, I just wanted to point these out
because they're not specifically shown separately to the renderings, right Kelly?
Yes, thank you. Yeah you can see there the daytime is to the left, the night is to the right,
so you can see how some of that illumination looks at night.
We're not changing anything about the canopy, so the details underneath the canopy and the
lighting of the canopy will remain. And then this next page shows the theater
letters on either side of Miller. These are acrylic letters that will be face
lit illuminated as well on that front which you can see again in that
rendering down below. And then here you're just seeing the existing signage
kind of poster signage that we're not changing but is there along Broad Street.
I did want to call out, so we did have revised plans, like I said, that were shared with CCRA.
I'm sorry, I went through the old ones.
But I'll note that the only difference between the original plans and the plans that are being asked to be approved
that were shown with CCRA is to show this additional billing detail that's included at the theater.
Kelly, were there any other changes that the board needs to be aware of?
There were no other changes. We were just confirming that we are not touching any of that detail work on the canopy.
There were no other changes.
We were just confirming that we are not touching any of that.
And again, these updated plans that showed that detail are what was presented to CCRA at the May 23rd meeting.
So with that, I just wanted to reiterate that the signage that we're requesting relief for that is this digital component of the sign will be extremely limited in its scope.
to be limited to the show
and the name of the theater
in the event there isn't a show.
It will not change any more frequently than that.
And it's our intention,
certainly Kimmel's intention to maintain that.
And we're happy to see that
it will be included as a proviso.
So we would request approval of the revised plan
subject to the provisos proposed by CCRA.
So questions from the board?
No chair.
No chair.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Mr. Chair, I see Wade Albert with their hand raised. I've allowed them to speak at this time.
Good afternoon.
Hi, could you state your name, Mr. Albert, and spell for the court reporter?
Sure. My name is Wade Albert, W-A-D-E. Last name is A-L-B-E-R-T.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
i do mr chairman and you're from the center city residence right that's correct i'm council for
the center city residents please proceed thank you so when the project was initially presented
to ccra um we were we were a bit hesitant to consider this because animated signs um have
the potential to be dangerous to the community especially on a very busy street like broad
street um and they also potentially um if uh depending on how they're used could disturb the
neighborhood. But that being said, the sign that has been proposed is acceptable to us and seems
like it would not interfere with drivers or the community. So we asked the applicant to include
a number of provisos, which they went over and they agreed to. And so for that reason,
to protect the integrity of Broad Street and to ensure that it does not become a new Times Square,
we would respectfully ask that the um that the the provisos listed in our letter be included
in the license if granted by the zba thank you thank you for taking the time to call
and we appreciate your input is there anyone else in the virtual audience
i do not see any further answer mr chair hi planning commission
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing cmx 5 commercial mixed use at this
location the proposed signage is currently under review at the art commission we feel the applicant
has failed to demonstrate a sufficient hardship that would necessitate an animated and a limited
sign at this location however we do feel the applicant has a demonstrated hardship for the
projection of the sign from the face of the building accordingly the planning commission
recommends the board deny the variance for animated and illuminated sign but grant the
dimensional variance thank you um don't worry do we have provisos or or is enough for the revised
plans eight pages um the the uh revised plans do reflect at least one of the provisos um and it i
and where it's more of an aesthetic issue than a zoning issue um i don't think we could incorporate
the first proviso um they're also before the art commission so i imagine some of that would
be addressed by the art commission good thank you mi 2023 002 374 250 south broad street
i vote yes with proviso revised plans eight pages stamped by zba on september 13 2023
23. Thomas Holland, my vote is yes. James Snell, my vote is yes with proviso. Ishmael Shahid,
my vote is yes with proviso. Thank you, counsel. Thank you. Okay. Number eight,
MI-2023-002-425-2101-Lombard Street.
Alan Nockamson is the attorney.
Letter of Opposition from the Center City Residents Association.
Applicant has turned in 26 form letters from neighbors along with letters of support from a neighbor on the 2300 block of Lombard Street.
the Philadelphia School. Mr. Nocklinson.
the philadelphia school mr knockamson
oh yes uh good afternoon again alan knockamson a-l-a-n last name knockamson n-o-c-h-u-m-s-o-n
and mr knockamson's been sworn could you identify your client relationship to this property
so the owners of the property are eliza and justin bresson they may be in the virtual audience as
well as the proposed operator of the business at 2101 Lombard, Jezebel Cariaga. Okay, our
vice chair has a few questions, sir. Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to
weigh the reading of the refusal or stipulate to his accuracy? I do. Have you emailed in all
the required documents and exhibits that are needed and required to proceed with this case
five days in advance of this year? Oh, yeah. I'm sorry. Yes, we have. Thank you. Please proceed.
Yes. Before I share my screen, I would like to state that I spoke to Wade Albert of the Center City Residence Association.
We're respectfully requesting that the board hold their vote so we can have another community meeting.
So we would like to present this matter and then meet with a community group.
uh and then once they you know once they have a potentially a revised letter um for the board
then to vote this matter thank you that's fine thank you
here to present uh 2101 lombard street um you know pretty straightforward project project
we thought. So sometimes you have hiccups along the way and things take a little bit longer than
you would expect. But we're here today to present 2101 Lombard Street. We're looking to do a
prepared food shop, basically a coffee shop with Argentinian food, you know, prepared food shop.
So we'll first review the notice of refusal, then the correspondence we receive from the
center city residents association um and then you'll see the um massive um outreach we made
to the community after that meeting where we have a multitude of letters to support from nearby
neighbors um in addition this is you know we we gave a proposed resolution uh that we gave to
the neighbors so you have context of you know i guess dealing with some of their concerns they
may have legitimately or illegitimately about the project so um but we wanted to share what we
shared with them uh and then about jezebel's like you know she's a well-known operator pre-pandemic
she had a thriving business in the neighborhood a brick and mortar site unfortunately the pandemic
happened she closed down her shop she still has like more of a catering shop in west philly
like an outpost where she makes the food and she's hoping to open up another brick and mortar
location now where again none of the food is prepared on site it's a coffee shop with you
know where again things are heated up so you'll learn a little bit about her you'll also see that
this property is an rm1 zoning classification but has an extensive history of non-residential use
on the ground floor. You'll look at maps of the area, and then the photographs of the property,
you're going to look at the property from the outside, and this property screams of being a
mixed-use property. If this was a CMX2 property, which I think would be the proper zoning
classification, this use would be allowed as a right. If this was a CMX1 property, even,
the use would be allowed by way of special exception. This really is, I think, a property
that may be misclassified given its history
and the way it's configured.
But again, we're going through this variance process.
Then we'll review simple floor plans of the property,
our RCO meeting notice.
Again, we're planning to meet
with the Center of City Residence Association next month
where we will hopefully be able to get their support
with regards to this project
after they see the extensive community outreach
and support we have now with the neighborhoods.
Then you'll see our application for appeal
that we filed on behalf of the property owner,
our deed to the property,
showing that Liza and Justin own the property.
There's a certificate of tax clearance
they received as well regarding the property as well.
So first things first is the notice of refusal.
This is an RM1 property.
Just trying to get...
Yes, but it's an RM1 property and excuse me, and we're proposing to
And, excuse me, and we're proposing to have a prepared food shop and two and there's already two residences above again because this is an arm one property and the commercial use we're seeking a variance.
then we have correspondence that we received from the center city residence association i mean
quite frankly we were very surprised given the history of the property given the configuration
of the property that would be on and given the the the op the operating operator being well known
uh and um applauded in the philadelphia community we were surprised there was any opposition but
But it happens sometimes. And, you know, we then met with many of the members of the community in the surrounding area and we've received, you know, written support from them.
And we're hoping to go back to the community group as well and have a community meeting and hopefully, you know, based on this extensive support to have a different letter issued by Center City Residence Association.
We really try to keep it, you know, within the confines of the immediate neighborhood. But you'll see that in addition to our address, which is number one, there's 20 other addresses where people have stated their support of opening up a coffee shop on this corner.
and then here are just the list of of the um or here are these letters to support and again you'll
see you know 2045 Lombard and you know on the 1700 block in Notre Dame and Rodman and more
Lombard 1900 block of Lombard and on 1900 block at the Lancy and then 1900 block in Notre Dame and
1900 block of Pine over and over and over again so 2200 block of Lombard
two of them uh 2200 block of panama 2300 of delancey 2300 block of lombard so they're all
within a close proximity to the property and then this is what my clients shared with members of
the community when they did distribute the petition and support and letters to support
one of the concerns was that we're going to make this into some type of smoke shop or hookah lounge
And I don't know where they get that. I try to explain to them that if we did seek that type of use, that's completely different than a prepared food shop and that we would, you know, the operator and or owner of the property would have to seek additional variance approval.
But, you know, that was one of the things and my client put in writing, of course, they're not going to do that. And they put it in writing. And people are also concerned that we're going to convert this property eventually to a bodega, which is not our intention either. And we put that in writing as well.
So I do think maybe the fact, you know, there could be a proviso here, an enforceable proviso about it not being some type of convenience shop or something like that, because that could be written as a prepared food shop.
But obviously, a vape shop or a hookah lounge or a smoking lounge would require a whole different level of approval from this zoning board.
And then just about Jezebel's, again, well-known establishment pre-pandemic, and, you know, unfortunately with the pandemic, you know, we lost a lot of good operators, and, you know, the good part is, is that she's now ready to open up another brick-and-mortar site in this neighborhood.
She did, I believe, get a letter of support from the Philadelphia School, which is a private school in this neighborhood too, and they're in support of this project. So it shows her roots in the community, that she's well known and respected, and we're hoping that the board, you know, finds it as such as well when they vote on this particular variance request.
And then just a little bit about Jezebel as well, you know, who she is, just very well-known operator.
She has an outpost in West Philly, and she's not going to do any cooking in the facility, in this location whatsoever.
She's going to be a coffee shop, and whatever she makes, she'll heat up at the facility.
But it's Argentinian food.
So she's known for empanadas.
and this is her previous location in the neighborhood at 25 36 klein street just
want to take show you a picture of like how she kept the facility from the outside um and you know
i think she would be like you know people think she would be an asset to the neighborhood um and
we hope the board similarly finds that as well and then here's just showing like the history of
the history of this property at one point there was a tire shop in here um another point uh there
this property. At one point, there was a tire shop in here.
was um well that was also said a tire shop i know that it was also um a gallery at one point in the
80s so it looks like it was a grocery store at one point as well so the ground floor has a history of
non-residential use, which is divergent from its RM1 zoning classification. And here it shows where
it's an art gallery as well. So it's not out of character for this property to put a prepared
food shop here on the ground floor. And then maps of the area. Again, this is not an RSA5 property
that we're trying to make into multi-units. This is a multi-unit property where we're asking one
of the units on the ground floor to be commercial in nature. And again, it's not uncommon for
properties in this neighborhood on the corner specifically, it's just like we are, where it
tends to be either CMX1 or CMX2. And you can see just across the street as well, there's a restaurant.
And then photographs of the property, again, quintessential corner property that you would