ZBA Hearing - September 28, 2022

Yes, I am.

Lakeisha, let me know when people are in, please.

I will, Chair.

Thank you.

okay chair we have 35 attendees and we can start when you like thank you good morning my name is

bill bergman and i will be chairing this morning zba hearings with me is carol tenere our vice

Chair. Present, Mr. Chairman. And Ismail Shahid, our Board Secretary.

Present, Mr. Chairman. Also here is our Board Attorney, Hillary Emerson,

and our ZBA Hearing Supervisor, Lakeisha Dandy. Before we begin, here's our virtual format.

Be advised, these proceedings are being recorded. By participating, your knowledge agreement to be

recorded. A video will be available by contacting tonyasunkett at phillip.gov. For the benefit of

our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.

If you're participating by phone, if you wish to testify, press star 9 to raise your hand and star

6 to unmute. To enter an appearance statement, call 267-270-5548. Leave your email and the

address of the property in question. And finally, the question answer box on the screen is not for

comments or testimony. All comments should be referred to our Executive Director, Tanya Sunkit.

Let's look at our continuances for today's hearing, for this morning's hearing.

Number nine, MI 2021-002-827-2132 North Darien Street.

That case is continued.

Number 10, MI-2022-002-928-549-51 North 10th Street.

That case is continued.

Number 12, MI-2022-002-926-1430 South 6th Street.

That case is continued.

And number 14, MI 2022-002-927-1426-28, South 6th Street, that case is continued.

Those four cases are continued.

So anyone in the virtual audience has a comment relative to those cases?

I see no handshare.

Thank you.

Are there any other requests for continuances for this morning's meetings?

chair we have jennifer basilio okay

hi uh this is jennifer basilio b-a-z-y-d-l-o 2401 walnut street all right do you swear for

him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes proceed um i'm just here to um

I know you said continuances, but I have a withdrawal for today.

Yeah, I was going to call the withdrawal, but let me list it.

MI 2021-002-628-1931-33-Rawn Street.

That case is withdrawn.

Thank you.

I'm sorry.

I jumped the gun.

No, no, no.

That's fine.

That's fine.

That's fine.

Thank you.

Any other requests for continuances?

Yes, Chair.

we have John

last name ending in R

Esquire

okay

good morning Mr. Chairman

hi could you state your name

and the spell for the court reporter please

it's John Raimondi it's R-A-I

M-O-N-D-I

I like to withdraw

do you wait one minute

do you swear or affirm to tell the truth

the whole truth nothing but the truth

yes I do

what case

This is 1813 South 15th Street.

1813, right.

Okay, thank you.

MI 2022, 002, 768, 1813 South 5th Street.

That case is withdrawn.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Right.

Are any other cases for continuance?

Are any other cases for continuance?

I see no handshare.

Okay, I also have cases that are, hold on, with number five, MI 2021-002-607-1938 North 24th Street, no exhibits, fourth listing, Vern Anastasio is the attorney.

Chair, we have Vern Anastasio.

Good morning, Mr. Chair.

Good morning, Mr. Anastasio.

Could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter, please?

Certainly. It's Vern, V-E-R-N, Anastasio, A-N-A-S-T-A-S-I-O.

Right. Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?

I do.

1938 North 24th?

Yeah, it's a real head-scratcher for me as well, Mr. Chair.

I know this is the fourth listing.

I'm just going to ask you to withdraw it.

I just can't locate my client, and I don't know where he went.

So if we need to pursue it, I could always reapply.

All right.

Thank you.

MI2021-002-607-1838, North 24th Street.

This case is withdrawn.

And number 15...

MI 2020, 001-936-5901 North 10th Street. No exhibit, second listing.

Richard and Carol Brown. Carol Brown are the listed owners.

What number is that Mr. Chair? Number 15. 15, okay. There are no hands at this time, Chair. Okay, so

MI2020-001-936-5901-North 10th Street, I vote to dismiss.

Dismiss.

Yes, I vote to dismiss.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any other requests for withdrawal?

I see no hands, Chair.

We're going to go to our add-on list. MI 2022-003-345-6995 Pichon Street. This was a resumptive hearing. Here's the update. The vote on this matter has been moved to Wednesday, October 12th at 9.30 a.m. Thank you.

We're going to go to our regular list. Number one, 2021-005-235-3232, Henry Avenue. Lawrence

Calley is the attorney. Still waiting for an RCO letter. Meeting was held 9-15.

Mr. Calley is coming back in as a panelist. Thank you.

Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Larry Calley for the record on behalf of the applicant.

Hi, Mr. Calley, could you spell your name for the court reporter, please?

Certainly. First name is Lawrence, L-A-W-R-E-N-C-E. Last name is Calley, C-A-L-L-I.

Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Yes, sir.

Our vice chair, Carl Tenere, has a few questions.

Okay, very good.

Good morning, Mr. Cowley. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its

accuracy? Yes, I do. Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance,

a copy of the refusal or referral, photos and or 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 to all of that, ma'am.

Okay, that's great. You may proceed and begin with sharing your screen.

Thank you very much. So I have, I don't know if our design consultant is here or trying to get

into the room. Her name is Lindsay Deja. I was going to ask her as the design consultant to

perhaps share her screen and walk the board through the sign proposed, but I don't know

if she's in the room. If not, I can certainly endeavor to do this myself. I've just promoted

Ms. Deja to a panelist. Wonderful. Thank you. And thank you for promoting me this morning. I've

rarely been promoted in life so this morning is a treat for me um and yes i am i could you

as well hi could you state your name is spelled please for the court reporter

um lindsay l-i-n-d-s-a-y and last name is d as in dog y-j-a all right do you swear

All right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes i do

Yes, I do.

Let's do it.

Proceed.

Thank you. So, Mr. Chairman, before I turn it over to Lindsay to share her screen and walk you through the plans,

and by the way, the only thing we're going to show you this morning are things that were initially filed

and part of the exhibit packet that was submitted.

This is a Davina Dialysis Clinic, Mr. Chairman and members.

They're a national provider of end-stage renal care for patients throughout the country and the world.

In fact, they're a Fortune 300 company.

They've been occupying space here on Henry for some time now,

and the proposal is for a simple non-illuminated sign, brushed aluminum.

It's under 15 square feet of area.

It would have been a permit only had this not been technically tantamount to a roof sign, Mr. Chairman,

which violates the regulations.

There are already roof signs on this property.

This one is very slight, as Lindsay will testify to shortly.

We did have an opportunity to meet with the Neighborhood Committee on September 15th in the evening,

Representative of my office was with them.

It was a very brief and supportive meeting.

And this morning, we are pleased to be in receipt of a letter executed by Rosalie Cooper, dated September 26th,

which my partner advanced to the city this a.m. as soon as we got it,

which supports the request for us to install this 104-inch by 17-inch,

I'm approximating and I'm estimating overages,

Stein over the entrance for the DeVita patient area to help better identify our medical facility

here. So we're glad. Counsel, could you make sure that letter goes to Hillary Emerson, our counsel?

I think it already did. I think my partner sent it over this morning to everybody on the

distribution list, but we'll make sure of that again. Mr. Chair, this is Hillary. Yes, I just

checked and we did receive the letter. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Proceed,

council. Thank you. So with that, Mr. Chairman, what I'd like to do is a very simple application.

I don't want to take up more of your time this morning than we need to. I'd like to turn over

to Lindsay to perhaps walk you through the signage. We'll take you through the material,

the colors, the location, and we'll answer any questions you might have, of course.

Sorry about that. Proceed. Okay. You should have screen share capability, Lindsay.

there we go she does all right can everybody see my screen it's coming up it's up now we're good

okay so this is the sign that we are proposing um and as larry mentioned it is very similar to

the signers that's actually already on the property um there is one that we actually took

the measurements um and kind of replicated the devita kidney care sign after which is the new

Portland pavilion apartments. So you'll see that this is going to be half inch brushed aluminum

letters. And unfortunately, due to how the building is constructed, it's going to have to be

a roof mount sign. So the aluminum will be mounted to the backer and then have a three inch high

support systems, ankle support that'll be mounted directly to the roof. The second page kind of goes

through some more detail of the actual construction of that with the aluminum angle, the holes that

we would use, that there'll be no penetrations to the roof at all, and the different materials

that we would be using to actually adhere that to the top of the building. And then we also

did add in some additional information of what the top of the roof looked like and what the

The distance of everything is a.

Lindsay, do you have photos of the building?

Yes.

Okay, so this is the sign that we would actually be replicating it off of, the pavilion sign.

And as you can see, this one's actually 260 inches long, so the one that we're proposing is actually quite a bit shorter.

lindsey i i proffered to the chairman of the board that these signages in keeping with other

signage on the property and in the area in your professional opinion um is this sign right sized

for the location that we're proposing hundred percent um with it being 15 square feet this

is a substantially smaller sign than we even do for DaVita dialysis on a normal basis where

their national sign vendor. So with the height of it actually only

So with the height of it actually only being a little less than 17 inches high, it definitely is smaller.

Lindsay, could you show us the building, please?

Is there a photo of the building?

Yep. Are you able to see the...

I think we're still stuck on the screen showing the construction.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Yeah, no, that's okay.

here i am going through the pictures and it's not showing you guys that would probably help right

you were explaining it very well all right here we go okay

and where it says new cartland apartments that's where the sign is going to be similar to that

correct yes all right okay so this is the sign that we actually um are replicating

um our techs went up there and took very detailed measurements um construction photos

construction drawings right okay to see what the roof looked like

mr kelly you have anybody from the organization there to adopt your testimony

uh you know my project manager is trying to log in he's having difficulties okay well you're you're

you're an officer of the court we'll accept it but thank you questions yeah questions from the board

all right questions or comments from the virtual audience

i see no he is chair by planning commission good morning chair bergman ian hegarty for the

philadelphia city planning commission right uh that's spelled h-e-g-a-r-t-y do you swear

affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes sir masheed thank you

good morning board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing rmx3 mixed

use zoning at this site this proposed sign while technically a rooftop sign we feel meets the

purpose and spirit of the code due to its relatively short height and application as an

entrance identification sign rather than a large-scale building identification sign

the city planning commission recommends that the board grant the variance thank you

MI 2021-005-335-3232-Henry Avenue, I vote yes.

Carol?

Carol Tenere, my vote is yes.

Thank you.

Ishiro Shaheed, my vote is yes.

Thank you, counsel.

Thank you very much.

We appreciate your time.

Have a wonderful day, everybody.

Thank you.

Thank you, everyone.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.

M-I-2022-002-767-907 South Shell Street.

Raymond Derizio.

Letter of non-opposition from Councilman Squilla.

Letter of non-opposition from Bella Vista Neighbors Association.

Mr. Derizio is coming back in as a panelist.

good morning mr chairman members of the board raymond dorizio d-o-r-i-z-i-o

addresses to penn center suite 520 philadelphia pa 19102 here for 907 south shell street

my client mr pungitore i believe he is on the call

um i'm going to and i'm sorry i'm a little gonna go on my phone here go ahead all right all right

do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth

i do um you've identified your client as the owner uh our vice chair has a few questions

hi mr gerizio do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy

good morning yes i do have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership

tax compliance a copy of the refusal or referral photos and or plans of the property five days in

advance this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter yes all that okay

great you may proceed and begin with you did sharing your screen thank you so 907 shell

Well, this is a property that is between 9th Street and, I guess, 8th Street, but Darien Street is to the east of it.

Shell Street is a very, very narrow street.

It's a dead-end street.

There's no exit out into Christian Street, which would be the street that borders it on the north, and Montrose would border it on the south.

So it's a very unique street.

there's I guess Trinity houses is what you would kind of call them they're very short

There's, I guess, Trinity Houses is what you would kind of call them. They're very short. There's an unusual lot size to them. My client is proposing to do new construction, and the refusal was for the minimum rear yard depth because the way he's building it out, it would basically take away the yard.

we got the refusal we filed the appeal just going through some of these exhibits we have the deed

here we have plans and when we met with the community Bella Vista Neighborhood Association

you know they're not opposing and the one thing they proposed to us because there wasn't any

yard space or even like a side alley there is to do a designated trash room in the basement.

So my client modified the plans. And if you see here, that square over to the right in the center

would be the designated trash room. We have sent that over to the community. There's been no

opposition to that. There are the plans. This is what the lot looks like. It's an empty

lot right now we were here about three years ago for a variance to do the um do the extension

and basically the property was in such ill repair that it had to be knocked down and the pandemic

hit so it took a little time to get back um but this essentially is the lot i'm sorry that it's

a little crooked there, but this is Montrose Street, Montrose Street, Shell Street, and I'm

sorry that it's a little crooked. That's basically the street. It's very narrow, and I'm on my phone,

so it's hard for me. I don't think I could turn that, but essentially, these are the houses up

the street. I think that's a better shot there. It's a very narrow street. There's really just

pavement um the houses are very close this is a house across the street this is what the house

formerly looked like when we were seeking um for the prior variance and essentially it was in such

a repair it had to be knocked down and so my client is basically building in that same footprint over

like the first floor um that was the former property that's what the property was formerly

we met with pelvis the neighborhood association again they didn't oppose

those are this was the old variants back in the i'm sorry this is the pelvis the neighborhood

association letter of non-opposition um so essentially that's where we stand today

uh with it if there's any questions you want to have your testimony adopted

yes i was going to ask mr punjutor if he heard everything that i said i guess you're going to

swear him in if he's there but he would adopt my testimony. Apparently I don't see any hands.

Mr. Pungitore you have to tap your screen and hit the raise hand button if you hear me out there.

I think I found him. Sir please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.

Mr. Pungitore could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter please.

my name is ralph pungitore r-a-l-p-h p-u-n-g-i-t-o-r-e right do you swear a firm to tell

the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do proceed counsel okay thank you uh mr pungitore

you heard my testimony to the board this morning yes was it true and correct yes and would you

adopt that testimony as your own today yes okay thank you questions from the board

no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience

i see no hands chair planning commission thank you chair bergman ean hegarty for the philadelphia

city planning commission board members the proposed dimensional variance is directly related to the

small size of the existing non-conforming lot it's consistent with other buildings on this block

So the City Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant the variance.

Thank you.

MI 2022-002-767-907 South Shell Street, I vote yes, Proviso, Trash Doored in Basement.

Carol Tenere, my vote is yes with Proviso.

Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with Proviso.

Thank you, Council.

Thank you.

Have a good day.

Thank you.

All right.

You too.

number four mi 2022 004 681 1939 south 5th street burn anastasio

um no rco letter yet from dickinson square west civic association

non-op letter of non-opposition from councilman squilla

letter of non-opposition from Councilman Squilla.

Morning, Mr. Chair.

Well, you've already been sworn.

Could you identify your client in a relationship to the property, please?

Yes, I represent Mr. Kenneth Grimes,

excuse me, who is the owner of the property.

And our Vice Chair, Carol Tenere, has a few questions.

Thank you.

Mr. Chair, this is Hillary.

I just want to interject.

We just received a letter of support from Dickinson Square West Living Association.

Thank you, Hillary.

Good morning, Vern.

Do you agree to wait through the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?

I do.

Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral,

vote is under plans of the property five days in advance of today, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?

a yes to all of that okay great you may proceed and begin with sharing your screen

thank you may i also ask that uh ian toner who's the architect on the project be

promoted to the panel sure thank you mr toner is coming back in as a panelist

mr toner could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter

yes ian toner from toner architects it's i-a-n-t-o-n-e-r you swear for him to tell the

truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes proceed counsel thank you we have 1939 south

5th street this is a corner property and let me pull out here it's a corner property where we are

proposing adding a third story addition on the corner and then we would have a use as a coffee

shop on the first floor that would be owned and operated by mr grimes and his wife and then there

would be a two family dwelling above one per floor and a small artist studio also for mr grimes and

his wife. And there is the interior layout. We'll zoom in. Corner entrance with the cafe,

ADA restroom, the kitchen attached to the cafe. There's an existing garage that's actually not

really used much by my client. So he often lets neighbors park in front of it. So there's no loss

of parking. There is a trash room that is accessible not only to the folks from the

cafe, but also accessible from the exterior for both of the apartments above. As you can

see, the second floor is a two-bedroom unit. In the rear of the second floor through the

public hall is that small artist space for my client and his wife. We've got maintenance

above that and another two-family two-bedroom apartment on the third floor we have some photos

i'll be happy to share with you the actual uh refusals are for the third floor uh you know

the existing footprint of the property is in fact what it is so when putting the third floor on we're

not going to be compliant for the nine uh nine foot yard rear setback that's a pre-existing

condition the other

refusals

um are is the artist studio which is not permitted in a cm1 cmx1 commercial district again that's

solely for the use of the owner occupant and then the two family dwelling would is prohibited but

only because it's adjacent to the rsa5 residential district and we would contend that if this

property were in fact in the middle of the block uh then the spirit of the code would require uh

that the two family dwelling not you know not be granted but this is in fact on the corner

and it's well within the height limit and for those reasons we do believe the two-family dwelling

is appropriate and the coffee shop only requires a special exception it's going to be owned and

operated by the by the owners of the building it's going to bring new life to an otherwise

dreary corner. We met with the community group. It was overwhelming support for the project.

And with that, I'm going to ask Mr. Toner if he has anything to add with respect to design.

with respect to design uh no i think you said it all um the goal is to have the building

No, I think

blend in with the neighbor uh with the neighboring buildings yes can we swear in mr toner already

say that again hillary did we swear in mr toner already i did okay

okay um we're uh trying to um have a more traditional looking building mr grimes was

interested in something that would fit the neighborhood well um he's already done a lot

of restoration work on the existing shell of the building which had some violations

from the prior ownership so he's taken the initiative to get all that taken care of and

done and is really excited about uh making a beautiful project out of this um and verne's

right the neighbor's support for this project was oh it was a lot and more than i'm used more than

i'm used to seeing when we go to these meetings so that was uh testament to the client and his

connections to the neighborhood thank you mr toner uh we asked mr kenneth grimes to please raise his

hand virtually

Mr. Grimes, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.

Mr. Grimes, could you state your name and spell, please, for the court reporter?

My name is Kenneth Grimes, K-E-N-N-E-T-H-G-R-I-M-E-S.

Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Yes.

Proceed, counsel.

Thank you. Mr. Grimes, did you hear my presentation to the board today?

Yes, I did.

Is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge?

yes it is and do you adopt it as your own testimony yes i do thank you nothing further mr chair

burn the rear the real part of the building though the white brick is that a double garage

that's correct um but only one it's it's actually looks like a double garage door but only one door

is an actual garage okay all right thank you yep the other is the board the others

for the board. I just want to make sure you understand. That other one is for trash.

No, Mr. Chair. Okay, we're good. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?

I see no hands, Chair. Planning Commission. Thank you, Chair Bergman. Ian Hegarty for the

Philadelphia City Planning Commission. Board members, the comprehensive plan recommends

no change to the existing CMX1 commercial mixed-use zoning at this location. We feel

of proposed uses are consistent with the prior uses of the property in the building and the

dimensional variances are minimal and do not conflict with the purpose and spirit of the

zoning code city planning commission recommends that the board grant the variances thank you

mi 2022 004 681 1939 south fish street i vote yes carol tenere my vote is yes

ishmael shaheed my vote is here thank you counsel thank you thank you number seven

mi 2022 002 845 4355 larston street and we're also going to hear at the same time

MI 2022-002-843-4353, Larson Street.

Mr. Consul is the attorney.

Letter of support for both properties from the Central Roxburgh Civic Association.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Could you state your name, please, and spell it for the court reporter?

Yes, it's Joseph Consul.

That's C-O-N-S-O-L-E.

Right.

Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

I do.

Could you identify your clients and their relationship to the properties?

Yes.

I've got Ms. Kristen Scudder and Mr. Frank Basara.

They are the owners, respectively, of 4355 and 4353 Lauriston Street.

All right.

Our vice chair has a few questions.

Mr. Consul, do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal?

stipulate to its accuracy. I do. The only point I wanted to make on the refusal is both of them

have a second refusal for undersized parking spaces, but there's a note underneath each of

those refusals which states that the spots themselves are not actually undersized, but

the refusal comes by virtue of the fact that the spots each span two different properties.

properties.

Okay, we'll take note of that.

have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance

Have you emailed the exhibit packet

with proof of ownership tax compliance,

a copy of the refusal or referral photos under plans of the property five days in advance this

a copy of the...

hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter yes everything great you may proceed

and begin with sharing your screen okay

that work yes it's up all right so uh joe consul here as previously mentioned uh for two properties

on loriston street uh the angle that i have on my my screen right now is actually uh monastery

avenue uh this is the back of the two properties that we're here for uh before i actually get into

my docks. I just wanted to orient everyone as to what we're here seeking. So this is Monastery Ave.

The two parking spaces that you're looking at here with the gray pavement are the two spots

that we're seeking to legalize. There's a spot next to it with a Subaru in it that's not related

to our property that's a legalized spot for um the the property here on the left um but we're

trying to legalize these two spots here uh similar to um this property this subaru property here

uh that's the front of the two properties and again this is the side um so as i had mentioned

earlier we're here on 4353 and 4355 the the packets are effectively the same because

everything um exists in both and what we're trying to do is create and file an easement

on each of the properties which grants the use of that portion of the backyard to each other

as parking spaces because the the backyards um because the way you park goes over each property

the neighbors are going to give each other permanent easements to allow for the parking

spaces in each of their respective yards. But in order to do that, we need approval today.

So as I had mentioned, the refusals are, you know, one, and, you know, the one that I believe

is more relevant, surface parking spaces are prohibited in required rear yards for RSA 5.

The bit about the undersized spaces on each of the refusals is in the notes to the ZBA that say the spaces are actually 9 by 20 each, and they're compliant in terms of parking space size, but just because they span two yards, technically each yard has a non-compliant spot, but they're the right size spot each.

as mentioned we went in front of the roxborough civic association and we got support uh there was

very little if any opposition uh these spots have been being used um for uh for a long time

they exist my clients just wanted to legalize them and put their heads together to come up

this plan with the respective easements and getting approval from the ZBA.

Proof of mailing and some photos.

We'll get to the plans in a second. That's what we already saw. It's a

sort of a different car park there or the same car but from the front of it instead of the back.

Here's another shot.

And here's the actual plans itself, showing the parking stalls are 9 by 20 each, which

is what the code would require if these were allowed, if there was, you know, a small alley

they could pull off of to park in.

But you know, we're coming in the rear yard off of Monastery Avenue.

the deed and the required documents uh follow and then finally we have the driveway site

distance as required um we we filed we filed this with with our application showing