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