MI 2022
003 440
319 Gate Street
Parcel B
22-003-444-319-Gate Street, Parcel C.
I vote yes to both.
Carol Tineri, my vote is yes to both.
Ishmael Shaheem, my vote is yes to both.
Thank you, Counsel.
Thank you.
Number nine, MI 2022-003-434-3636 North 19th Street.
Michael McElhaney is the attorney.
No RCO letter from the 13th Ward.
Second meeting held on 920.
there we go good afternoon chairman sir excellent could you state your name and spell for the court
reporter michael mcelhenney m-c-i-l-h-i-n-n-e-y right do you swear a firm to tell the truth the
whole truth nothing but the truth i do um could you uh state who your client is in the relationship
shift to the property? Yes. My client is Hekuran, H-E-K-U-R-A-N, Daku, D-A-K-U, and his brother,
Jasher, J-A-S-H-E-R, Daku, D-A-K-U. Right. Our vice chair has a few questions.
I do 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 voters under 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 those
questions okay great you may proceed and begin by sharing your screen thank you
and mr chairman i guess when i was zooming in i got disconnected for a moment did you say that
a letter did not come over from the RCO that you've seen? We do not have a letter from the RCO.
Okay. Then I will go through that up at the top. As an initial matter, to go through the
administrative matters, the property was posted with the zoning notices, which are at exhibit 12
of our packet today. The RCO notice letters, we met with the RCO twice, and that's at exhibit 13.
My client's deed is at exhibit 14, and his tax clearance is at exhibit 15.
The property at issue is 3636 North 19th Street. My client is seeking permission, a zoning variance, to use the property for three dwelling units. The property is zoned RSA 5 single family, which creates one use refusal.
we as i mentioned we did meet with the rco and we actually met twice the rco emailed over
the letter separately to uh zoning council uh for the board uh but i i will send an additional copy
after this hearing um sorry mr mcleanney i just wanted to interrupt uh we just we just
Sorry, Mr. McElhinney, I just wanted to interrupt. We just received a copy from the
council office. So it is a letter in support. So thank you. Excellent. So yes, we did meet with
the RCO. The original, we met twice and they gave us a lot of feedback after the first meeting.
At the second meeting, we addressed all of their concerns. At the conclusion of which,
we did get a letter of support, seven in favor to oppose for the multifamily three-unit variance.
And the main concerns that were addressed were this is a block, and as the photos will show,
that is in need of serious redevelopment. There's a lot of abandonment and blight, and it's also a
multifamily block. There's very few single families on this block of North 19th Street.
So taking that into consideration, the RCO's big concern was in their provisors, which we agree with and we're not seeking.
They wanted to make sure that this property will not be used as a rooming house.
There's another one approved on the block. They don't want it.
And that's not what we're doing here. It's three apartments is what we're seeking approval for.
And then the second was no installation of a roof deck.
Our plans are just for a change of use. There is no change to the size or shape of the structure.
and just to orient the board the section of the that we're in the of the city is at 19th and
erie erie to the north pacific ave to the south it's a series of three-story structures with a
few vacant lots on either side of the this block of north 19th street uh exhibit three is the zoning
map as you can see the property zoned rsa5 we have cmx2 properties to the north and cmx2 properties
at the far corner, at the south corner at Pacific Avenue.
Exhibit 4 is just an aerial view looking towards the west of the west side of North 19th Street.
The property at issue has the red dot. It's a three-story structure.
As you can see, it's a pretty much intact block with some vacant lots on either side.
On the opposite side of the street, there's also two vacant lots and intermixed with three-story structures.
And importantly, Exhibit 5 is our photos of the subject property and the surrounding block.
This property is in the middle of the screen.
It's the existing three-story structure that is in a shell condition and needs full renovation.
As you can see, the property to the north is an abandoned structure that is in pretty bad shape that needs repair.
going farther to the north are the first property at 3640 is a duplex and the property farther to
the north at 3632 3642 is a commercial on the ground floor and two apartments above
turning to page three is looking at the west side of the block the same side as the subject property
and the other uses on the block, most of which are multifamily.
The property next door at 3634 is set up and approved for a duplex,
although it's currently unoccupied.
Farther down the block at 3632 is also a duplex use,
as you can see from the multiple door entrances.
At the other end of the block, 3626 and 3624 are two properties
that are occupied as triplexes, which is the use that my client is seeking today.
and at the other corner far corner at the south at pacific is a property that is under renovation
that will be used as a three-unit building and going farther to the south on the same 3600 block
and north 19th are the corner property the first two in are a triplex and a duplex respectively
and farther down the block turning to page 7 3608 north 19th is also a triplex approved for three
units looking at page eight this is a view of the properties on the opposite side of the street
one of which is being renovated and was historically used as a duplex
the property directly across the street going towards erie avenue is a triplex at 3641 north
19th street and next to that at 3643 is a four-unit building as you can see from the quad
Plex sign on the outside of the property. But it was also recently approved for 12 residential
dwelling units for a personal care home, which did cause a lot of outrage or upset from the
neighbors, which is why they wanted that proviso and assurance that my client was not seeking to
do any personal care home or group living, which we are not. And staying on the same 100 on the
east side of North 19th Street, we have the abandoned building at 3627 North 19th Street
and other properties that are undergoing renovation.
And just down the block on the east side at Pacific Avenue
On the east side at Pacific Avenue is another commercial building with apartments above.
is another commercial building with apartments above.
And the next section of the block going south, again, there's other three-unit triplexes at 3615, and the corner property is also at 3619, set up for three units.
So going through the conditions of this block, it is a block that has majority multifamily, suffers from a lot of blatant abandonment and needs repair and investment,
which we were thankful that the RCO was willing to see that and encouraging the redevelopment.
The photo on the screen now is just showing the conditions on the ground in terms of on-street parking available on this block.
It's not a – with Erie Ave and Pacific Ave, there is plenty of on-street parking at this time on this block.
The subject property itself, interiors, as I mentioned, it's in shell condition.
It's going to be a complete gut rehab, floors, ceilings, all new appliances, utilities, electric, gas, water, everything has to basically take it down to the studs and renovate it.
and it's a pretty big task.
And in order to be able to bring this property back to life
and make sure my client can invest the money he needs,
the three units would be the minimum variance
that we would seek to be able for him
to economically renovate this property
and provide quality housing space for the neighborhood.
We did prepare just a survey originally
we were thinking about putting an addition on the back of the property, and that's not
at issue here. The property is large. It's 15 feet by 103 feet deep. And again, we're not
changing the height or area of the property. The neighbors, when we met, didn't like the
original floor plans because there were too many bedrooms. So we reduced the bedroom count from
eight to three and what we ended up with is a first floor unit that is a full living room kitchen
dining room and two bedrooms at the rear that have access to the rear yard and they have access to
the basement which is for storage and mechanicals the second floor unit is a two bedroom one bath
unit with washer and dryer, HVAC. And the RCO wanted to make sure after the first meeting that
we have a spot for trash storage for the unit. So we did add an actual trash closet that trash
could be stored in there and not out on the front steps because the upper units don't have access
to the rear yard. And then with the third floor unit, we have a one bedroom, one bath unit. Again,
the residents of the RCO wanted a trash storage closet, which was included. We also included
egress ladders at the rear in case of fire emergency there's those Jacob ladders that
could exit although not required they're easy enough to install and they do provide additional
safety so that is part of the plan at this time the bedrooms are sizable now by reducing the
bedroom count 14 feet by 11 on the third floor unit and the smaller levels it's 14 by 11 and
11 by 15 so they're larger living spaces and it should be a improvement to the this current block
block of north 19th street i would add that i did include all the zoning archives for the other uses
on the block that are multi-family in nature at exhibit 10 um and with that the board um
we would request that the board approve the grant of a variance in light would you want to have your
testimony adopted mr council yes sir if i could have um he goes by my client goes by landy landy
could you raise your hand virtually by clicking the the button
sir you cannot speak please unmute yourself and wait for the chair
hi could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
yeah my name is uh hekuran daku h-e-k-u-r-a-n and the last name daku d-a-k-u
do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
Yes, I do.
Proceed, counsel.
Mr. Daku, did you hear the statements that I made to the board today?
Yes, I did.
Were they true and correct to the best of your knowledge, information, and belief?
Yes, sir.
And would you adopt my statements as if they were your own?
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Charles Richardson.
good afternoon mr richardson good afternoon mr chair could you state your name please and
spell for a court reporter charles richardson from the office of councilwoman cindy bass that's
r-i-c-h-a-r-d-s-o-n room 312 city hall right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the
whole truth nothing but the truth i do proceed councilwoman has no opposition to granting
i do proceed councilwoman has no opposition to granting experience thank you anyone else in the
his parents.
Thank you.
virtual audience i see no hands here planning commission good afternoon chair members of the
board this is greg waldman with planning commission staff in 2006 the zoning map was amended from
residential multifamily to single family residential at this location the last permitted
use was for single-family back in 2008. This property sits on a 1,487-square-foot rectangular
lot. The City Planning Commission recommends that the Zoning Board grant the variance with
a proviso to limit the unit count to two, which is consistent with the majority of non-conforming
properties on the block. MI-2022-003-434-3636 North 19th Street, I vote yes with proviso,
limited to units. Carol Tenere, my vote is yes with proviso. Yes, ma'am Shahid, my vote is yes
with proviso. Thank you. Thanks for your time. Number three, we're going back to number three,
MI-2022-003-197-3900 Aspen Street.
Michael Mattione is the attorney.
Recommendation of support from the Mantua Civic Association.
Mr. Mattione is coming back in as a panelist.
good afternoon counsel good afternoon mr chairman hi could you state your name please and spell for
the court reporter sure michael mattioni that's m-a-t-t-i-o-n-i right do you swear a firm to tell
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do could you identify your client in
relationship to this property? Sure. It's 3900 Aspen Street, LLC, the owner of the property.
Our vice chair has a few questions. Sure. Mr. Mattione, do you agree to waive the reading of
the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy? Good afternoon, and yes, I do. Have you emailed an
exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral,
photos under our 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 everything. Okay great you may proceed and begin by sharing
your screen. Thank you. Thank you.
again um i represent 3900 aspen street llc the owner of the property and i have robert sherman
the principal of 3900 aspen street llc on as well today and as we just said chairman we have
submitted the tax clearance refusal, a letter of unanimous support from Mantua Civic Association,
the coordinating RCO, revised zoning site plan, revised plans form, floor plans, trash plan,
renderings, photos, the deed, proof that we met with the RCO, etc. So
So the owner is seeking variances to develop this property, including a variance to permit 12 residential units to have an open area of 16.04%, where 20% is required.
And those are the two variances because the revised plans were modified so that we now have a roof deck that meets the setbacks of five feet from 39th Street and a pilot house that is more than 10 feet.
It's actually 11 feet off of 39th Street.
So the revised plans took care of those two refusals, so they are no longer being sought.
And a revised plan, here's the setback from the deck.
it's 11 for the pilot house it's 11 feet and for the deck it's five feet and there's our form
um mr sherman before proceeding with this project met with the members of the community
uh he was told by the community members that they wanted three things to be here
that they wanted wheelchair accessibility ada accessibility and rental units they were told
they told him that there is limited housing in the community that is wheelchair or ADA accessible.
So what he did was he developed a plan where on the lower unit it is wheelchair accessible and
you have three units and as you can see from 39th Street there is a ramp that goes from 39th
And as you can see from 39th Street, there is a ramp that goes from 39th Street down to the units, and there are also steps.
And all of these units are wheelchair accessible.
They have wheelchair accessible bathrooms.
The doors meet the requirements for wheelchair accessibility, et cetera.
On the first, and that's, I'm sorry, that's not the, there's the lower level units.
I'm sorry, incorrect units.
There they are showing the widths and compliance with the wheelchair accessibility, and there is the ramp going down, there's a landing, and there are steps as well.
On the first floor, they are also ADA accessible units.