accuracy i do um it appears according to the notes that you've submitted everything required
is that correct that is correct carol you may proceed thank you is my packet on the screen
yes yes it is again joseph console here for 5108 haverford avenue uh that is a 1 349 square foot
property it's at the corner of haverford and ramsey street here on the screen is a shot
looking from haverford street here is the ramsey street side and an extended view uh showing a
further view on Ramsey Street. The owner is Mr. Poi T. Sung. He is on this call as well and will
verify my testimony when I'm complete. The history of this property in 1948, it was a shoe repair in
three apartments. 1957, it was a shoe store and a two-family dwelling. In 1983, there's a note
stating um that it was that it was a continuous two-family non-conforming use with commercial
space on the first floor uh appears between that time and 2005 it operated as a vacant storefront
with two apartments in 2005 the zba granted approval for a takeout on the first floor
and the second floor was then converted into a single a single apartment my client bought the
property in 2017 since that time has had great luck finding a tenant for for the top floor but
no luck for the commercial space on the first floor which obviously you can see is still set
up externally as commercial and i'll show you the internal space in in a second um he's seeking to
renovate the commercial space on the first floor and have it function as two apartments
Our refusal is because the property is zoned RSA 5.
our refusal is because the property is zoned rsa 5.
Again, that's the side view.
That's the side view looking up Ramsey Street.
I'll go through the actual layout of the property in a minute, but I'm just giving you guys an idea.
So here's what the internal of the space on the first floor appears now.
Here's what it looks like from different angles.
And so that's the deal.
The RCO meeting was on November 30th, 2021.
We went with the 44th Ward.
At that time, the neighbors and the RCO believed a two-unit building was appropriate, and they, in fact, preferred not to have a commercial space on this corner anymore.
However, after discussing the project, their main concern was the front facade of the building, as I had shown several times.
It still very much looks like a store from the outside.
So they held the vote. We designed the facade and sent them the plans.
We met with them again, and we got their full support.
Basically, they just wanted this to actually look like a living space and not like a store on the outside.
We have included in our packet pictures of the exterior of the building, showing the ground level, the space here accessible off of Haverford Avenue.
um that front door leads to the first floor unit this white side door leads to the first floor
unit and then um through this gate next to the garage which is also my clients is the entrance
to um the second floor unit and the basement uh it's a different view you can see the door in
there we don't have internals from the second floor unit it's as i said it's occupied right now um
So we only have the first floor unit, we can see here where it's accessible and then the plans layout where the actual setup is on the inside.
So I'm going to scan down to the plans real quick or up to the plans.
So here's what the layout of the property looks like here.
you access the um the second floor unit and the basement through that gate which is here and the
second floor is set up right now as a um two-bedroom apartment and again it's occupied um let's see
there's the back garage area and there's that space on the side that i showed you guys here
where everyone keeps their trash now the community had reported nothing as far as i know that the
trash storage was a problem. It's plenty of space out there. Again, there's that garage space and
then the space next to it. The basement space will be accessible by everyone via the stairs
through that back gate there that I just showed everyone. It's just going to be mechanicals and
storage. And the first floor itself will be renovated into a one-bedroom unit. It's large,
But the way that it works on the angle, it seems to make sense just to have one bedroom in that first floor unit.
So additionally, our packet contains the proof of ownership as well as the tax clearance certificate.
And, you know, in closing, considering the history of the property, it's always been a multi-unit.
the support of the neighbors the fact that my client has not been able to occupy the commercial
space he's owned the property since 2017 we believe that a two-family dwelling is appropriate
for the space and we are here seeking the board support thank you you want to adopt your testimony
as your client here yes sir um could you raise your hand
okay you're the officer of the court we aren't we will we're fine with that um i know he's on
he's texting me hi questions from the board there he is if you want to get him on them okay sure
state your name sir please and spell it for the court reporter
oi suon p-o-i last name s-u-o-n all right do you swear a firm to tell the truth the
whole truth and nothing but the truth yes i do proceed good morning mr swan um did you hear
my testimony right now regarding 5108 haverford yes do you have anything do you adopt it as your
I'm sorry?
Do you agree with what I said?
You were saying it yourself. Thank you.
Do you have anything you want to add?
uh no you you explained it very well thank you thank you questions from the board no mr chairman
No, you explained it very well. Thank you.
Thank you.
no mr chairman no mr chairman questions from the virtual audience
planning commission hands you have a hand no i was saying i see no further hands sir okay thank
you sir uh planning commission thank you chair bergman ian hegarty for the philadelphia city
planning commission members of the board the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the
existing residential single family at this location however as we've seen the existing
structure does contain two separate units we recommend that the board grant the requested
variance mi 2021 003548 5108 haverford avenue i vote yes carol tenary my vote is yes thomas
holloman my vote is yes james snell my vote is yes ishmael shaheed my vote is yes thank you board
okay um mi 2021 003399 5229 westminster avenue and mi 2021 004629 5231 westminster avenue
mr masters i believe we can hear them both together westfully together civic association
letter of support and jamie gunthier letter of support uh chair this is tanya
uh did you not want to go back to the other well let's hear this these two here and then we'll go
back to that okay mr masters um good morning again mr chair members of the board steve masters with
the law firm of just laws on behalf of the applicants uh ganithia geiger and uh young
scholars uh child care center and and we can hear both these together yes um this is actually one
property that has never been officially consolidated so there are two lots but the
deed that we will see is one deed and so you've you've already been you've already been sworn
um our vice chair has a few questions do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and
stipulate to its accuracy yes i do okay it appears that you've submitted all the required documents
is that correct that is correct you may proceed thank you all right i'm going to share my screen
okay um welcome again um so this is um this was a real joy of a project to present to the rco
in this neighborhood, once they started to really understand how great the child care center is and
their track record, their only concern was, how can we get this to happen now? Why do we have to
wait for this to happen? So that was a great phenomenon at the RCO meeting. The refusal here,
um and and we do have the two properties as as i said uh well the two parcels but they're really
one um they're one structure uh we have for the for the 5229 which is where which is the part
of the building without the sign we just have a um a use refusal um because of rm1 and on the
5231, we have also some refusals around the sign. So it is our contention, members of the board,
that the refusal is actually in error because the zoning code allows in the RM1 district for
child care centers when they're accompanied by educational programming for older children.
And as you will hear, this child care center, this is going to be the second site for this child care center.
They serve not only very young children, not only preschool children, but also school-age children.
So it's actually an appropriate use legal within the zoning code.
But this building for many, many years has been a commercial building.
It's not at all configured for residential use.
And so it definitely meets the definition of hardship, because it would require extensive and very expensive renovation to make it into a residentially appropriate building.
Mr. Masters, what are the ages of the children?
For the Young Scholars Day, let me screw it over to that.
this is a for the for the preschool there are four out of four keystone star program
they have um we'll saw that in the second you asked me specifically about the ages
they have um well so that in the second you asked me specifically about the ages yeah um
sorry board it's okay
okay do you know the days and hours of operation
Yes, I have the owner that I can call up for these specific questions. But yes, we have in our project information form. So here we go.
The preschool program is designed for three to five year olds. It prepares them for the school year.
They have an extensive school-age program for before and after school for age 5 to 7-year-olds and also 8 to 12-year-olds.
There was an extensive traffic management plan that we discussed with the RCO that they were very pleased with.
And this is the traffic management plan that's in use at the existing facility on Girard.
And this is a program that partners with CHOP, Philly Pre-K, has the strong support of Councilwoman Gaudier, and many other institutions in the city, the school district, for the high-quality education that they do, both for the preschool children and for the younger elementary school children.
And we also have the architect available for us to go through.
We're not having, we don't, there's no additional construction or any changes to the building.
It's been renovated to just be in terms of very modern and very clean, as I will show you in a moment.
but first let's look um we have the the rco letter from west philly together um was in support we
have um it was unanimous um in support of of this application and then we have a letter from
jamie gaudier uh supporting her second um the second location of the young scholars program
at Westminster, saying that it's a great program at its existing location, and the councilwoman
was very pleased to support the expansion into the second location. This is our plans.
And the photos. So here we have, this is the south elevation on Westminster. So this is the 5229 portion and this is the 5231 portion where the where the sign is.
This is the rear yard space of 5229.
This is the more of the rear yard space. Then we have the internal photos, interior. This is the
main entrance and that connects both the 5231 to the 5229 spaces. This is the second floor for 5229.
This is more of 5229.
bathroom. We have elevation drawings and the sides of the north-south and everything. Here's
the sign. This sign is a pre-existing sign. It's existed for decades and apparently it was never
properly legalized. So part of this application is to legalize the projecting sign that harmonizes
as well with the surrounding community.
Here we have photos of the 5231 side,
and our zoning posters.
There's a little promo oh it's supposed to
Oh, it's a post-to-work, but it's not working. Okay.
Young Scholars Today are the leaders of tomorrow.
At Young Scholars Daycare Center, we're committed to providing safe, affordable, quality child care for children from birth to 12 years old.
Our program is designed to foster children's developmental needs with activities in the arts, language, math, and science.
Our qualified, compassionate staff will nurture your child's growth and develop it, instilling a sense of pride, confidence, and independence.
Contact Young Scholars now for information about enrollment or to schedule a tour.
All of the children who are served by Young Scholars, it's free.
It's free child care and free after-school care.
It's all paid for by the programs from the city and other providers.
This is the deed.
and Premises A and Premises B.
Their Application for Appeal and Project Information Form we've gone over.
And the RCO notice and the proof of mailing.
At this point, I would like to have Genithia Geiger raise her hand and to be recognized.
She has been about to speak.
Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Yes. Good morning, everyone. My name is Genithia Geiger. That's G-E-N-I-T-H-I-A-G-E-I-G-E-R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
Ms. Geiger, you have heard my testimony this morning. Do you agree with it and adopt it as your own?
Yes, I do.
Would you like to share anything else with the board about your program and what you're hoping to do with this new location?
Sure. Thank you.
So this new location, I would like to service preschool children and after school leaders.
We reopened, you know, as the world shut down for all of us for six months, we reopened September of 2020.
And knock on wood, we've never had to close due to COVID.
We have very strong health and safety practices that we'll continue to do.
In fact, sidebar, yesterday, the health department came out to my first location on Gerard Avenue
and gave me accommodations again and told me I'm one of the cleanest child care centers in the city.
So we would like to expand our services.
As Steve mentioned, I'm part of the Philly Pre-K, which is the mayor's soda tax.
So this location, we would like to service, you know, those communities with preschool students and after school,
especially with the school closures going down you know sporadically we're providing virtual
care so families can still go to work in school thank you mr geiger thank you questions from the
board no mr chairman no mr chairman no mr chairman no mr chairman no mr chairman questions from the
virtual audience.
No further hands up.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chair Bergman.
Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
Members of the board, the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing
residential multifamily zoning at this location.
However, as we've seen, the building has a documented prior use.
It's having a non-residential first floor.
With respect to 5231 Westminster Avenue, City Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant the variances with the condition that the sign variants be limited to legalization of the existing sign.
And as for 5229 Westminster Avenue, City Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant the variants.
MI 2021-003399-5229 Westminster.
And MI-2021-004629-5231 was Mr. I vote yes with comments from the Planning Commission relative to the sign.
Carol Tenneri, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thomas Howland, my vote is yes to both with proviso.
James Snell, yes to both with proviso.
Ishmael Shahid, yes, the vote for provisals.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, members of the board.
Thank you very much, members of the board.
MI 2021-003544-5007, North Fish Street.
Are we ready to go, Tanya?
I'm sorry, Chair, about the last case?
Did we get the proviso?