to the late hour, the board did not hear the recommendation from the city's council member
um and you know charles richards okay so so we do have a letter we have an email if he's mr
richardson's non-diversal audience but we do have an email uh confirming the non-opposition
of this project as a duplex mr richardson mr chair i just wanted to interject um quickly um today we
did receive a petition in opposition from
Quampoodle Neighborhood Parcels Association. That petition was
in opposition to three dwelling units, although it was noted they
wanted to preserve the single family usage of the property.
So I just wanted to note that for the record. Thank you.
Mr. Charles Richardson. Good afternoon, Mr. Chair. How are you, sir?
This is the first time I've seen you today. It's kind of late. Yes, it's the first time today.
state your name please and spell for the court stenographer
charles richardson r-i-c-h-a-r-d-s-o-n
office of councilwoman cindy bass room 508 city hall
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i certainly do please proceed sir the councilwoman has no opposition to
granting the variance thank you very much i appreciate taking the time to call
um planning commission are there any updates
yeah the planning commission would state it's uh it's recommendation for granting the dwelling
unit variance due to the several three dwelling unit properties in close vicinity
um but would state that there is no hardship for the requested addition uh so recommends
this portion be denied thank you um so we're gonna hold this until I get a chance to watch
the whole film right the video and then we'll vote yes all right other than that it's closed hillary
can i just respond to the city planning's commission um recommendation yeah
just in terms of the addition i did look at google street view earlier today i would state
that there is uh an extension on the second floor uh similar to what we're requesting
as part of our project.
So I think that what we're trying to do
is mimicking what is in the neighborhood.
And there was an approval of similar circumstances
for 3103, which is next door to us
for the similar type of variance requests.
Thank you very much.
I appreciate it.
This case is closed.
Am I correct, Hillary?
Except for the vote.
Thank you.
That is correct.
Is there anyone in the 2 p.m. list in the audience whose case has not been called?
I see no answer this time.
I see no hands at this time.
We're going to take a five-minute break.
We're going to take a five-minute break, and we'll come back and do the 3.30 list.
Thank you, everybody.
Good afternoon, everyone.
My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing the 3.30 list.
With me is our Vice Chair, Ismail Shahid.
President, Mr. Chairman.
Also, LeBaron Leonard Palmer from the Division of Development Services will be serving as our alternate board member.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also, here is Hillary Emerson, our attorney, and our executive director, Tanya Sunken.
Here's our format.
Proceedings are being recorded.
With your participation, you agree to be recorded.
A video will be available by contacting tanyasunken at philo.gov.
For our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you're participating by phone, please press 9 to raise your hand and 6 to unmute.
To enter an appearance statement, call 267-270-5548.
Leave your email address and the address of the property question.
And finally, the question box on the screen is not for comments or testimony.
All comments should be directed to our Executive Director, Tanya Sunken.
Let's look at our list for today.
Number one, MI 2023-004-200-509-West Springer Street. Case has been continued.
And number five, MI 2023-004-398-1113-Mt Vernon Street. That case has continued.
Are there any other requests for continuances?
Good afternoon, Chair. This is Yvette Benton. I'll be your co-host for this afternoon.
We have Charles Richardson with their hand up. They have been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Mr. Richardson, you have already been sworn.
Yes, sir. Charles Richardson, Office of Councilwoman Cindy Bass, room 508 City Hall.
With regard to Springer Street, the applicant has never reached out past August of last year.
And then she had said, and I forwarded something to both Hillary and to Tiffany, just to, she was letting us know that she was not interested in moving forward with it, but she's never formally withdrawn her application.
So I'm just wondering where it stands with the continuance who made that request.
It was received from Elisa Maliki, who is the owner, on 6-11-24.
And, Mr. Chair, I can shed a little bit of light.
Yeah, go ahead.
Mr. Richardson, initially the applicant had indicated she was interested in withdrawing.
She later changed her mind and submitted some exhibits for the hearing today
and then realized that she had not met the RCO meeting requirement,
so she then requested a continuance okay not a problem all right thank you are there any other
requests for continuances all right i see no other hands at this time chair so number six
n i 2023 004 400 49 south eismanger street this case has been withdrawn
all right we're going to go to our regular list and we're going to start with number four
MI-2023-004-397-1006 Fairmount Avenue.
Christopher Dean is the attorney.
We do not have an RCO letter at this point.
Meeting was held in a second.
Chair, Christopher Dean will be rejoining as a panelist.
mr dean how are you sir could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer
good afternoon mr chair members christopher dean it's d-e-a-n
you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes could you identify your client relationship to the property yes v llc is the property owner
and present today is josh kravitz who's a member of the llc our vice chair has a few questions sir
good afternoon counselor do you agree to waive the read another refusal or stipulate towards accuracy
um so actually the refusal will be um i'm sure hillary can
The refusal will be, I'm sure Hillary can tie in some more comments to this, but it will be, there was a, we realized there was a technical error on it.
It does indicate only 10-0-0-6 Fairmont Avenue.
It should read 10-0-0-6.
This is a consolidated lot, five lots.
So we plan on getting an amended refusal.
Right.
We have that.
We're going to hear the case.
We will hold that.
and we'll hold the vote at the end of the day okay and mr chair this is hillary just to just
to jump in in addition to the unfortunately the lot consolidation was omitted from the refusal
that needs to be corrected but um mr dean's client has also suggested um some changes and
so those will be incorporated into the amended refusal as well um i've advised mr dean to
present everything as it was to the community and as it will be on the refusal to the board today
very much understood but have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that is needed
and required to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing yes thank you council
please proceed and share your screen okay okay hopefully everyone can see my screen yep okay so
I have the pleasure to present 1006 and 10012 Fairmount Avenue.
We're seeking a two-fold variance, which go hand-in-hand, an 18-apartment, multifamily use, stretching five lots, as well as a height variance.
The height variance was, in addition, which will go into my client's initial application to meet the community's parking needs.
So that is because of a parking garage that we barely eclipsed the height requirements in the RSA 5 district.
Mr. Chair, we have entered into a community benefits agreement, which was submitted.
which was signed by the registered RCO.
I'll go through, but if for some reason it wasn't,
if it was omitted from my packet,
we can certainly submit it again.
Thank you.
So let's go through the exhibits
and then we'll get into the nuts and bolts of the project.
This was my client's deed.
Tax clearance.
Go through July 6th.
The project information form.
The initial application for appeal, the community meeting, which was held on May 2nd, the proof
of mailing of that meeting, today's Zoom meeting, proof of the mailing of today's zoning board
meeting and i want to stop it here so the community benefits agreement um we entered into
with the 14 community organization um so my client um well a year in advance of even applying for this
um initial initial application met with the community three um four times actually um to
develop this project he listened to the community um we we had them screen we actually met a total
of twice with counsel and six times total without counsel to enter into this agreement.
So my client is a developer who, he's hands-on, he's a general contractor, and he develops,
he doesn't seek permission before or after developing. He does the opposite. He likes
to see what the community wants before he gets involved in a project. So the key highlights of
this um project i will get into i just want to show um provide a visual so here's a lot now the
five the the consolidate approved consolidated lots i did send um board council a copy of the
board of surveyors approved consolidation um this is what we're proposing so it'll be an 18 18 unit
dwelling place we intend to beautify the area um we will have secure there is a secured parking
lot garage we are adding nine um nine parking spots for 18 units as well as six six bike um
six bike spots as well as there's going to be public bike spots as well in front of the building
for any any take care of any any visitor so we with this design it's actually we're actually
going above i believe three times what would be required even in an rm an rm district um so we
are taking the community told us parking was a major concern and we've addressed it and then added
The community told us parking was a major concern, and we've addressed it and then added some.
So we'll not have an adverse effect on parking in the area, as well as beautifying an area full of vacant lots on this block.
This is the rear. We intend to, consistent with the beautification, we're going to have a communal garden in the back.
This will be open to all residents, all 18, all dwelling members of the apartment complex.
uh and we intend to have communal events there uh quarterly this is the interior um this will be
accessed there will be access obviously through the parking garage or there is an elevator and
stairs that go through to each to each floor um when we met with the community we have we've
also included to have two we were mending it to have two and two of the 18 units be two bedroom
to accommodate smaller families that may be looking to move into the area.
At 1022 Fairmount Ave, there already is six condominiums.
And so in an area where we're at the end of the RS5 in the area,
it's like you make my way to the zoning map.
We're right here.
You're abutting RM4, RM1, ICMX.
So it's clearly an area that changes over time. And I believe 1022, seeing the condominiums there and all the vacant lots on this block are indicative of that.
And on 1014 Fairmount Avenue, which also is a vacant lot adjacent to my client's property, we just did receive this letter of support earlier today from the owner of that building.
so to go into the this was the refusal as you see the refusal does indicate five zoning districts
just does not have um it does not make mention of the consolidated lots
i will have this is the design um we will have my my client can answer any questions about the
design. The board or public may have. And then this is a copy of the approved consolidation
of lots. So I want to put up the backup, the community benefits agreement that we made.
So in exchange, you'll see here, it does say in exchange for the full support and 100%
affirmative vote of the RCO in support of the project, we agreed to the following terms
and conditions.
My client has engaged the GLITTER program, which does for a period of one year, he's
paying them to, I believe it's once a month, and I'll have him clarify that if that's
incorrect.
They do clean the entire surrounding block, not just right in front of the project.
So it helps by engaging with this. It helps. This is after construction is completed.
So once people are living there, their block is going to be, the neighboring lots can be cleaned through the GLIDA program.
We're going to have sufficient lighting, safeties, you know, of utmost concern for this project.
Consistent with beautifying the area, we're going to be planting trees.
there is a septic key if the septic key advantage program which is offered to some
employers is offered to landlords we've agreed that we will qualify so that will be a more
incentive for the public to use public transportation and septa when on entering an
access agreement with any any when construction does start if we do need any any access to any
adjacent property we will be entering an access green council council i i appreciate all this but
i don't i think the issue is that you have full agreement now from the rco as a result of the of
the cba you don't have to go over the whole cba okay um so at one one and one key is that we're
going to offer two affordable housing units um so and we can't so that so so one we have we have
the height the height requirement is 38 feet we could have accommodated that but in if to
accommodate that we will lose the parking and the parking we listen to the community and that's what
they wanted yeah i think you said that i appreciate that and of course the rsa5 the area is changing
there's already six there are already six condos adjacent um it's adjacent to a ton of mixed use
lots so we do think it meets the requirements needed for variants
So we do think it meets the requirements needed for a variance doesn't add any public the congestion because we have the secured parking garage does not add to that.
In fact, it only beautifies the area. So if I could have my Josh Kravitz, please.
Mr. Kravitz.