My name is Sean, S-H-A-W-N, Ward, W-A-R-D, Attorney for Applicant.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I certainly do.
Please identify your client in relationship to the property.
My client is Juniper McRae, MC, capital C, R-E-I-G-H-T, a tenant for the property known as 205-15 Cuthbert Street, also known as 58 North 2nd Street.
Okay. Our vice chair has a few questions, sir.
Good afternoon. Have you submitted your documents and exhibits 14 days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, we have.
Okay, and you are, okay, you have a special reception here, so you have a referral.
Do you weigh the reading of your referral and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, I do.
All right, thank you.
You can share your screen and proceed with your case.
All right, Mr. Chair, can we confirm that my screen is shared and visible?
It is, sir.
Thank you very much.
Again, I represent June McCrate, M-C, capital C, R-E-I-G-H-T,
doing business as Cineholic Philly, which is a cinnamon roll gourmet bakery.
The property is located at 205-15 Cuthbert Street, again, also known as 58 North 2nd, calendar 26-3885.
The property is located at 205-15 Cuthbert Street, again, also known as...
My exhibit packet includes A1 through A15.
Load that up.
There you go.
A1 is the notice of referral.
We filed a permit for a sit-down, take-out restaurant, resulted in two referrals to the board.
One, sit-down restaurant requires special exception, and two, take-out restaurant requires special exception,
and that is due to the Old City, Center City, Overleague District.
So we are here seeking a special exception by the board today.
A2 is our ZBA application of appeal.
A3 is the project information form.
A4, proof of ownership.
it's the deed and the lease for the subject premises known as space c1 in the building
we have a5 proof of tax clearance a6 are floor plans a7 are the sign plans a8 are photographs
including the posting subject property street views and aerial view a9 is the rco meeting notice
and certificate of mailing. A10 is our RCO letter from Old City District, unanimously supporting
the application. A11 is district council, then Mark Squilla's letter of non-opposition. A12,
the only recent zoning history we could find was 2018 for personal services. This space was
formerly used as a barbershop. A13 is the zoning map. A14 is an aerial photograph.
And A15 is the litter cleanup plan. So moving on, let me get this out of the way.
I've attached my appearance statement. We have the notice of refusal. Again, you'll see
the two special exception requirements for
the eating and drinking establishment, takeout and sit-down restaurant.
We have the application of appeal.
We don't need that that close. Additionally, we have the project
information form, copy of the deed.
We have also a lengthy copy of the commercial lease agreement
consisting of 13 pages moving on proof of tax clearance as you can see zero tax balance due
with regard to the floor plans we're going to use this one looking at the premises from the front
the right hand side doors are the entry into the first floor inside you have the customer area
The service counter in the back is obviously where the kitchen is.
To the right of that is a storage area with steps leading to the basement, which is used for mechanical storage and trash storage included.
We have one ADA accessible handicap room, bathroom, and then a small office, manager's office located here towards the front.
We have seating for six persons at the counter facing the front window, two tables of four in the center, and a table for two located in this little cubby here for a total seating of 16 in the interior of the restaurant.
As far as signs go, the applicant already has approval for a projecting double-bladed hanging sign.
It was approved by the Historic Commission as well as the Art Commission.
Here are photographs of the property.
This is the former barbershop, another from across the street.
Copy of our posting photos, several of those.
Obviously, the Coming Soon banner in the window.
Sidewalk view.
This is the entry to the rear of the building from Cuthbert Street.
Obviously, it's a locked alleyway. I believe the same owner has ownership of these two buildings, so access to the alleyway between the buildings is locked and secured to prevent unauthorized access.
This is another copy of a street view and sidewalk view.
This is actually Cuthbert Street, looking in from 2nd Street, another street view.
The interior of the premises, which will undergo full renovation.
This is our notice of zoning meeting for the community meeting.
It included a copy of the referral.
it included a copy of the
referral
It went to the addresses provided by the Planning Commission.
it went to the ad
This is our Certificate of Mailing.
This is the RCO letter of support.
As you can see, the meeting was held on September 16th.
A total of 12 people in support, including four board members and eight attendees.
Additionally, we have Councilman Squilla's letter of non-opposition dated September 22.
This is the zoning history that was available on the atlas.com or at atlas.philla.com.
Again, it was for a barbershop.
The outlined area in red designates the C1 space in the property.
The zoning map, as you can see, it is zoned CMX3.
This is the aerial photograph, again, the area designated by the red outline as the
subject location.
This is our litter cleanup plan provided by 14603 Sub 6.
It identifies and establishes the cleanup schedule, the cleanup area, litter receptacle,
Indoor stat, trash storage, commercial trash pickup, days and hours of operation, Monday through Thursday, not to exceed 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Based upon that, we submit that there will be no adverse impact upon the adjacent properties for adequate supply of light and air, nor will it permanently endure appropriate uses.
And also, as regard to public facilities, public health and safety and detrimental impact on the neighborhood, we submit that there is none.
Again, this is the litter cleanup area, basically 20 feet north and south on Second Street in front of the subject premises.
That is the sum and substance of the application.
At this time, if the board doesn't have any questions of me, we can call June forward.
I ask her to raise her hand for easy identity.
Thank you.
mr chair council they will be coming back in as a panel shortly thank you thank you very much
thank you watch our video hello hi could you please state and spell your name for this
stenographer yes junifer mccrite that's j-u-n-i-f-e-r-m-c-c-r-e-i-g-h-t right do you
swear or firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do could you put yourself
could you put your video one is that possible i believe so there you go thank you there we go
council uh june um you've heard my representations to the board this afternoon
i did are they true and correct to the best of your knowledge information and belief
they are would you adopt them as your own testimony i would thank you mr chair unless
there's anything else uh we we would ask that the board grant the special exception all right
so questions from the board for the bakery
questions from our attorney um i just want to clarify you're using both the first floor in
the basement is that correct correct yes okay questions or comments from the virtual audience
mr chair i do not see any hands raised boy with the planning commission the comprehensive plan
recommends no change in zoning at this location from the current cmx3 commercial mixed use
the appellant has demonstrated that the proposed use will not cause detrimental impacts beyond what
would reasonably be expected the planning commission recommends that the board grant
their requested special exceptions for sit down and take out restaurant my 2026 003 885 205 the
15, Cuthbert Street, I vote yes
with proviso. Use limited
to first floor and basement.
Michael Johns, my vote is
yes with proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with
proviso. Tanetta Graham, my vote is
yes with proviso.
Excuse me, Ryan McAdams, my vote is yes
with proviso. Tywin, my vote is yes
with proviso. Leila Beebe, my vote
is yes with proviso.
Thank you, Sean. Glad to see you back.
Thank you very much. That concludes my
business. May I be excused? Most certainly.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, sir.
Number 13, MI2026003.
Number 13, MI 2026-003-960-7200 State Road.
Stephanie Boggs, Magna, is the attorney.
Mr. Chair, Augusta Neal has their hand raised.
I will be promoting them to panelists right now.
Good afternoon.
Oh, let me see.
There we go.
Good afternoon.
man. Augusta, could you please state your name and spell for this themographer?
Sure. My full name is Augusta O'Neill, which is spelled A-U-G-U-S-T-A. Last name is O-N-E-I-L-L.
You swear or affirm to sell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client in relationship to the property?
My client is Joe Lees. He and his brother, David Lees, are co-owners of the property that is the
subject to the appeal right and i see a letter from um support from councilman driscoll and a
letter of non-opposition from taconi civic association and our vice chair has a few
questions good good evening have you submitted your documents and exhibits 14 days in advance
of this hearing we did okay and you have refusals and a referral so do you waive the reading of your
refusal and referral and stipulate to its accuracy i do all right thank you you share your screen
and proceed. Thank you so much. Thank you, members of the board. I apologize that I'm not
at the ZBA in person this afternoon. I was having some issues with the furnace of my house.
So, but this afternoon, I'm here representing the owners of the property at 7200 State Road.
The application actually refers to three different properties which we're proposing to consolidate.
All three of these properties have functioned as one continuous property. Since my clients
purchased it back in 2013. The three different properties that make up the application are 7200
State Road, 4953 Wellington Street, and the rear of 7208 State Road. This property is located at
the corner of Wellington Street and State Road, provided at page 12 of our exhibit package,
is an aerial just showing the property and the surrounding uses. As you can see, there's quite a
few automotive uses in this area. So this is the property that we were discussing this afternoon.
This is actually three different lots, but like I said, it all functions as one large parcel.
In 1998, the zoning board did approve the consolidation of the three lots that make up
this property. However, that lot consolidation was never perfected. That was done before my
client acquired this property. Again, he and his brother purchased it back in 2013. So that was
quite a while after the zoning board had approved that consolidation, which was never perfected.
So this property consists, like I said, of three different lots. I'm just going to take the board
through all the different uses that are on site. Building number one is a residence. So there are
three multifamily units within this building. Um, there is a fire alarm system. The trash gets
stored, uh, taken away. I'm sorry. It does get taken away by a maintenance van that my clients
employ. Um, there's also some trash that gets generated by the auto business, which I'm going
to go through. Um, but that trash also is stored in a dumpster and my clients do have, um, a trash
plan for for how trash gets dealt with at the property um the residential property like i said
it does have a uh alarm system it does have a basement but nobody's living in the basement
um it only houses the mechanicals and like i said it's got those three multi-family units
so then building number two this is an auto repair facility um building number three is also
and auto use this is where a window tint business is working and then building four is just storage
for that window tint unit uh business rather so like i said business number i'm sorry building
number one this is that three unit home um building number two there's the auto shop
the window tint business this is just another perspective of the property
another perspective this is from wellington street showing that auto business and the
the residential building as well this is a perspective from state road
this is inside of the lot where the um auto built auto businesses are operating
This is, again, the interior of the lot.
this is again the interior of the lot there are 16 parking spots
There are 16 parking spots provided here.
This I provided in our exhibit package just some pictures of the interior units.
This is at building number two.
This is that auto repair business.
Building number three, this is the window tint business.
Um, so as I mentioned before, my clients did purchase the property back in 2013, uh, when they purchased the property, all the, the uses that I just went through were already happening at the location.
So they purchased it kind of as a turnkey operation with those three single family, or I'm sorry, multifamily units and the, um, the auto uses.
So this application is just to legalize, um, all the businesses that are, that are on the property.
So included in my exhibit package, which I'll briefly take the board through, was a copy of our refusal and our referral.
So this application generated a handful of refusals and one referral for the special exception.
So we are requiring a variance for that multifamily household living for those three dwelling units, as well as the number of parking spots.
We provided 16 or proposed 16, and the code requires us to have 29.
It's always functioned the way that I just described.
We're also required to get a special exception for that auto repair vehicle repair and maintenance use.
There was always an auto business, but that second window tint business is the reason that this additional special exception was triggered.
Included at page six of my exhibit package is a copy of the meeting summary.
We did meet with the RCO for this application back in September.
They were in support of the application.
They recognized that there's quite a few auto businesses in the area, as well as the fact
that this has existed for quite a while and has been in, you know, my client who purchased