Their proviso request was for two years.
Mr. Chairman, again, the board granted a five-year temporary in 2009.
They renewed it in 2014 for another five years.
To suggest a two-year variance is going backwards,
and there was no justification nor reasoning provided by the RCO,
nor was it even discussed at the meeting.
It just appeared in the letter.
I think at the time, it's time to move forward
and give these businessmen some peace of mind
that they can operate in the future.
All right, thank you.
Anyone else would like to testify in this case?
Please raise your hand.
Don't get me wrong.
I don't mind coming back every five years.
I hear you.
You can do it every five months, if you like.
You're right.
I'll file my application today.
Anyone else to testify?
No further hands at this time, Mr. Chair.
Thank you.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chair DeChico.
Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
Members of the board, this use is a well-established use.
There are a few, if any, complaints about its presence on the block.
City Planning Commission would recommend that the board grant the variance without proviso.
MI 2020, that's 001-278-5247-Frankfurt Avenue. My vote is yes with the proviso.
a five-year temporary variance.
A five-year temporary variance.
So the five-year would end April 1st, 2026.
Is that correct?
Five years to expire April 1st, 2026.
Seems right.
My vote is yes with proviso.
Yes with proviso.
Yes with proviso.
Yes with proviso.
Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, thank you very much.
That concludes my business until the 2 o'clock list.
May I be excused?
See you then.
Talk to you.
Calendar number 002.
Yes, Sharon.
I actually have Mr. Schwartz on the line right now.
Okay, great.
To get the board through.
They're in between cases.
I'm trying to get them to call you now.
I'm going to, would you be able to go back to the first case on the add-on list?
and i will um sure i'll call it in right now thank you sure calendar number zero three eight
three twenty eight ten frankfurt avenue okay i'm looking for mr schwartz and sloan folks
and madam vice chair this is the one that i will not be participating in because i was not at the
original hearing right um mr schwartz can i confirm that you can hear this and are available
hello hello can mr schwartz can you hear the board speaking yes i can thank you okay thank you
and mr folks you're there yes ma'am yes i'm by share okay this appeal was mistakenly voted on
march 24th before sloan folks of councilwoman sanchez's office had an opportunity to put
the councilwoman's position on the record we are therefore vacating that vote and reopening the
record to allow mr folks to testify so you may respond thank you ma'am i just uh sloan folks
office of councilwoman rea can you understand chesney 508 city hall um again i'd like to thank
the zba board for allowing us this opportunity and mr schwartz for returning um the councilman
would like to say that this uh property has been in the in the uh in the queue for a
request since the autumn of 2019 um our office requested a continuance uh for the for for the uh
for this case back in September, September 14th of 2020 and October 27th of 2020 in hopes to
take part in the discussions with the community and with the applicant and to better understand
the request. Specifically, given the crisis that the community is confronting with, that that
community, the Kensington community is confronting with opioids, she had hoped that there would be
an opportunity for dialogue with the applicants but that did not happen so given the support
the applicant has received from the RCO and the state the councilman has no opposition
to the request that's our statement thank you okay calendar number zero excuse me Mr.
Schwartz would you like to respond yes the councilwoman supports and that's it yes that's
fine that there's no request for a co or anything no excuse me you're you're being heard by the
board mr schwartz so you can speak to them um no again i apologize to the board uh because i was
ill and uh i just couldn't uh i apologize again um okay well we do hope that you begin to feel
better okay then the board can go ahead and vote the case there are no provisos no or anything no
do or not calendar number zero three calendar number zero three eight three 2810 frankfurt
avenue my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes
okay we have enough votes calendar number zero zero two nine fifty four oh five christian street
I promoted Mr. Gossett to a panelist.
Mr. Gossett, he has to unmute himself.
Mr. Gossett?
Please unmute yourself, Mr. Gossett, if you are available.
I'm sorry, Mr. Hand, can you promote the other device he has?
He might have two devices on, and his hand is up again.
just promoted the other device to uh panelists
Mr. Gossett you can put your camera on and unmute yourself to proceed
okay good morning can you hear me hi Mr. Gossett yes and we can also see you put your name
your address on the record please and spell your last name. 4840 Old York Road, Philadelphia PA
19141. Do you swear or affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
I do. Do you also agree to wait the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes. Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance,
photos and or plans of the property, refusal or and or referral, five days in advance of this hearing,
and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Thank you.
Yes to all.
Very good.
Good morning, everyone.
This is concerning a refusal on the property 5405 Christian Street.
The applicant who would be the tenant is Amelia Bond.
And she hopes to open up a restaurant in the downstairs location and have an apartment upstairs.
It would be a sit-down restaurant on the first floor, the same building.
Mr. Gossett, I apologize for interrupting, but do you have a file or an exhibit package to share?
Yes, that exhibit package was sent, and I can also share it.
Yes, could you do that, please?
Yeah, I just need to walk you through.
No worries.
Okay, great.
Thank you.
This is Sharon Saleta.
If I can put on the record that Councilwoman Gauthier's Andrew Goodman from her office emailed today to say that she has no objection.
So once you open up your exhibit package and it's open, then you go to the green button at the bottom of your computer that says share.
Once you click on that, and click on, there you go, and it's opening up for us.
I'm zooming, okay.
I will start with the photos of 5405 Christian.
Thank you kindly.
All right, can everyone see that?
Not yet.
So actually what you need to do, Mr. Gossips, is unshare again,
because you have to open up the specific file you wish for us to view prior to screen share.
So click the green button.
All righty.
Now open up your exhibit so you actually see it on your screen, then hit screen share again.
Thank you for your patience.
It's our pleasure.
All right.
Come out of that.
are you able to see it great okay yes we have it thank you all right okay so the first uh pictures
are the actual picture uh the document showing that the i'm sorry the zoning notice
that is a copy of the refusal
and these are the actual photos of the the property itself just to give you a back history
on the property it is a two-story property that has that is zoned uh residential rm1
It has a apartment on the first floor and has been used.
It has an apartment on the first floor and has been used throughout various times as commercial space.
There was a use, it was used as a clothing store in 1993.
I'm sorry, it was approval was approved for a clothing store in 1993, but the permit was never picked up.
and also in 1988 the property was being used as a beauty salon as a result of it of a period of
inactivity the property lost its zoning and was not being used as commercial space. I'm sending
you I'm going to scroll through just a few pictures so that you can see what it looks like
in relationship to the neighborhood.
That is a corner of 54th and Christian Street there.
I do want to bring out to the board's attention
that the property right next door to the property
is being used, I believe, as a commercial barbershop.
that's a picture of the neighboring properties on 5405 Christian Street there are various
properties they're residential and commercial properties both both on that on that particular
strip that is a picture of the intersection of 54th and Christian in Baltimore Avenue
to where the two major intersections that intersect in front of the property.
This is a picture of the interior of the property as it is right now. The plan is to build out
a seating area where patrons will be able to come in and eat their dinners or food there.
This is an actual picture of what will be the customer restroom, view of the kitchen area, and there's also a kitchen area with a bathroom specifically for the staff.
This is another picture of the dining room area.
That is a stairway to the basement for storage for food items and also things necessary to
run the restaurant.
This would be the office area.
and the
backyard area will be for
to be stored
and this is the alleyway that leads from
the breezeway to the
actual
main area of the
property.
Okay, with regards to the actual procedures taken on September 26, 2020, there was a Zoom
community meeting. The RCO was West Philadelphia Economic Development Council. I believe the
representative is on the call, too, if additional questions need to be asked of them.
There was a vote that was given with regards to the matter, 32 votes in support, seven votes were by way of a call, and there were eight votes in opposition.
So the total in favor of the proposal was a total of 39.
I have on the call
the applicant
Ms. Amelia Bond who is
present to answer any additional
questions that the board may have
and there's also
I believe Mr.
Sampson of the West
Philadelphia RCO is also
on the call. Does the board have any
questions for me?
Okay, at this point, does the board have any questions for the applicant, Amelia Bond?
We need to get your client on, I'll swear her in, Ms. Bond, if you're available, please
raise your hand.
Mr. Lord Carpenter's
hand has been raised
do I allow him to speak
good morning sir please identify yourself
with the record spell your full
name and address
spell your full name rather and provide us with your