And as you can see just on this block itself, all these properties on Salmon Street towards to the corner on Richmond Street, they all would would, you know, need and probably have sought variances for such coverage and rear yard depth issues.
uh for such coverage and rear yard depth issues and then we met you know we did solicit you know
people in the neighborhood and we have a number of letters that we submitted that i i don't know
if the board had a chance to review but i believe there's like seven letters
in the actual presentation materials a number of them are even on our blog
and then um you know we have an atlas map uh showing again you know again the building
structure itself you can see all these properties have block coverage of radar issues as well as
this property as well and then you as you can see here from a google maps perspective first of all
we're on the bus route which is helpful um you know there's a recreation center here um and but
there's, you know, there's a nice couple of ice cream shop here, a coffee shop, it looks like an
Irish pub here. Not sure the, you know, I should have confirmed with my client, but there's, you
know, a fire station here, there's a deli here. So it's a mix between residential and commercial
use. So having a quadplex is not out of character will help support the commercial order as well.
And, you know, how we see is that this diversity of housing will help, you know, people who can't
afford single-family homes in Bridesburg area. You know, an entry point to any neighborhood is
not just renters, but homeowners who are looking to move into a neighborhood. Not everyone can
afford a single-family home. So having these as condominiums will help those individuals
and at the same time, you know, move in here. But, you know, the parking will alleviate the
situation of any parking issues because we have a more parking ratio of more than one-to-one
where you have essentially seven units, four newly proposed units, plus the three single
family homes on Salmon Street with nine parking spots. And then photographs of the property. So
as you can see, these are the three single family homes that are currently on Salmon Street. There's
an existing curb cut. So having off-street parking, it's not out of character for this lot.
But what we're hoping to do is legalize and have some type of parking for these units in the rear.
So we'll have like six exterior units in the rear, or we'll have three interior units for the
building itself, and everyone will have access to that parking. And it'll be evenly distributed by
way of a planning community. And then, so this property has been vacant for some time. Google
Earth goes as far back as 2007. And as far back as 2007, this has been a vacant lot. So it's been
difficult for anyone to develop this lot as essentially what we've been told, two single
family homes be virtually impossible. We're asking for the creation of a loyal additional density.
We went originally, we thought nine was appropriate. We then went down to six, and now we're down to four. And I think, you know, economically, that's all we can do. And we're hoping that this will, you know, again, be something the board would be supportive of this economic development that's reasonable, give people a good, you know, price point to be able to purchase in the Bridesburg area.
and then this this is our notice poster showing you know obviously that we posted for today's
hearing and then this is richmond street uh from the left and right of the property as you can see
here is even an example i believe this may be the recreation center here so again not a straight
residential single family neighborhood even though the zoning may show otherwise and again
richmond street from another angle and then our plans and drawings so um yeah so our plans and
drawings so uh you can see originally we had even though we had a mansard roof we had a roof that
went straight up to 45 feet um we have changed that just so you can see these are the old drawings
But the new drawings are this, right? To the roof line, we are 36 feet high. So, you know, we're under, you know, the roof line for the original portion of here. Back here, it's set back, you know, where we still have like a need for a height variance.
But we wanted to provide, you know, condominium units of a good size. So all of our units are three bedrooms and two bedrooms. So we figured the three bedrooms are for younger families who want to move into the neighborhood but can't afford single family homes.
And then the two bedrooms are for, you know, people who are like looking to, you know, maybe people who live in this neighborhood as kids who want to continue to stay in this neighborhood, you know, near their parents or people who want to downsize.
And they don't need three units.
They don't need three bedrooms, but they need more than one bedroom.
So these are well-sized units.
The three bedrooms are 1850 square feet, while the two bedrooms are well over a thousand or over a thousand square feet.
The three bedrooms are 1,850 square feet.
And again, we're doing a brick facade. It's very handsome.
We try to match the character of the neighborhood.
You know, all, you know, not only is there like, you know, interesting sloping and like almost like a mansard roof, but there's a nice pronounced cornice line.
there's lentils for each of the windows they're double hung doors you know even the garage itself
is is has visually it's open um you know to you know the outside world so you know we're trying
to keep eyes on the street even the wind the door glass way is you know keeping eyes on the street
um and uh just one second hold on one second
I apologize there.
Just close the door so loud in my law firm today.
So I didn't want to distract you.
So anyway, but, you know, all the cars, for instance, are going to go through this common driveway, which currently exists, you know, as an open lot for all intents and purposes.
On the first floor, you're going to see like all the cars here, there are three interior parking spaces and there are six exterior parking spaces here.
One, two, three, four, five, six, and then one, two, three parking spaces in here.
This is where we're having the issue in terms of lot coverage and rear yard depth.
These parking spaces are considered an occupied area.
So really, you know, physically, we're not having issues with law coverage because, you know, we have enough open area.
We actually own these three single family homes on Salmon Street.
What we're trying to do is complete this planned community that was originally intended.
So right now we have three single family homes.
We're looking to add four multifamily homes for a total of seven homes in totality, provided diversity of housing.
And then, as you can see here, we try to be very responsible.
There's no basement living.
This is built on grade.
So usually when you see, like, you know, living in the basement, you know, that tends to be an overuse of the property here.
We're not looking to do that.
We have a trash room here where, again, we would be more than happy to agree to a proviso for commercial trash pickup.
And, you know, the trash is being stored indoors.
There's a bike room here, and there's a storage facility for the condominium association.
And then, again, looking at the floor plans, the second floor has the two bedrooms, and then the third floor and the fourth floor have the three bedrooms.
They're bi-level units.
And then, you know, these are the meeting notices.
So we met on January 18, 2024.
123 addresses were notified in the meeting.
Proof of mailing to those addresses.
And then we had the original meeting in September of 2023, where we showed the original proposal of nine units.
And this is our application for appeal that we filed on behalf of 47 Salmon Properties, LLC.
The deed to the property showing that they own it.
And then, you know, obviously, most importantly, it's the tax clearances.
With that being said, that was a pretty lengthy presentation.
Typically, when you see a lot of refusals, you know, you know, you question it.
But like, I think most of these refusals are easily dealt with, are common to the neighborhood and are responsible for this type of project.
I would ask that that my client, Irvin, virtually raise his hand so he can be sworn in.
All right. Yeah, let's get your client on.
What's your client name?
Irvin Doughty.
urban doughty has been unmuted and allowed to speak vice chair
mr doughty can you hear i can hear i can hear you can you state your name and spell it for the
court reporter please name is ervin last name is dowdy uh e-r-v-i-n d-a-u-t-i
do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth or nothing but the truth i do
please proceed council yes irvin you heard everything i had to state today about your
zoning matter that is correct yes and is it true and correct what i stated yes it is and do you
adopt it as your own testimony yes i do thank you thank you thank you mr questions from the board
no mr vice chairman no vice chair questions from our uh
No, Mr. Vice Chairman.
No, Vice Chair.
Questions from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Not at this time, Mr. Vice Chair.
Any questions from the virtual audience?
I see no hands.
We do have a head, Vice Chair.
We have a John Hewitt with their head up.
They have been muted and allowed to speak.
All right.
Good morning, Mr. Hewitt.
please state your name and spell it for the court reporter
John Hewitt
H-E-W-I-T-T
do you swear to tell the truth
and nothing but the truth
the truth to hold you
nothing but the truth
please proceed
this is probably
are you calling about this property
let me ask that question first
a lot of times
I only have one car a lot of times
I can't get parking on
Richmond Street
I know this might sound
silly but if I can't
find a parking spot can I come in
and use one of them two that are open
Is that
the only question you have before I move that back over
to council? Yes
Council do you want to
respond to that? Yes
So unfortunately, we would have to seek a separate zoning class use of this property, which would require additional variance.
We would have non-accessory. So all of the parking, you know, that we're proposing is accessory to this plan, proposed plan can be.
But I will say this, that we're taking cars off the streets where typically you cannot have that, you know,
If we were to build two single-family homes, we would not have off-street parking, which would cause further issues in the community itself.
Thank you, Council. Anybody else in the virtual audience?
Vice Chair, we have no other hands at this time.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Vice Chair, and good morning.
David Vecta with the City Planning Commission.
Vice Chairman and Board members, the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the residential single-family zoning at this location.
The appellant is currently allowed to build two single-family homes by right.
Since the appellant already has an option to build without variances, the revised four dwelling units are not the minimum needed to afford relief.
These lots are each approximately 95 feet deep, so the variances for rear yard depth and lot coverage are not supportable.
There is no precedent on this block face for 45-foot-tall structures, and the lack of an accessible parking space is not something that the city can or should support.
The City Planning Commission recommends the board deny the proposed use variance and all-dimensional variances.
Mr. Chair, may I briefly respond?
Sure. Go ahead, counsel.
So we're repurposing this current curb cut that's being accessed by the three single-family homes on Salmon Street.
If we were to do a buy-ride project and put two single-family homes there, those three homes would lose their current parking in the rear.
So what we're trying to do is a responsible project where we have three single-family homes on Salmon Street.
We now dramatically, in more than half, reduce the amount of multifamily homes, which are condominiums in this planned community, from nine to four,
While still keeping the parking count as the same for a total of nine parking spots for seven units, essentially three single families, four multifamilies, by using one curb cut where we're only taking essentially one parking spot off of the street and providing more than adequate parking for all seven units here, providing a diversity of housing.
And most of the refusals that we're talking about are more technical in nature, the open area or the occupied area refusal.
And the rear yard setback is because we're providing the parking.
The height is also because we're providing the parking.
The only way we can provide the parking where it's a pass-through from Richmond Street to the rear of the properties on Salmon Street is to do this pass-through,
which requires a de minimis variance for height, which we're, for all intents and purposes, when you see the front of these properties,
we did the roof line specifically to the third story in the front to 36 feet high, where it's set back to that higher amount for 45 feet to have a responsible, economically viable project.
For all those reasons, we-
So we're going to hold this and take this to executive session.
Thank you very much.
on this next wednesday hillary is it okay at 9 30
yes that is fine all right thank you mr notkinson thank you see you later too
All right. Thank you, Mr.
Notchamson. Thank you. See you later today.
All right. I'm going to go back to
Mr. Doran.
MI-2023-005710
1405 Oakmont Street
is showing Doran available.
Doran, please raise your virtual hand.
Mr. Doran, if you're in the virtual audience,
please raise your virtual hand.
Yes, it's been promoted to panelists.
Good morning, Mr. Doran.
Mr. Doran, are you there?
Mr. Doran, please unmute yourself.
He's not muted.
It appears that he's having an audio issue.
I don't think he can hear us either.
Let's send them a message in the chat.
Mr. Dorn, are you there?
i sent mr door the message of the chat vice chair thank you
All right, we're going to have to see if we can catch him right after we do this next case.
We're going to move on and come right back to you, Mr. Dorn, if you can hear us.
We've got one more case and we'll come right back.
Hopefully get your communications together.
Number 17, MI-2023-005630, 2637 West Somerset Street, Meharie Bailey.
Meharie Bailey is coming back in as a panelist now, Chair.
Thank you.
Mr. Bailey.
Mr. Bailey.