have fun because a lot of kids out here is not having fun they're in the house you know playing
games and on the tv and on the um tiktoks and all like that kind of stuff like i'm trying to you
know teach some other things you know when i was growing up i didn't have tiktok and tv and phones
and stuff you know so i want them to know things where when they get out here in the world that
they'll be able to say okay i'm gonna go to school and beat us i'm gonna go to school and do this
all right thank you lisa joe is it currently operated as a it's not lisa can you can you
confirm it's not currently operating no it's not currently operated all right all right questions
from the board yeah i just have a question what um what do you do for outdoor space for the young
people um i'm putting the outdoor space uh going to be in the back i'm gonna get a yard you know
fenced off in the back I don't know a good way to show that right now so your
plan is to upgrade the rear exit of the space to yeah and yes in the back of my
arm because the landlord she did give me the permission to put a gate make a
little play you know like not saying playground but a little place space
because there's a school up the street to a playground you know welcome take
them back and forth to the playground and then there's also a crossing guard you know that sits
out there in the morning time and her name is terry
in the morning time and her name is terry other questions uh-huh okay um yes um so uh
uh i think i heard there would be maybe 25 children yeah i really don't know the you know
right okay we understand okay but but that's kind of the plan so what ages are we talking about
um from from the babies like six months to like five year olds and you know when it's time for
them to go to school i'll give them a little graduation and send them on to kindergarten
okay and then this is all on one floor yes okay um and so uh the space there's a bathroom i'm not
seeing yeah actually it's a couple of bathrooms yeah we have the one here okay perfect all right
and you said like five staff members yes all right and uh they're going to be there all day
yes all right and uh you do have all the fire equipment like yes yes the provisions are pretty
stringent for daycare. Yes. And child care centers. Okay. So you have like the two means of ingress
and egress. You have the hardwired smoke detection systems, the emergency lighting,
the strobes so that, you know. Yes. Sometimes depending on the number of kids, they ask you
to have, you know, extra means of ingress and egress for those that are not capable of self
preservation. So I just bring that up as, you know, safety features that we've thought about.
Okay. Thank you. Other questions? Questions from our attorney, Hilary Emerson.
Not at this time, Mr. Chair. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
There are no hands at this time, Chair. Any commission?
thank you chairman and good morning David Vecto f-e-c-t-e-a-u with the city planning
commission do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes sir I do please proceed sir thank you sir uh chairman and board members the comprehensive plan
recommends no change to the RSA 5 residential single family zoning at this location the city
rezoned this neighborhood in 1979 and a council supported map change this property has a documented
history of brown floor commercial use child care centers are designated for 13 children or more
planning commission staff do not believe that with a bus stop at the corner in front of this
property pick up and drop off for 13 or more children can be done without causing congestion
and interfering with septus operations the city planning commission recommends the board
deny the proposed use variance for a child care center
mr council you have any comments um we don't plan to use cotman avenue uh cottage street which is
where the entrance and exit is um my client's confirmed is appropriate and perhaps my client
lisa could you address the the planning commission's comments regarding pickup and drop off
yes um there's no interest way on um cotman street so we will be using cottage street
okay all right so mi 2025 007 383 4401 cotman avenue i vote yes with proviso use limited to ground floor
michael johns my vote is yes with proviso
cheryl gaston my vote is yes with proviso
tenetta graham my vote is yes with proviso ryan mcadams my vote is yes with proviso
hi owen my vote is yes with proviso see you at the end of the day let's see you at six o'clock
13 mi 2025 007 374 1452 north 29th street oliver martin is the owner
they're being promoted to panelists
can you guys see and hear me okay i can could you please state your name and spell for the
stenographer my name is oliver martinez o-l-i-v-e-r-m-a-r-t-i-n easy do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes this application is for the use
this application is for the use as a multiple family household living uh dwelling
as a multiple family household living.
in an stick and an existing structure whereas the uh the proposed use in an rsa
five uh zoning district is not uh appropriate our vice chair has a few questions for you
good morning um have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing
yes okay and the chair read your refusal so did you uh waive the reading of uh further
reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy yes okay all right thank you
you can share your screen and proceed with your case
you guys see my screen we can sir okay so first i want to start off by saying good morning
i am the owner and applicant for 1452 north 29th street and i'm representing myself today
thank you for your time i'm 25 years old i bought this property when i was 24 this is the first
home i've ever owned i want to be up front i'm here without an attorney so i'm going to try my
best to be clear and honest with the board about my situation i'm requesting use variance to allow
three-unit residential use at my property and i want to say clearly i'm not proposing any new
construction no new units no additions no changes to the building it already exists as three separate
units i'm just asking the board to formally recognize that as you can see on this page
right now no construction no structural changes existing three unit configuration nothing new
being introduced. When I was looking to buy, my real estate agent brought me this property
specifically as a three-family opportunity. She told me it was a deal I couldn't pass up on and
really pushed me to buy it. The seller had it listed as a three-family. The seller's agent
presented it as a three-family. My loan officer that handled my FHA mortgage, treating this as a
multi-unit income property. And the home inspector who went through the building wrote in his report
three family slash three flat. And then there's the appraisal, which also says this. Because I
use an FHA loan to make required a completely independent licensed appraiser, someone I didn't
choose, someone with no stake in a sale to assess this property. And the form that the appraiser
uses is specifically the federal government's form. And this identifies it as a three family
slash three flat all three units individually on the floor pan labeled unit one unit two and unit
three so between my agent the seller the seller's agent my loan officer the inspector and a federally
required independent appraiser every single person involved in this transaction told me the same
thing this building is a triplex i had every reason in the world to believe him but after i closed when
i tried to get the rental license i found that that the zoning record didn't reflect three units
and at that moment um i didn't sit on it i filed with the lni right away when i was refused i
followed this appeal went through the rco process um put this together and now i'm here
so why don't you show us the property why don't you show us the property we have yeah
so this is the front of the yeah to use them in here there's three mailboxes
which still receive mail to this day unit one is on the first floor unit two is on the second floor
unit three is on the third floor i live on on the third floor this is the view from both sides of
the street this is the first floor unit living room kitchen bathroom bedroom one bedroom two
in the backyard
you need to
visit the entrance, go up some steps
living room, kitchen
bathroom, bedroom one
bedroom two
third floor, living room
kitchen, bathroom
bedroom one and bedroom two
now I want to
go through the RCO
documentation
so the community voted six to three in support of this application i appreciate that majority
vote and i take the concerns of those who voted against me seriously city records also show a
prior zba history at this property that recognize it as a three family which seems to be consistent
with everything else in this record one more thing i mentioned briefly before i live in this
building, third floor, unit three. This is where I come home every night. I share the stairwell
with the front door and everyone else in the building with the neighbors around me. I'm not
an outside investor who bought this and walked away. I'm there every day, so I have every
reason um to run this property the right way and if the board were to deny this there would be real
reason to run this property the right way.
hardship you know converting a building with three separate electrical systems three water heaters
three kitchens three bathrooms back to a single family would mean gutting it out um and financial
hardship as well i'm 25 and i have an fha mortgage i bought this as a three unit income property
because that's what every professional told me it was um so without the rental income from the
other units it would be definitely difficult for me mr martinez is the threat there the remainder
of the block are there other multiple units on the block yeah so i want to show that here as well
so um the following photographs here show mixed-use properties in the immediate vicinity
right next to me is a laundromat laundromat on the first floor two apartments on the second and third
across the street is a daycare, daycare on the first floor, residential units above.
Right across that street, diagonal from me, is a corner store with residential units above.
And there are also eight examples of triplexes, or at least advertiser triplexes nearby.
You can see here.
So these examples, you know, further demonstrate that the three-unit multi-presidential
seems to be an already established component of the surrounding neighborhood and residential
density. So again, just want to emphasize that no new construction, no building expansion,
no additional units, no increase in occupancy beyond the already existing long-standing
condition and this has operated as a triplex for as long as i know um i still receive mail
from all three mailboxes for the previous tenants questions from the board um yeah yes so go ahead
i'm sorry my question is about about trash and um is it your plan to have it stored um
in the in the front and the rear or what do you plan to have trash storage okay so
I have pictures here of on the three units the three electric panels for each
of the units and then the way trash is stored on the same street as me all the
way up the block and all surrounding streets they leave the trash cans out
front just like this so this is how I've been doing it as well and and that's can
be problematic in neighborhoods because of trash and all the other rodents that it can kind of
bring. Is there any space in the apartments to have some interior trash storage for the second
and third floor unit and that the first floor can like have rear trash storage? The first floor can
store their trash in the back if they'd like to, but no space inside the unit consistent with the
way everyone else on the block um and other surrounding streets and blocks store their
trash is right off front um same way i do so i have i have four trash cans so one for each
unit and then an extra one in case it fills up i guess the question is are you opposed to uh
having trash stored inside for the units above i know what they're doing around the neighborhood
but that's that's one of the things that's really has made the city look uh pretty bad
with trash cans around you know sitting in front of units all around the city so
do you have an issue with okay no I do not no opposition to it okay what's
what's happening in the basement the basement is just utility nothing in there
other than the three water heaters and three electrical panels and it's a
private entrance I keep the door locked or four meters or yes three and then one
for the common area yeah so so four and then three water heaters sorry thank you
and the uh the first floor unit is it a two bedroom or one bedroom and do you have to go
through the bedroom to get to the backyard yes they're all they're all two two bed oh you got
floor you've got floor plans you've got floor plans yeah and then yes you do have to go through the
master bedroom to to go to the backyard i watch i watch some recordings and i see that um you
often have you know a little bit of a problem with that but um that was how i bought it unfortunately
but um yeah they're all really big bedrooms um they're not small bedrooms a lot of air uh space
in the living rooms and kitchens as well but yes you do have to go to the master bedroom to get to
the backyard other questions what's going on with the separation between the second floor and the
third floor how do you get to the third floor apartment um so when you walk up just so when
you open the front door right to the left is the first floor you walk up the stairs to the second
right to the left is the first floor you walk up the stairs to the second floor and that the second
floor and that
floor um first the second floor entrance is right there at the end of the steps and then you just
turn around and there's a very small like one step to get up to the third floor which is my apartment
so my door kind of faces theirs um but you know three separate entrances so you enter your unit
on the second floor there's a there's a door so yeah when i opened it when i opened the door to
my to my third floor apartment there's another full flight of steps to go up to the apartment
yeah unfortunately this plan doesn't match what's there yeah um because i i bought the property um
i didn't build anything i tried my best to to to you know make out floor plans to the best of my
It's a little bit difficult without having the original floor pans, but I tried my best here.
Other questions?
Wait, I understand that.
I understand that you tried your best, but like right now, how you get into your first, how do you, where do you enter into the first floor unit?
Because you're not coming up off the steps, right?
The steps are all the way to the right and you have to have a common hallway.
so yeah so how do you when you enter this this door right to the left is the first is the first
door so go back to your plans and because you're showing the kitchen there you're showing the
kitchen wall so like where where are you entering into the kitchen yeah um this is the first floor
unit that's the front door here so as soon as you walk in that's the living room in the kitchen
this is the front door to the entrance to the yeah forget those plans they make no sense they
have nothing to do with what reality is right so it's better to you know be going to look look at
the look at the um the pictures and then is this the only bathroom on that floor
yeah one one one bathroom per unit
that's a very tight bathroom i don't even think a human like most people can't fit into that first
shower so but all right other questions can we yeah can we see the other floors here the pictures
not so fast can we go back okay yeah yeah this is this is this is the entrance okay
bathroom bathroom living area different angle first bedroom second bedroom so it's two bedrooms
per floor yes and then this is the backyard okay second reunion you walk up the stairs this is the
door this is the living room and the kitchen if you see this this hallway that's a hallway
from the entrance so you walk in here walk up this way instead of walking straight you can walk
into this first bedroom this is the bathroom first bedroom second bedroom okay third floor
there's a hallway here too so there's some steps you walk up walk through the hallway
living room this is where i live kitchen bathroom and the two bedrooms
okay all right yeah thank you questions from our attorney
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience