wants me to restart. Okay, we're fine. Go ahead. Go ahead. We're good. We're good. Go ahead. Thank you.
Chair, we're going to
have Rachel speak to this
if it's okay with you.
she's going to handle it
she can just speak for now
Jason to see what her request is
understood
good afternoon
chairman members of the board
I was just going to see if Brandon was having
technical difficulties I can move the case
forward but I think the chairman
has expressed a very
gracious level of patience so
I'll let Brandon do his thing
I think he's close
we're good
we're good we're good thank you so much sure
now we can't hear you brandon i'm mute i'm mute
how about now we're good we're good thank you so much um you're looking at the two properties now
they're the two homes with the red brick facades. So this is 2459 and 261 Gall Street.
I will show you the Atlas map here. We're in Port Richmond, two blocks off the intersection
of Aramingo and Cumberland. And this application is to build a third-story addition on each house
as shown here and um that generated the same refusal for both properties which is
we are proposing a flush addition rather than the mandatory eight foot setback
in the front side of each home i'll explain our hardship and why we believe we qualify for
variance for that hardship um so um just so the board is aware i'll try and zoom in here a little
bit i do have the architect michael cole who produced these plans i won't call on him to
I won't call on him to testify, but he is available for questions to the extent I can't answer anything you might want to know.
testify but he is available for questions to the extent
These buildings sit on properties that are each 840 square feet.
So, you know, sort of on the smaller end of the scale as far as Philadelphia Row Homes go.
Again, they're currently two stories each and they're relatively short.
So right now, the lower floor, the first floor of each home has, I believe, about an eight-foot ceiling.
The second might have a nine.
To make a long story short, if we put this addition on each house, it's only going to rise to 31 feet to the roof line.
Now, there's going to be some additional height within the bounds of the code created by a parapet wall and a pilot house.
But again, we are nowhere near the maximum 38 feet plus a pilot house.
We're talking about an addition that would bring the homes to 31 feet, one inch plus the parapet wall and pilot house.
So back to the map here.
Just wanted to give the board a little context of what's around the property.
I think you were able to see in this image, there is already a home with a nearly flush addition right here on the corner, two doors down from us.
Behind us, I'm going to actually wheel around to the side street.
You can see that there was sort of a warehousing complex here.
This is going to be, or I believe at this point already has been torn down in favor of the construction of eight new row homes.
And I have those plans, whoop, skipping ahead, there you go.
I have those plans here.
So again, there's going to be, I believe,
eight of these built right behind us
and they are three stories each plus a roof deck.
And they will rise to a height of 38 feet
before accounting for the roof deck and pilot house.
So right behind us is going to be these homes.
And I'll go back to the map really quickly.
that is going to be located in this cluster here where my hand is. So directly behind us,
the first of those homes closest to us will be 38 feet tall with a roof deck really peering over us.
Whether or not we get this addition, even if we get this addition permitted by you today,
Again, we're only going to rise to 31 feet.
So this addition is sort of a chance to add living space to these very small houses and to do so in a way that, you know, I don't think is out of character with the block, given what's going on right behind us.
And, you know, we're not towering over anybody.
As a matter of fact, we're still going to be considerably shorter than our new neighbors.
The reason we don't want to do the eight-foot setback is because it's just not a lot of space on such a small property.
When you have to build in that front eight-foot setback, it really makes the addition not economical, not worthwhile in terms of the amount of space that would be gained.
I want to show you one other block.
So again, our block, if we build, will be a mix of three and two-story buildings, but across the corner right here on Cumberland, these are all three-story homes.
So this is what that block looks like, and we are right down this way on Gall, but this is a neighborhood where there's really a true mix of three and two-story homes, just for that context.
um beyond that uh i just wanted to share our letter of non-opposition from um councilman
squilla's office with regard to both properties and we also have a letter of non-opposition from
the rco okra with regard to both properties i do have um julia here who is the um client
representative to adopt my testimony as i mentioned i have michael call the architect to the extent
if there's any architectural questions.
I want to have your clients adopt your testimony.
Raise your hand, please.
We're allowed to speak.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.
Hi, could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
Sure, it's Julia McManus, J-U-L-I-A-M-C-M-A-N, as in Nancy, U.S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do. Proceed. Julia, were you able to hear the full extent of my testimony today after?
Julia, were you able to hear the full extent of my testimony today after I smoothed out the tech issue?
Yes, I was.
Okay. And to the best of your knowledge, was it true and accurate?
Yes, it was.
And would you adopt it as your own testimony?
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions from the virtual audience?
i see no further hands mr chair planning commission good afternoon mr chairman members
of the board david facto city planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change to
the residential single family zoning for 2459 gall street and 2461 gall street although the
applicant has not shown that a strict hardship exists they have shown that the proposed third
floor additions without a front setback will not impair the use of adjacent properties so the city
planning commission recommends the board grant the dimensional variance for each property
mi 2022 00224 2461 gall street and mi 2022 000 226 2459 gall street i vote yes yes to both
properties. Carol Teneri, I vote yes to both properties. James Snell, yes to both.
Okay. Thank you. Thanks for your patience today. Sure, sure, sure, sure.
Sure. MI 2022. MI 2022 00235 5201 Levick Street. Dawn Tancredi, the attorney.
I'm sorry, Chair, if I may
for one minute, just ask
Ishmael, can you go out
and come back in? Because we're having
a hard time with your
audio. Thank you, Chair.
Log out and come back in?
Yes, you sound better now, but try
logging out, coming back in.
good afternoon hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
sure it's dawn tancredi t-a-n-c-r-e-d-i right you swear to firm to tell the truth the whole
truth and nothing but the truth i do could you identify your client in relationship to the
property? Sure. My address for the record also is 2005 Market Street, 16th floor, Philadelphia, PA.
I'm here today on behalf of Burlington County Bridge Commission, the owner of 5201 Levick Street,
and the applicant in this case. Thank you. Our vice chair has a few questions. Sure. Hi Dawn,
do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy yes have you emailed
the exhibit packet consisting of proof of ownership tax compliance a copy of the refusal or referral
photos under plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the
rco and do you have a letter yes and we did submit the submission materials five days in advance
I did resubmit an updated packet earlier today that's great you may proceed and
share your screen thank you
Okay, so with me here today, just to give you some background or really a roadmap of where
we're going with this today. With me here today is Joseph Jacobs, who is a consultant for Burlington
County Bridge Commission. Joseph Estock, who is the engineer that prepared the plot plan.
Joseph Estock, who is the engineer that prepared the plot plan. We've got Lucky Warrick. He is with
WatchFire Digital Sign Company and he will discuss the sign specs and lighting
and also John McDonough, a land use planner. Preliminarily, I would ask that these submission
materials be incorporated into the record. So we are here today seeking approval for a
freestanding double-faced digital sign adjacent to the Tocconi Palmera Bridge.
The sign will provide benefits to the community such as public messaging
and it will produce funds that support maintenance of the bridge.
the property where the sign will be located is over 130 000 square feet it's situated
along the delaware river and near i-95 the property itself is zoned icmx and you can see
from the zoning map that it is surrounded by industrially zoned properties
The property is currently used as a utility control facility for the bridge, and there are a couple trailers and equipment that is stored on the site.
So the applicant, as I mentioned, is the Burlington County Bridge Commission.
It's a public entity that is responsible for the operation and maintenance of several bridges in Burlington County, New Jersey.
The City Law Department has issued an opinion, which in essence states that a public entity which operates and maintains bridges that cross the Delaware River is not subject to the Philadelphia zoning requirements.
The exemption is based on legislation enacted by Pennsylvania and New Jersey effectuating a compact between the states.
In particular, the opinion, which is included in the packets, does relate to the Delaware River Port Authority.
Nonetheless, the opinion relates to public entities and should apply in this instance as well.
and therefore we believe that the sign is permitted despite a refusal being issued for the use and
distance requirements. In addition, I have testimony today to show that there is a hardship
here. The site is not suitable for other uses. The site is used for storage and maintenance
equipment, it really limits the available space for other uses. And the location of the bridge
over the property further limits the use. And so with that, I would call Joseph Estock
to discuss the location of the sign.
Mr. Joseph Estock, if you're in the audience please raise your virtual hand and wait to be sworn in.
And I'm showing you another angle. This is an aerial view of the property
adjacent to the river and the surrounding industrial uses.
joseph are you there yes can you hear me yes could you state your name and spell it for the
court reporter yes my name is joseph m s stock last name is spelled e-s-t-o-c-k
and my business address is 355 south henderson road and king of pressure do you swear a firm
to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do proceed and uh mr estock can
Can you briefly discuss your experience?
With this project?
Your background and training?
Oh, yes.
I'm a graduate civil engineer and I'm licensed as a professional engineer in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
I also have a background in land surveying and I'm registered as a professional land
surveyor also in Pennsylvania.
okay and what is your role with regards to 5201 levick street uh i was hired to do a
boundary and topographic survey of the property uh on that survey i plotted the location of the
On that survey, I plotted the location of the proposed sign. Furthermore, I prepared an aerial photograph exhibit showing the location of the sign and it's set back from other existing features within the area.
proposed sign.
Okay. And can you describe where the sign is located?
i can um the subject property is 2.3093 acres uh it's bounded by uh del the unopened delaware
avenue which is currently occupied by the k and t trail to the uh to the east uh elbridge street
to the west uh a pico i'm sorry it says still not electric on me let's pico property to the north
and levick street to the south uh the billboard sign is positioned 85 feet northeastwardly from
the levick street right away and 140 feet northwesterly from the delaware avenue right away
okay and is it south of the bridge it is it is south it is south of the bridge
okay and can you describe the distance from a school or a park i i can um the the mass community
charter school is uh to the north of us uh and the the sign actually the the face of the sign not
the pole the sign is 376 feet from their property line so the school's even further away than that
that's just the property line of the school uh along uh the delaware river where the k and t
trail is there's a small park called landers point park which is adjacent to our site
um there's a paper patio there within that park and we are 200 feet from that uh that patio
do you have an opinion about the impact of um let me ask you this can you describe the
dimensions of the sign? I can. It's a double-faced sign. Each face is 14 feet high by 48 feet wide.
It's situated at a height of 55 feet from the ground to the top of the sign.
And can you describe, in your opinion, what impact, if any, the sign would have on the park or the
school uh i think it would have no impact on the park or the school the school's on the other side
of the taconi palmyra bridge so uh there's that bridge is between us and the sign which really
uh buffers it from the school and uh the the park is uh is along the banks of the delaware river
And this sign is over 55 feet high to the top.
So it's way above that park area.
And is there another sign nearby that you're aware of?
There is.
On the northerly side of the Dakota-Palmire Bridge, there are two other signs.
One is closer towards Elbridge Street.
And there's a second sign that's right along the banks of the Delaware River.
But they are both on the other side of the bridge, and they're on the same side of the bridge as the Mass Community Charter School.
Is there any concern with approving this sign because there are other signs in the area?
No, there are other signs in the area, even though they're over 300 feet away, and they're on the other side of the highway.
thank you is there anything else you would like to add there's nothing okay thank you