not factor into the commission's recommendation uh the comprehensive plan recommends no change
to the industrial commercial mixed-use zoning at the site we believe the applicant has failed
to show a hardship exists that would require a digital billboard to be placed at this location
and contravention of the space and requirements in the zoning code this is one of the few times
where a specific landmark, namely the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, appears in the zoning code.
So City Council's intention of prohibiting billboards here is clear. The City Planning
Commission recommends that the Board deny the use in dimensional variances.
Excuse me, Mr. Chairman. Can I recommend that we hold up so we get clarity on what's going on
with both sides um and mr bergman um we're certainly willing to come back and further
discuss the exemption issue with the city uh law department if that's so thomas thomas will take
your suggestion um we will not vote on this we will take this to executive session for next week
and we'll see exactly where we stand and everybody will have a better understanding
thank you mr chairman okay dawn we'll we'll let you know within a week where we stand with this
okay thanks thank you sure
seven eight
number nine okay 9800 frankfort avenue mi 2022
2-0-0-0-0-5-3. Robert Thiel is the attorney.
I'm sorry, Mr. Jared Klein had his hand raised. I have promoted him to panelists.
That's fine.
it's uh jared klein k-l-e-i-n from blank rome 130 north 18th street in philadelphia
on behalf of the applicant right do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth and
nothing but the truth yes i do uh could you identify your client and the relationship to
the property? Certainly. It's the Union League Country Club at Frankfurt Toursdale, and they're
the owner of the subject property. Our vice chair has a few questions, sir.
Hi, Mr. Klein. Do you agree to waive the reading and refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
It is a special exception referral, but yes, I do waive the reading and stip to its accuracy.
Okay, cool. Have you emailed the exhibit packet, which consists of proof of ownership,
tax compliance a copy of the special exception 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 to all the above
okay great you may proceed and share your screen thank you very much thank you so i understand the
Thank you very much. Thank you.
So I understand the board has had a longer than expected agenda, so I will endeavor to be as brief as possible.
board has had
I'm here for two special exceptions on behalf of the Union League at their Frankfurt Toursdale Country Club location.
The gist of the application is pretty simple.
As the board's probably aware, there's an existing golf course and clubhouse at this property.
This application is seeking to add an additional part three golf course.
It's designed to be a family course with shorter halls, you know, under 150 yards and designed to increase the golfing capacity of the Union League and make that service available for additional members.
because the although the existing active recreation golf course use has been approved for some time
zoning code would consider this an expansion of the existing active recreation use so we were
issued a referral for expanding that that golf course area the other special exception we're
seeking is due to the removal of some heritage trees from from the property as with any golf
Of course, having to limit canopy coverage is essential to making the coursework.
So we are proposing the removal of 43 heritage trees.
The Union League is very sensitive to some of the concerns from the community about the removal of the trees.
And we consider ourselves very good stewards of the environment.
And as we explained to the RCO and we met with them, although the zoning code requires a certain number of trees to be replaced, we are tripling the number of trees that the code would require us to put back.
So the final product will have multiple rows of trees along the street frontages and as many trees within the context of the golf course as we can accommodate.
Just to contextualize for the board, this is the golf course here. Probably better to see from this photo here. And there's an area of trees, as you can see, that some of which have been removed already, and additional trees will be removed as construction of the golf course proceeds.
photos of posting for the board's reference posted on the entrance to the clubhouse.
We found as the Union League was doing some general ground maintenance that a number of
the trees that were there were in very poor shape. When the Union League went to start
clearing the trees that did not require special permitting, they found shopping carts,
hypodermic needles, tires, and all manner of other debris in this wooded area, including many trees
that were in pretty poor shape. I'm showing the board now just some examples of the trees that
were found there. You can see there are hulls and hollow areas in most of them, and all of this was
done by a certified arborist at the Union League retained to mark all the heritage trees and review
THOSE HERITAGE TREES THAT WERE DISEASED THAT WOULDN'T REQUIRE A PERMIT. INCLUDING THIS PHOTO
ALSO TO SEE THERE ARE A LARGE NUMBER OF TREES OF HEAVEN THAT WERE IN THE AREA TO BE REMOVED AND THOSE
AS THE BOARD MAY KNOW LIKE TO ATTRACT THOSE JAPANESE LANTERN FLIES. SO WE'RE TAKING AWAY
AN ATTRACTIVE NUISANCE FOR THOSE FLIES AS WELL AS PART OF THIS APPLICATION.
showing the board here is the area where the trees are going to be replaced as you can see
there's double rows of trees in that area and the intention is to create a as dense a buffer as we
can against the residential areas to minimize the impact of the tree removal as much as possible
this is an outline of the course again the blue shading are the replacement trees
And this is our course map to give the board a sense of what the final golf course is going to look like.
Part of this also includes the construction of an additional golf course training facility that would be located within this new golf course.
It's a rendering of what the new building would look like.
This is going to be used for golf pro lessons and, you know, to provide restrooms and other amenities for golfers.
It is not going to be an entertainment venue.
It's not going to be a place where the Union League will be hosting events.
It's designed for golf course use only.
And this is a layout just to give the board a sense of what we're doing of the facility that we're planning to build there.
And this is a layout just to give the board a sense of what we're doing of the facility that we're planning.
The actual structures themselves do not need any zoning board relief.
They would fall under the active recreation use that we're seeking here today.
Renderings of what that building would look like.
We met with the West Toursdale and Morrell Park Civic Association.
and they provided a letter of support which I'm sharing on the screen. It was a very well
attended meeting and although the majority of attendees were very supportive there were some
concerns about the removal of the trees. I think you know we're certainly sensitive to the concerns
of some of the near neighbors about wind and view that might be impacted but as we explained to the
community you know we're hopeful that although immediately there might be a difference in how
residents perceive the site over time the number of trees that we're replanting will really make
this a very much more attractive green space and really provide a better buffer for the community
than what is there now and so we were pleased that by a two to one vote the members of the
COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION VOTED TO SUPPORT THE APPLICATION. I'VE GOT MEMBERS OF THE ENGINEERING
AND DESIGN TEAM ON THE LINE IF THE BOARD HAS QUESTIONS BUT I WON'T BURDEN YOU WITH A DETAILED
PRESENTATION UNLESS YOU HAVE SOME FOLLOW-UP. I WILL ASK SCOTT LUTY TO RAISE HIS VIRTUAL
HAND SO THAT HE MIGHT ADOPT MY TESTIMONY. SCOTT, IF YOU'RE THERE, PLEASE USE THE RAISE
your hand button.
He's been about to speak, sir.
Could you state your name
and spell it for the court reporter?
Scott Lutte, S-C-O-T-L-U-T-T-E.
Do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth,
the whole truth
and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Proceed.
Thank you.
Scott, did you have a chance
to hear my presentation this afternoon yes i did and do you adopt my statements as true correct
in your own testimony if you've been given the chance to speak further yes i do thank you um
mr chair that concludes our presentation again we have the architecture and engineering team
here if the board has any further questions questions from the board no mr chairman
no mr chairman no mr chairman questions or comments questions or comments from the virtual
audience i do not see any further hands mr chair planning commission thank you sir mr chairman
members of the board david effecto city planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends
this property for parks and recreation zoning the applicant has shown that the removal of 43 heritage
trees and the construction of a new educational building will cause no greater impact than those
proposed activities would be expected to happen and that's the standard that we see in the zoning
code for special exceptions so the proposal meets the standards outlined in the code the city planning
commission recommends that the board grant both special exceptions mi 2022 00053 9800 frankfort
avenue i vote yes carol tanari my vote is yes thomas holliman my vote is yes james snell my vote is yes
Ishmael Shahid, my vote is yes.
Thank you all very much.
Thank you.
So I want to go back to see if Mr. O'Brien's available.
202 Ripka, MI 2022-000393, Mr. O'Brien.
Been allowed to speak.
He's been a pro-order to panelists as well.
uh good more good afternoon mr chairman william o'brien okay could you state your name and spell
it again for the court reporter for us william o'brien w-i-l-l-i-a-m o'brien o-b-r-i-e-n
mount yonk law office 4322 main street do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth i do proceed oh i'm sorry our vice chair please
do you read away with the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
i do have you emailed the exhibit packet consisting of proof of ownership tax compliance
copy of the plans and or photos of the property a copy of the refusal or referral
five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter
yes to each of those items thank you you may proceed thank you may i share my
Thank you. May I share my screen?
Yes, you may.
Yes, you may.
Bill, I'm going to get it.
Bill, I'm going to get it.
I'm going to get it.
It's like decades of joy.
Mr. Chairman and members of the board,
William O'Brien sitting to my right is Gentian Kadru,
who together with his wife, Deanna,
are the owners of 202 Ripka Street.
This is a proposal to subdivide the existing lot,
keeping the existing single family home
and building a new single-family home in the second, the new lot.
There are two existing conditions which cause the refusals to be issued.
I'm going to show the refusals.
Is my screen visible?
Yes, it is.
So the refusal, there are two conditions. There are two existing conditions. One is an existing accessory structure, which is also part of a retaining wall at the rear of the property.
And the other existing condition is the slope of the lot from the front, which is Ripka Street, down the side of Smick Street is a steep slope.
The height requirement is 38 feet, as it says the limit, as proposed is 39 feet 10 inches.
When you apply the average ground level to this sloping lot, it's difficult to maintain the 38 height requirement and still have adequate ceiling heights in the rooms.
But again, I'd also suggest that it's a de minimis departure from the maximum 38 feet requirement.
The accessory structure in the rear of the property is-
Mr. O'Brien, could you start showing some photos of it as you're talking?
Absolutely. I think we'll go to-
We only have your front page here.
Okay. So this is the view from Smith Street.
this is the existing accessory structure which is incorporates a retaining wall I'm sorry Mr. O'Brien
we only have your front page Mr. O'Brien do you have separate exhibits from the title page yes I
do and I thought I was showing them let me stop sharing yes please thank you
Do you see an image now?
All right.
I don't understand.
What we see now is the table of contents.
Is that what goes with the rest of the exhibit package?
There we go.
We see it now.
We see it now?
Sorry for the confusion. So this is the existing accessory structure in the rear of the lot,
and it incorporates a retaining wall to the property to the south.
The plan is not to affect this, not to change this in any way, but to incorporate it into the
new structure, and I think a picture is worth a thousand words, then go to a rendering.
This is the proposed, this is what the proposal is, to introduce Wissick and Schist all along
the basement level, and to incorporate, again, that existing accessory structure
without disturbing the retaining wall. So the refusals were for open space, 20% open space
is required, the proposed new structure is 80% of the lot. The rear yard, which is above the
accessory structure, is the 20%. However, since there's something, this structure below it,
it was not considered open space. The context on Smick Street, this is the context rather on
Ripka Street, front of the building, you can see that it is in line and in context with the existing
houses on Ripka Street. It is not taller structure. In fact, the roof line is below. There's a parapet
above the roof line. The neighborhood met with the owners last month, and there is overwhelming
support and they've issued a letter which is page three of the package. The floor plans appear on page
The floor plans appear on page 10 of the application, at least the submission, and so you have
a two-car parking area and then the basement, first, second, third floors, and a roof deck
which will be accessed
by both stair
and by an elevator
and again it's a single family home
and the home will be occupied
by the owners