West Civic.
The vote was unanimous and a letter of non-opposition from Council Member Squilla, along with a petition and support signed by 13 neighbors, along with a form letter of support.
Mr. Nockmson, just for the record, could you state your name? You've already been sworn.
Ellen Nockmson.
And Mr. Nockmson, could you identify your client in a relationship to this property?
yes my fine is elise ebert and she's in the virtual audience okay and our vice chair has a
few questions good afternoon counselor do you agree to wave the read another refusal or
stipulating to its accuracy i do have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's
needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing uh yes we did thank you
Council. Please proceed and hear your screen.
Let me show you the right screen.
I'm here to present 2025
South Street. That's good. What I'm going to
show you first is the notice of refusal, then the letter of support from the
Dickinson Square West Civic Association. We did do an extensive
petition of the neighborhood. My client lives nearby. This is an investment property she's
hoping to have as an Airbnb with an allowable use as a duplex as well. It's uncommon to have
Airbnb listings nearby, and we'll show you that as well. Reviews of her Airbnb listing and use
are also included in our packet materials, our host profile as well. Don't know why we're getting
of refusal for the duplex use. There's a zoning permit of record for duplex use, plus there was
an active rental license up to the point my client purchased the property. When she tried
when she tried to get a rental license she was told that she could not they could not locate
to get a rental license, she was told that she could not. They could not locate this.
this the certificate of occupancy it's i believe that's an issue with ellen i not an issue with
this property um i think ellen i lost his certificate of occupancy but this has had
extensive uh duplex use that's been continuous over the years with uh proof of that duplex
used by a rental license then we'll review maps of the area photographs of the interior of the
property, as well as photographs of the exterior of the property and the surrounding area.
So simple floor plans here.
Our RCO meeting notice, this was a very well-attended meeting, as you'll see by the vote,
and they voted unanimously in support of this matter.
Our application for appeal that we filed on behalf of Ms. Ebert, as well as the deeds
of property showing that she owns the property, as well as the certificate of tax clearance.
At the conclusion of my presentation, I would ask Ms. Ebert to virtually raise her hand, be sworn in, and then I have a few questions for her.
So first things first, notice a refusal.
This is an RSA-5 property, but you'll see it's one of these corner properties that you would think of as multi-family in nature.
We have two refusals.
It's visitor accommodations in each unit of a two-family household living.
I think first refusal has to do with the two-family household living.
Technically, we're RSA 5, but it is an existing use here that has been continuous for some time with proof of that by way of a zoning permit as well as a rental license.
And then the second use that we're asking for is the visitor accommodation use within those two units.
And, you know, because we're RSA 5, we're seeking a variance for that as well.
But that's not uncommon in this part of the neighborhood.
So as you can see here, 33 people attended that meeting, that vote took place, all voted in support of this project.
And then we also canvassed the neighborhood.
My client lives close by, and she was able to get a few signatures on this petition, as well as a letter, a form letter of support that was signed.
And then it's not uncommon to have Airbnb used in this part of Philadelphia.
As you can see, we just did a canvassing of the neighborhood.
within like a three to four block radius. And we have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven,
eight other Airbnbs in close proximity. And then reviews, my client has a stellar rating.
So not in addition to her rating or ranking, she also makes sure that she only takes on tenants
who have similar rankings. It's important to her, obviously, as an investment property to make sure
is kept in good repair, but also not to be a nuisance to the neighbors of this property
and quite frankly, her own neighbors who work because she lives close by.
So she only selects tenants who also have equally good ratings.
And then this is her host profile as well.
And then here's a use permit showing that this is, you know, we have an actual use permit
for two-family household living here.
And then here's the rental license as well. It was active until July 3rd of 2023. My client purchased the property in October of 2022 when she tried to renew the license. This is when she had her issue with respect to the duplex use.
in the maps of the area. We're a corner property
on the corner of Mercy and 5th Street.
And then this is the interior of the property. This is what you would see
on Airbnb. She tries to keep it in nice repair
and in clean nature.
Again, this is an existing two-family dwelling
physically. So it would be a huge hardship on her part
to have to convert this to single family. And then this is the photographs of the
property looking both from Mercy Streets and Fifth Streets.
And then just a simple floor plan here. And again,
you can see this corner portion of the property. So there's two entrances, one for each unit.
So, again, this would be, I would think, more of a CMX1-ish property, where this would have been previously a commercial unit here.
But she uses this now as a two-bedroom, one-bath unit on the ground floor.
And then there's a separate entrance for the upper unit, which, again, is a two-bedroom, one-bath.
All was in that current condition or in that condition when she purchased the property.
And then we had our meeting on March 19th.
and then we had our meeting on march 19th we emailed notice of that meeting to the coordinating
We emailed no.
rco and other relevant parties we also mailed it you know two weeks beforehand to 189 addresses
list of the addresses proof of mailing to those addresses our application for appeal
that we filed on miss ebert's behalf deeds of property showing that she owns the property
and our certificate of tax clearance um i would ask that miss ebert virtually raise her hand
and be sworn in
we've been about to speak hi could you please state your name is spelled for the stenographer
hi elise ebert e l i s e e b e r t you swear or firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing
but the truth? Yes. Please proceed, counsel. Ms. Eber, you heard everything I had to state
today about your zoning matter. Yes. Is it true and correct? Yes, it is. And do you adopt it as
your own testimony? Yes. Thank you. One other thing, Mr. Chair, I know the board feels
is typically inclined to grant a temporary variance of three years. Given the overwhelming
support of 33 members of the community in favor of this matter, and Ms. Ebert's stellar passed
as an Airbnb operator, as well as her close proximity to the property, we would ask the
board to consider a five-year temporary variance. It's a very expensive product. This is a very
expensive and time-consuming process, so we would just ask for the board to consider that.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
no chair questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson
um yes just briefly mr chair um i did um discuss this application and another one we have later
today um with l and i because it does request two simultaneous uses right um at the property
um l and i did advise me that they they could coexist um and that you know the variances could
be granted for both um if the board would like to do a temporary variance for visitor accommodations
um we would just want to specify in the proviso that that was specifically for the visitor
accommodations and not for the duplex use as well yep yes i did notice that thank you um
questions or comments from the virtual audience
i have a john disley with a hand raised mr chair i have allowed them to speak
i could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
um yes sir my name is john disley d-i-z-z-l-e-y right do you swear or firm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes sir are you a neighbor i'm the president of
the zoning for Dickinson Square West. Okay. Thank you. Please proceed. I just wanted to add,
according to everything else that the young lady agreed to, she took it to the concerns of the
community. And so far, she agreed to add two cameras to the outside premises. She also agreed
to give Dickinson Square West Civic Association and some members of Mercy Street her number
in case we see something going wrong. So she's agreeing to be part of the community. And yes,
that's what i wanted to say thank you very much for taking the time mr disley we appreciate it
is there anyone else in the virtual audience no further answer mr chair planning commission
good afternoon chair members of the board this is greg guelman planning commission staff
in 2019 the zoning map was amended from use to residential single family at this location in
accord with recommendations from the comprehensive plan. The appellant has not supported their
hardship claim with evidence of unique physical circumstances or conditions of property. The city
planning commission recommends that the study board deny the variance. Thank you. So MI 2023
006333 2025 South Fish Street. I vote yes. With proviso, visitor accommodation is temporary,
expires
4-24-29
Thomas
Solomon, my vote is yes
with proviso
Ishmael Shaheen
my vote is yes with proviso
Mr. Nakamson, we're going to
move on to North Franklin Street
so MI-2023
413-1338 North Franklin
Street
letter of support from the 14th community organization with provisos
maximum three units interior trash storage and also
maximum three units interior trash storage and also there's a letter of um signed by approximately
30 neighbors mr knockamson just for the record state your name please
mr knockamson can you state your name please
we couldn't hear you for a minute i don't want to maybe i was maybe i was too far away from the
screen screen okay could could you identify your client in relationship to this property
uh yes my client is 1338 n franklin st llc in the virtual audience is its member keith aliots
and our vice chair has just a few questions
good afternoon counsel do you agree to wait to read another refusal or stipulate to its accuracy
I do. Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that is needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, we have. Thank you, council. Please proceed and share your screen.
Thanks.
All right, so this is a pretty straightforward variance request. 1338 North Franklin Street.
This is an RSA 5 property, which has an extensive use as a triplex, and there are many
properties surrounding it, which have at least three units in them. So we'll review the notice
refusal. At first, we proposed four-unit dwelling. After talking to the community and looking further
at the history of this property as a triplex, we feel it's more appropriate for it to be a triplex,
and the community agreed with us. So if the board feels so inclined to grant this variance request,
we would ask for a proviso maximum three units. The chair also stated about proviso storing trash
indoors in the units. We have no objection to that either. So those would be the two
provisos that we would ask the board to consider. We do have a letter of support for the 14th
Community Organization, as well as an extensive petition of the surrounding properties. Again,
we wanted to look at the history of this property. Well, we looked at the history of this property
when we were doing our evaluation of this variance request, and we discovered that there was a zoning
and use permit, showing a history of multifamily use of three units.
So it's clearly appropriate under circumstances, given that extensive history, to reinvigorate
and revive that use to three units for this new construction project.
Then we'll review maps of the area, photographs of the property, our plans and drawings,
our RCO meeting notice.
And again, there was much negotiation with the community organization, just so the board
understands.
Not just the maximum of three units, but there are some non-binding provisos that we memorialize by way of a community benefits agreement as well.
Then we have our application for appeal, our deed to the property showing at 1338 and Franklin ST LLC is the owner of the property and the certificate of tax clearance.
And again, after my presentation, I would ask that Mr. Alias virtually raise his hand, be sworn in, and then I'll have a few questions for him.
So our notice refusal is this.
This is an RSA 5 property, but it's rather large in size.
The lot size is 1,754 square feet.
Originally, with this notice refusal, you can see that we applied for four dwelling units with two accessory surface parking spaces accessed via Perth Street.
We only have one refusal, and that's for the amount of units. I just want to make a point of this. You know, our interpretation of the accessory parking spots, the reason why we don't have a refusal is that's considered a rear street.
I just want to put that on the record that that's our understanding as to why we didn't get that refusal, because typically you would have a refusal for off-street parking. So we just want to make sure that the board understands that's why there's no refusal there.
Letter of support from the 14th community organization, you know, again, the enforceable ones, maximum three units, trash stored inside the units themselves.
We have no objection to that.
Petition was pretty extensive that my client circulated around the neighborhood.
And then, again, you can see here that this has been some three-family use for some time.
We have a zoning permit as far back as 1967.
We have another one in 2006.
and six. It looks like it had a little bit more use, at least here. It looks like it was six
It looks like it had a little bit more use, at least here.
families in a garage, but I can't really read it that well. Maps of the area. So there's a diversity
of zoning classifications here. We have some RM1, which if this was RM1, you know, this use even
for dwelling units would be allowed as right. We're all seeking three. There's CMX3, there's
ICMX and CMX1 in addition to RSA5.
And then this is where we are in the neighborhood.
You can see that there is some commercial use here.
So having multifamily nearby will only help support that commercial use.
And then photographs of the property is a vacant lot.
It's been vacant for some time based on our review of Google Earth.
And then this is just, you know, again, our property from different angles,
along with the posting of the property from those different angles.
And then this is pictures of contextually of
the neighborhood. And then this
is, you know, 4th Street where you can see it's not uncommon to have some
off-street parking. Mr. Nockamson, how's the block
relative to multifamilies? Oh, yeah. So
we looked at it.
It's 1328 North Franklin Street, four units, 1320-22-8, 1320-93, 1327-4.
I can go on and on.