on June 22, 2022. We had about 15 people in attendance, including myself, the developer,
and the architect. The community had some requests for changes in terms of trash storage
and outdoor space, so we made a revised plan to address those concerns. We had a follow-up meeting,
And these were in-person meetings. We did a follow-up meeting on October 27th. At that meeting, the Miss Bennett from St. Elizabeth's RCO conducted the meeting or had the meeting, but only one neighbor showed up. Nobody else attended.
So we met twice with the community technically, but I don't have a formal vote because they wanted us to come back. So, but we've presented, I say we appeared twice with the community to present our case.
all right thank you all right cool let's work our way through the case excellent i'll run
through the exhibits uh efficiently uh just as a matter of prerequisite at exhibit 11
is a copy of our zoning appeal exhibit 12 are photographs showing the properties posted with
the zoning notice the picture on the screen the vacant lot is 1816 van felt the property to the
left on the screen to the south is 1814 Van Pelt, which is an existing three-story structure.
We did meet with the community. The 14303 notices are at exhibit 13. And again, there were two
meetings, one in June 2022 and one in October. Our deeds to both properties are at exhibit 14.
and the tax clearance that I provided is the tax payment records showing 1814 Van Pelt has no taxes
due except for the current year which are not yet due and 1816 Van Pelt are actually paid through
this year already so we have zero balances at this time the request here for my my client's
request is at 1814 Van Pelt, which is the existing three-story structure. And I'll show you on the
site photos, it currently has structural issues. So the goal is to do a partial demolition of the
property, but save it, build a rear addition, rebuild the rear basically. And the request is
for a three-family dwelling at the subject property. We are zoned RSA 5, which generated
one use refusal. With regards to 1816 Van Pelt, the vacant lot, we are asking to basically do
the mirror image of the existing building on the lot at 1816 Van Pelt. And again, the request is
for use for a three-family dwelling. One use refusal was generated. Exhibit three is the zoning
map for the subject property in the immediate area. The 1814 Van Pelt is highlighted in the
middle of the screen. It is RSA 5. The other uses around the property to the south is a special
purpose district. It's a park and a ball field. And the other uses are CMX 1 and RM 1 in the
immediate area. The second page of Exhibit 3 is an aerial view. I call it the address map
because it shows the addresses of each of the partials on the 1800 block of Van Pelt.
And what I'd like the board to notice is 1814 Van Pelt has the blue dot on it.
1816 is the vacant lot to the north.
And the other properties on this block, there's approximately 58 parcels.
32 are vacant lots at this time.
And of the remaining existing housing stock, many of those are vacant, unoccupied, and abandoned.
And we'll show you those on the site photos.
exhibit four is just a satellite view looking to the west um which is the west side of the block
is where the subject properties are on and again it just shows the vacant lots on the block as well
as the interspersed houses that exist looking at page two of the same exhibit four it's looking
the opposite direction east and on the east side of the block it's the same thing it's a bunch of
vacant lots interspersed with houses some of which are vacant. Exhibit five are the site photos for
the subject property and the block. Page one just shows the vacant lot at 1816 Van Pelt. 1814 Van
Pelt is the three-story house. Again it has an orange L&I violation against it. There are structural
issues that need to be addressed and will be addressed once we have a proper zoning permit
in place so we can secure a building permit the properties to the south of the subject property
uh there's about four or five vacant lots to the south then a single a single structure and then
there's two vacant lots at the corner when you head towards the um to the south is montgomery avenue
so council council go back can you go back to the uh
so council council go back can you go back to the uh yeah right there so when you say you're
I'll see you next time.
going to do some structural uh improvements to the rear of the property are we going to still
stay two stories up to the rear are you trying to go three stories to the rear now so the property
that we own is the red one here on the right at page one of exhibit five that will be a three
story rear addition so we're going to be demolishing the portion at the rear there's some
structural issues at the bottom right of the building you can see where the wall's collapsing
so we have to rebuild the wall um rebuild the rear and we'll be building it up and i'll show
you that on the next exhibit the site plan sure thing looking to the north of the property on the
same the west side of the block there are three houses and then a vacant lot and then three more
houses and then when you get past that going to the north which it leads up to burke street we
have about half a dozen vacant lots and then a freestanding house and to the north of that
two vacant lots and then we get up to 1850 van pelt which there are three houses there
1850 itself is zoned for four units we have two single family two single family houses and then
a vacant lot at the corner and then the east side of the block at burke street we have ground floor
commercial at the corner with apartments above. Then at 1857 and 1855, we have two abandoned
houses that are sealed up, one of which is missing windows. 1853 and 51 are two single-family houses.
And then again, we have about four or five vacant lots in the middle of the block until we get to
1843 Van Pelt, which is an existing triplex that is attached to two single-family dwellings,
existing housing stock and then we have two vacant lots and that goes into two two houses to
the south more vacant lots about three or four vacant lots until we get to 1823 van pelt which
is a clean and sealed building or sealed up building at this point but it did get approval
for two dwelling units to the south of that is a vacant lot and three houses one of which at 1813
is an abandoned structure then we have a vacant lot at 1811 and then 1809 is a structure that
lacks functional windows on the front and it's unclear if it's occupiable it appears to be
partially sealed and then again at the south side of the block on the east side we have five vacant
lots at the end of the block when we go into montgomery and the final photo is a photo looking
north from Montgomery, just showing the block looking north, the on-street parking and the
vacancy on the block. We did submit an original site plan for the property, and the plan calls for,
and I'll zoom in because this is difficult to see, the properties themselves are 16 feet wide,
16 and a half feet wide by 75 feet deep. So they're sizable lots, and at the rear,
there is a four-foot alley that the properties abut with providing access north and south to
Burke Street to the north Montgomery to the south the original plan called for
let's see so to answer vice chair's question there was a existing three-story with a three-story
rear addition scope and the original plan the site plan will show that we have to demolish
a portion of that second floor rear because of structural issues to rebuild it the the plan is
the structure is dimensionally compliant in terms of height and area the rear yard that we're
providing is a nine foot rear yard which is code compliant and the original steps accessing the
yard exited at the the rear of the first floor after discussing with neighbors the issues that
they brought up were um trash storage and open air for the units on the second and third floor
so the revised plan removed these stairs at the rear and we have this side yard it's not a a code
a zoning code side yard i'll call it a court where we have four feet six inches off the property line
and we decided to instead of an egress well there we're going to have steps that'll be the exit
point on the revised plan and i'll show that on exhibit seven is the revised zoning plan
so we removed the stairs at the rear we put the stairs on the side of the property where it abuts
with 1816 so it'll be a mirror image structure and that will allow access from the first floor
to get to the rear of the property for trash storage access outdoor space and the upper floors
this is where we'll be able to have outdoor deck space and outdoor trash storage for each of the
units and at the top of this plan i do have the floor plans and i guess i'll start with the
basement the basement is mainly the back of the building right that addition area is crawl space
that addition area is crawl space, no living space. The front of the building will have just
no living space the front of the building will have
a family room, rec room, and mainly utilities in the basement of this structure.
The first floor ends up being two bedrooms, one bath. Exit entrances for all the units are from
the front of the property on Van Pelt. Entered into a living room, dining room, kitchen with
the two bedrooms washer and dryer in unit and then the deck the steps leading out are in this
court area that I referenced and what that does on the second floor look into the exhibit to the left
above the exit for the first floor we'll be able to create a deck within the property line so
there'll be outdoor space for the upper unit and this little box to the top of the screen is what
will be a trash closet but it'll be outside the building so the door is outside on the deck
um it'll allow it to be secured and keep any of the trash out of the unit itself so that it's
that was a request of the neighbors and it's worked well in similar properties that we've done
projects we've done with my architect in this neighborhood and it's been well received so
we're doing that here and then the the second floor unit again is a two-bedroom one-bath unit
full washer dryer and then on the third floor we end up with a two-bedroom one-bath unit as well
it has that same outdoor deck space it'll be smaller than the second floor unit but it has
the outdoor deck space trash storage closet and within the the property line there is outdoor
space at the rear of the third floor unit that'll be overhanged by the porch so it'll be outdoor
space at the rear so we were able to get outdoor space for all three units deal with the trash
storage and at the front of the property we also included the ability to add a trash enclosures at
the front and secured containers if necessary if the trash closets are not sufficient we'd be able
to make sure there's trash at the front of the property and that is reflected on the revised
zoning plans that we submitted to the board at exhibit eight is just the revised proviso plan
form just detailing all these changes one thing i do want to call out is our rendering of the
property the goal here is to save the existing housing stock so 1814 would be saved rebuilt
and we'd match it at 1816 we'd match that cornice line going down the block and hopefully the as
the block infills with development this block needs development vacant land lots of abandoned
houses and this will allow us to rebuild what was there keep it historically and contextually
appropriate and still bring quality housing to this this neighborhood which is what we're hearing
the community wants and my clients definitely interested in bringing quality housing to the
area the front of the properties we will have egress wells at the front provide light and air
to the lower unit as well as a means of safety egress at exhibit nine i just included additional
copies of the floor plans but they were pretty clear on what i just went through um with the
revised zoning plan so with with that members of the board i would submit that the subject block
that we are dealing with on the 1800 block of van pelt is severely underdeveloped and needs
investment the vacant land the abandonment and the other multifamily uses on the block it would
create a hardship to require a single family to be built on the property on this block at this time
and we would request support for the board and the grant of the variance for each of the properties
for three family dwellings at the properties. My client is on the call today Arian Tamalari
if the board would like him to raise his hand to adopt my testament. Yes please let's get your
client on arian please raise your hand chair we have someone with the name john last name ending
in th uh let him in please sir please unmute yourself you're able to speak yes hi my name is
area on summary e-r-j-o-n-p-h-o-m-o-l-l-a-r-i you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and
nothing but the truth i do and proceed council and members of the board just to correct something i
said earlier we started with a nine foot rear yard and our revised plan actually increased the rear
yard to provide more open area to 11 feet nine inch rear yard creating more open space and the
third at the third floor level that ends up being 14 feet nine inches of open area so so you are so
you are adding additional uh space to the rear of the property correct we went from nine feet
rear yard to 11 feet nine inches to create more open space okay mr tamalari did you hear and see
Mr. Tamalari, did you hear and see my presentation today?
my presentation today.
Yes, sir, I did.
And were the statements I made true and accurate to the best of your knowledge, information, and belief?
That is correct.
And would you adopt my testimony and statements as your own?
No further questions, members of the board.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
no mr chairman questions from the virtual audience
i see no hands chair planning commission thank you chair shaheed ian hegarty on behalf of the
philadelphia city planning commission board members in 2014 the zoning maps were amended
uh in this area from rm1 to rsa5 in accord with recommendations from the comprehensive plan
Again, the appellant has failed to support their hardship claim with evidence of unique physical circumstances of either of these properties.
We reject the appellant's claim that the presence of vacant land or buildings on the block constitutes a hardship for these properties.
Vacant land does not prevent use according to zoning.
We note for the board that 1833 North Van Pelt Street on this block was constructed in 2021 as a single-family ground-up construction dwelling on the same block.
which demonstrates that single family use is indeed viable here city planning commission
recommends that the board deny the variances for both 1814 and 1816 north van pelt street
thank you if i can okay yeah you want to i would just submit that the economic environment that
our city was in three four years ago is very different than today which is why you see a
a block that has had no development other than multi-families that got approved after that one
single family house was constructed the planning commission disregards the other multi-family uses
on the block and this is a situation where there is a hardship and this block needs investment which
the planning commission's position would prevent further development of the block thank you
MI-202200-2210, 1814 North Van Pell Street, I vote yes with proviso, one page stand by ZBA
for February 8th, 2023.
I also vote yes on MI
22002209
1816 North Van Pelt Street
also with proviso, one page, stand by ZBA
February 8th, 2023.
Thomas Howellman, my vote is on both
and also with proviso on both.
James Snell. My vote is yes to both
and on both provisos on both
as well. Thank you.
Thank you, counsel. Thank you.
Number 12, MI2022005216
5110 Haverford Avenue, Vern Anastagio
Attorney for owner.
Vern, are you there?
Good morning, Mr. Chair.
So we did have one use of refusal with this.
A multifamily household living is prohibited in the RAE S5 zoning district.
Letter of opposition from the 44th Ward RCO is attached.
Councilor, please state your name and spell it for the record.
George Verne Anastasio, 2016 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, 19103.
Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please tell us about the client that you represent, please.
I represent Mr. Poisson. He's the owner of the property.
okay uh i'm gonna pass you over to our board member thomas halliman to read you a few questions
thank you good morning council good morning do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal