the corner properties they are set back from ardley street as well correct that's correct and
And you provided me with a report, and you have photographs of these conditions in your report, correct?
Okay, and right now I'm looking at page 5 of 20.
Those photographs are of what?
Page 5 of 20, the first photograph is a street view of a few units, 69, 20, 22, 24, 26, and 28 Arley Street.
26 and 28 Arley Street um those are generally the inner what I call the intermediate Lots
Those are generally the...
interior Lots on on which side of the 6900 block of Bargeley Street that would be on the south side
and that's the same side as the subject property that's correct okay and 6928 Ardley is that the
property that's located um abutting our property correct that's the other semi-detached structure
that's for lack of a better word attached to 6930 yes okay and then the photographs at the bottom
are of of what that would be the north side of ardley street okay the 6900 block the 6900 block
uh 69 33 31 29 and 27. and that's how they have the same conditions correct uh same conditions
larger setbacks a little bit different character in terms of uh those units have front entry
garages and driveways facing ardly street and then in terms of the ends uh the ends of the block
uh pulled up page i think six of your report what do those show uh page six generally shows the
corner lots uh street view first one is street view at 6000 ardley street um and then the second
one is 601 ardley street so basically the two adjoining uh or yes adjoining corner lots they're
at the opposite end of ardley street of the 6900 block of ardley correct correct okay and then they
um and they and what are the they both of those buildings are located in what way to the adjacent
streets uh they're in both situations they're primarily facing ardley street but they provide
a substantial setback from uh the adjacent east gorgas lane as well okay um so then when you get
to the r end of the block um what are the conditions that exist there sure so the i think
the next photograph uh that we're showing on page seven is a street view of 69 35 ardley street this
would be on the north side of Ardley Street opposite the subject property. Again, situation
or a characteristic that's very similar to the subject property. Facing Ardley Street,
substantial side yard setback. Because Sedgwick is on a little bit of an angle, what you get
is a little bit of irregularity on that side yard. So you can see at the rear of that property
at 6935. The building's a little bit closer to the street, but closer to Ardley, the front of
the building has a much larger setback. As we, you know, compared that to the zoning drawings on the
subject property, you know, we estimated, I think it was 11 feet setback from Sedgwick Street at
the closest point and 24 feet at the furthest point okay then um in terms of the um other
page uh eight of your report um you have an aerial you've included an aerial that shows
um can you describe what's shown in that photograph sure so what we're showing here is
basically the surrounding blocks or surrounding properties and buildings on those blocks um
in the lower corner where there's a red dot that is the subject property of 69 30 ardley street and
you can see all the surrounding properties you know on the block the adjacent properties on on
either side of uh ardley street all maintain a very similar character with uh you know a larger
setback from ardley street but also very substantial setbacks from east sedgwick
okay and then can you and what addresses are we talking about
so the red the red dot is 69 30 correct that's correct okay and that shows the setbacks from
both ardley street to the right and sedgwick street to the north correct correct okay and then
And if I move to the right, to the right, bottom right-hand corner, is that 6935 that we showed the picture of just before?
6935 Hardway, correct.
Okay, also set back from both corners, correct?
And then if I move to the upper right-hand corner of that photograph, what's that address?
I believe that's 7001.
And that's, and can you tell us about the orientation and the configuration of that lot?
And that's, and can you tell us about the orientation and the configuration of...
Yes, same orientation facing Ardley Street.
Again, significant setback from Ardley and a significant setback from Sedgwick as well.
And then as I move to the left, the one that's across the street that runs from left to right, which is Sedgwick Street, correct?
Correct. I believe that's 7,000 Sedgwick.
that's immediately adjacent to the subject property across Sedgwick Street okay and then to
the left on the other side of the railroad tracks there's another corner property which is kind of
behind our property and what is that address that one is 69 45 Spray and is that and what is that
has what's the configuration there and the orientation of that property uh similar configuration
the units are facing sprague street uh but again uh substantial setback and green buffer from the
sidewalk sidewalk on east sedwick street and you found uh there was a zone there were zoning
archives for 69 45 sprague street do you know what the setback was in set stated in the zoning
archives for sprake street um i believe it was uh similar to the subject property and the setback
approximately 10 or 11 feet yeah thank you um now you mentioned you we showed 69 35 already
then you mentioned 7 000 and then i believe that the other op caddy corner is 7005 hardly i think
called the 7001 but um the the the intermediate lots on ardley street there they have their
main entrance is on the front or the sides of the buildings i'm sorry can you repeat that again on
for the intermediate lots on the 6900 block of ardley street um are the main entrances to the
homes are in the front facing ardley street or are they on the side facing the side yard
the intermediate lot space and have frontage on ardly street okay and um then how then there's
a walkway out to ardly street correct that's correct and for the corner properties uh that
are across sedgwick street across ardly street um where are the entrances to first of all where's
the entrance to the existing building on at 69 30 ardly is it out to ardly street or is it
out to Sedgwick Street? It is out to Sedgwick Street. And is that a condition that's similar
to the opposite corners, the other three corners at the intersection of Sedgwick and
Ardley Street? Yes, it is. Okay. Now, you had also included a larger aerial context map.
uh is this condition of the corner properties residential properties being set back from
both both street frontages is that a common condition prevalent condition is it uh is
the exception to the rule in the community it is a common condition it's difficult to see
at this scale in the photograph that we provided but if you were to zoom in and look at all of the
elements in all the corners of the surrounding area again residential area but they provide
substantial setbacks from both roadways on those corner lots okay now you um
you took a look at the the zoning code provisions that govern uh street frontages uh is that correct
i did and you included a review and an analysis of those provisions in your report correct yes
and the um can you quickly tell the zoning board what is what does the zoning code provide
regarding corner properties so on page 11 of our report we provided a graphic from the city code
that does identify what is considered front yards.
In this graphic, it shows a regular lot, two-street corner lots, three-street lots, and through lots.
In all of those situations, every frontage or every side of the lot that adjoins a street line is considered a front line.
okay now does it go on to address um
what what what what is are both are both street frontages and both fronts
to be dealt with the same way or does the zoning code go on to just make distinguish
to be dealt with the same way or does the zoning code go on to just make distinguish or create the possibility of distinguishing between the different street frontages?
It does distinguish. It does indicate at least one frontage needs to be designated as a primary frontage and then gives I would say criteria or direction in terms of what to use to identify those
primary facades and what are those criteria uh orientation of the primary structure
the orientation of the structures on adjacent lots adjacent corner lots and the orientation
of other structures with frontage on the same block and also the stream type designation of
the bounding streets okay now um you mentioned so does the code say that there can be only one
primary frontage or there can be more than one primary frontage it it says at least one frontage
so there can be more there can be more all right and what is the result if only one of the frontages
is deemed to be a primary frontage uh in this situation that it would be a reduced side yard
setback okay so with the front side front yard setback requirements apply to that frontage
that's not a primary street frontage it's not a primary frontage uh they would not okay and
do you believe that that's what happened in the the review of this zoning permit application
yes and the zoning drawings are are stamped that they identify a um primary frontage um but if you
know the illustration that i provided on page 11 of the report identifying the front and side yard
designations. The point of identifying, in my opinion, the point of identifying a front yard
facade is to determine if the opposing lot line is going to be a side or a rear lot line. And that
is the stamp on the zoning drawings, identifying what is the primary facade, but then also to
identify what is the opposing lot line, if it was going to be a side or a rear line.
okay and then did you go through and analyze uh and apply the criteria for the designating designation
of a primary frontage to the conditions that exist at the subject property and surrounding
the subject property yes okay and could you please go through those quickly for the board
sure the orientation of the primary structure again the primary structure faces ardley street
STREET, BUT IT DOES HAVE THAT ACCESS AND ENTRANCE THAT DOES FACE EAST SEDWICK STREET.
THE ORIENTATION OF STRUCTURES ON ADJACENT CORNER LOTS, AS WE PROVIDED IN A PREVIOUS GRAPHIC,
IF WE LOOK AT ALL OF THE CORNERS OF EAST SEDWICK AND ARLEY STREET, ALL THESE RESIDENTIAL
UNITS ARE SET BACK FROM ARDLEY, BUT ALSO SUBSTANTIALLY SET BACK FROM EAST SEDWICK.
The orientation of other structures with frontage on the same block face, again, going down and looking at the area of East Sedgwick between Arleigh and Spring to the south.
Again, all of those units on that block are set back from East Sedgwick.
And street type designation of the bounding street.
So East Sedgwick in this situation is a lower tiered street.
It's considered a lower density residential street.
What are the different street types there?
Let's see.
Sorry, I'm drawing the blank on the designation of Artley.
i want to make sure i state this the correct
city neighbor it's uh early is considered a city neighborhood street and then from the
from the complete streets design handbook did you pull up what the different um characteristics
of each of those two streets are and the photographs that they provide in the
streets department provides in the complete street yes book and and in looking at those
too so you're saying ardly street is a city neighborhood street and you're saying east
sedgwick was designated as a low density residential street correct correct and but
in looking at the descriptions and looking at the photographs and obviously streets are different in
the city of philadelphia from block to block and when and when you looked at the streets
department's designations of these streets they don't change generally block to block they
they don't change generally block to block they generally stretch for a fair distance over several
generally stretch for a fair distance.
blocks correct that's correct and but in looking at despite the way that it's designated on the
streets departments i guess you looked at their website is that correct um that which which which
care which characteristics and which photographs seem to resemble both streets uh the what's
characterized or described as the lower density residential streets and shown in that character
is basically the character of both Ardley and East Sedgwick. Okay. Now, so based upon your review of
the criteria set forth in the zoning code and the conditions that exist both in the general,
in the neighborhood as a whole, and at this particular intersection, the adjacent properties
located adjacent to the subject property and real quickly what what is do you know that what the
definition of adjacent is in the zoning code does it include properties um across the street it does
include properties across the street yes uh it's i believe the specific definition is to touch or
share a contiguous boundary or border or to be separated by an alley shared driveway or street
okay and there's a shared driveway to the rear of the property correct that's correct okay um so is
it your conclusion that the was the planning commission's designation of one primary frontage
and that primary frontage being ardly street was that correct or incorrect uh i believe that
designation was incorrect and what what should have what should have been the designations
i i think both roadways should have been identified as a primary frontage because
of the corner lot configuration and the existing building setbacks that exist not only in the
subject property but on the surrounding adjacent properties and and the block base
now what is the importance of that if they're both primary frontages what would the frontage
what would the setback be at east sedwick street would it be zero feet zero inches as shown on the
zoning plans it would not okay and what based upon the definition in the zoning code uh for
front setback what would it what would it be or what would the range be um in this situation i
think the it would be uh you know approximately 10 foot which is the existing setback of the
existing building what's that based upon uh based on the the existing building location
and is that at all determined by any of the surrounding properties
uh yes uh based on frontage one of the other criteria for for setbacks is based on the
um average distance um of adjacent properties on the same block base and in your and it's your
position that which properties are located adjacent to the property in terms of sedgwick street
uh adjacent based on the definition would be uh opposite arley what address is that uh that would
be 6935 arley street okay and then what other properties uh regarding the the block face it
would be 6945 east sedgwick no i think 6945 was i'm sorry i misspoke 6945 sprake street
and then are there any other what other adjacent properties are there
The other adjacent property would be on the opposite side of East Sedgwick Street, which would be the 7,000 RLA, I believe.
Okay. So your position is based upon the zoning code that it would have to be, there would need to be a setback at East Sedgwick Street?
There would, yes.
That would be, would it have to match those setbacks, or what is the setbacks of the adjacent properties?
What is the regulation?
No greater or no less than.
And then from the photographs, you've approximated, did you go out, you didn't go on to anybody's property and measure their side yards, did you?
We did not.
We just based it off of aerial photography and zoning drawings that were provided with the application.
okay um your report goes on to talk about um you know planning type of uh considerations
um can you briefly talk to the zoning board about those sure the we reviewed the upper northwest
Sure. We reviewed the Upper Northwest District Plan, which generally provides a guideline of development within that area.
WEST DISTRICT PLAN.
The existing land use analysis identifies the existing land use of the subject properties and all of the surroundings as a low-density residential area.
For new housing development, it suggests for new housing, new units should be guided toward existing infrastructure.
structure, away from lower density blocks, and new developments should remain compatible with the existing buildings.
Housing recommendation policy, I'm sorry, priority number five is to direct multifamily housing development to commercial streets and train stations.
Neither one of these streets, Sedgwick or Arley are considered commercial streets.
The area around the subject property was identified as a proposed local historic district identified as Sedgwick Farms B.
The proposed land use that's identified in the plan identifies the area and the surroundings as a low density residential area.
PROPOSED ZONING. THERE'S NO CORRECTED ZONING MEASURES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE PLAN AND
THAT EVERYTHING WAS INTENDED TO REMAIN AS RSD1. THAT WAS A SUMMARY OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN.
I'M SORRY. I'M GOING TO HAVE TO INTERJECT AT THIS POINT. I WAS A LITTLE BIT DISTRACTED
looking checking something but i i'm objecting to this portion of the testimony because this doesn't
go towards uh the issue of you know the street frontage um and this is more i'm not i'm not sure
what context this discussion of the comprehensive plan is taking place this is it we're now at a
are we making a new argument about the zoning change ordinance uh the remapping that took