down and then that the only um demolition that was done uh yeah that's the only demolition and
i guess the um the back of the house was uh demo too the back of the house but the middle of the
houses keep the same was there an extension done to the existing floor plates extension yeah the
fourth floor and the front front of the house is an extension yeah wait a minute but based on this
and I'm stuck. So the shaded area is the existing
house, correct? So there's an addition on both
ends, an addition on the height for fourth
floor. Yeah. So the house has been sort of almost
doubled in size. Okay. All right.
Questions or comments from our attorney?
No, Chair. Questions or comments from the virtual audience and their
current audience here?
yeah i have a handle from craig melanosian i'm about them to speak uh i right now i have somebody
from uh uh pensport
could you turn on your mic please just for the record state your name and spell for the
stenographer sure my name is pat fitzmaurice p-a-t-r-i-c-k f-i-t-z-m-a-u-r-i-c-a
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please start your presentation and identify your representation of it.
Good morning, board.
My name is Pat Fitzmarice.
I'm the president of the Penn Sports Civic Association, so we're the RCO involved in this.
We submitted our letter a few months ago, and then we resubmitted it yesterday just for clarity.
I think our position and the reasons for it are pretty obvious in that letter, so I'll try to keep my remarks brief.
I just wanted to note in response to some of the comments made today, the owner of this building is Skywide Real Estate LLC.
It's not a person.
The contractor is Skywide Real Estate LLC.
That's noted on the materials that were just presented.
So they own it as a business.
They built it as a business.
They submitted documents to the city.
They didn't build in conformity with it.
And they got caught.
And now it sounds like they almost want to be rewarded for it.
Um, I know there's been comments about the individuals that live in this, but right now
I know there's been comments about the individuals that live in this, but right now that's just
that's just not what's reflected on Atlas.
When you look up the owner, um, you know, there was a mention about not being able to
pay the house until they finish it.
I don't know how that's possible if they're going to live in it or what their plans are,
but there's just a lot of conflict, I think, between what's being represented and what's
showing up on paperwork.
Um, I would note that if you go on the skywide real estate LLC webpage, they hold themselves
out as a builder in philadelphia of building houses i know that at our meeting they represented
and they represent on their website if you look up their portfolio that they built a house in
pence for well mercy street we wrote a letter for that and didn't oppose it because we just don't
randomly oppose things um but for this i mean like i said earlier i think that this is just
a situation where they built they got caught and now they're just seeking to be rewarded
um the only justification i heard was a financial one which they caused um so as far as hardship
goes which is the metric we're supposed to be looking at i just don't see it being present here
um as far as the height in our letter um we didn't go out and measure this building
um that figure either came from the city or from the applicant themselves um
i would just note that and i think the board's kind of picking up on this everything here is
kind of focused on this fourth floor um again this llc decided to put a fourth floor on um that was
their decision and obviously they built non-conformity um the last thing i'll just
mention and again this is in our letter but as far as the petition that was put up on the screen
and the prompt it says that this is by right obviously that's not the case here um so i just
wanted to kind of point that out for the board so i would just rely on the letter that we submitted
for any other questions or comments.
Counselor, do you have any questions?
No, you're on.
Can I ask one question?
So can I ask one question?
So is that true that this is owned by this company
and the company is the builder?
Yes, I represent Skywide Real Estate.
I apologize that that wasn't clear.
That was not our intention.
Well, no, it wasn't.
I mean, and probably I should have read up
and saw it clearly,
but it that is even more disturbing right and this that didn't let me finish that this that this
entity is a builder and and built something that doesn't the plans don't match what's built
and and they're a builder that's problematic it's it's not it it was presented almost as if
I'm this sort of homeowner and while I didn't know my Sylvia architect right didn't didn't
prepare plans correctly and oh by the way the guy that built it kind of just built stuff because you
know that's what he does and kind of didn't match and let me do it but the fact that it's the
builder and the owner is the builder that's problematic and that's that's i mean you don't
have to respond that's that's just that's just a comment that's just no i would yes i would like
to respond um the first question that i asked mr you is what his relation was to the company and
the building and the property, which is that he's the president of Skywide Real Estate. He is
planning on, he built this property, it's different than his other properties because he built this
property to live in with his wife. And he's testified under oath today that he will be the
one residing there and living there. So he's here both as the, you know, the builder who owns Skywide,
you know, he's the builder, he's president of Skywide Real Estate. And, you know, he ran the
project. That's not something that we're trying to hide from. That's just a fact here. But he is
planning on moving in, so to the extent that that wasn't clear, I thought that it was, and I
apologize if it was unclear to the board. I don't want to go back and forth, so I understand.
Well, and my final statement would just be that he's not an architect, though, and this was an
issue that, as you heard Mr. Smith discuss, that this is an issue that normally would not necessarily
be picked up by a builder who was just adding that floor there, and so this is an architect
issue that he's not the architect. He did hire the architect and that's part of it, but he expected
them to do the job according to what he hired them for. The issue is that he did not have
construction administration, which is the point when the architect would catch that. I also want
to know that I pulled up the original sale listing from Redfin and the heights of the original
building were not 10 foot two. So I think there's a lot of things. I think that the plan that we're
looking at is the existing conditions based on what has been constructed
and is not the original condition of the building at sale, which is the issue
today. Other questions from the audience?
Yes, Mr. Chair, I have a hand up from Craig Maladossi and I have allowed
them to speak.
Craig.
I'm sorry, you can proceed
I have another hand up from Dakota Callick
Is there anyone else in the audience?
yeah decola cock i've allowed them to speak sure hello can everyone hear me hi yeah i can't could
you please state your name and spell for the stenographer yes my name is dakota d-a-k-o-t-a
last name is callick k-a-l-e-c-k would you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth i do all right are you in favor of this project or against i'm in favor
Okay, could you give us a quick reason why?
Yeah, the only reason I'm in favor, I mean, I can't speak to what everybody else has spoken to.
I'm not an architect, and I'm not a builder.
I'm just a neighbor.
I know Tim.
Tim's a good builder, and I am a neighbor here locally in Pennsport.
The project looks amazing.
It looks beautiful, but it's been halted for a long time.
My only concern is if based on what everyone's saying, if you'd have to bring the fourth floor down and it creates such a financial hardship, if the current owner can't complete the project, it's going to sit a lot longer.
And I'm not sure that any additional builder will be able to pick it up financially as well.
So my only concern is just I would love for the property to be done and finished with.
It's created somewhat of a construction site there, which I see every day.
And I think that if we had to go through the hardship of taking it down and the owner is not able to do so, it's just going to sit for a lot longer.
Thank you very much for taking the time to call us. Is there anyone else in the audience?
Yes, Mr. Chair, a Daniel Evanchen.
How many more hands do you have?
Just one after him.
All right, sir, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Yes, Daniel Evanchen, E-V-E-N-C-H-E-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
I am. I live at 1421 South 2nd Street.
Are you in favor of this or against?
I am in favor.
All right. Any different reasons than what we've heard?
The only thing I'll add to the previous, I believe his name was Dakota's reasoning, which is the same as mine, is the property prior to construction and now currently, as it's just been sitting boarded up,
has become a little bit of a hotspot for vagrants.
And so walking my dog at night past this property
feels rather unsafe.
I would love for this to be a finished project
and a home in the community.
So that way, you know, it is no longer attracting,
I'll call it unsavory behavior.
Thank you very much for taking the time.
Do we have one more hand?
Yes, Mr. Chair.
Patrick Williams, I've allowed him to speak.
hi could you please state your name is spelled for the stenographer
so i'm gonna start working on that Patrick Williams
Mr. Williams you're breaking up
Mr. Williams
thank you
Mr. Williams
yes Patrick Williams
P-A-T-R-I-C-K-W-I-L-I-A-M-S
That's where we're referring to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Yes, sir.
Are you in favor of this project or against?
In favor.
Thank you very much for calling us.
We appreciate it.
Planning Commission.
Sir, Ron Bednar, City Planning.
The comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning at this location to RSA 5, Residential Single Family, to RM1, Residential Multifamily.
the applicant has not shown that complying with the height requirements in RSA 5 district would
cause a detriment to the property. The City Planning Commission therefore recommends that
the board deny the proposed height variance. Okay. Counsel, you're still here? Yes, I'm here.
All right. Counsel, we're going to hold this vote until next Wednesday so the board can really have
some time in the executive session to talk about exactly where we stand next Wednesday at 9 30 a.m.
we will do the vote okay okay thank you thank you okay we're going to do number 16 MI 2024
007 230 635 West Roosevelt Boulevard Lynette Marie Santiago is the attorney
Lynette Marie Santiago is the attorney.
Good morning.
Good morning.
We're sorry we left you there so long.
Could you please state your name as spelled with a stenographer?
Good morning, everyone.
My name is Lynette Santiago-Lorenz, L-Y-N-E-T-T-E-S-A-N-T-I-A-G-O, and here with me are Todd Philippi, the church's architect, and I represent the applicant, Zion Assembly of God.
Excuse me, this is the court reporter. Could I ask the attorney to pull the microphone closer to her? Thank you.
Absolutely, thank you.
Again, I'm Lunette Santiago. I represent the applicant, Zion Assembly of God, the church.
My name is L-Y-N-E-T-T-E-S-A-N-T-I-A-G-O.
And here with me are the applicant's architect, Todd Phillippe, and Pastor Jose Colon, the church's pastor.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, sir.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal? Do you agree with its accuracy?
Absolutely.
Why don't you share your screen and start your presentation?
This is Ian Haggerty, the director.
This application, I believe, has a revised plan that includes a pretty significant change
in the amount of additional square footage that's being proposed.
And we believe that this might require a new refusal.
Is that your understanding, counsel?