Good afternoon, counsel.
Do you agree to wait to read another refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
Absolutely.
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed and required to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, sir.
Thank you, counsel. Please proceed. And you've already shared your screen.
So you see my screen sharing right now?
Okay, good. Okay, so this is essentially a property in the Wissenoming neighborhood of northeast Philadelphia.
My client is an 85-year-old woman who lives there. She's a widow. She lives there by herself.
She has a son and a grandchild that lives out in California.
She's been living there and owned the property for 20 years.
It's essentially a single family home with a detached structure in the back that she wants to allow for.
So she wants the single family home to allow for essentially two units on one plot.
OK, the current home would remain as a single as a single family home that just but she wants to allow for the detached structure in the back to be used as a home as well.
Because as an 85 year old, it's a one story and she wants to build a kitchen in there and move in there and then perhaps rent out the existing single family home that she lives in right now.
um i'll scroll down here i mean this is the uh the refusal it's the application for appeal
the pif uh this is the deed which shows that she purchased this place back in 2005
um she's this is her tax compliance she is tax compliant these are some drawings i mean they
they're hard to decipher but these are the orange posters that she put up over 20 days
ago that's a that's one out in front of her house on the light pole or whatever this is in on her
her front door there um these are some more pictures uh and then the photos of the property
so here's a picture from google earth i believe that's the front of the property uh she was
telling me that she is very proud of her gardening that she does right this is in the front of the
house and the neighbors love it. And the neighbor, she's, she has no opposition from the, um, from
the RCO and no opposition from the neighbors for this. And she is well regarded in her, on her
block. She's lived there for a while. And, and of note, there are other, you know, duplexes on the
block. So she's, you know, although this is a detached structure, there are multiple multifamily
units on the block. So this is kind of the back area. This white building here is the building
that has been used kind of like as a utility or office. Already has a bathroom with a shower,
but she needs to add a kitchen, right? And before she gets all the permits required to add a kitchen,
she needs to get zoning to get permission to basically have multi-dwellings on one lot.
So as you can see, there's also plenty of room for parking for two houses.
She states that there's room for five cars.
So, you know, obviously room for five cars is plenty of room for a multifamily dwelling.
Here's another shot kind of zoomed out a little bit more.
That's the white building that we're trying to get, you know, as the second unit.
This is obviously the existing house that she lives in,
but she would like to move back here
move back here so she doesn't have to deal with stairs and things like that as she ages.
so she doesn't have to deal with stairs and things like that as she ages.
Here it is again.
There it is from kind of another angle.
This is a white building. This is the existing house.
And this is the letter of non-opposition.
Mr. Schmoker, do you have any plans for the back?
What it will look like?
So, I mean, okay, so I have a picture of what it looks like now.
From the outside, you won't be able to tell the difference.
It's just on the inside that is of note, and I have pictures of the inside, interior photos of the existing white building in the back.
This is what it looks like now.
Now, she doesn't – she hasn't drawn up plans for how she's going to put the kitchen in and things like that.
She hasn't – she doesn't have those plans yet.
So this is the interior of that white building in the back that she wants to have as a dwelling.
Questions from the board.
Well, is your client available or you don't – you're not going to –
I mean, she like the court will take your testimony questions from the board.
What's the square footage of the building in the rear?
OK, I mean, this is a little bit hard for me to believe, but she says it's a thousand square feet and the drawings show that it's a thousand square feet.
It's one floor, so it's a little larger than you might think, I guess.
What's the current use of that structure?
sure so it's been used as an office i think basically right now it's uh somewhat unused
let me see what she has in her um just bear with me for one second
right now she just uses that and it's like her exercise room right so she's the only one that
lives there nobody lives with her and she's not renting out the backspace for anything right now
she just uses it as her exercise room it's very close to her house but it is detached
i'm wondering like once this becomes a living unit what is the plan for um like the mailbox
and trash storage sure so sure so uh trash storage would i believe i mean i don't think
the amount of trash would be terribly affected um and i i you know again she's she's a an 85 year
old single a widow you know so she lives alone there's not going to be a ton of trash right um
um so i don't i don't think you know i don't think she doesn't really have plans except you
know maybe she would put it you know share the trash with the people that live in the red building
or um you know have you know separate containers out on trash day right all the trash would be
stored in her place uh in the new white building um and uh what was sorry what was the
other mailbox mailbox yeah i mean as as of now you know she doesn't have plans for that i mean
i think that potentially she would um uh have to basically split it up you know unit one unit two
you know it's 37 43 17 to 19 comley street unit one which would probably be the front building
and Unit 2, which would be the back building.
Has the survey already been done for the new address?
I have no further questions.
Thank you.
Any other questions from the board?
Is there a plan to either subdivide this in any way
or is she just planning to uh use this building as is sure because that's the question that yes
yeah figure out how you're gonna yeah you're you're trying to have two single family dwellings
on one lot and correct so she's she just wants two families to be living be able to live like
herself as a unit and in the back and in another family in the front no there are no plans to
subdivide uh there are no plans to split up the deeds or whatever no there are not plans to
split up the deeds or whatever no there are not plans to subdivide she just wants to be allowed
subdivide she just wants to be allowed
to have two families living on this one property essentially okay and did you say that there
already is a bathroom in this there is already a bathroom with a shower in the back in the back
building yes because it's been used as kind of like in the past as an office i think probably
before she lived there it's been used as like an office now it's just her exercise room
Actually, I do have another question. So you said that's currently being used for exercise room. Your client purchased it in 2005, but city records show that there was a 2007 zoning application for a second story to be added to that structure, and a 2008 zoning permit to utilize it as a 10 person daycare.
So I think part of why we're asking the questions is because it does seem like there's been
a considerable amount of thought about the use of this over the years.
And that's a little different than just being storage or exercise equipment.
I mean, I'm going to be honest with you.
She was not comfortable, you know, going forward on this application on her own.
So she retained me.
And, you know, I, but I was expecting her to be able to answer some of these questions.
So, I mean, is there any way – can I – you don't see her on your end raising her hand or anything?
She said – she told me she's on.
So in 2007, that project – that building was built in the rear.
Is that correct?
Okay, that's my mistake.
One story edition was in the rear.
That is my mistake.
I was under the impression.
In 2008, they tried to get a daycare center, but were disapproved.
Chair, we have May Gow on the Zoom call.
Perhaps we could ask her to come on as a panelist.
Thank you.
She'll be coming in as a panelist shortly.
So she's calling me now.
What's that?
Mr. Smoker, is she going to be on?
Mr. Smoker?
Okay, so yes, she should be on.
okay she'll be coming in uh as a panel shortly everyone i'm sorry for the hold up the request
to come on as a panelist yeah
hold on a second
okay she's just declined
i promoted her but they haven't declined
all right now there are panelists okay
may gal please unmute and wait to be sworn in
hi may
can you hear me
we can could you please state your name
and then spell for the stenographer
my name is
m-e-i-g-a-o
do you
swear or affirm that tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth
Mr. Smoker, please proceed.
Ms. Gow,
I have been telling the
about the origin
of this building.
I want to tell them stories.
20 years ago, I bought
the building. See their big
attachment. I'm so
excited because I
was a teacher. I wanted
do after school student program help student homework that's i set about 10 students i
cooperate with two other good teachers they can i can teach you math other teachers can teach
chinese miss scale don't go into too much detail okay yeah but i applied as a new boss they don't
but i applied the zoning board they don't allow me for 10 students just allowed me one to one
allowed me for 10 students.
tutoring that's what i said mr schmoker why don't we say what she wants to do now why don't you know
i want i'm getting old i don't have to tutor anymore i don't do more exercise because i have
ping pong table something i took away so i just want i had a back problem i cannot walk upstairs
there too much. So I have a big
house before I have family
relatives stay with me. They all moved
out. So now I just
want to stay in the back
building. It's flat. I don't need
to walk up downstairs.
Then I can rent out the
front building so I make an
actual income. I retire now.
So she wants to live
in a one-story building in the rear.
Yes. Correct. She wants to live in the back
and rent out the front. Yeah.
I just put a simple kitchen, a stove, a sinker.
That's easy, not a big kitchen.
I just put myself.
I'm retired.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the audience?
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I do not see any further answer, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
amy boyd with the planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change in
zoning at this location from the existing residential single-family rsa3 the second
building on this property was an existing condition upon the current owner's purchase
the building has a history of permits for tutoring and storage returning the building
to residential use is more consistent with the residential zoning of this property
the planning commission recommends that the board grant the requested variance for two
family, household dwelling.
MI 2024