ZBA Hearing - June 1, 2022

Thank you.

Chair, we have 46 attendees, and we can start when you wish.

Thank you.

Good morning.

My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this morning's EBA meeting.

With me is Carol Tenere, our vice chair.

Present, Mr. Chairman.

Ismail Shahid, our Board Secretary.

Present, Mr. Chair.

And Thomas Holliman, our Board Member.

Present, Mr. Chairman.

Also here is our Executive Director, Tanya Sunkit, and our Board Attorney, Hillary Emerson.

Before we begin, here is our virtual format.

Be advised these proceedings are being recorded.

By participating, you knowledge agreements will be recorded.

The video will be available by contacting tonyasunkett at phillip.gov.

For the benefit of our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.

If you'll participate by phone, if you wish to testify, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.

To enter an appearance statement, call 267-270-5548.

leave your email and the address of the property in question and finally please note the question

answer box is not for testimony or comments any comments should be directed to our executive

director tanya sumby so let's look at our continuances first for this morning's hearing

Number seven, MI 2021-001-001-2500 Wilmont Street.

Number eight, MI 2021-001-108-2500 Wilmont Street.

Number 10, MI 2021-002-889-2949-51 North Phillip Street.

Number 11, MI 2021-003-092-41 North Robinson Street.

And number 14, MI-2022-002-637-7248 Rising Sun Avenue.

All these cases are continued.

Is there anyone has any comments relative to the cases?

Mr. Chair, this is Hillary.

Number seven and number eight, the two 2,500 Wilmot Street cases,

those are attorney moving party requested for continuance.

Thank you.

Any other comments for the continuance?

I see no hands, Chair.

Okay.

I also have a withdrawal.

MI 2021-003085-648-50-North 40th Street.

This case is withdrawn.

Any questions or comments relative to that?

Are there any other withdrawals?

chair we have joseph vaccaro okay

good morning can you hear me i can could you state your name and spell for the courtroom

floor to please certainly may please the board joseph vaccaro v-a-c-c-a-r-o attorney for the

applicant hermes orozco the property address is 4841 north 6th street and i'll give you the

mi number 2021-03057 this is the applicant's request for a continuance

first do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth

yes i do okay and what was the what case number again mi 2021-003057 okay thank you

0 0 3 0 5 7. Okay. Thank you very much. The cases continue. Thank you very much. Have a good day.

Okay. Any other requests for continuous withdrawal?

I see no handshare. Thank you. We're going to go to our add-on list.

number one on our add-on list mi 2021 004041 1820 west fedango street the vote on this matter

will be held until wednesday july 13th at 9 30 a.m the record will be reopened only for receipt

of letters from council member bass and the new coordinating coordinating rco informing the board

of the outcome of the upcoming meeting. That case will be heard on July 13th. Number two.

MI 2022-001-067-2100 to 12 East Rush Street. I vote no.

was i present for this hearing you were uh carol tenery my vote is no

thomas holloman my vote is no

it's no shaheed my vote is no thank you

am i number three am i 2022-001-293-2100 the 20 west allegheny avenue

I vote yes with proviso uses as permitted in CMX 3 at first floor and basement levels in addition

to accessory storage and basement use permit is required prior to occupancy for CMX 3 uses

Harold Tenere, my vote is yes with provisos.

Thomas Howell, my vote is yes with provisos.

Ishma Shaheed, my vote is yes with provisos.

Thank you. We're going to go to our regular list and I want to start with number six.

MI 2021-003-139-2400 North Howard Street. Sean Ward is the attorney.

letter of support from nara square community alliance letter of non-opposition from council

member sanchez

mr ward good morning mr chairman sean ward on behalf of the applicant oh geez could you could

Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?

Yes.

Sean, S-H-A-W-N, last name Ward, W-A-R-D.

Address is 331 East Street Road, Trevos, PA-19053.

Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Yes, I do.

Our vice chair has a few questions, sir.

Good morning, Mr. Ward.

Number one, they must have dramatically changed street road.

but my question is do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its

accuracy yes i do have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance

a copy of the refusal or referral photos and or plans of the property five days in advance of

this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter yes to all the above okay you

may proceed. Thank you very much. Mr. Ward, if possible, could you identify your client and

relationship to the property? Yes, sir. On the screen now, if everybody can see it, is my exhibit

packet. I represent Ariane Kopani, that's A-R-J-A-N-K-O-T-A-N-I, and Aida Dautaj. They are

the owners and applicants for this property. IATA is also on the call. She can verify and adopt if

she doesn't have any technical difficulties under she's doing so by her phone. This is my exhibit

packet. It includes A1 through A13, I believe. Yes. A1 is the notice of refusal. This is an

application for a use permit for a prepared food shop. It's a coffee shop at the first floor of an

existing three-story structure with previously approved two apartments above. It resulted in

one referral to the board. Prepared food shops require special exception approval and accordingly

we seek that approval today. A2 is the application of appeal. A3 the project information form.

A2 is the application of appeal. A3 the project information form. A4 is proof of ownership. A5

tax clearance. A6 is a site map. A7 is a floor plan of the first floor. A8 are photographs. A9

is the letter of support from Norris Square. If submitted I would ask that the district council

letter be marked as A10 and we have the relevant zoning history. I did a survey. 2013 it was a

daycare at the first floor, 06 and 97, a restaurant at the first floor, 92, a social club at the first

floor. From 1970 through probably 1992, it was an ice cream parlor with two apartments, and in 1968

and 1953, permits were issued for grocery stores to apartments. A12 is the zoning map, A13 is the

aerial photo. So very quickly, we have our notice of refusal to CMX one property. And the only

referral says refusal, but it's referral is special exception approval for the use.

We have the application of appeal, the project information form, copy of the deed.

Proof of tax clearance, as you can see, they're a little overpaid. Here is the site location map

with the D map from the Atlas, the property is located at North Howard Street and West York

Street. With regard to the floor plan, as you can see the entry at the front corner as depicted in

the photos to follow, it depicts seating for approximately 24 patrons with your typical

service counter, no open flame cooking, all pre-packaged items heated in a microwave or

convection oven and an ADA accessible bathroom. Basement access that's used for storage and

utilities. As far as photographs, this is a Google angle shot. I've shown the property before any

renovations. Copy of our zoning poster posted on the subject property. Another Google shot prior

to renovations. Currently, the property is under renovations. The apartments are complete. The

upper floor exterior is complete the downstairs exterior we're waiting zoning approval to

continue with our permit process again another shot of the exterior

as you can see it's finally appointed all new windows siding etc general renovations

interior renovations to the first floor just basically flooring lighting and wall finishes

no other uh interior finishes have been completed copy of the letter of support from norris square

as you can see uh 12 in favor one opposed they did have a few uh provisos local residents be

prioritized for hiring at the shop hours of operation be decided and reported to

norris square we um we we have a general idea what the hours will be uh the outside areas be

kept clean of trash daily. So we did actually submit a proviso letter to them. With those three,

we did indicate that the hours of operation would probably be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through

Saturday. Here's a copy of the zoning map. As you can see, again, it's on CMX. Well, it's a CMX2

here. It's a CMX1 on the refusal or referral. And then another aerial photo. That is the sum

and substance of the project, they look forward to completing their renovations and opening the

coffee shop for business. If the chair wishes, I can have Aida sworn in, and she can verify,

adopt, or as an officer of the court, I can stipulate that she would, in fact, verify my

representations as true and accurate, and adopt them as her own testimony.

Being she was having some technical issues, we'll take you as an officer of the court,

the testimony is fine. Questions from the board? No, Mr. Chairman.

Questions or comments from the board? Thank you. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?

See no hands, Chair. Planning Commission? Good morning, Chair Bergman. Ian Hegarty for the

Philadelphia City Planning Commission. Last name spelled H-E-G-A-R-T-Y. Do you swear or firm to

tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes sir i do proceed thank you good

morning board members uh this proposed special exception we don't believe will cause detrimental

impacts to the neighborhood beyond what might normally be expected for the use so the city

planning commission recommends that the board grant the special exception thank you mi 2021

003 139 2400 North Howard Street. I vote yes with provisos. Hours of operation Sunday through

Saturday 7A to 7P. Carl Tenere, my vote is yes with proviso.

7A to 7P.

Harold Teneri, my vote is yes with proviso.

Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes with proviso.

Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with proviso.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

That concludes my business until 2 o'clock.

Can I be excused?

You can.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

number one on the regular list mi 2021 002 906 134 west loray street

we have no exhibits for this this case could the owner please identify themselves

i see no handshare okay this is the second listing we still have no exhibits

mi 2021 002 906 134 west laray street i vote no to this it is withdrawn

sir are we dismissing it yes okay carol tenere my vote is to dismiss

Thomas Holloman, my vote is to dismiss.

Yes, no, Shahid, my vote is to dismiss.

Thank you.

MI 2021-004-355-1627-South 20th Street.

Letter of support from Point Breeze Community Development Corporation.

um also concerned citizens of point breeze participated in the meeting but chose not to

vote applicant also has a petition from four near neighbors

roe roe kaskarti is the owner pro se

yeah he's coming back in as a panelist thank you

good morning good morning your honor good morning could you state your name and spell for the court

reporter please yes first name rohit r-o-h-i-t last name k-a-s-u-k-u-r-t-i right do you swear

affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes sir our vice chair

has a few questions for you sure hi do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal

this is a pro se case wait one second um i'm sorry oh thanks i i just recognized that um strike

whatever i just asked and i begin again have you emailed the exhibit packet with the required

documents consisting of proof of ownership tax compliance a copy of the refusal or referral

photos and or plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the

rco and do you have a letter yes okay you may proceed and please share your screen

i'm sorry madam vice chair this is tanya yes may i may i request that you read the beginning

into the records

the refusal information

everything in cap

wait a second

where is this

I have it here

Carol if you want

I don't know why

this is the regular

I have it sure I have it

for the creation of one

off street accessory surface

parking space on rear

of an existing attack structure

to continue

use as

for household single family

dwelling.

Thank you.

Sir, you may proceed.

Okay. Do you mind sharing

it with the other device I have?

I can't find this.

so are you using one device to talk and another device to share your screen that's correct so

did you raise your hand for the other i just did now i'm joining staff if you could promote that

device to panelists and if you could start make sure the one that you're using to share

it's on mute and then you may share your screen once you're ready okay thank you