bathroom
living area and seating area kitchen area oh that should be sideways there we go kitchen area
as you can see it's nicely furnished members of the board
this is the larger bedroom at page 32 of my packet
This is an exterior seating area for the folks that wish to do so.
Washer-dryer.
Again, the smaller bedroom at page 43.
Page 44, we have exterior photos of the property showing the postings, both of the refusal and of the zoning notice itself, advising everybody of today's meeting.
previously on the ground floor this was a cafe that cafe is currently undergoing some changes
right now there may be something else going in there in the future but it is currently closed
this is the view from york street
further back and then we're going to do a 360. this is looking eastbound on york members of
board you can see mini mart on the corner with some residential units above and largely residential
down the block this is looking from coral street and again we're doing that 360. this is page 61
members of the board looking northbound on coral again this is largely a residential neighborhood
as you saw in the zoning maps again there's that mini mart that we saw in the previous pictures from
york street this is an exterior building sketch page 69 page 70 is just the addendum showing the
first second third floors and their relative sizes to one another like many typical three-story
buildings in philadelphia the ground story is the largest second's a little smaller third smaller yet
now this is the layout of the unit itself so this would be the roof
and this is the apartment that's the two bedroom which would be the short-term rental
this is the seating and kitchen area bathroom the washer dryers towards the middle
As you go towards down the hallway, we have bedroom number one with a closet, and we have the other bedroom with a significant closet as well.
So members of the board, this has been operating as an Airbnb or other short-term rental unit since approximately July of 2021.
We're just seeking to legalize this.
the hardship is simply that this is and has been operating as a short-term rental it
with the changes in legislation my clients are kind of shifting and we're seeking to legalize
what it was so the change in the legislation itself is ultimately what led to the hardship
in this circumstance so overall with the overwhelming community support the fact that
my client has been in this property for quite some time managing that cafe until it unfortunately
if you had to close. We would ask for your support as well in granting the variances for this
property. If we could get Chantel, if you could raise your hand to ask to be unmuted. We can have
you answer any board questions and get you to about my testimony. Chair, we have Chantel Todman.
They have been unmuted and allowed to speak. Yep. Hi, could you state your name, please,
and spell for the court stenographer.
My name is Chantel Todman,
C-H-A-N-T-E-L-L-E,
Todman, T-O-T-E as in David,
M as in Mary, A, N as in Nancy.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Proceed, counsel.
Great.
Now, Chantel, you've heard my presentation today
to the zoning board?
All right.
Is there anything you'd like to add at this time?
Nothing at this time.
And with respect to the testimony that I presented to the zoning board today, would you adopt that testimony as your own?
I would, and it's true and accurate to the best of your knowledge. Yes. Thank you. I don't have any other questions for you, but the board members might.
Questions from the board. No, Mr. Chairman.
No, chair questions or comments from the virtual audience.
Here, I see no hands at this time.
planning commission
thank you chair
Thank you, Chair Bergman. Sarah Bond, Philadelphia City Planning Commission. The comprehensive plan, excuse me, recommends no change to the existing commercial mixed use zoning. The appellant has not shown that the property cannot be used in strict conformity with the zoning code and that a variance is therefore necessary to enable the viable economic use of this property. The City Planning Commission recommends that the zoning board deny the variance.
bergman sarah bond philadelphia city
planning commission the comprehensive
MI 2022 006541 2400 Carl Street I vote yes with temporary variance that will expire 8-1-27.
Thomas Holloman my vote is yes with proviso. Ishmael Shaheed my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you council. Thank you members of the board have a good day.
Okay, let's see here.
Is there anyone in the audience whose case has not been called for this morning's list?
Chair, I see no hands at this time.
Okay, I think we're done for the morning.
Thanks, everyone.
See you at 2 p.m.
All right.
Good job, everyone.
Thank you, everyone.
okay we're ready to go keisha yes sir good afternoon my name is bill bergman and i will
be chairing the 2 p.m zba hearings with me is our vice chair ismail shaheed
present mr chairman our board member thomas holliman
present mr chairman and our board member james snell
Also present is our executive director, Tanya Sunkett, and our attorney, Hillary Emerson.
Here's our virtual format. Be advised the proceedings are being recorded.
A video will be available by contacting tanyasunkett at phila.gov.
For the benefit of our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you're participating by phone, 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, the question and answer box on the screen is now for comments or testimony.
All comments should be referred to our Executive Director, Tanya Sunken.
Let's look at our schedule for this afternoon. Our continuance. Number nine, MI 2023-001-070-70-80 East Worcester Street. That case is continued.
And number 12, MI-2023-001-265-2203, Natrona Street.
That case is continued.
Is there anyone has comments relative to the cases I've just continued?
We have any hands?
No hands.
Any other requests for continuances?
I see no hands, Chair.
Thank you.
I also have two cases that have been withdrawn.
MI 2023-001-121-1406 Cecil B. Moore Avenue.
That case has been withdrawn, is withdrawn.
alt. 5. MI 2023-001-212-2022 Glenwood Avenue. In that case, it's also with withdrawn.
We're going to go to our add-on list.
Number one, MI 2023-000-471-2829-59 North 23rd Street.
I vote yes.
We would also like to read into the record a statement relative to this.
The board would like to note for the record that granting the requested variances with the expectation that the applicant will continue to work with the community regarding any potential negative impacts of the illuminated sign, as stated by counsel with the applicant at the July 12th hearing.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair, there are revised plans.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair, there are revised plans in this matter.
Also, there's also a proviso.
Revised plans, four pages, stamped by CBA on July 19, 2023.
And we also need to note for the record that Mr. Shahid has recused himself from this matter.
And Mr. Shahid has recused himself from this matter.
Thank you.
Thomas Holliman, my vote is yes with proviso.
James Snell, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you. Number two, MI 2023 001042 10 South Front Street. The vote on this matter has been
rescheduled to Wednesday, July 26 at 2 p.m.
3. MI 2022-003-437-6900 Chester Avenue, Parcel B. At the request of the applicant, the vote
in this matter has been postponed until August 30th at 2 p.m. The record will be reopened for
the limited purpose of counsel for the parties updating the board regarding any additional
discussions that have occurred between the applicant and the community since the July 12th
hearing. Any additional information that the parties wish to submit for the board must be
received by the board by close of day business on August 28th. Number four, MI 2023-004-65447
to 49 West Plain Lane. I vote yes with Proviso. Her amended refusal dated 7-18-23 and also
Proviso's interior trash storage and interior mailbox and mail storage.
James Snell, my vote is yes with Proviso
Ishmael Shahi, my vote is yes with Proviso
Thomas
I believe I do not vote
Okay, oh okay, thank you Tom
Thank you. All right, we're going to go to our regular list.
Number one, MI 2023-001-053-2516 Frankfurt Avenue.
Al Nockmson is the attorney.
Good afternoon, Chair. This is Fatina L.
I'll be your co-host for this afternoon.
You're welcome. Mr. Nockmson has been promoted to panelists.
We have a letter of opposition from East Kensington Neighbors Association, a letter of support from the Fishtown Kensington area's business improvement, and a letter of opposition from Council Member Squelett.
The applicant has provided a petition signed by five neighbors, four on the 2500 block of Frankfort Avenue.
Mr. Nockamson, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Yes, Alan, A-L-A-N, last name Nockamson, N-O-C-H-U-M-S-R.
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i did could you identify your client relationship to this property uh yes my client is uh 25 16
frankfurt ave llc and in the virtual audience is its member ryan kim our vice chair has a few
questions for you
good morning count good afternoon counsel do you agree to weigh the reading of the refusal
who were stipulated towards accuracy?
I did.
Have you emailed in all the required documents
and exhibits that are needed to proceed with this case
filed these in advance of this hearing?
Yes, we have.
Thank you.
Please proceed and share your screen.
I apologize my screen is a little slow today.
Let's see.
All right, so I'm here to present 2516 Frankford Avenue.
As you can see, this is a proposed four-story structure on Frankford Avenue with a much
lesser structure setback on Amber Street.
This is a renovation project, and you'll see that there's a building here already that
there's a building here already that was merely renovating this is also a cmx2 property
that we're just merely renovating.
This is also a CMX 2.
so we have during our presentation we're going to review the original notice of refusal which
did not include the commercial use we met with the the frankfurt bid and based on their
recommendations we changed the course of our project by including the commercial component
which increased some of the refusals at the request of the Frankfurt Avenue bid.
We did eventually get that revised refusal, which is Exhibit 3.
Exhibit 4 is our correspondence from the East Kensington Neighborhood Association.
It was a closed vote, 7, 4, 10, not in favor of this project.
I will say this with our conversations with the Board of East Kensington Neighbors Association.
They were a little bit surprised by the outcome of the vote. Again, this, I think it's a responsible project. You know, this was vetted by the Frankfurt Avenue bid before this project.
There was another project that night in front of the East Kensington Neighbors Association, so I think it's one of those situations where we were caught in the crosshairs of another project and people who are angry about that project, and unfortunately some of those people voted against us for our project, but does not go to the merits of the project.
We did circulate a petition, you know, of people who are directly impacted on that block.
Again, Frankford Avenue is a commercial portal.
So the individuals on that block are mixed between businesses as well as residents.
You'll see that.
One of our refusals has to do with lot coverage.
Just to reiterate, our property is a non-conforming lot as is right now.
We increased the non-conformity by increasing the lot coverage.
original we increased the lot coverage even more at the request of the frankfurt avenue bid
um and you know you'll see from the pictures that first of all it's not out of character
to have this type of like non-conformity in this part of the neighborhood where many of the
properties on frankfurt avenue do not conform to to the lot coverage requirements under the
Philadelphia codes. But also, the fact is, is that our property right now is a non-conforming
lot. Then one of the other refusals dealt with the height variance. Again, the height variance is,
you know, one that's not uncommon on Frankfort Avenue, and we'll show you three projects where
this board has granted height variances on Frankfort Avenue. We were also asked to increase
the height of the property by the frankfort avenue bid because they wanted a more prominent commercial
space on the ground floor which we did which we then got authorization from the zba and we have
a revised refusal but there's no harm in terms of us having both a lot of coverage issues as well as
issues in terms of the height in terms with regards to the requirements under the code
because the property to the left of us and right of us
are not being affected by light and air.
And we'll show you that as well.
Then we'll review maps of the area,
photographs of the property,
our plans and drawings,
our RCO meeting notice,
our applications for appeal.
Then our deed to the property