And in fact, if the project does not proceed
as an affordable housing project
as defined in the deed restrictions
and the community benefits agreement,
I know they're independent of the zoning board,
this project cannot proceed.
So I think that covers that.
is this is a very unprecedented way of protecting the community from exactly the concern just raised
that it would be available for market rate housing so i wanted to make sure that's in the record
thank you thank you wayne thank you mr kelson mr stole mr reuter chair chair um i in that case
the planning commission would withdraw the request for the provisor satisfied by the fact
that there has been a or there will be a deed recorded against the property however we still
request the uh right to review the uh final plan for parking lot landscaping thank you thank you
MI 2021 003182 5000 Warrington Avenue. I vote yes with provisos. Revised plan of five pages.
also number two uh variance for rear yard depth if required number three maximum of 104 units
and number four uh approval of parking by planning commission one one uh put together
excuse me chair i'm sorry but we can't make it conditional on planning's approval okay once
there's a final decision okay we'll we'll take that out so the first three
thomas howlin my vote is yes with the provisos james snell my vote is yes with provisos
ishmael shaheed my vote is no thank you thank you members of the board thank you all appreciate it
Thank you, everyone.
Thank you.
MI 2021-0.
I'm back. MI-2021-005230-5300 Chester Avenue. Hello?
Yes, sir. Okay. RCO Southwest District,
letter of support our 51st Republican Ward letter of support West Philadelphia United
neighbors letter of support. Morning, Mr. Sheriff. Morning, Mr. Mattione. State your name and spell
for the court reporter, please. Certainly. Michael Mattione, M-A-T-T-I-O-N-I. And it's
square firm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I do. Could you
state who your client is and the relationship to the property?
Certainly. My client is the Little Sisters of the Poor, and they are
the owners and operators of this property since 1902.
Mr. Holliman has a few questions. Good morning, Counselor.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal
and stipulate to his accuracy? Yes, it's a referral.
Okay, thank you. According to our records, you have submitted
all the required documents is that correct that is correct please proceed
thank you thank you and as I said I am representing the little
And as I said, I am representing the Little Sisters of the Poor.
They are the owners of this property at 5300 Chester Avenue.
We do have numerous representatives from the organization on today, including Father Mark
Fregan, who is their legal counsel, Greg Hensley, who is their owner's representative, Patricia
Lowe, who is the nursing home administrator, Mother Celine, who is president of the Holy
Family Home, Sister Maria, the Vice President of the Holy Family Home, Jeff Bolan, our architect,
and John Medendorp, our engineer. And as I said with Mr. Holloman, I did submit the
tax clearance certificate, the referral, the support letter from the Southwest Philadelphia
District Services, the coordinating RCO, numerous plans, photographs, proof of the mailing of the
RCO meeting letter etc so what I like to do is the reason we're here today is we have a referral
two two separate referrals we are proposing removal of three heritage trees and I will show
where they are on the plan briefly and also this personal care use which will be continued
requires a special exception and the removal of the heritage trees requires a special exception
And again, the Little Sisters of the Corps
have been operating here since 1902.
The present building was built in 1973,
and given that the present facility is 50 years old,
it's in need of updating,
and the updating will allow the Little Sisters of the Corps
to continue to provide the services to seniors
that they've been providing since 1902.
Just wanna run down, we do have a support letter
from the RCO and at the meeting it was it was unanimous support 14 people from the community
and three people from the RCO board so it was 17 people in support and no one in opposition
and I just want to show some site photographs again this is what the present building looks
like this is looking down Chester Avenue again the corner of 53rd and Chester Chester just some some
photos showing the interior of the site again some additional photos showing the site and it is this
entire city block. It is 202,500 square feet of land or 4.64 acres. The proposal is to reduce
the size of the home and to improve the lot and area where the home operates. There is presently
157,000 square feet of building area or gross floor area. We propose to reduce that to 105,000
square feet. The home is presently five stories at its highest. We propose to reduce that to four
stories again this shows the existing site the existing city block we've got five-story four-story
three-story buildings this building will be reduced in height this building will be removed
this building will be removed and replaced with a smaller building in addition to that
this is what the site will look like if approved we will add a rain garden another rain garden
third rain garden to help with the stormwater management.
Again, this building is reduced from 52 feet to about 41 feet.
The highest new construction is 38 feet.
We have 73 parking spaces proposed where there are presently 54.
We're increasing the parking so that if we ever do have events or functions at the home,
that there's ample parking on site so that it does not have to flow out into the community,
leaving basically an entire city block for the community to park on.
In addition, their stormwater management is shown by the rain gardens,
and we are vastly improving the entrance and exit off of Chester Avenue
to have it two separate and distinct, one in and one out,
to have better access to the site.
Again, we're going to remove three heritage trees,
but we're going to replace them with 42 new trees
and also with all the extensive landscaping around the site.
So, yes, it's three heritage trees that are basically, I'll show you where they are in a minute,
but they're being replaced with 42 new trees.
This facility, it's still an RSA too, so it could be developed into 64 homes,
but this is a much better use, continuing the use to show by the support of the community.
Again, we're doing what's been here since 1902.
Again, we're doing what's been here since 1902.
The improvements will reduce the burdens on the community because it will reduce the size of the facility,
will increase the parking, and add stormwater management where none exists.
Again, this is just a special exception for two special exceptions.
And if I go down, I'll show you the elevation plan you will see.
we are reducing the height down here from the top line to this lower level about 11 feet we're
reducing this entire building so again the scope of the project is considerably less if i show you
now other planes this is what presently exists existing frontal chester this is the proposed
new front addition a much smaller in scope project again front entrance
and then what it would be proposed to look like and then just some other rendering showing
the renovations and the smaller scope and scale of the building if approved
and some floor plans, just again, it's a smaller scope, less units, less residents.
Just showing this, this will be removed, this will be removed, this will be removed.
So it's just overall a much smaller scope, but what needs to happen so that they can continue to exist here.
Believe that the special exception should be granted.
We're not increasing congestion.
We're not overcrowding the land.
We're only occupying 22% where 40% occupied area is permitted.
We're not impairing light and air.
We're actually reducing it because we're reducing the height.
um again this could be 64 homes and it's not it's going to reduce the use of public facilities
and that's due to the reduction in size of the facility we're not going to impair any
joining conforming uses and they're going to benefit they're going to have on-street parking
that they might not have if this were 64 homes the heritage trees will be replaced by 42 trees
and we're going to have more than 83 total trees on the site when done with the extensive landscaping
in rain gardens. What I'd like to do, Mr. Chairman, is call on Mother Selene, but Mother
Selene is on with Patricia Lowe, so Patricia Lowe's name would probably pop off.
Okay, sure. And she'll adopt your testimony?
Yes, I have her adopt my testimony.
Thank you.
Ma'am, you can unmute. You're free to speak.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter, please?
My name is Patricia Lowe, P-A-T-R-I-C-I-A.
Last name is Lowe, L-O.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Are you going to adopt a testimony or is sister going to do it?
Sister's going to do it.
Could sister identify herself, please?
Sister Celine Woducut.
C-E-L-I-N-E-V-A-D-U-K-K-O-O-T.
Thank you.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceeds, Mr. Manionee.
Mr. Chair.
Mother Selene, did you hear my statements to the board?
And are they true and correct?
And do you adopt them as your testimony?
I have no further questions from others.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chair Bergman.
Members of the board, Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
Comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing RSA 2 zoning at this location.
We believe the proposed use will not cause detrimental impacts to the neighborhood beyond
what normally might be expected, and we also find the applicant's proposal to satisfy the
requirements to replace removed heritage trees in accordance with 147051F, and that the building
cannot be practically redesigned to avoid the existing heritage trees. The City Planning
Commission recommends that the board grant both special exceptions. Thank you. MI 2021-005230
005230 5300 Chester Avenue I vote yes. Thomas Heilemann my vote is yes. James Snell my vote
is yes. Ishmael Shaheed my vote is yes. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Chairman. MI 2021 00509454 East
Pastorius. RCO letter in support with Provisos, Faith Community Development Corporation.
Gussie O'Neill is the attorney.
Good morning. Good morning. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Sure. My first name is Augusta, A-U-G-U-S-T-A. My last name is O'Neill, O-N-E-I-L-L.
all right do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do could you state who your client is and what's the relationship to the property
sure my client is elad bella he is the principal of matt yanner llc which is the owner of the
property thank you mr hallman has a few questions good morning counselor do you do you agree to
waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy I do according to our records
you have submitted all the required documents is that correct that's correct um I just wanted
to say I was rejoining as a panelist um I know that the RCO did send a letter of support
um but I don't think it was sent until Sunday evening but I did forward it to um Ms. Lalletta
AND I BELIEVE THAT THE BOARD ADMINISTRATOR WAS COPIED ON THE WE HAVE IT WE HAVE A COPY
OKAY THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU PLEASE PROCEED THANK YOU SO MUCH JUST GOING TO SHARE MY SCREEN HERE
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD I'M HERE THIS MORNING REPRESENTING THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY AT 54
EAST PISTORIUS STREET THIS APPLICATION IS TO PUT THREE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES ON WHAT IS CURRENTLY
a vacant lot that is owned RSA 5. Just for context, I've got some pictures of what the
lot currently looks like in the surrounding area. This is where the homes are going to be located.
This is just a view looking north on East Pistorius Street, just to give the board an
idea of the look of the homes that are currently at this location. Here is a view looking south.
on East Pistorius Street. As you can see, it's a pretty quiet street. There's plenty of available
parking. Next thing I wanted to show was a zoning map. As you can see, this area is
purely residential. The lot that's highlighted is ours. This is a very oversized lot, as you can see
from this picture. We received a refusal on December 7th of this year. The refusal that we
received was because the lot sizes that we're proposing, the minimum lot size that's required
for homes in the RSA district is now 960, but this property is located in the 8th district overlay.
And so lots in that district have to be a bit larger. So on our particular application,
one of the lots that we're proposing, um, is 1,265 square feet. The other lot that is the
subject of the refusal was 1292. And so we're just off, um, by about a hundred square feet on each
lot. So we would meet the required minimum lot area at any other place in the city, but, um,
not in this overlay. We believe that the lot size that we're proposing is actually closer to what