Thank you.
It is cold.
okay everyone good morning good morning my name is Bill Bergman and I will be chairing
this morning's meeting with me.
With us is our board member
Cheryl L. Gaston.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board member Tanetta Graham.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our board member Michael Johns.
I know he's here.
If not, he'll shortly be on.
Our board member Taya Nguyen.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
So present is our attorney, Hillary Emerson,
our zoning board director, Ian Haggerty,
and our board administrator, Lakeisha Dandy.
Recording of this hearing will be posted on the ZBA website.
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So let's look at our schedule for today.
number two mi2024002357 1945 north 25th street this case is continued the cases
will be marked, must be heard, will be heard at the next listing whether or not the RCO meeting
has occurred, provided the required mailing was done and the near neighbors and the property
properly posted. Number three, MI 2024-002-424-822 Barlow Street. This case is continued
until 10-22-25 at 9-30.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair,
did we have a date for the case number two
that you read into the...
Just continue momentarily.
Number two will be 10-22-25 at 9-30 a.m.
Okay, thank you so much.
Number seven,
MI 2024-007-591-5210-Rexford Road.
MI 2024.
This case is continued to 10-22-25 at 9-30.
number 9
000001
1016 West Erie
Avenue. There's a request
for a continuing from the
RCO, Nicetown, Tioga.
Vern Anastasio is the attorney.
Mr. Anastasio.
Good morning.
This is Doreen Blakely, and I will be co-hosting this morning's hearings.
Vern Anastasio should be coming in as a panelist.
Thank you.
Good morning, Mr. Chair.
Morning.
Vern, could you state your name and spell for this stenographer?
It's Vern Anastasio, A-N-A-S-T-A-S-I-O.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Counsel, the RCO has requested to continue.
Are you okay with that?
I have no objection.
Thank you.
So MI 2025, 0001, 1016 West Erie Avenue.
That case is continued to 1022.25 at 9.30 a.m.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And number 10.
MI 2025, 000002, 206 Oxford Street.
That case is continued to 10-22-25 at 9.30.
Number 13, MI 2025, 000014, 3113 Midville Avenue.
That case is continued to 10-22-25 at 9.30.
And number 15, MI 2025, 000282, 3731 Midvale Avenue. Nathan Sell and Jonathan Morley are pro se. We believe we may not have the appropriate documents to go on with this. Could the Mr. Sell or Morley please come on?
nathan cell has been promoted
hi good morning this is nathan cell good morning mr cell could you please state your name and
spell for the stenographer sure nathan n-a-t-h-a-n cell s-e-l-l do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Mr. Sell, do you swear to tell the truth?
Yeah, I do. Okay, thank you. Hillary, we don't have all the...
Mr. Sell, it didn't appear from the documents that you submitted that you had met with
the RCO as required. Is that correct? That's correct. Yeah, I sent a notice last week. They
received them on Thursday, but I've not heard back. I wasn't super clear on the requirements
there so i was hoping to get a better understanding of what i needed to do there yes so um that is
something that you should call the office to to discuss but you have to have a meeting with the
community before the board can hear your case and i do see we have a hand up from um hillary
langer who i believe is the um from the coordinating rco in your case um mr triddy we want to promote
mr langer mr langer please
Mr. Langer has been promoted.
Good morning, Mr. Langer.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Good morning.
This is Hillary Langer.
Good morning, Mr. Langer.
Could you state your name and spell for the stenographer?
My name is Hillary Langer, H-I-L-A-R-Y-L-A-N-G-E-R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Mr. Langer, you've heard the appellate.
Is it possible you can get with him and have a conversation outside of here about where we go next in this case?
Certainly, yes.
I received an email a couple of days ago requesting a meeting.
I had not received any notification through RCO's EBA that this is coming up.
However, I can arrange a public meeting on our next scheduled date, which should be June 17th, third Wednesday at 7 p.m.
okay thank you thank you for taking the time to get on we appreciate it mr cell this case
Thank you.
Thank you for taking the time to get on.
We appreciate it.
Thank you.
Thank you.
This case is continued.
is continued so mi2025 000 282 3731 midville avenue cases continued to 10 22 25 at 9 30.
thank you thank you so we have a few cases that we do not have exhibits
Number 11, MI2025, 000003, 808 South Cecil Street.
Clemente Amazon is the attorney.
This is the first listing.
We do not have any exhibits.
Also, Stacey Shomo is the listed owner.
Clemente Amazon will be joining as a panelist.
Good morning, Chairman and members of the board.
Good morning, Council.
Counsel, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Clemente Amazon.
That's spelled C-L-E-M-E-N-T-A.
Last name is spelled A-M-A-Z-A-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Counsel, we don't have any exhibits.
This is the first listing.
We are requesting a continuance of this particular matter.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
So MI 2025, 000-003, 808 South Cecil Street, cases continued to 10-22-25 at 9.30 a.m.
Thank you very much for getting on.
Chairman, I do have one more question.
We also had a matter that was scheduled to be heard.
It was an L&I appeal.
I submitted a continued request for that as well, but I didn't hear you read that off.
i i miss amazon we have a request for withdrawal for that case i'm sorry a withdrawal okay yes
i'm getting to that okay sorry about that thank you yeah sure sure sure sure and number 14
mi 2025 000212128 mancho street we have no exhibits as the first listing
George and Dana Goodwin
are the listed owners. Janice Woodcock
Woodcock Design
Dana Goodwin
will be coming in as a panelist
Good morning.
Good morning.
Dennis, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Dina Goodwin, D-E-N-A-G-O-O-D-W-I-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
We do not have the, we, am I correct, Hillary, we have no exhibits at all for this?
So I think we received the exhibits too late to review them.
So unfortunately, and there is a question, there's also revised plans that need to be
reviewed.
So unfortunately, I don't think we can proceed today because we did not receive them five days in advance of the hearing.
Okay, so MI 2025, 000021, 2128 Montrose Street.
This case will be continued until 102225 at 930 a.m.
If you have any questions at all, please call the office and they would help you with everything you need, okay?
Sorry, we, I believe our architect is also on the line and I believe we had everything submitted. You're still waiting for, we, we just received the letter from our RCO. That was the only component that we did.
So, but the point, the point is we did not receive the documents in time to be reviewed.
And if you want, I mean, if you want me to talk to your architect, I'll gladly do it.
I mean, but we do not have the documents in time to review them.
We're sorry about that.
Oh, sure.
If you have any questions, call the office and I'll gladly help you.
All right.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
And number five, MI 2024-007-193-3701 Chestnut Street.
This case has been withdrawn.
We're going to go to our add-on list.
Number one, MI 2024-006-765-4501.
0-0-6-7-6-5-4-5-0-1, Castor Avenue, this is a request for reconsideration. I vote no.
No to reconsideration and rehearing. Okay. What was no? I thought it was no to reconsideration
and rehearing. My vote is no to reconsideration and rehearing. Cheryl Gaston, my vote is no to
reconsideration and rehearing.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is no to reconsideration
and rehearing.
My vote is no to reconsideration and rehearing.
Number two, MI
007354
1432 South
49th Street,
I vote yes with proviso.
Her refusal dated
Michael Johns,
my vote is yes with proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes, with proviso.
Tanya, when my vote is yes, with proviso.
Number three, MI 2024-003-268-3501 G Street.
This case is continued to 528 at 9.30 a.m.
Number four, MI 2024, 007-496-1808-Wiley Street.
This case is continued to 528 at 930 a.m.
And number five, MI 2024-007-415-706 Chestnut Street, I vote yes, with reviso per amended
Amended refusal dated 5-19-25.
Oh, Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with proviso.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with proviso.
Hi, Owen, my vote is yes with proviso.
And number six, MI 2024-003-740-1324-26 East Passion Avenue.
The board will vote on this matter upon receipt of supplemental documents the applicant requested to submit to the board prior to its vote.
We're now going to go to our regular list.
Number one, MI 2024, 002-343-5259 Jefferson Street.
um case in towns is the owner applicant and this is a pro se
excuse me mr chair um we just we have someone else with their hand raised um and a real um
patio i'm not sure if they have a question or continuance request sure
abriel petillo has been promoted good morning
hello how you guys doing good morning could you please state your name and spell for the
stenographer uh bro petillo a-b-r-i-l-l-e last name pism paul a-t-i-l-l-o you swear
or firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing
but the truth? Yes. What case
are you interested in? 3501
G Street.
So the
vote in that matter has been continued
until next week. It is still under review
by the board. Okay. Thank you.
Thank you.
All right. So we'll go back.
2024-002-343-5259
Jefferson Street. Case in
Towns. Owner applicant. This is
a pro se.
must be heard
Kaysan Towns is coming in as a panel
Kaysan Towns is coming in as a panelist
good morning
good morning
could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
Kaysan Towns
K-A-I-S-A-N
T-O-W-N-S
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth nothing but the truth
Yes. This application is for use as a two-family household living. Two-family household living is prohibited in the RSA 5 zoning district. Do you waive the reading of the refusal, and do you agree with its accuracy?
Do you waive the reading of the refusal?
And do you agree with its accuracy?
Do I waive the reading of the refusal?
Of the refusal, yeah.
I mean, well, I just read it to you.
So I just read it to you.
I'm sorry.
We're good.
Why don't you start your presentation?
Thank you.
I would have to share the screen?
Yes, you do.
I apologize.
I don't see that.
option.
Is it possible for someone to
tell me where to find that? I'm not seeing it.
The share button should be at the bottom.
Okay, I see.
So this is my application for appeal.
the meeting
summary that my
you had unanimous support
from the RCO
it was already
excuse me
I said go ahead your deed
I just saw your deed too
yes I apologize I'm going too fast
take your time
it was purchased in
right uh i've owned it since um i just took a screenshot of the
that's that i have no balance for my okay for your that's fine keep moving
my neighbors um the letter for the meeting for the public meeting this is my refusal
Also, as you just read, this is the zoning notice that was posted for today's meeting.
This is the postings inside and outside.
This is the layout.
So there's a basement with a bathroom in it.
And then there on the first floor, there's a one bedroom apartment with a bedroom at the back, living at the front and a kitchen and bath in between.
That's right off the porch. And then on the second floor, there are two bedrooms, kitchen, living room or dining room and bathroom.
Um, uh, I haven't changed the layout since purchasing at all. Uh, I, uh, received the property in this layout. So I'm mostly seeking to just get formal approval to be able to use it as it was received. Uh, this, this is the exterior of the property.
Uh, this is the interior of the property. That is the, is that the first floor? That's the second floor.
this is the second floor yes um can we maybe make this a little bigger sure i can do that
thank you so much there you go yes of course thank you so this is the main bedroom on the
second floor this is the kitchen on the second floor and then the bathroom as well and then
And this is the bedroom on the first floor and the kitchen on the first floor.
And that's how it has remained since.
Is there one door to get into the building?
There is one door to get in the building, yes.
So could you show us how that works?
I mean, how do you get up to the second floor?
So that this door is the door to the building.
When you walk in directly in front of you, there's one door.
And then if you look to the left, there's another door.
Where are the living rooms for the units?
So this right here is like a living slash dining room.
for the upstairs and this is the living room slash um dining room for the downstairs okay
and uh the uh utilities are in the basement as well i see there's a bedroom in the bathroom
but where are the utilities located the utilities are in the basement yes the bedroom in the
basement no it's unfinished oh because it's just how the appraiser listed it but it does have a
bathroom and it's just a large area.
Let me ask you the blocker on how many other multiple units are there?
The block you're on, how many other multiple units are there?
There's a few.
There's a few.
There's one directly next to me.
There's a number of multiple family dwellings.
All right, questions from the board.
How much yard space is there for, and is the yard space accessible by both units?
The yard, there's a small backyard.
yard. It's accessible directly from the first floor unit and through a, I guess, wooden fence
with a door on the side if the top unit wanted to get access, which is me. So, yeah.
So that's where the trash is stored?
Thank you. This is a corner property?
Yes, ma'am.
Yes. Okay. And then, so that means that the second unit has to access the backyard, that side door, it's coming from the other street?
Mm-hmm.
Okay. And then for the meters, was it separately metered when you purchased it? Like, are there two picometers, two gas meters?
Yes, there are two.
And they're all in the basement?
They are all in the basement, correct.
Correct. Okay. So if for the second floor unit, how are they going to access the basement if they need to service anything?
There is, it's hard to see, there's a door. These are steps and there's a door right here to access the basement.
Okay. So there's like universal access. Are you giving both tenants, is your plan to give both tenants keys to access the basement?
Yes, ma'am.
And then, so then my second question is, if both tenants have access to the basement, is there a lock on the inside of the first floor unit to keep it?
Yes, ma'am.
Okay. Yep. I don't think I have any other questions.
You live on the second floor?
Yes, sir.
Other questions from the board?
I have no questions.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
No hands, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chairman, and good morning.
David Fecto, F-E-C-T-E-A-U, with the City Planning Commission.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir, I do.
Please proceed.
Thank you, sir.
Chairman and board members, the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the RSA-5 residential
single-family zoning of this location there is no unique physical condition or circumstance of
this property that would prevent it from being used in strict conformity with the zoning code
this is a primarily single-family block base the city planning commission recommends the board
deny the proposed use variance for a second dwelling thank you mi2024 002 343 5259 jefferson
Street, I vote yes. Proviso, maximum two units.
Can we include no household living in the basement?
Yeah, no household living in the basement.
What's that?
Sure, and a certificate of occupancy.
Okay, my vote is yes with proviso.
Gerald Gaston, my vote is yes with proviso.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with Provisos.
Taya Nguyen, my vote is yes with Provisos.
Number 12.
MI 2025, 00004, 2848 Chatham Street.
Benjamin Gallagher is the tenant.
Applicant.
Benjamin Gallagher will be joining as a panelist.
Recommendation of opposition from the Southport Richmond Civic Association.
The vote was 32 in opposition, including eight in the affected addresses and six in support.
Mr. Gallagher
Gallagher
Yes, I'm here
Good morning, could you please state your name
and spell it for the stenographer
Benjamin Gallagher
B-E-N-J-A-M-I-N
Gallagher
G-A-L-L-I-G-A-R
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth
Yes, I do
OK, so this application is for use as assembly and entertainment, public entertainment venue in area three within an existing structure.
in Area 3 within an existing structure, no changes
No changes to other.
to other previously approved uses, whereas the proposed use
assembly and entertainment is prohibited in the I-2
zoning district. Would you please start your
presentation? The presentation is I'm trying to do like a
theater, like the Walnut Theater. No, no, no. What I'm saying is
start your computer. That's it. It's coming up now.
it's coming up now good thing you're here
these are the pictures inside why are they not coming up
i'm sorry the computer's super slow
and then just click
explain what it is
why don't you start telling us what you want to do there
what I like to do is
a theater for like live entertainment
comedy shows
rehearsals
things like that
and that's what the area looks like this is what the area looks like now
there's there are two bathrooms
there's the windows to the cedar street side
that door would have to be closed off to the rest of the building
and that's all the pictures we have yeah i'm i'll show that if you're a few years
you have drawings on what it's going to look like we have the drawings of frank hasn't
i know we don't have drawings on what it's going to look like when it's complete it'll
be like that with just the stage on it we don't have drawings until we get the approval
Oh, that was our meeting.
Can I get a mailing?
The compliance, our tax compliance.
You got to tell them.
That's our tax compliance.
this is a copy of our lease
the refusal letter
did you hire an architect and what's this did you hire an architect yes we do have an architect
actually the plans for there are in review right now
in review by who i mean who's revealing that l and i right what is no frank we don't know who's
Who's got Frank got the plans in front of?
No, that's for up here, not downstairs.
Oh, we don't have plans.
We don't have plans for that area yet until we get the approval.
Okay, so Benjamin, we need to see plans.
I mean, yeah.
So, yeah, so just to clarify, I understand that this is a change of use,
so Elle and I would not have required a site plan,
But if you could provide the board even with something hand-drawn to show how the space is going to be set up, because it's very difficult for the board to understand what the space is going to be used for without seeing some sort of depiction.
So here's what we're going to do.
We're going to have a resumptive hearing for this.
and what I would do then is
whether it's you, your architect
somebody draw up what it would look like so you can explain better how you're going to use the
somebody draw up what it would look like
so you can explain better how you're going to use
the place
place okay okay and what we're going to do is there will be a resumptive hearing for this
on 8 19 25 at 9 30 a.m okay okay thank you very much thank you well i'm sorry well
well they also clarify how um how folks come in the space like do they have to come to the
whole building or is they oh okay so from the outside so how do folks access your space to
come i'll do the drawings i'll put i'll take pictures and put that in the drawings thank you
also just a clarification is this different than the change of use permit and the building permit
that was filed for a similar use in 2023 yes it is okay yes okay all right thank you very much
sir. Thank you. Have a good day. All right. Number 15.
We're done with 15. Okay. All right. Number 14. That's done too. Oh my God. Okay.
Let's go back. We'll start in the beginning here.
We did one. Four. I got it. Okay.
Number four, MI 2024-002-515, 1725 Jackson Street.
Adam Natchmani is the attorney.
There's a letter of support from the Drada State Neighbors Association.
Adam Natchmani should be coming in as a panelist.
good morning board members adam nakmani on behalf of uh the applicant josh klaroff
there's also an ark could you do me a favor could you please spell your name for this
of course adam adam nakmani n-a-c-h-m-a-n-i you swear to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth of course yes and do you wait do you agree to waive the reading and the
refusal and agree with its accuracy um yes and could you identify your client please
sure my client is josh square off who's the owner of the property there's also an architect
Mr. Alex Doller of FUSA Designs, LLC, who has the presentation for the for the board.
So you want to start your presentation on how you're going to do it?
I mean, you're are you going to start and then bring the architect on?
Yes. I mean, this is a request for a variance for the to eliminate the required eight foot setback.
The architect, I'd like to bring him on, Mr. Duller, who's also a neighbor, the directly adjacent neighbor, who can go through some additional points relating to the request here.
So I'm not sure.
He should be on the meeting.
I hope so.
There he is.
I do see Alex's hand is raised.
Sir, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
You're muted.
You're muted.
Good morning. My name is Alex Duller, A-L-E-X, D as in David, U-L-L-E-R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Are you going to put the documents up and we'll...
Yep, I am working on that.
Just trying to find their share.
Can everyone see? Yep, we see it now. Yep. Okay.
Well, here we go. All right.
So as Adam pointed out, I'm actually the red brick house here.
Josh's house is the gray house with the rendering of the front facade.
We have the copy of the deed.
A tax clearance form, the certificate of bulk mailing,
our Girard Estate Neighbors Association.
We met with the neighbors.
No opposition at all.
100% support.
There's a certificate.
This is Hillary.
So the attorney needs to be giving the presentation.
You can call the architect as a witness
to discuss the architectural aspects of the project,
but the bulk of the presentation,
especially the things not related to the architecture,
should be discussed by the attorney.
So the architect, you have all the documents.
So, so the architect, you, you have the, you have all the documents.
Why don't you start over and let the lawyer make the presentation off the
Why don't you start over?
documents. Okay.
Counsel, please proceed.
Thank you. Okay. Um, Alex, so just going back to,
sorry, the table content.
Okay. So if you go to the next slide, please. Uh,
this is the deed confirming that Josh square off the applicants,
the owner of the property. The next item is confirming that Mr. Spiroff is compliant with
taxes. The third, the next item is the Girardi State Neighbors Association letter of support,
no opposition at all. Confirmation of mailing is the next slide. The next slide after that is the
refusal. And I'd like to call Mr. Doller as a witness to testify regarding the plans that he
had put together regarding this project. Mr. Doller, can you please explain the plans that
you prepared? Yes. So a few years ago, Josh did a third floor addition. We've been basically,
he came to me last year wanting to infill the front eight-foot setback. He was having
roofing issues, drainage issues, and basically wanted to know the process for having to do this.
I explained to him, you know, we would have to go through the ZBA process, and so
we find ourselves here today. So first, we have our site plan, just calling out for that.
I have kind of a context map. We're located right behind Pass Young Avenue, so we have no houses kind of behind us.
We're on the north side of the street, so with the sun, basically Josh proposing this additional addition.
He doesn't shadow anyone except for himself.
And then here are the plans for the house.
Basically, he put a master suite up at the top floor and finds himself and his wife basically working, you know, they were working more from home.
And so this additional space gives them the ability to have a home office up there.
So that's that.
It also would solve all of the roofing issues right now that he would have because everything would drain to the rear and be able to tie in with the rest of the roof drainage.
And then we have some photographs of the existing conditions.
So you can see he has a guardrail basically up there right now, but he isn't able to use that as a roof deck across the street.
there used to be a bakery here that they renovated and basically did a full third
story addition and then i am the immediate neighbor i plan on doing an addition basically
exactly how we propose and due to the way the code is written i would not be required to go
to the zba basically josh is penalized for being the first person on the street so either of his
immediate neighbors the way the code is written can do a third floor without a third floor setback
because he has a third floor so either i at 1723 or 1727 could go and basically do the third floor
addition as he plans like this tomorrow completely by right and i almost went ahead and filed zoning
for something like this so that we could use it as as evidence but ultimately you know josh didn't
want to pay for a zoning permit that you know wasn't really for him and i don't have my plans
completely worked out it's basically just discussions with my wife right now after seeing
josh's third floor addition and basically seeing how you know gave him so much more room we also
have a little one he has a little son who's growing bigger and you know basically we're
both encountering the same issues of we both needed more space josh was just the first one
to go and do it so um we so what you're saying is he put an addition on prior yes now you want
now you want to recoup the eight feet that he had to go back to exactly like exactly he basically
he's been dealing with issues since the finishing of the construction you know some he had water
the finishing of the construction you know some he had water overflow issues water overflowing on
overflow issues
the 1727 um it's it's just been a lot of issues due to the setback and keeping basically the water
the way the water was done the way that the contractor did everything it wasn't it it it's
caused issues and even changing it and redoing it it most likely would also cause issues in the future
questions from the board
yes um a few questions that i have one um i just want to put on the record that i don't think it's
fair to say that the eight foot setback is the cause of the roofing issues um because there's
many properties in the city that have the eight foot setback and don't have said roofing issues
so I do just want to make that statement really clear my question is that one how many properties
on that block are above two stories yeah Josh is the first on that side of the block and then on
On the other side of the block, there's one three-story.
And then we have Zero Electric, which is kind of like two and a half stories across the street from us.
And then there's a three-story building on the corner of 18th Street.
And then in the – yeah, go ahead.
At the end of our block, there's a car repair shop that's owned, I believe, CMX 3.
and they ultimately would be allowed to go or cmx 2.5 so they would be allowed to go 55 feet
and the properties behind us are all cmx 2.5 they would be allowed to go 55 feet in height
right but those are different zoning classifications so yes i know and and we're allowed
the 38 feet. Ultimately, I know the goal of the eight-foot setback was to basically allow light
to get on the street on typically the narrower streets in Philadelphia. By setting back the third
floor, you allow light to reach the middle of the street. Well, that occurs on narrow streets.
On Jackson, where we are, you can fit four lanes of traffic.
We have parking on both sides of the street, and two lanes of traffic come down the street.
Ciro's constantly having deliveries where a truck is parked and cars and buses.
Let's stay off of where Ciro has deliveries.
That's also not the only reason for the eight-foot setback.
So I think a concern that I have is that this is a majority two-story row house block, and the rendering that you showed is a little imposing from the street view.
I think there's other details, like the mansard roof detail that we see happen a lot in Sosna's district that are done to sort of mitigate that feel from the street.
and i one this still has a roof deck at the rear and so i guess my first question is why wasn't
this addition put at the rear of the property to fill in the existing roof deck and maintain
the eight foot um setback and eliminate the need for uh approval at all
oh i think ultimately you you speak about the mansard council why don't you start responding
into some of this sure sure so the the front was not used the front was just an open open area it
wasn't used as a roof deck it was just the setback so the way that the property was built they put
the deck on the rear um of the property now they are having some problems i can understand if it's
an aesthetic issue that's something that we could probably work with the board on um if it's an
aesthetic item um but the the reason for leaving the front portion open was not to put a deck or
work with the different areas just to leave it open for the setback requirements and then what's
the reason that the front deck is not being used because it does look like from the photos you
showed as well as google earth that there is access to the front and the railing would lead
one to believe that it was designed intending for a human being to step out and that is there for
as safety it's it's my understanding is that the railing is there for safety it's not a finished
deck on that the rear deck is finished and meant for walking on so it could probably be a safety
item which i'm sure josh can testify as a young son there is you know if if a child did get out
there that would be a safety issue and and so that's one of the concerns here so i the original
plan wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute sure counsel do you want the architect to speak
Sure. Counsel, do you want the architect to speak? Yes, please. I control this a little bit. I got it. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Yes. Go ahead, Mr. Dollar. Regarding the original plans and why there were changes in the plan, why it's being changed now.
Yes, please.
We've got to control this a little bit.
I got it.
so the the deck was not approved in the original plans in the original plans the roof deck was
orientated to the rear because that is the view of the city um and basically that that was the
way to utilize and you know gain that view of the city um which you by taking up that space
you eliminate that it this also is a by putting this addition here we're also able to connect it
to the main room of the house in the other situation you wind up having to go around the
bathroom um this way it went this way he would actually be able to use more than the eight feet
for the home office whereas if he filled in the rear we wouldn't be able to um we also are proposing
a mansard roof similar to the Sosna you know what is used along many other properties unlike
the corner building across the street we that was discussed with Josh and he also agreed that
the mansard roof is a better transition from you know the existing two-story to the new three-story
um and so we were doing this and i just want to reiterate that ultimately 1723 and 1727
could do this proposed edition tomorrow okay so we're doing this edition now we're working on
this one now uh council could you bring on your client to adopt your testimony and the architect's
testimony, please. Sure. Mr. Sklaroff?
I saw him on shortly.
A little while ago there. Josh? Good morning, board. Can you hear me?
Good morning. Yes. Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Of course. My name is Josh Sklaroff.
J-O-S-H-S-K-L-A-R-O-F-F.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Mr. Speroff, do you adopt the testimony of your counsel and your architect as your own?
And I'd also like to move the exhibits into evidence, please.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Do any board members have any further questions?
I just want to go back to what board member Taya spoke about.
it appears from the google that they're sliding doors off to the area in the front yes um
so there's a few things i also would like to um answer miss win's question about why things did
not go originally that way um but the reason we did that was we were unaware we would not
be able to have that access when we were told during construction the doors were pretty much
already in place. So we have a locking mechanism on the inside, which does not allow us to open
the door. It's a safety mechanism. And we installed that in order to pass our inspection.
We do not use the front part. I've literally only gone out there during major storms because we do
get some water that collects. Unfortunately, the drainage was not properly done. And we're hoping
to try to fix that. Other questions? Not question, but comment again, along with board member Winn
and board member Johns. I'm not seeing where there's any hardship here. You have the required
setback you have a deck that you could enclose and use in the back as opposed to removing the
setback. The deck cannot be enclosed and put inside this. I'm sorry I'm having a hard time
with that and the other thing is the drainage issues are not are not connected to the zoning
issues in this case if there's a if the drainage is a problem um that needs to be repaired in some
other way and it doesn't require that you remove the front setback and enclose that space to take
care of it all right questions from our attorney not at this time mr chair questions or comments
from the virtual audience there are no hands chair planning commission
there are no hands chair planning commission
Thank you.
thank you chairman and good morning david fecto with the city planning commission
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa5 residential
single family zoning at this location we have recommended in favor of the elimination of an
eight foot setback when that setback would have rendered a third story unfeasible however this is
a 69 foot deep lot the appellant could accommodate a third story while still including the setback
provision no economic detriment would accrue to the appellant by following the setback requirement
the city planning commission recommends that the board that the board deny the proposed
dimensional variance from the third story setback provision in the zoning code mi 2024
002-515-1725
Jackson Street. I vote no. Michael Jones, my vote is no.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is no.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is no. Tywin, my vote is no.
Thank you, counsel.
Number six, MI 2024
007-590-5825
Taconi Street. Zen Jin is the attorney.
there's a letter of non-opposition from
Wissahick and Civic Association
Zen Janis coming in
as a panelist
good morning
good morning counsel
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
My name is Zen Jin, Z-H-E-N, last name J-I-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Do you identify your client in relationship to the property?
Metro Auto Service is a tenant at the location, and that's my client.
This is their application.
Do you waive the reading, the refusal?
Do you agree with its accuracy?
please start your presentation. Thank you. I'm going to share with the board what was
submitted previously. Can the board see my presentation on their screen?
It's coming up now. We see it now, sir. Great. Thank you. So this is an application that was
submitted to add what is essentially an additional use to an existing business.
There's an existing truck and heavy equipment repair shop.
What we're proposing is to add a paint booth to the location so that it becomes a one-stop
shop essentially for both body work as well as mechanic work.
This is located in a I-3 industrial district near Taconi Street, which I will show you in a little bit with photos and other in the plans that it is well away from any residents and it's actually a generally heavy industrial area.
So the proposed paint shop is actually a special exception.
So this is a referral. The use proposed was supported by the RCO after we, well, not opposed by the RCO after we presented it because of its location, because of the existing business and because of the size of the building in which the paint booth will be located, there will be almost no impact to the surrounding area.
In fact, this is the location.
I'm going to zoom in a little bit on the photos.
The building that we're talking about is here.
This is the industrial building that the repair work is done in now.
Here are some of the existing conditions within the building.
This paint booth, which is being proposed, will actually be about this much of the space within the building.
So this is the paint booth that is going to be built within the space.
And as you can see, it is actually a very small part of the overall space.
And that is also reflected on the plans.
The actual paint booth, which because of the size of the building,
so if this is the building footprint, this will be the paint booth relative to the overall size.
so it's a very small part of the building and again you can see from here this is the proposed
paint booth versus this is the actual building itself the building again with the venting of
with the venting of the paint booth, it'll be going to filter system up to the roof of the
the paint booth it'll be going to filter system up to the roof of the
building. And it's located essentially at the center of the building. So there'll be no impact
to any of the neighbors in the area, mainly because they're also generally industrial buildings
and they're far enough away that there's really no direct impact to them. Another way to see this
clearly will be on the map itself. So as you can see, this is our location, and this is another
set of buildings, industrial buildings on this side. There are a few residents over here on
Comley Street, and that was also discussed with the neighbors at the meeting. But again,
they're far enough away, and our paint booth is small and located within a large building
that there will be no direct impact to the neighbors. And as such, we receive non-opposition
to our proposal, given it's a special exception, I would submit that this would not cause
any negative impacts greater than what would normally be expected of this kind of use.
And with that, I'm happy to answer any questions or redirect to any part of the presentation.
And my client is here to verify my testimony.
Why don't you bring your client on first?
His name is a little hard to pronounce, but Vaz, can you raise your hand, be identified
so we can have you
verify my testimony.
Your client has been promoted.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Sir, could you please state your name
and spell for the stenographer?
I don't know if he's having mic issues.
Great.
Hi, everyone.
Hi, sir.
Could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer?
My name is Vakhtangi Mualadze.
People call me Vak, V-O-C.
The legal name V-A-K-H-T-A-N-G-I and the last name M-U-L-A-D-Z-E.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you.
Buck, did you see my presentation on your screen and also hear my representation before the zoning board?
Did you hear my question?
Not so many.
Okay, I'm sorry.
Did you see the presentation I made to the zoning board
and hear my representation?
Do you still hear me?
Hello?
Yes, I can hear you.
Yes, yes.
Yes, I did.
Yes, you did.
Can you verify what I have represented to the zoning board
is true and correct and adopt it as your own testimony?
Yes, it is.
Thank you.
Zen, just out of curiosity,
did they put additional exhaust there?
the the paint booth itself will have its own uh system for venting as well it's required as part
of the paint booth yeah what i'm sorry vack the paint booth will have its own specialized
venting system correct yes it actually already has that uh heavy duty vent but since we don't
have the approval we're not operating yet um we had the electrician we had some professional
people came and gave us their estimates how to make sure everything gets done right but we we
did purchase the unit when we first started this because we believed this was gonna be uh quick
but later we were told that we have to wait and that's why we're waiting now uh yes everything
will be installed as a professional paint booth with the filters. And this will be a very small
paint booth too. This is just for our own vehicles that we're trying to, you know,
paint them here in-house and avoid, you know, going somewhere else. So this is going to be
more like for internal use versus opening up the door for the customers, but it's still a paint
book. Thank you. Questions from the board? What do you operate hours of operation?
9 to 5. Every day? We don't work on Sundays. Saturday normally till 3.
Question. Have you looked into the requirements for fire protection for the paint booth?
my understanding is
I've had a couple of clients who've tried to do this
I've had a couple of clients who've tried to do this, that you have to have an enhanced fire protection as well because of the volatility of the paint.
that you have to have an enhanced
So have we looked into that and is part of what you've done to prepare the enhanced fire protection that may be necessary?
yes we had a company called ans sprinkler we hired them before we did any work and they installed
this building does have a sprinkler system so they had to install extensions and with the
special heads they call because of the paint and that work is already actually done and we have
in waste, paid in waste from them that we can
present when needed. But that work is already done
and this building does get normally
inspected for fire and fire alarm and
sprinkler system. The question would be
if there's a requirement for an enhanced
fire rating for the booth itself.
so yes i believe what he was but the question is have we looked into um the fire uh i'm pretty
sure they need an increased fire rating for the booth itself so back the um the sprinkler system
company that you hired they came in specifically to update the system the sprinkler system for that
paintballs correct to meet the enhanced requirements yeah that's exactly what they did
they were they knew what exactly needed to be done and they said uh i cannot really speak in
their language but they showed me uh where we had to they had to add some extensions they said
per this square feet you need we need one here you need one there so they added the expansion
extensions and they put special heads on them they said when you paint because it's a paint
spray so
it will not trick the system
so you have to use this kind
and that work is all done
like that was done
even before I
even contacted you maybe like a year
and hazmat
we have hazmat considerations
as well so have we
looked into that as part
of this
so the hazmat removal
for the
for paint and all those things have you already had contact with companies for that
yeah we have a company that picks up the oil like i can provide the company's name uh he was
actually just here this morning they pick up the oil right now because that's the only thing we
generate uh as a right now when we change when we do the oil changes uh we do not have any paint
material, but
as soon as we
will start operating,
the company will collect it
separately.
Thank you.
Any other questions?
Questions or
comments from our attorney?
Chair, I'm here now.
Okay, thank you, Ish.
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Hilary, are you straight with the
the licensing agreement?
Yes, we have received a complete copy.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chairman, and good morning.
David Fepto with the City Planning Commission.
Chairman and board members,
the comprehensive plan recommends no change
to the I-3 heavy industrial zoning at this location.
this property is within an area called out by the comprehensive plan as an industrial preservation
area the appellant has shown the proposed vehicle paint finishing shop will have no detrimental
impacts beyond what might be expected the city planning commission recommends the board grant
a proposed special exception for a vehicle paint finishing shop thank you mi2024 007 590 5825
of Taconi Street, I vote yes.
Johns, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanita Graham, my vote is yes.
Tywin, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
Counsel, I think we have another case here for you.
So MI 2024, 007-593-1838 South 7th Street.
Just for the record, state your name.
You've already been sworn.
Yes, my name is Zen Jin, Z-H-E-N, last name J-I-N.
Yeah, so my name is Zhen Jian, Z-H-E-N, last name J-I-N.
So you have unanimous support from East Passion Crossings RCO and also a letter of non-opposition from the RCO from Council Member Squilla.
Our Vice Chair has a few questions for you.
Good morning, Council. Do you agree to waive the reason of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
Good morning. I do. Thank you.
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits as needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
I have.
Thank you, counsel. Please proceed.
Thank you.
I'm going to share with the board what was previously submitted as exhibit.
Can the board see my exhibit on their screen?
We can.
Excellent.
Good morning.
This is an application by New King Realty LLC for the property located at 1838 South 7th Street.
The refusal indicates the use as a proposed use personal vehicle repair and maintenance
with an existing structure in a CMX2 district.
It was refused because such use is expressly prohibited in that district.
This property has some unique features and circumstances that led us to having the
support of the community as well as the council office, mainly that this is a CMX two-pointer
property that was previously used as a contractor's essentially storage and
their vehicle parking and storage. So it has a gated, a large gate, sliding gate,
and it's a very similar use to what's surrounding the property the main thing with regard to this
proposal that's different than your typical vehicle maintenance and repair is that we're
not actually seeking to repair and maintain vehicles it is purely for window tinting
and detail shop and that's in fact one of the requests the community made to be made as part of
a proviso of any approval of this that it be limited to detailing and window tinting which
is the intended use for the property. The property is essentially open on the inside with a small
office to the back. And this is the interior of the property. As you can see, there's a small
office towards the back. Because of the prior contractor use with vehicles, the required sinks,
water, drains are already in place for the detailing purpose and window tinting. There
will be no repair vehicles. There'll be no need to have any hazmat removal. The only thing that'll
be used in the process of window tending really would be soapy water. So there's no real removal
of waste oil or anything involved here. So this is a relatively clean operation. The space is large
and allows multiple vehicles to be pulled in, to be worked on. And the work will be done by
appointment only so that we do not anticipate any outside parking of vehicles during the process.
My client who will be the operator who will be taking the space, as you can see from the plans
here, they'll pull the vehicles into the space when the customers arrive by appointment, do the
detailing, and space the appointments out so that they can get cars out quickly. Window tinting and
detailing depending on the process can be pretty well controlled as far as time frame so an
appointment process would be easy to manage for the operator and it's because of the way the
building is already set up this use is probably the best use possible without having to do
extensive change to the structure and that is why my client brought this proposal before the board
And again, the community, having reviewed what we're proposing and knowing what it was used before, had no objections to the limited use of detail shop and window tinting shop.
Again, that concludes my presentation.
I will be happy to answer any questions.
And my client is here to verify my testimony.
Could you bring your client on?
Teddy, can you please raise your hand virtually to be identified?
your client has been promoted thank you
please uh unmute yeah there we go
teddy are you there
Teddy, are you there?
Thank you.
Do we see him?
Yes, he's there.
He just unmuted, so I'm hoping to hear him.
Teddy?
Seems to be having technical issues.
Okay, you're an officer of the court.
We'll gladly take your testimony.
Zinn, this is first floor only.
Am I correct?
Yes, that's correct, first floor.
Okay, questions from the board.
Is the office space to the business on the first floor as well
or on the second floor?
No, that's on the first floor in the back of the space.
So everything's on the first floor, including the office space.
Other questions?
How long normally do cars stay at the shop?
So a typical window tinting process is probably about 30 minutes to 45 minutes to do, depending
on how many windows they're doing.
A detail could take two, three hours.
So a full detail could have a car inside for a majority of the day if they're doing a very
extensive detailing on it.
How do cars queue up?
Are they, is it by appointment only?
Is it, how do, if, if.
Appointment only.
Appointment.
What they do is they will call in, they will schedule them for a time, and when the customer comes, they'll just pull the car in and then work on the car.
Once it's complete, they'll call the customer who will come and pick up the car.
So at no time will cars be parked on the street in front of the place?
Correct.
Other questions?
And about how many cars can be serviced at a time in the space?
At least two.
Depending on the size of the vehicle, at least two.
If it's very small cars, maybe three.
So this is more like hand wash, not like the machine wash.
No machines, correct.
This is hand wash and polishing, detailing.
And no repair.
No repair work.
No painting.
No painting.
All right.
Questions from our attorney.
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience
or this audience here?
Chair, the only hand up is
Hakito Teddy. I believe that's
Mr. Jen's client.
Should I promote?
If you can get him on.
He has been promoted.
All right. Can't thank, sir.
Sarah?
Yeah, I think he's still having issues.
Okay, we're going to move on.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chairman, and good morning.
David Fecto with the City Planning Commission.
Chairman and Board members, the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the CMX2, commercial mixed-use zoning at this location.
there is no unique physical condition or circumstance of this property that were
prevented from being used in strict conformity with the zoning code we have seen similar
properties repurposed for cmx2 compliant uses the city planning commission recommends that the
board deny the proposed use variants for personal vehicle repair and maintenance
mi 2024 007 593 1838 south 7th street i vote yes with proviso first floor only
Michael Johns, my vote is yes, with proviso.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair, did you want to include the proviso from the RCO limiting the use?
Sure. Okay.
Also in the proviso, auto detailing and tinting of windows only. Is that right?
Michael Johns, my vote is yes, with proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes, with proviso.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with Proviso's.
Iowan, my vote is yes with Proviso's.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with Proviso's.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you.
If I may, I have a quick question.
Was 1432 South 49th, I think 49th Street, was that voted on today?
I couldn't, I tried to ask it in the Q&A and also wasn't given a response on that.
Yes, Mr. Jin, that was voted.
and granted per the refusal dated 5-7-25.
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
I didn't hear it.
Thank you very much.
Have a good day.
Ladies, what case are you here for?
Oh, okay.
Oh, good.
Well, we're glad you're here.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Hillary, I think that's...
Hillary, I think that's it.
I think we're done.
That's it?
Go ahead.
Is there anyone in the audience whose case has not been called?
I see no hands, Chair.
Thanks, everyone. See everyone at 2 o'clock.
Thanks for coming, ladies.
Good afternoon, everyone.
My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this afternoon's
ZBA hearing. With me is our Vice Chair Ismail Shahid. Present, Mr. Chairman. Our Board Member
Cheryl L. Gaston. Present, Mr. Chairman. Our Board Member Tanetta Graham. Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our Board Member Michael Johns. Present, Mr. Chairman. And our Board Member Tywin. Present,
Mr. Chairman. Also present is Hillary Emerson, our Attorney, Ian Haggerty, our Executive Director,
and our Board Administrator Lakeisha Dandy. A recording of this hearing will be posted on
the ZBA website. By participating, you consent to be recorded. There is an in-person meeting with
remote capabilities. Whether remote or in-person, if you're called to speak, you must state and
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Third, the webinar Q&A for questions about the hearing.
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Please remain there so we can account for you.
Let's look at our schedule for this afternoon.
Number three, MI 2025, 000460, 762 South 6th Street.
No exhibits.
This is the first listing.
The listed attorney is David Orfanides.
bernard clark is the trustee for gsp holdings revocable agreement of a trust
good afternoon mr chair this is jason hand i will be your calls for the session
mr orphanetes has been promoted he'll be coming back in shortly okay
good afternoon mr chairman members of the board good afternoon council could you please state
your name and spell for the stenographer certainly my name is david orphanetes the last name is
spelled O-R-P-H-A-N-I-D-E-S. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth? I do. Mr. Orphine, is it good to give us an update on this case?
Certainly. We filed a timely appeal, which is why we're scheduled for today. We had started
the process of meeting with the coordinating RCO, which is the Bella Vista Neighbors Association.
Prior to meeting with them, my client hired, and based upon some comments in my review of the
plans that were submitted before I was engaged. My client has engaged a new architect, and they
are exploring some buy-write options for the addition for their family. So we're waiting to
see whether that's feasible to avoid this whole process. And if not, we'll be then meeting with
Bella Vista and coming back before the board for whatever the variances are in this matter.
All right. So MI 2025 00460 762 South 6th Street. This case is continued to 81325 at 2 p.m.
Thank you very much. Thank you. Are there any requests for continuances on any of the cases?
I do not see any further hands raised. We're going to go to our add-on list.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair, on number 13, we did receive a late request for a continuance from the applicant.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair, on number 13, we did receive a late report.
This is the first listing in that matter.
And they had some questions about having it heard with another case, so if we just can continue it without putting a date on it.
Yeah, sure.
No date?
No date.
So MI 2025-000-696-8030-Frankford Avenue, the case has been continued.
Thank you.
Here's our add-on list.
Number one, MI 2024-002-120-963 North Lawrence Street.
The board will, on this matter, upon receipt of required proof of tax compliance.
Number two, MI 2024-006-733, 4045-61 Main Street.
I vote yes with proviso.
Building height not to exceed 60 feet.
Number three.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry about that.
Go ahead.
Cheryl Gassner, my vote is yes with proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with proviso.
Tanata Graham, my vote is yes with proviso.
Tywin, my vote is yes with proviso.
Michael there?
No, I'm not on this vote.
Okay, good, good.
Okay, sorry about that.
Thank you.
Number three, MI 2025, 000457, 1434 to 36 Federal Street, I vote no.
Michael Johns, my vote is no.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is no.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is no.
Ioan, my vote is no.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is no.
No. Number four. MI 2024-004-320-6560 North Bouvier Street. I vote no.
Michael Johns, my vote is no.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is no.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is no.
Iowyn, my vote is no.
I don't think I'm on that one, Cher.
I think you are.
All right. Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is no.
Number five, MI 2024-007-516-823 Earp Street, I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Ayawin, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Number six, MI 2024-006-331-498 Midville Avenue, I vote no to reconsideration and rehearing.
Cheryl?
I'm not on this vote.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is no to reconsideration and rehearing.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is no to reconsideration and rehearing.
Tywin, my vote is no to reconsideration and rehearing.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is no to reconsideration or rehearing.
And number eight, we're going to start our list.
MI 2025-00540, 4652 East Thompson Street.
Alan Nocklinson is the attorney.
Unanimous support from Bridesburg Community Action Alliance.
Unanimous support from Bridesburg Community Action Alliance.
good afternoon mr chair members of the board alan knockamson could you spell just spell your name
alan a-l-a-n last name knockamson n-o-c-h-u-m-s-o-n you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do could you identify your client in relationship
to the property uh my client is uh gregory walton who's to my left he's one of the owners of the
property for vice chair has a few questions thank you good afternoon council do you agree to waive
the read another refusal or stipulate to its accuracy i do have you emailed in all the required
documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing
yes we have thank you council please proceed and share your screen so i'm having technical
difficulties i cannot connect to the wi-fi so i apologize if someone can maybe just bring up my
presentation materials. Alex can't do that. Yeah. He'll try to do that.
Oh, yeah. I just can't get access to the
I just can't get access to the internet on my computer for some reason.
We were working on that. I was a little slow.
I can start my presentation. This is a rather straightforward matter. This is an RSA 5 property.
It's approximately 2,300 square feet. It's a corner property.
at the corner of Ash and Thompson Streets.
It was previously a bar on the first floor
and residential up top.
So even though it's an RSA 5 property,
it didn't really have any history of single family,
at least immediate history.
And what we're looking to do is have four units there.
And based on what you would see in my presentation material,
we originally were seeking to do five units.
And based on community input,
they wanted us to have four units.
We removed the roof deck to the property, and we added one parking spot.
So there was a garage there that had a curb cut, which is existing.
They wanted us to leverage that garage to have off-street parking.
All was, you know, again, we have authorization from the L&I and the ZBA to have those revised plans as well.
So, again, you'll see I have 13 exhibits up here.
Now our screen is being shared.
We met with the community on April 16th.
We notified 100 addresses of there.
In addition to what you're seeing, we have the deed to the property showing that Gregory and Teresa, his wife, own the property.
The Certificate of Tax Clearance and proof of the mailing notice.
Again, Bridesburg, as the chairman stated, there was significant unanimous support.
I believe it was 16 to 0.
We do have revised plans where we would ask that if the board grants this variance request, that they do it by way of proviso with one sheet of revised plans.
If you look, whoever's controlling the screen, I think it's Alex.
Can you just go to –
Alex's not doing it.
Oh, no.
I don't know.
Ian's in the background.
Oh, Ian's in the background.
I'm sure someone wants to see, like, the amended plan.
So if you can go to Exhibit 9.
Oh, you want you want to see photographs, too?
All right. Let's go. Let's go. Sorry, Ian.
If you can do that, put the photographs in there.
Starting at seven. Perfect. Thank you.
So again, this is East Thompson Street from East Thompson Street.
And as you can see, it's an existing building structure.
This is from Ash Street. We're not changing the building footprint or any of the massing at all.
Continuing, I'm sorry, to the right of the property on East Thompson Street, to, I should say, to left of the property on East Thompson Street, Ash Street to the right of the property, Ash Street, well, I should say, to left of the property.
Again, we just gave an example of nearby multifamily, which is an RSA 5 property as well.
These were our original plans.
I think we could skip over.
Again, we were originally five units.
We had a roof deck there, and we had no parking.
so based on the community comment we went down to four units and everything's on that front page
this their site plan actually had uh floor plans as well but if you can see uh like that top
and i it's like the top left floor plan that's the first floor of the property um so it's in pink
yes perfect it's in pink and in yellow and you can see there's direct access for those those first
four units. There's no basement living. So you have unit number one, which is a one bedroom,
one bath. And then you have unit number two, which is a two bedroom, one bath. And to the
left of that, you see the parking spot. Behind the parking spot is where we're going to store
the trash as well. And we are in agreement for commercial trash pickup as a proviso as well.
If you go to the second floor, which is somewhere in this thing, second floor, perfect. Thanks,
Ian. You can see unit number three, it's just on its own floor, right? And that's a two-bedroom,
one-bath. And then unit four is a bi-level. So first, on the second floor, we have the living
room and the kitchen area. And then if you go up a flight of steps to the third floor,
it's probably down to the left, Ian. Thank you. Is it? Oh, there it is. It's just, again,
And two additional bedrooms and a bath.
So pretty straightforward.
Again, not out of character for this property to have non-RSA5 use.
Not out of character nearby.
It's a corner property.
And we're leveraging a parking spot to help the community as well.
And it was significant community support.
With that being said, I would just ask that Mr. Walton gets sworn in.
With that being said, I would just ask that Mr. Walton get sworn in, and I have a few questions for him.
And I have a few questions.
Sir, could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer?
Do me a favor.
Come forward and make sure that's on.
Is that on?
No, no, no.
Click the button.
Hit the green button.
That's it.
You're on.
Gregory Walton, G-R-E-G-O-R-Y-W-A-L-T-O-N.
All right.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Yes, Greg, you heard everything I had to state today about your zoning matter.
Is it true and correct?
And do you adopt it as your own testimony?
Thank you.
Questions from the board.
I have a question about the parking.
So from the images, it looks like there is sort of a paved area in front of the parking that sort of uses a driveway.
Is that enough space to fit in an additional car?
Or is it only in the garage?
so it looks like it's 32 feet like based on what i'm saying yeah which would mean you i don't think
i don't think yeah i mean 12 and 20 so i don't think that would be sufficient to fit you know
an additional car that's not the attention and then um where will all of the meters be for each
of the individual units um i well so i helping my client here i i would think that we always try to
push it into the basement the lower level um it's safer it's secure um there's no living down there
so it makes sense to do down there but we also don't control where the utility meters go i mean
but we try to push it that way but so the idea would be to put as many things into the basement
as as possible and then they can all access it from that central stairway right yeah all the
the tenants accessing the basement i don't think it's correct me if i'm wrong greg but i don't
think it's the intention for the tenants to have full access so if there's an issue obviously then
you know my client as the property owner would be dealing with it but i don't think it's an
intention for them for the tenants to be down there it's just for mechanical uh mechanicals
down there only and then is there any other use that you're intending to have in the basement
even from like a property management standpoint just because the plan is selling a lot of
separate rooms office or anything no i don't do that okay
all the questions from the board i see a number of violations um can you tell us about those
yeah so my client uh was starting to do some of just the prep work for this matter
um he thought he could do it that way um once we discovered that it was probably best to wait
for zoning and that's what we have done but he wasn't trying to build to like to create anything
but to like prep it's an older building that's in desperate need of some tlc
so what percentage of the building you say he completed without permits um i don't know if he
plea without permits but i think it was just demolition work like prep work to like the
interior demolition cleaning up the property once you got a a violation i said stop let's just focus
on this process get that done and do everything at once okay questions or comments from our attorney
um just briefly just wanted to clarify for the record mr knockinson this is a new application
right it wasn't amended down from five units to four correct that that is my understanding that
we have a whole nother application we we got streets approval for the parking and everything
else okay okay great and then um and then the only changes to the revised plans had to do with the
addition of the floor plans there were no changes to the envelope of the building or anything like
that yeah we saw that there was a mistake on the floor plans i don't know if it was like the old
floor plans when it was five units on it so we just figured the zba would stamp it because that
was whatever was submitted for the second application is incorrect in terms of the
floor plan so we just wanted to make sure that that was cleaned up so yeah so we we can't stamp
the floor plans because those aren't reviewed at the zoning stage so we actually don't as long as
there's no change to the envelope of the building size of the parking space curb cut then we don't
need to stamp any plans yeah i don't believe so i believe everything's the same okay great thank you
Questions or comments from the audience or the virtual audience?
I do not see any hands raised, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission, A-M-Y-B-O-Y-D.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth to hold you with nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
The comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning at this location from the existing RSA-5 residential single family to CMX-2 commercial mixed use.
under the proposed designation four units would be allowed by right but the off-street parking
would not while the property previously had a garage and the curb cut the planning commission
The Planning Commission recommends that the board grant their request of variance for multifamily and off-street parking.
recommends that the board grant the request of variance for multifamily and off-street park
Thank you.
Hillary, it's just revised plans, one page, nothing?
There's no need to add revised plans, and I believe Mr. Roxton indicated they were willing to consider commercial trash pickup if the board wanted to consider that.
So MI 2025, 000540, 4652 East Thompson Street, I vote yes, Proviso, commercial trash pickup.
John, my vote is yes, with Proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes, with Proviso.
Senator Graham, my vote is yes, with Proviso.
Iowan, my vote is yes, with Proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes, with Proviso.
Thank you.
Alan, we have one more case of yours.
All right. Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
So MI 2025, 000-597, 4217-19 Languister Avenue.
Alan Nockamson is the attorney.
Alan, just for the record, state your name.
Yes, Alan Nockamson.
You've already been sworn.
Could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Yeah, my client is BQ Lancaster Avenue LLC, the owner of the property,
and the virtual audience is nasha bunch and our vice chair has a few questions good afternoon
council do you agree to weigh the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy
i do 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 we have thank you
council please proceed uh again i don't have um the benefit now i do have internet access but by
up to you see if we get one moment chair i'll be pulling that up short he's doing it now all right
i'll just give you some highlights we have 12 exhibits in our exhibit packet we had a community
meeting on april 14th with hope administered by hope phl uh 133 addresses were notified of that
meeting. We're a unique corner at the corner of Lancaster, Brooklyn, and Brown. This matter has
been in front of the zoning board before. The reason why we're back here is we're really not
changing anything. My client just ran out of time. They submitted for a building permit application
and their zoning permit lapsed because of the amount of time it took them to get through this
process. So now they have to go through this process again. But again, what we're trying to
do here is have uh six residential units an event planning space as well as a prepared food shop
so if you just go to the uh next thanks again so we um amended our plans we did some cleanup work
here as well um but those plans are amended um we have the letter of support in three
number four is the zoning permit shows like the same use um i think there was like a slight change
for one of the commercial uses but pretty much the same again it's a regular shaped lot we have
three refusals the first is cmx where cmx2 property where five units would be allowed as
of right we're seeking to have added six the z before the zba before it didn't have an issue
with that the second refusal it actually is a referral is because the prepared food shop
in the alternative we we're probably going to my client's looking to put a coffee shop in there
she may want to do eventually cooking there but not now so she's trying to put it the use as a
takeout restaurant as well because it's cmx2 that's a referral which is conditionally approved
again my clients are responsible operator her family uh the bunch family is well known in the
west philly area they've had other businesses nearby um and they're very well respected
they're a responsible operator the third refusal has to do uh with the maximum occupied area
where we're running afoul of the 80% requirement.
But again, same thing as last time.
We have an irregular shaped lot
and it's really difficult to put a functional floor plan there.
So if we can just go to the photos, Ian, on 7.
So this is our property that we're going to hopefully demolish
and build a beautiful property that you see.
But it's just Lancaster from Brooklyn Street, our orange notice posters from the three streets.
And then Lancaster to the right of the property is a commercial corridor to the left of the property with a trolley line.
Brooklyn Street to the right of the property and to the left of the property.
And then I think we have, those are our plans, if you can just pull them up, Ian.
Those are our plans, if you can just pull them up in.
So again, a very handsome
So, again, a very handsome building structure, brick facade, a lot of openings for the residential units.
There's no living in the basement, so the commercial units are first floor and lower level.
The residential units are above.
And then, again, you can see this is the irregular shape here, but that's all the commercial units.
So the bigger one to the right is where the event planning space is.
that's commercial space number two. Commercial space number one is where the prepared food shop
is, the coffee shop. And you can see that both of them are bi-levels, first floor, lower level.
Next. Then you can see the second and third floors. You have on the second floor, you have
three units, a two-bedroom, one-bath, a one-bedroom, one-bath,
and a one-bedroom, one-bath. And on the third floor, it mimics that. You have a two-bedroom,
one-bath, a one-bedroom, one-bath, and another one-bed, one-bath.
Again, we focus to make sure that there's
a lot of light and air with these units.
So every place has adequate air and light
for both the living areas as well as the bedrooms.
uh next and then you know we don't have a roof deck here it's just for mechanical use only
uh i believe yes so that's basically our project in a nutshell we had again overwhelming support
from the community just like last time my client apologizes for clogging up the system to do this
twice um but she's anxious to get this started you know i see council person got the a's in favor
a bit yes okay um you want to bring your client on yes uh miss bunch can you virtually raise your
hand is accept the invitation to become panelists thank you sure
all right can you hear me yeah i can could you please state your name and spell for this
stenographer sure my name is nasha bunch first name is spelled n as in nancy a s h a last name
is bunch spelled b as in boy u n c h you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing
but the truth yes please proceed counsel uh yes miss bunch you heard everything i had to state
today about your zoning matter correct yes is it true and correct yes and do you adopt this
your own testimony yes thank you helen what was the last time you were here with this
or when she was here with it uh if if you go back to uh the zoning permit it's on there
it will say the date it's it's been a little more than three years that's the problem
All right. Questions from the board.
Questions from our attorney. Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the audience or the virtual audience?
I do not see any hands, Mr. Chair. Planning Commission.
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission. The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location from the existing CMX2 commercial mixed use.
The plan has demonstrated that the proposed take-out restaurant and assembly and entertainment will not cause such a bunch of impacts beyond what would reasonably be expected.
However, they have not shown that there are unique physical conditions or circumstances of the property that would prevent it from being used in conformance with the zoning code for occupied area and rear yard setback.
the planning commission recommends that the board grant their requested special exceptions for
assembly and entertainment and takeout restaurant but deny the requested variances for a unit count
occupied area and rear yard setback may i just briefly respond as you saw this isn't a regular
shape law to meet those dimensional requirements would be almost impossible in terms of the unit
count we think that given you know the marking conditions it may well first of all three years
ago this board granted same six units uh but especially now given the market conditions in
order to make this property this project work we need that six unit and we think that it's a
responsible use of the property especially given that there's no basement living at all for this
project thank you mi 2025 000 597 4217 to 19 languster avenue i vote yes with proviso per amended
refusal dated 5-12-25.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes
with proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with proviso.
Tana Graham, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Tana Graham, my vote is yes
with proviso.
My vote is yes with Proviso.
My vote is yes with proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Thank you. Have a good trip.
Thank you.
All right.
Number five, MI 2025-000522-4817 Walton Street.
Vern Anastasio is the attorney.
Mr. Chair, we'll be rejoining as a panelist shortly.
Hello, Mr. Chair.
Did I swear you today or is this your first time?
Yes, sir.
I did swear you earlier?
This morning, yeah.
Okay, just for the record, state your name.
Yep, Vern Anastasio, A-N-A-S-T-A-S-I-O, on behalf of Russell Goldstein, my client.
Our vice chair has a few questions, but I will note that we do have a letter of support from Cedar Park Neighbors.
Vote with seven in support, two in non-opposition.
Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to wait another refusal or stipulate to his accuracy?
good afternoon yes i do have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits as needed to
proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing i have thank you counselor please
proceed share your screen thank you to chair members of the board this is a rather straightforward
a pre-existing duplex, 4817 Walton Avenue.
And we're going to start with the aforementioned support from the community.
We did, in fact, circulate and got, it looks like, six immediate neighbors on the block
who signed a petition.
In addition, we have a tally of support. Nine voted to either support or not oppose. Zero voted to oppose this appeal, and it's primarily because of its very long history since the late 40s.
All of this will be moved into evidence.
I have a 92-page exhibit binder that will be moving into evidence.
As you can see, as far back as the 46, we have the property turned into a two-family dwelling.
And that's what it's been.
My client purchased the property a few years ago, attempted to get a renter's license,
and that's how he learned that we need to go through this process.
So because the property currently is zoned RSA when it should be for a single family home is the designation.
Here's the planned interior layout for the basement.
I could zoom in at any time, but this is just for a brief overview.
It'll be unfinished.
That's where, as your photos will show you, is where the utilities are, the water tanks, the hot water heaters, and the electric meters and whatnot.
here's the first floor we'll zoom in a little bit a little bit yep 870 square foot one bedroom
apartment coming onto the porch enter to the foyer between the uh there's a little vestibule
i believe that's the word for this and then coming in you make a right into the living room
there's a large dining room
and we have a kitchen and a bedroom it's also a bath a full bath right off the kitchen
and a door to the from the kitchen out to the backyard where there's ample space for storage
the second unit which is the second third and attic is just under 2 000 square feet
and we go up the stairs and you are led into the uh right here living room dining room large
kitchen and a full bath it's also a closet for trash and then the top floor
is where you have your two bedrooms uh large bath laundry facilities
walk-in closet and then the attic is sort of just like an extra bonus space some folks use it for
storage my client decided to draw in a couple chair a chair and a love seat for additional space
let's take a look at some photos I'm going to pull out a little bit here we go
There we go.
It's a very well-kept property,
a very well-appointed, good bones,
been in use for quite some time.
What's the area look like for multiple families?
There are some, these are really big homes.
So while many of them are one family dwellings, there are also some two, three, and even four
family dwellings.
but if something of this size had to be divided this was the minimal division that was done
uh 60 some odd years 70 some odd years i guess or even longer years ago
but it's been very well kept up here's the letter that was mailed to everybody
not only for the april 15th community meeting but today's hearing as well
105 individual households were mailed and as a result you did say we have a support unanimous
from the community, and then an additional six folks who live on the block signing in support.
Because of the long history of the property being a duplex, because of the overwhelming support from
the community, I'm respectfully requesting granting of the variance to turn this back to a single
family home would mean having to gut the entire first floor, move a kitchen, financially just
would not work um after having just purchased the property so with that i'm going to ask my
client mr russell goldstein to raise his virtual hand thank you
we're coming back in as a panel soon thank you you're welcome
hello can everybody see me hi could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
sir yes russell goldstein r-u-s-s-e-l-l-g-o-l-d-s-t-e-i-n you swear or affirm to tell the
truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes please proceed counsel thank you
russell good to see you uh did you uh hear my presentation to the board today
Is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge?
You adopt it as your own testimony?
And I'll just add that the property to the left of me through the alleyway is a triplex, as well as the property attached to me is also a triplex.
And everything else exactly as Vern stated.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
when when did you purchase this property last go ahead no go for it burn you might have it
December 2021 okay and it was like this when it was purchased correct okay all right thank you
all the questions from the board questions from our attorney Hillary Emerson
because this is an rsa3 property um there's parking required is there parking at this
property no okay all right so that's just a misrefusal in this case okay all right thank
you so much yeah questions or comments from the audience or the virtual audience
yeah i do not see any hands planning commission amy boyd with planning commission the comprehensive
The plan recommends no change in zoning at this location from the existing RSA 3, residential single family.
There is a documented history of use of multifamily going back to at least 1946.
The Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant the requested variance for multifamily.
Thank you.
MI 2025-005-22-4817 Walton Street, I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Iowan, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you.
Thank you.
All right.
Number 14, MI 2025-001-270-2400 We Sheaf Lane.
Eileen Quigley is the attorney.
There's a letter of unanimous support from Port Richmond on patrol.
good afternoon eileen could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
yes good afternoon chair bergman members of the board eileen quigley e-i-l-e-e-n quigley q-u-i-g-l-e-y
from ballard spar llp 1735 market street 51st floor 19103 do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? I do. Would you identify your client,
the relationship to the property? Yes. My client is a
proposed tenant at the property located at 2400 Wheat Sheaf Lane.
It's Archwell Health. And with me from Archwell Health
is Dr. Charlene Moten, who is the
Senior Market Medical Director, and Seth Dickey, who is the
Associate Vice President of Market Development. Our Vice Chair has a few
questions good afternoon council do you agree to weigh the read another refusal or stipulate to
its accuracy i do have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed to
proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing yes we have thank you council please
proceed and share your screen i apologize i do not have internet access and the only thing i can
be comforted in it is that you have seen and heard r12 health centers before you at least
five or six times. And I do understand. I think that Ian is going to go through the exhibits.
I think it's up. Okay. So there's a notice of refusal. I just want to get some preliminary
items out of the way. We are requesting a variance from the overlay district,
which is the Northeast overlay. We did submit our exhibits, as we said. And notably,
We have the lease at Exhibit 1, the certificate of tax clearance, affidavit of posting, as
well as the RCO letter of support at Exhibit 13, the RCO notice letter and neighbor notice
letters with certificates of mailing, which were all timely mailed at Exhibits 14 and
And with that, we would just like to, can we move to Exhibit 7, please, Ian?
This is the zoning map.
as i noted this is a commercial this is a ca2 zoning district in which the property lies
the underlying zoning district permits this medical health practitioner office used by right
we were refused because the overlay prohibits it specifically at the northeast overlay title
14 515 2a and we have those relevant zoning code excerpts at exhibit tab 6
As you can see, the property is CA2.
It's surrounded by other commercial and industrial sites.
Go to Exhibit 8, please.
These are photos of the site.
This property is an existing shopping center,
and the Archwell Health will be in one of the vacant commercial spaces.
That's the affidavit of posting.
So the tenant space is about 12,800 square feet, and the use will be, as I said, a group medical and health practitioner office use.
They are going to be providing primary care services for individuals 60 and over, and other services include the primary care provider visits, lab work, nutrition, education, and preventive health screening.
they have approximately 35 employees that will be on hand including doctors nurses nurse
practitioners medical staff and support staff their hours of operation are monday through friday
from eight to five as you've heard on at other hearings archwell is very specific and purposeful
about their locations they're in urban settings they're around transportation hubs it's easily
accessible by public transportation other means of transportation these set these sites are set up
to be accessible and easily navigated by their senior population.
There's also an existing parking lot that serves this strip mall,
this shopping center, and they have over 200 parking spaces.
They estimate that 8 to 10 patients are served or seen per hour
seen per hour with an average appointment time of 40 to 50 minutes as we've noted to the rco and
with an average appointment time of 40 to 50 minutes.
As we've noticed,
before this board this is not a drug rehabilitation center it's not a drug rehab center there's no
dispensing of medicine or drugs on site there are no proposed exterior tenant improvements or
improvements to the existing parking obviously failure to grant this variance will present a
hardship, not only to Archwell for not being able to provide primary care services to its
clientele, but to the City of Philadelphia and its residents who may greatly benefit from this
service. As we know, there are 10,000 to 11,000 people a day aging into Medicare,
so this is something that's absolutely necessary in order to serve this patient population.
the proposed use will not impact negatively any adjacent properties it's as it it's right in
character with the neighborhood obviously we're moving into an existing tenant space in a shopping
center a dimensional variance will not cure this because it's a use application and we have we
believe we meet the criteria set forth in the code at title 14 3038 for a variance and with that i
I would request that our two witnesses are sworn in.
Thank you.
Can you get closer to the mic, please?
I'm Dr. Charlene Talbot-Moughton,
and I'm the Senior Market Medical Director for R-12 Health, S-H-I-R-L-E-N-E-M-O-T-E-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Eileen, you want to do her first, then we'll go to the next person.
Dr. Moughton, you've heard my presentation to this board.
would you say that it was accurate and correct yes and if you had the opportunity to testify
would you adopt my presentation as your test i would sir seth dickey s-e-t-h-d-i-c-k-e-y
right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do
please proceed counsel um mr dickey you heard my presentation to the board yes and would you
agree that it was accurate and truthful i agree and if you were to testify would you adopt my
presentation is your testimony yes thank you mr digger thank you questions from the board
yes um i have a question just talking about sort of catchment area i know we've looked at a number
of these i feel like we've looked at maybe one or possibly two but don't quote me in the northeast
and i just want to know if you could walk us through like how you determine catchment area
to location and how will this sort of relate to the other facilities in that region of the city
that we've already approved sure yeah thanks for the question so uh we use a number of third-party
variables that look at a payer mix obviously a medium income and then the age of the population
surrounding the location so you're purposefully not trying to put locations close enough to each
other where they cannibalize and so we believe that the research through our data census uh
Can a staff establishes that this location can survive on its own.
Other questions.
Questions from our attorney.
Hillary Emerson.
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the audience or the virtual audience?
Mr. Chair, I do not see any hands raised.
Planning Commission.
To be followed with the Planning Commission, the comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning to the existing CA2 commercial auto.
oriented the proposal will not injure the use of surrounding properties and is in character
with the surrounding neighborhood the planning commission recommends that the board grant the
proposed variants for group medical practice thank you mi2025 001 270 2400 wish sheath lane i vote yes
thank you john i vote yes sir i'll guest and my vote is yes tanata graham my vote is yes
my vote is yes
my vote is yes
thank you very much
may I just move the exhibits into evidence
and I can lose my business
may I please be excused
thank you have a wonderful holiday week
number one
2024-005-358
2026 South 7th Street
Bon Hung
is the
please
could you please
sit closer? Yes, sir. Okay. So please state your name and spell for the stenographer.
Yes. Hi, everyone. My name is Bon Heng, spelled B-O-N-H-E-N-G. You swear or affirm to tell the
truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes, sir. So this is a resumptive hearing, right?
So here's the way we want to present the hearing. You will make a presentation of the
present the hearing you will make a presentation of the amended refusal and the revised proposal
you'll have questions from the board and there'll be public testimony we'll take from the audience
and the planning commission will make a recommendation and then we we may vote okay
so why don't you start can mr architect ivano help me with it sir you're you you need to give
the presentation. Your architects can provide information about the design if
you'd like to call him as a witness, but you need to give the presentation as the
owner of the property. Thank you. Oh, yes. Okay.
Oh, I mean, we're here to ask for a variance for the demolition of 2026 South
7th Street for
first floor office, second
floor, no, first
floor commercial, second floor office, and
then third, fourth, and fifth floor
multifamily.
How many
units again? 24 units.
24 units.
So could you
talk about how
was this, how did you amend the refusal?
Tell me what happened. How did you change? What's
changed? Before
Boy, I think that I was confused and labeled it incorrectly as a personal home.
But now we changed it that it's not going to be a personal home.
It's going to be a multifamily, multi-use property.
It's not senior citizens either, right?
It's multiple families?
Yes, multifamily, yes, sir.
What are you shaking your head at?
I don't know.
Is this a senior living?
okay so it's apartments are open to anyone yes sir okay um my questions from the board
is this a is this a business owner are you an entity or you're how is this this this is a
business um owner occupy uh i run a home care company that we would try to uh open an adult
daycare, you know, potentially
to move there
and have our office space on the second floor.
So you have history
with these types of facilities?
No, sir. No, sir.
Who's going to run this facility?
I guess, I mean, we'll hire
a property management company or
we would do it.
I would do it.
This is a
significant
can't venture to for someone who doesn't have experience with managing this type of facility
so that's that's concerning but all right can you walk me through just you have a lot of refusals one
for the maximum occupied area if you're demolishing the existing building is there a reason
that there's no, you couldn't stick to the 80% maximum on the site?
Before we had, you know, working with the structural engineering
and Mr. Ivano, we thought that this current structure
is not able to hold, you know, to be built on,
we cannot build the more stories on top of it,
that it will cost more and to try to, you know, with this current structure.
Right, so you're tearing down the current structure.
You're going to put back a new structure.
Uh-huh.
You are.
Yes, ma'am.
Yes, ma'am.
So why is the new structure 100% lot coverage instead of 80%?
Can you refer to his architect?
Can I refer to?
You can.
Please state your name and spell for the stenographer.
Ivano D'Angela, I-V-A-N-O, D'Angela, D-apostrophe, A-N-G-E-L-L-A.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Get that a little closer to you if you don't mind.
You can pull the mic towards you, too.
Yeah, that's it.
Please proceed.
Basically, the intent was, after conversation with the engineers,
that the front section of the building would require being torn down completely.
The rear section, which is roughly two stories plus, we were hoping to retain,
and therefore on the first floor and the second floor, the intent was 100% occupied area.
As the building ascends, the third through the fifth would become 80%,
with a big focus of our design being that we get light towards Mercy Street and stuff of that nature.
So in reality, the rear section of the building, although you can't see it in the rendering at this point, the majority of the sun.
in the rendering. At this point, the majority of the sunlight would really get the Mercy Street
because how we pulled back the north facade at the upper levels. Other questions? I think that
answered. Yeah, you did. Okay. No, you can go. You can jump in. Oh, no. Quick question. So where
have the bike parking been added on your new plans? It would be internal and it would be towards
It's the Mercy Street side.
If you can see the notation under the north arrow.
Ian, can you zoom in?
Sorry.
I got to do this if I do that.
I'll zoom in into the gray area.
You'll see that's the intention of having two class one bike
storage areas.
We were considering a car share opportunity
in the interest of the amount of cars,
But at the moment, we didn't incorporate that.
Is there a drawing that shows the like the demolition, like the percentage between the current building and what's being demolished?
We've never gotten to that phase.
We haven't gotten that phase.
Sorry.
Am I coming in?
And then how many how many total units?
Twenty four total units on the third through fifth floor.
And then it's a mix of one, two, three bedrooms?
No, it would be one and two bedrooms.
One and two bedrooms.
No three bedrooms.
And then I guess, so this is now a multifamily building, not senior living.
That was the first concern that we had in the beginning, which was not senior living.
It was multifamily.
And that was the primary change.
But you're still going to have the adult daycare?
Yes, ma'am.
On the second floor?
First floor.
First floor.
Got it.
And your business is the second floor?
And then, so the apartment.
So I guess my next question was about the 65 proposed height. You're now 10 feet over the sort of limit, and I guess I'm asking why.
May I? The main roof absolutely is at 60 feet only. The main roof is only at 60 feet.
What's being noted as 65 are the excess conditions of the roof itself.
The pilot house, if you will, is what's being noted in that.
Is it because the pilot house is over the minimum square foot to not be counted in the roof height?
That would probably be the case because of the square footage and the interest of getting.
We're hoping that we would have tenants being able to use that upper left.
So there's like an amenity space?
Yes, that would be accessible by the tenants.
is there roof access for the tenants yes there is two stair towers uh and the one has the elevator
that is intended to also get to the roof level that would be up towards correct but the 65 foot
is to the top of the pilot house is the two pilot houses and the you're saying that the
the primary roof without the parapet is the 55. yes i think again if you zoom in
thank you ian that i think this answered and then i guess my last question is um is there
going to be any social service support for the multi-family tenants in the building
what do you mean by that um no so it's literally like there's an apartment their care there's your
your offices and then there's uh apartment buildings and there's sort of like three
separate business entities yes ma'am there's floor plans if you want to see um i mean but i mean
again the objective was the first floor was strictly uh daycare center probably a leased
space along with the pharmaceutical which was also intended as uh his intents uh the client's
intents and uh the second floor would be running his uh daycare not daycare but home care services
Okay. And then the rest is apartments. Rest or apartment, correct.
Okay. Sorry for the... Any other questions from the Board?
Questions or comments from our attorney? Just two things briefly.
One, I noticed in the amended refusal, it did not still list the height as being a refusal,
so I was a little confused by that because it doesn't sound like there was any change
to the envelope of the building between the between the reviews right by lni so i wonder
if that was maybe missed the second when they redid their refusal um or did the amend refusal
um my other um my other thing is the revised plans um if the board grants and adopts with
grants and adopts with revised plans the plans need to specifically show where the bikes are
revised plans. The plans needed to specifically show
they can't just point to a general area and that is also not listed as a change on the proviso
form so the proviso form would need to be updated as well to indicate that the bike spaces were
being provided because the lni uses the proviso form to know what the changes are and um and then
it would be clear that that that uh variant that uh sorry that refusal was being resolved so thank
you thank you can we vote today yes we can i just not we i wouldn't be able to stamp the plans and
the notice of decision be issued until we had an updated one that showed where the bike spaces were
more specifically in that area i think um i i have updated plans but i we don't we don't redline them
anymore like 30 years ago do we can i sign off on i can bubble the area specifically uh articulate
that it's 60 square feet which is typical for the class one parking and I
could definitely put my signature. That would be fine I think they just that I
think the issue with the bicycle parking is it needs to be shown that it's on an
accessible route and you know in in the rough location of where where it would
be stored. So it would be better to revise the document. Yes I did yeah I'm not a
plans expert so if that would be easier for you then that that's fine not a problem how would i
submit it again um you can you can yes you can submit it to to the zoning board okay so thank
you questions or comments from the audience for the virtual audience
i see no hands planning commission amy boy with the planning commission the comprehensive plan
recommends no change in zoning at this location from the current cmx 2.5 commercial mixed use
proposed max area and minimum yard depth are existing conditions the pending commission
recommends that the board grant the requested variances for occupied area and brewery yard depth
so hillary this is voting and what revised plans or what do you what do you want to
so there is both an amended refusal in this case as well as one page of revised plans
so amended refusal and revised plans that is correct do we stamp the revised plans
uh yes we we will once we we get the version that shows exactly where the
thank you thank you
it's okay so mi2024-005-358-2026 south 7th street i vote yes amended refusal
revised plans one page stamped on may 21st 2025 and so try to want to note the amended refusal
is dated 3 19 25 amended refusals dated three let's say it again 3 19 25 3 19 25
michael johns my vote is yes with proviso
cheryl gaston my vote is yes with provisos it's not a gram my vote is yes with provisos
my vote is yes with proviso ishmael shaheed my vote is yes with proviso thank you thank you guys
number seven mi 2025 000 539 26 49 south 7th street alex goldberg is the attorney
counsel could you please state your name as spelled for the stenographer alex goldberg a-l-e-x
g-o-l-d-b-e-r-g you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do um could you identify your client the relationship to the property
sure my client is brandon gomez he's the owner of the property and he's sitting here to my left
i understand that whitman council is has a letter of support as well a letter of non-opposition from
council member squilla and the applicant has 36 signatures on a petition our vice chair has a few
questions good afternoon council do you agree to wait to read another refusal or stipulate to his
accuracy i do have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits as needed to proceed with
this case five days in advance of this hearing yes i have thank you council please proceed and
share your screen sharing it okay i'm on i'm on my phone hot spot here so i hope i don't have any
wi-fi issues all right so this property is 2649 south 7th street as the chairman stated we have
support from a well-attended community meeting in south philadelphia as well as a letter of
non-opposition from the district council member to my left is brandon gomez he's the owner occupier
the district council member um to my left is brandon gomez he's the owner occupier of the
ground floor unit at 2649 south 7th street as he'll tell you at the conclusion of my presentation
um he didn't he didn't think that he signed up for this process when he bought this property
in december of 2024 this has a history uh as you'll see in my presentation of being a two-unit
building there were a flurry of building permits that were pulled around this time last year
presumably all of those being for a single family home because there was never a zoning permit
obtained to accompany those building permits as you can imagine those permits were never closed
out and uh you know the time has passed to have that re-inspected this far down the road so this
is step one for us to um ultimately um you know submitting as-built plans getting a co which we
would agree to a proviso as a condition of this approval and then ultimately ultimately a rental
license for the residential dwelling unit on the second floor the notice of refusal is on the
screen now this is an rsa5 property but i will note that there are multiple other instances of
duplexes on the 2600 and 2500 block of of south 7th street here's oops here's that letter from
whitman council incorporated um a little bit about brandon he he builds skate parks across
the country so um that requires him to be in philadelphia part of the time and all other
you know different different parts of the united states um so he flew in for that meeting uh he
he flew in to be here today because it was important for him to to be here in front of
the board and and um to sort of see this process through in person um and they appreciated uh you
his attendance in that in-person meeting the council letter is here from council member
mark squilla in non-opposition to the variance request we have a large number of signatures
on a petition including the adjacent neighbor at 2651 a lot of the neighbors that
were at the community meeting remembered when this when this work was being done to the property
Not only was there work done to the inside, but as you saw on the front page, the property
got a bit of a facelift and paint, so people were aware of what was going on.
Don't think anyone was aware that it was not properly permitted, so they were surprised
to see us, and honestly, felt bad that Brandon had to go through the process that we're going
through now.
Here's the zoning permit that I referenced for this property.
It was issued in 73.
it had an apartment and a professional office on the first floor so i imagine you know the the two
units that were there were just the one was was converted into a residential dwelling unit and as
you'll see the interiors were greatly improved um you know nice renovation job i think brandon will
tell you you know he's happy with the home he wants to stay there it looks nice he's comfortable he
would just like to get a tenant in there because uh from a financial perspective he bought it with
the expectation that he would not be covering the entirety of the mortgage, both PICO bills
and both PGW bills, which are being sent to him.
There's documents in here showing those other multifamilies in close proximity.
I've also included the listing that shows this was advertised as a multifamily property.
He did have a realtor and relied on someone's expertise that didn't necessarily do the full
due diligence to understand what was happening here.
Zoning map, we are close to the commercial corridor of Oregon Avenue and a number of CMX1 properties.
Here's some photos. So this is the front of the property.
Here it is with the notice posting to the right of the property on South 7th and to the left.
Here's the rear, two HVAC systems, three meters, one for the common space, and there's two PGW bills as well.
Interior photographs, pretty much brand new.
See, one of the units is lived in.
That's his living space.
The basement, which is on the right side of your screen here, is finished.
There's a front-facing window.
That door that you see towards the back of the room is a utility room.
We'd agree to a proviso for no bedrooms in the basement.
Again, he lives on the first floor apartment, and he lives there alone.
with access to this basement use it for storage and that's really it but you know it is a finished
space and that's the condition that he bought it in very basic plans and drawings there's a common
entryway that you see on the floor plan on the middle of the screen you make a left and you go
You make a left and you go into his unit.
into his unit it's about 1400 square feet one bed one bath with
It's about 1,400 square feet, one bed, one bath with access to the rear yard.
And then if you were to go straight through that common hallway, you go upstairs.
It's about 700 square feet, two bed, one bath, currently vacant.
Since he bought the property, he hired us pretty much right after.
You know, we're six months from the purchase.
It takes about six months to get here.
So he wasted no time because he realized he couldn't get a rental license.
So no one has lived or is living in that upstairs unit.
And then here's our meeting notice, application for appeal,
deed to the property, and certificate of tax clearance.
With that, I'd like to ask my client to adopt my testimony.
Sir, could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer?
Yeah, it's Brandon Gomez, B-R-A-N-D-O-N-G-O-M-E-Z.
right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do please proceed counsel brandon did you hear my testimony today yes and was it true and correct
yes and you adopted as your own yes and is there anything else that you'd like to share with the
board uh no i just appreciate you guys attention to this and um i mean i'm it's kind of a personal
matter to me i've invested a lot of my money personally and time and uh i just want to try
to get through this and trying to make it right and uh i'm just kind of following the steps in
order what i can do to to you know mitigate the problems and fix what you know get it to where
it's got to be to rent that second unit and i hope to stay and occupy the first unit for a long time
i'm a long-term resident of philadelphia i love city and it's a good area for me close to the
airport um close to a lot of public transit so um for me it's a long it's a long-term uh outlook on
this project so are you done council i have questions from the board yep where is uh the
trash storage for the second floor and for yourself um for me i have access to the outdoor i can store
it out to the like there's an outside um kind of patio of my own private space to the side and
upstairs there is a small closet um laundry and a small closet that's um closed off and so i was
going to create like just a closed off private um trash uh storage space there for the tenant
other questions you should vent that make sure you have that vented yes the laundry space does
already have a vent going to the roof as well and i think that is connected to that store to that
closet for storage which i was going to use for the trash just a two couple general questions one
since you've moved in have you had any issues with the property just pulling the property's
history most of the work to convert it and most of the alterations that were done
to make it a new you know to look like a new new renovation were done either without permits or
with the incorrect permit which means you had there was like very little oversight so one i'm
wondering have you experienced any just maintenance issues in the property since you moved in
no actually i do i do construction for living i'm a construction worker and so and i've had
history of framing and plumbing and a little bit of electric so i was like pretty impressed with
the entirety of the the renovations that's one of the reasons why i did buy it i've kind of looked
into it myself looked at the walls i've even had because of this he's introduced me alex has
introduced me to a like a permit um expediter and he's even looked at the house and there's
it looks like it's ready to be clear it's what one of these i bought i mean it looks like it's
fully duplex ready um code compliant um and i did have a also a third party inspector when i bought
the house and he inspected it as a duplex fully passive flying color so this is one of the reasons
why i bought it is and i can present i didn't we may have the the inspection as evidence i can get
that for evidence but too but that was one of the main reasons why i did buy it and then i guess the
other two questions have are just like if you're intending to live in the property and then rent
out the other unit but you're traveling so much what's your plan to sort of property manage that
upstairs unit i would go through a property management company i've already sourced one out
and so it's otter property management company i have a good relationship with them i've talked
to them a lot and they actually started the process of rent searching for a tenant for me
and getting their rental license which is how this whole thing started so um that would use
a property management and then i guess my last question is just you've talked a lot about your
intention to be here long term but the property was bought by an llc so i just want to know
are you the sole owner of the llc that owns the property no no i bought the property it's under
my name okay the previous owner was an llc and that's why i'm like having a ton of problems
trying to trace all this back and like it's been it's been a really tricky for me i'll get i i think
the the deed in there is for an llc and i'll supplement that to hillary but he doesn't because
it looks like there's been a couple recent transfers from llc right llc probably to protect
probably to protect whoever that person was doing yeah i guess a question i have for hillary
whoever that person was doing.
Yeah, I guess a question I have for Hillary.
um i've noticed that as pulling the permits it a lot of our legalization of illegal duplexes
and triplexes it's the same company listed on the permit over and over and over and over again
whenever it was like an easy permit that was pulled for a single family
and then was illegally converted we should look into that thank you you're welcome
maybe you could do it this weekend hillary
other other questions
questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson
not at this time mr questions or comments from the audience or the virtual audience
mr chair i do not see any hands raised planning commission
amy wood with the planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change
and zoning from the existing RSA 5
residential single family.
The property has a documented history
of two-family going back to at least
1944. The Planning Commission
recommends that the board grant the proposed
variance for two-family household living.
Thank you. MI 2025
000539
2649 South
7th Street. I vote yes with
provisos. CO to be obtained
no basement living.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with
proviso. Cheryl
Gaston, my vote is yes with provisals.
Tana Graham, my vote is yes with provisals.
Taya Owen, my vote is yes with provisals.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with provisals.
Thank you, Alex.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Number two, MI 2024-005-526-406-08 Jefferson Street.
Henry Clinton is the attorney.
Mr. Chair, they'll be coming back in as a panelist soon.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.
Good afternoon, counsel.
could you please state your name and spell it for the court sonographer? You are Henry Clinton,
H-N-R-Y Clinton, C-L-I-N-T-O-N. You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth,
nothing but the truth? I do. Could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Sure. The entity which owns the property is FNF Properties, LLC, and the principal is Shaker,
S-H-A-K-E-R
E-H-M-E-D-I
Our Vice Chair has a few
questions, sir. Good afternoon,
Counsel. Do you agree to wait the reading of the
refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
I do. Have you emailed in
all the required documents and exhibits that's
needed to proceed with this case five days
in advance of this hearing? I have.
Thank you, Counsel. Please
proceed and share your screen. Thank you,
Mr. Sheehan. Thank you.
Is that visible, Mr. Chairman?
It is.
It is, sir.
Good afternoon again.
Henry Clinton here on behalf of the owner, Mr. Armani, and he is on the call via telephone.
This is my table of contents, A1 through A10, with some backup zoning records.
This is a request for a four-family dwelling, each dwelling on a single floor on a piece
a property that was formally
used for at least 10 to 15 years
as an auto service
center. It's in dilapidated
condition. My client purchased it
in 2021. He had to
have a make safe permit
and then since that time he's been
moving forward to try to get the property
re-zoned for multifamily
Also on the call
is the architect Kevin O'Neill
so when we get to the plans I'm going to ask him
Mr. Chairman, if he could be unmuted and walk everyone through the plans.
So the refusal is pretty straightforward.
This is an RSA 5 zoning district, even though there are other multifamily on the block directly
across the street, caddy corner, and also next to the subject property.
That resulted in a refusal for multifamily living.
And then there's a minor, what we would consider de minimis, dimensional variance.
We do have an RCO letter of support from South Kensington.
Just by way of background, last year in 2024, we met with South Kensington and spirited dialogue back and forth.
They were not happy with the way the plans look.
They made some recommendations and we adopted almost every one.
and we adopted almost every one.
So we then came back with new plans.
So we then came back with new plans,
revised plans, which we have
attached to this presentation.
And if the board looks kindly upon it,
we'd ask that the proviso be
approved with one plan.
We came back and represented
to South Kensington Community Partners,
and that resulted in a unanimous vote of 14 to 1
in favor of granting the requested variance.
Um, just to provide you with some photographs. Uh, this is the existing old garage. There's no
roof. You can see the Joyce, uh, running front to back on the, on the property behind the property
is a, is a park, uh, to the left, which would be the East is a, um, a store with one or two families
above that's multifamily. Then Caddy corner is another commercial property on the first floor,
with an apartment above, and then directly across the street at 411, I believe the address is,
that's a two-family dwelling. Again, just some more photographs. This is a little bit clearer
than the prior one, showing you the dilapidated condition of the building. Neighbors on the block
are happy that it's being renovated, actually torn down, frankly, and then rebuilt. Again,
we're looking east uh on jefferson the multi-family is across the street at 411.
that's the corner property the new brick and also another corner property that is multi-family
this is just a close-up of the property adjacent to our property to my client's property zony notices
again just more perspective photographs and this is the proviso form indicating the changes that
we made uh we revised the building to four stories still keeping underneath the 38 foot
height limit but the idea was to have one floor living for each of the occupants which
makes it a nicer amenity and a nicer space to enjoy for a small family or for a couple
or an individual if need be.
This is the property here.
We're adjacent to CMX1.
And as I said, it is in an RSA 5 zoning district, and there's a park at the rear.
So I'm going to ask if Kevin O'Neill can be unmuted, Mr. Chairman, and have him walk
through the plans because I think he can give a very detailed description of what's happening here.
Okay. Good afternoon. This is Kevin. Do I need to be sworn in? Kevin, please state your name
and spell it for the stenographer. Kevin J. O'Neill, O'N-E-I-L-L. Do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth, told truth, nothing but the truth? Yes. Why don't we start, counsel? All right,
Kevin, you drew these plans, you designed this building, correct?
Correct.
And just wanted to walk through the plans.
I'll be the, you know, handle the cursor.
You tell me what plans to go to, and then we'll explain what's going on for the board's purposes.
So maybe you want to start with this page?
So this page is our site plan showing the site and the adjacent structures.
You can see we have a building on the right that we're building next to.
And then we have a series of buildings on the left where we have the rear yards that are abutting the left side of the property line there.
This is a four-story structure, but we are maintaining the 38-foot height limit for RSA 5.
Also worth noting, I believe there was an existing curb cut on this block, which is going to be eliminated as part of this proposal.
So we're not taking away any on-street parking.
We're actually adding approximately one on-street parking space with this updated scheme.
And then, Kevin, can you explain the walkway that you have from the front to the rear for the trash enclosure?
Right. So this is a four-story structure.
We are required to have two stair towers, and we also need to have egress from the rear of the building.
So at ground level, we have a compliant egress alley three feet wide,
and that's accessible to the back behind the property, which allows for egress, trash storage, bike storage, things like that.
And is this the egress you were just talking about, Kevin, on the right?
Correct.
This is just a front view of the facade.
Yeah, this is just a front view of the proposed building from Jefferson Street.
As you can see, we've got the egress alley on the side that we just discussed.
And then two entrances, because the building does have two stair towers.
There are no projections into the public right-of-way.
It's a fairly simple flat facade with no balconies or bays or anything like that.
uh balconies or bays or anything like that and we also don't have any uh step encroachments onto
And we also don't have any step encroaching.
onto the sidewalk as well um the ground floor of this building is is built right at grade
so this view is an aerial view again shows the front of the building and then also shows the
the depth and how we relate to the adjacent structures um also note there is a roof deck
on this building but it is not a shared roof deck it would only be accessible from the upper level
unit. So these three diagrams are our basement plan, our first floor plan, and our second floor
plan. Worth noting, there's no habitable space in the basement. That space in the front is optional
for building mechanicals and tenant storage, but there's no living space in the basement.
The back half of the basement is just slab on gray that will be unexcavated. So there's only
a partial basement, no living space here. Also of note, the previous scheme, we did have living
space in the basement, along with egress wells out on the sidewalk. And that was one of the
negative comments that we received was that wasn't really appreciated by the community group. So
that's been eliminated from this scheme, and there's no longer any living space in the basement.
Beyond that, it's a fairly straightforward layout. There are four two-bedroom apartments,
and they all share a very similar layout. You can see these are sort of a T-shaped
arrangement you've got two bedrooms in the back with bathrooms in between and kitchen living and
dining in the front so these are are fairly flexible adaptable units for several different
living configurations could be you know one or two one or two inhabitants or even a small family
they are set up nice so that you have some privacy between the bedrooms and then we do have ample
light and air for all of these units for not only the bedrooms but obviously the kitchens and the
bathrooms as well I'm sorry kitchens and living rooms as well which are which are towards the
front on Jefferson Street and then Kevin on the second and third and fourth floor units you have
a separate trash closet for each dwelling correct there is a closet for temporary storage and then
all of the residents would have access to that outdoor trash storage behind the building so the
idea there is that you know trash bins wouldn't be stored out on the public sidewalk this is the
third and fourth floor again very similar layout the second and third floor I believe are our
typical layout the fourth floor because it has that access up to the roof deck there has a little
bit more space but it's essentially the same layout with the two bedrooms in the rear and
kitchen, living, and dining in the front. So this is our building section. Hopefully
this sort of summarizes what we just talked about. We've got the one unit per floor. The
basement in the front half of the building is just for mechanical and storage only. We're slab
on grade in the back. And then the pilot house structure that you see up at the top roof deck
is just access for the fourth unit on the fourth floor. It is not a shared roof deck.
We have front and rear elevations here. Hopefully this just shows roughly where our floor datum
lines come in, grade first, second, and third, and fourth floor. And then rear elevation as well,
which would be from the rear side.
We've got large floor-to-ceiling windows on all these units.
So, again, we're really trying to maximize light and air.
And hopefully we'll have spacious layouts that are well lit with daylight.
Now, Kevin, you know this is an RSA 5 zoning district.
Could you and your client and my client consider single-family homes on this piece of land?
despite the fact it was used as a garage for all those years?
Yeah, it was briefly considered.
We felt that this was a better use of the site just in terms of we'd end up with approximately the same number of bedrooms.
And this gave us a little more flexibility with, you know, being able to rent these to different family configurations.
So I think that was important when we were looking at the zoning regulations.
and then you said the community group did raise objection to basement living the front window on
the first floor as well as the light wells and the sidewalk right and that's all been revised so
the the sill height of the ground floor window has been raised up a couple of feet so that
there's a little more privacy there at ground level as i mentioned before the egress wells
As I mentioned before, the egress wells, which were proposed in the basement when we previously had living space in the basement, those egress wells were projecting out onto the public right away on the sidewalk there.
which we which were proposed uh in the basement when we had
So those have been eliminated from this proposal. And I believe all of the comments that were raised at that RCO meeting were addressed.
All right. Thank you, Mr. O'Neill. Mr. Chairman, I'll just proceed with the rest of the presentation.
I just have some zoning records at the end that I can show everybody.
The other documents are typical documents you would see in a presentation, the PIP form, the application form.
It's the indication that taxes are paid up, nothing is due.
A zoning map, again, showing adjacent to CMX-1, RSA-5 and SP sports area behind the property.
The deed indicating ownership.
Our notice letter to all the residents within 250 feet sent out 183 pieces of mail.
And then here's our zoning records.
Again, it shows historical use of the property as a motor vehicle repair shop since at least 2006.
On the corner, 1452 North 4th, it has three units.
Some more history of 406 and 408 Jefferson.
The other corner property has two units at 1500 North 4th.
And directly across the street, there's a two-unit building.
And these are the zoning records that support the summary that I just provided.
Motor vehicle repair, obviously inactive since 2006.
And this was a make-safe permit that my client obtained when he purchased the building because it was in danger of collapse.
It's just your historical records again showing auto work at that particular property.
This one goes back to 2005.
This is a 1500 North 4th, indicating two units.
Inactive, but still apparently two units.
411 Jefferson Street, across the street, an active rental license for two units.
and that's it that is the presentation just to reiterate we do have the support now south
kensington community partners we're not altering the use of the property in terms that it's going
to be residential we have a unique circumstance where we've had a long-term use of a auto repair
a shop that's now going to be replaced by residential dwellings,
bringing more living units to the city of Philadelphia.
We're eliminating a curb cut, adding a parking space.
We're not affecting adversely the light and air
or the development of any adjacent property.
In fact, the adjacent property owner at the corner
who has the business and then the apartment above
was at the community meeting and was in full support
of getting rid of this property.
this eyesore really and having a new project as presented we're not
against the basically the code in the sense that we're sticking with a non-residential use
and we have again supportive people on the block as well as south kensington so with that i would
conclude my presentation um and ask my client to unmute himself
shaker are you on the call and can you unmute yourself please
i talked to him earlier today okay do we see his hand
sure i did not see any i do not see any hands raised or anyone by that name
Okay. Henry, you're an officer of the court. We'll gladly accept your testimony.
Yes, he's from the community meetings and he is fully, I think, would adopt my testimony, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
Sure. Thank you. Questions from the board.
Yep. Could you go back to the RCO letter? I just wanted to make sure I didn't see that they asked for three units instead of four.
They did. They did ask. That was the, they asked for four things.
uh and you said because you were saying that they approved of everything that you guys did
everything that they asked for except for reduce the units from four to three correct there any
reason why you would not follow along with the rco's recommendation in that area yeah because
Follow along with the RCO's recommendation in that area.
Yeah, because what happened is when we went to them in the beginning, we had bi-level units that were in the basement and they didn't like bi-level units.
what happened is when we
See you next time.
And we had, it was in three stories and we had four units.
And so we eliminated the basement use and made it four stories, still under 38, but with four units.
So we thought we placated them, but the leadership of the RCO did not like the four units, but the residents of the neighborhood did.
I don't know if that answers your question, but I'm just trying to get to the point.
I was just confused because you said you did everything that the RCO asked for, and I was like, wait a minute, I know I saw three units.
And that was not meant to be a sleight of hand. I think Kevin said that and I probably said the same thing. So that is an oversight, Ms. Graham.
Well, there are decent, decently laid out units, decent size for the two bedrooms.
All right. Other questions from the board?
yeah i have a question about the well two questions one um how because like you're showing a lot of
you guys have been rifling through a few different things and it looks like a former version of the
building was much more in line with the surrounding context the newer version while it's at the 38
feet is uh you know it's towers above sort of the the other buildings in the neighborhood
by a little bit of a height at the facade,
not even like beyond the pilot house
and just kind of try to understand
how many other buildings
in sort of the surrounding blocks
are above the three-story.
Well, and you're right.
I wanted to show you this
because this was the first rendering, right?
This was the three-story with four units
and bi-levels with the light bulbs.
So I'm having full clarity to the board.
So let me go back.
I want to go back to the first presentation.
So this is what you're talking about, Ms. Winn.
This is a three-story.
Kevin, can you give an idea of what the height differential is
between the houses next door and our project.
I think to further reiterate, also, like, so much of this is a parapet
that you could just have a railing that's on the roof that's further back.
Like, you have, like, a double safety barrier.
So, yeah, I don't think we're averse to having that.
Kevin, is that possible?
Excuse me.
I think we often end up with this type of situation where we have these large floor-to-ceiling, almost floor-to-ceiling windows, and it tends to make the top of the building look a little bit compressed if we drop that cornice really close to the heads of those windows.
So I think we've often defaulted to leaving that that full height parapet in addition to the 38 feet just for the sake of proportions.
But, yeah, effectively, that roof deck doesn't even start until five feet back.
So it is a sort of a double safety barrier there.
It does end up being a good place to put HVAC, AC condensers, we found.
So that is sort of useful in that sense.
But if that would be something that would, you know, make it sort of negate the height a little bit, again, we are within our zoning limits, but if that would be something that would make it a little bit more palatable, I think we would be fine with dropping that front parapet down.
It was less that I was suggesting. I agree with you on the proportions. I was just wondering, like, are there other references for this height in the neighborhood?
yeah there's right around the corner for a fourth story right sorry that right around the corner on
I think that's fourth street there's a new construction building very similar proportions
to this I think they went right to right to the 38 feet plus the 42 inches it's on the I believe
on the east side of fourth street there I was just doing a quick view on on google earth there and
And then we've certainly designed a lot of four-story buildings in this neighborhood as well.
So maybe not on this particular block, but there certainly is precedent for a four-story residential in this immediate area.
And then my second question is, what are the floor-to-ceiling heights for each floor?
Hank, would you mind going to the floor plate?
You showed the floor plate to the floor plate, which looked like it was nine.
So are the floor to ceiling height in each unit about eight feet?
So is the floor-to-ceiling height in each unit about eight feet?
Yeah, I think we get eight to eight foot four.
Yeah, I think.
We sometimes leave it at eight just because we don't know exactly what the thickness of
the floor system will be.
But if we can get the floor joists down to 12 inches, I think it ends up usually being
about eight foot three to eight foot four.
And then my last question is you mentioned one, that's a very large roof deck to only
be connected to one unit.
And it looked like from your floor plans that every unit had the ability to have access to the roof and that it was just the decision had been made that it was going to only be to the fourth floor.
And I was wondering if you guys could walk through that decision, given that the first floor space is only for the first unit.
Right. So it becomes an issue, ADA accessibility.
So we would have to provide an elevator up to the roof deck if the whole building used it.
so that's why it's it's private to the to the fourth floor unit gotcha all right
any other questions questions or comments for attorney Hillary Emerson not at this
time mr. chair questions or comments from the virtual audience I do not see
any hands planning Commission
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission the comprehensive plan recommends no
change in zoning at this location from the existing single family residential rsa5 while
a previous structure had a history of use other than single family the proposal is for a brand
new structure the appellant has not demonstrated that there are unique physical conditions or
circumstances of the property that would prevent it from being used in conformance with the zoning
code the planning commission recommends that the board deny the request of variances for a
multifamily and occupied area thank you um mr clinton i'm going to hold this till next wednesday
at 2 p.m. and we'll vote
next Wednesday at 2 p.m. I just want to take
a look at it and see where
all the other board members have thoughts, okay?
Understood. Thank you very much. Thank you for your
presentation and we will vote on this next week
at 2 p.m. And
Mr. Clinton, you have one more case.
Am I right?
Okay, so
hold on a minute.
What's your case?
3600 House Street.
Alright, so Mr. Clinton, this is
MI-2025-000-591-5598
Newtown Avenue.
Could you just state your name for the record?
Sure, Henry Clinton.
Okay, and Mr. Clinton,
could you identify your client
and your relationship to the property?
Sure, my client is sitting to my right now,
your left, Vitaly Ignavetis,
I-G-N-A-T-O-V-E-T-S.
And we have anonymous non-opposition from Longcrest Community Center.
And our vice chair wants to ask you a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel.
Do you agree to weigh the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed in all of the required documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
I did, except I supplemented with some interior photographs, but everything else was submitted five days ago.
Understood, counsel.
Please proceed to share your screen.
Thank you, Mr. Shahid.
Let me start that again.
Is that visible, Mr. Chairman?
Please proceed, sir.
All right, thank you.
Good afternoon again.
and Henry Clinton for Vitaly, who's here with me today.
So this is a request for four uses in a garage.
Henry, did you put up your documents first?
Oh, you cannot see that?
They didn't come up yet.
I'm sorry.
It's all right.
Is that working now?
Let me go back to the beginning.
How about now?
Yes, it is, sir.
All right, great.
Thanks again.
So my client is here with me, and we'll hear the presentation as we walk through it.
Table of contents, A1 through A10.
So this property is a vacant warehouse.
We believe it once was used for auto repair.
We're not sure.
There's four requests before the board.
One is a personal vehicle repair and maintenance.
Second is a commercial vehicle repair and maintenance.
vehicle repair and maintenance. Third is a personal vehicle sales and rentals. And fourth
Third is a personal vehicle repair and maintenance.
is a paint finishing shop. So if we look at the refusal,
it's both a refusal and a referral. So two of the uses are requested to have special exceptions.
It's the personal vehicle repair and maintenance and personal vehicle sales and rental.
And there's two of the requested variances, commercial vehicle repair and maintenance and vehicle painting.
The other issue has to do with the fact that we're in an ICMX district.
If we were in an I-2 district, which is directly across the street, all of these uses would be by right.
uh vitalia currently operates an auto auto repair shop uh in the grace ferry neighborhood he's
looking for more space and not only for outdoor parking but also for interior uses we did meet
with long crest community association and the motion passed 40 to 0 not to oppose the granting
of the variances. So I want to, I have a lot of photographs here to show you, just to give you
some perspective of what we're trying to do. So this is Godfrey Avenue. Newtown Avenue runs
along the train tracks. The building is situated between this large building, which used to be a
bond bread for those who remember bond bread baking facility. So it lies between the baking
facility and the railroad tracks. There's an American Legion Hall, Taddy Corner, and there's
other automobile replaced, automobile repair shops right off of Newtown within striking distance of
our project. A closer view of the building sits back. There's a lot of overgrowth, and some of
the additional photographs I'll show you, we'll show you this has all been cleaned up by Vitale,
And I think that's resulted in the overwhelming support from the community.
This is the old bond-bred facility.
This is Godfrey Avenue, which would dead end into our project.
More photographs showing you the adjacent automobile commercial repair shop directly adjacent to our property.
This is further down Newtown,
as shown you sometimes it becomes a dumping area.
And again, Vitaly has cleaned it up.
Some more photographs.
This is the rear of the building.
There's a cyclone fence around the building.
The community group asked that the cyclone fence
be covered with screening,
which Vitaly has done since the meeting.
This is the entrance off of Godfrey
and left to right is Newtown Avenue.
Just more photographs showing that the debris
and the overgrowth has been cleaned up
along the side of the building on Newtown Avenue.
Now that we're in the interior of the fenced-in area,
we have a large parking area,
could probably fit 15 to 20 cars on the outside.
And then the building itself is about 50 wide by 70 deep.
This is what it used to look like.
My client just bought it within a year, and he's not decided to move his facility on Grace Ferry Avenue into this until he's able to do some interior repairs.
So right now, it's just a blank space open on the inside.
There's a small office area, which I believe he will maintain.
and he really hasn't laid out
what he's going to put inside.
I think he'll have three or four lifts
and then he also will have a painting booth
which we have photographs of
which he is basically transporting
from his shop in Grace Ferry
until this new facility.
It's a cinder block structure
about 15 feet high.
Proof of the posting of the notices.
We just have one plan, which is showing you the location of the building as it's situated on the triangular-shaped parcel.
The railroad tracks are to the rear, and Newtown Avenue is to the front.
I wanted to show you that his existing facility at 3101 Grace Ferry Avenue has been certified by the City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspection.
And also, he has industrial fire suppression systems.
He has industrial fire suppression systems.
Again, he's going, I'm showing you this because.
Again, I'm showing you this because you're going to bring these same systems,
this new facility, which it'll have to go through a whole separate process
to get approval to do especially the painting.
So this is the paint booth that all painting would take place in.
It has air filtration.
It's also going to have to be vented through the roof as the existing paint booth is.
And that's why I wanted to note to the board that the facility is away from residential structures and basically surrounded by commercial and or industrial uses.
This is the appeal forms, the application, indicating though taxes are due, or zoning map.
So this is the pie-shaped, excuse me, pie-shaped slice of the property, all ICMX up and down the block.
Across the street is the railroad tracks and the I-2.
As I said earlier, if this was in the I-2 zoning district, all the uses that we're proposing would be as of right.
But unfortunately, we're across the street from the I-2 zoning district.
This is the deed indicating he just purchased the property in 2024.
Our notice letter to everyone within 250 feet of the property.
And because it's such a heavily commercial and industrial area, there's really only 21 pieces of mail that had to be mailed out to the neighbors.
So that is the presentation.
My client is here to adopt my testimony.
Just in summary, we have a situation where this property was once used.
We believe, although the zoning records don't reflect, it was one used as auto.
And from the items that were remaining in the building when Vitaly purchased it, there were some automobile uses of the building.
He believes the Lawn Crest community is certainly supportive that with their letter of 40 to 0 non-opposition, we're not danger to public health.
We're not impacting the light and air of any adjacent property, nor the development of any adjacent property.
We're in harmony with the code and certainly in harmony with the wishes of the neighborhood and the neighborhood community group.
With that, can Mr. Vitale be sworn in, Mr. Chairman, to adopt my testimony?
Sure. Why don't you get him closer to you?
Mr. Vitale, can you move on?
Sir, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Vitaly Ignatovitz, V-I-T-A-L-Y-I-G-N-A-T-O-V-E-T-S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Vitaly, you sat here while I presented the project to the board.
If you had the opportunity to testify, would you adopt my testimony as your own, and as true and correct?
Thank you very much.
Henry, just out of curiosity, how long has he been in
Gray's Ferry, in that shop? Since 2011
2011? Yes. Okay, thank you. Questions from the
board? Questions or comments
from our attorney, Hillary Emerson? Not at this time
Mr. Chair. Questions or comments from the audience or the virtual audience?
Mr. Chair, I do not see any hands. Plenty of commission.
amy boy with the planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends a change in
zoning at this location from the existing icmx industrial commercial mixed use
sorry no change from icmx the plan has shown that the proposed vehicle repair maintenance
sales and rental will not have detrimental impacts beyond what would reasonably be expected
however they have not demonstrated their unique physical conditions or circumstances
of the property that would prevent it from being used in conformance of the zoning code
for commercial vehicle repair and maintenance and vehicle paint finishing shop.
The Planning Commission recommends that the board grant they requested special exceptions
for personal vehicle repair and maintenance and for personal vehicle sales and rental,
but deny the requested variances for commercial vehicle repair and maintenance
and vehicle paint finishing shop.
Okay, thank you.
MI-2025-000-591-5598 Newtown Avenue, I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Iowyn, my vote is yes.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you very much.
Ishmael Shaheed, I'll vote for a yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'm sorry.
It's okay.
We didn't forget you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman,
members of the board.
Thank you.
Number four.
MI 2025
515 4600
Hal Street.
Alec Sokoloff is the attorney.
So, why don't
we do this? We wait for Mr. Sokoloff.
he does the presentation okay and then we'll call you up he'll call you up all right mr sokolov
yes good afternoon chair bergman members of the board oleg sokolov on behalf of the applicant
sport master just for the record could you spell your name please sure ol oleg o-l-e-g last name
sokolov s-o-k-o-l-o-v right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the
tooth i do chair um mr sokoloff do you have a um have you received your rco letter yet um i believe
mr riley has a letter i'm not sure it was submitted as part of the original packet but our understanding
is that the letter of support was received okay i would say an update on that mr chair um we did
receive a letter from council member um driscoll indicating support and that there was a letter of
support, but we haven't seen the actual letter from the RCO. Okay. Our vice chair has a few
questions, Mr. Sockloff. Yes, sir. Good afternoon, Mr. Shahid. Yes, yes, we do.
why don't you proceed i think he's breaking up a little bit uh yes i'm for for the record my
the required documents needed and required to proceed
uh despite not hearing it i believe so you have all your documents in on time
yes and you agree to the waving of the refusal and you agree
Thank you, Mr. Shaheed. My client is Sportmaster Bait and Tackle Incorporated. The representative is sitting before you today, Mr. Joe Reilly, along with his wife, Colleen, and son, Brady.
This is a request to use the subject property. And let me just start sharing my screen here.
for the purposes of retail sale of commercial, of consumer goods, excuse me. This is quite simply
just a request to use the property for a bait and tackle shop. The property is certainly unique,
as you'll come to see members of the board from the pictures of it. It's certainly not any sort
of residential property. Its last use was a daycare. This property was purchased by
the entity and Mr. Riley in April of 2024 and swiftly undertook the
variance process in order to obtain a permit to use it for this purpose.
So here's the subject property here.
Just a side view of the property.
It appears from the zoning record or just generally that this was at one point also a house of worship of some sort and then most recently was used, as you can see from the pictures here, as a childcare facility.
This is a picture of the existing condition.
they started doing a little interior renovation here, just preparing basically a shell space
for the use. Once again, some more interior pictures.
A picture of the notice poster for today's hearing. And of course, it will not allow me
to zoom in and not move.
Just another picture of the posters for today's hearing.
The deed to the property, as you can see, as I stated, purchased in April of 2024.
Receipt of mailing to...
Receipt of mailing to both the registered community organization as well as to nearby residents.
And this was a letter prepared by Mr. Riley, the RCO notice letter itself for a meeting
on March 25th.
Tax clearance or application for appeal.
there's absolutely no change to the envelope of the building anything on the exterior in any way
project information form and then if I may just go through a few more pictures
here's our zoning map here
once again another view of the property
This is the previous condition of the property, so you can see based on its quite colorful interior that this was, as I said, a daycare prior to this proposed use.
And then once again, some pictures of the renovations undertaken.
and mr riley did some just calculations and just some information about parking spaces in the area
um but there are many nearby parking spaces that the rate of cars coming to to the shop and the
kinds of uh customer traffic that he expects both on average days during the spring and summer where
as the board can imagine it's the the height of time to buy bait and tackle and various fishing
equipment and then also just peak during the the prime um fishing season if i may at this time
bring on mr riley just to answer a few questions and adopt my testimony sure
thank you chair mr riley you can take a seat and just pull the microphone as close to you as you
can, sir.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
My name is Joseph Riley, J-O-S-E-P-H-R-I-L-E-Y.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Riley, could you give the board an idea of what kind of products you'll be selling
there and the general layout that you would like to see within the property?
Yeah, it's going to be retail sale efficient equipment.
Rods, reels, bait, minor marine equipment, anchors, stuff like that.
And it's, you know, it's a good use, a good building for that.
You have like tanks where you have like minnows in it and stuff, right?
Stuff like that.
Not that I fish.
I know people that do, but I don't.
I'll have to have an area for the tanks, put down a ceramic floor with a drain.
Have you done this work before?
Have you done this before?
This kind of business?
All right.
Mr. Alley, could you give a little brief explanation of your previous experience with this kind of business?
I have a bait and tackle steward that I've had for 35 years, five blocks away from this location.
it's at the corner of
Howe and Dittman
and down at Robbins and Dittman
is my store that I have now
me and my wife and my son
are working
my son is probably going to carry it on
that's why I wanted to expand
the other store is at the end of a block
row house
this is twice as wide
there's a big yard on the side
which is good for demonstrations
and stuff like that
we work a lot with the kids
and down on the river and stuff like that. I've been doing it for, they've been, we've all been
doing it. And you would sell licenses too from the state, like the fishing licenses? Oh, yeah.
I'm a Fish Commission agent for selling licenses and permits and abiding by the laws that they set.
Mr. Sokoloff, you have anything else? No, just Mr. Riley, you heard the rest of my testimony
or my presentation to the board today?
Did you hear his testimony today?
You heard his testimony today?
Yes, yes.
Right, go ahead.
And is it true and correct to the best of your knowledge?
And would you adopt it as your own as well?
I would.
Thank you very much.
Questions from the board?
Can you speak to any plans to make the building accessible?
I mean, it may be.
I don't know.
I don't see any pictures.
You mean like a handicap accessible?
Yes, I do have plans for that.
Okay, well, you think it would be one of those steps in the front?
It's going to be like a 40-foot ramp.
I looked into it because of it being so high, so it's not in the budget right now.
I looked into it because of it being so high.
So it's not in the budget right now, but I absolutely want to do that.
Can you get a little closer to the mic?
Can you get a little closer to the mic?
I wanted to do it at the other store, but they wouldn't allow it.
There was not enough payment to do it where this does.
And I measured the height.
i got that legal uh distances has to be like 40 feet long so there's no like on the side of the
building uh that side yard there's no accessible no if you see the building uh this building was
never a residence ever it was a church then it was a daycare which didn't require any special zoning
but doing retail i have to go through the due process of getting it permitted i actually went
to the civic association three times once just to check it out and then to let just let the people
know what i wanted to do and they seem to be supportive you know there's a door that's at
grade on the other side of the building like on it's yeah there's yeah yeah the other door
that does that allow or does is there still steps once you get inside of it yes okay yeah
One step to go into the main floor.
You know, when I got the building, so far all I'd done really is paint it,
replace the fence that was there, and put a new floor down.
I'm not adding anything.
There's two bathrooms with a toilet and a sink.
They're staying there.
The building was in decent shape.
It just was neglected for quite a few years.
So it's a good structure for what I need.
Any other questions?
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Just a brief question.
So this is an RSA 3 property.
Is there any parking at this property?
On the property?
On the property.
All right.
So that was just a misrefusal then, misrefusal on the refusal.
So I just wanted to note that for the record.
Thank you.
Questions or comments from the audience, the virtual audience, or the present or listening audience here?
Yes, Chair.
i have a hand up from a from stan chavinsky i have promoted them to panelists
they should come back in short okay
I think it's Driscoll's office.
Good afternoon.
Can you hear me?
I can.
Stan, could you please state your name as Bell for the stenographer?
Good afternoon.
My name is Stanley Swinski, S-T-A-N-L-E-Y-C-Y-W-I-N-S-K-I.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, told truth and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
I am the zoning director for the Sixth Council District.
And as Mr. Riley has mentioned, he was, in fact, at three meetings that I had attended.
The community has received his zoning request for this property in a positive manner.
So I just wanted to say that we support that position.
Thank you.
Thank you for taking the time to call us.
We appreciate it.
Planning Commission.
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning from the existing RSA 3 residential single family.
the property has a history of commercial use and the proposed use will have
minimal impacts on sale or ending properties.
No parking is also an existing condition.
The planning commission recommends that the board grant the requested
variance for sale of consumer goods.
Thank you.
MI 2025, 000515, 4600 Howell Street.
I vote yes.
Michael John, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Tywin, my vote is yes.
ishmael shahim my vote is yes thank you sir thank you thank you very much members of the board
all right thank you council all right let's see here who's that
okay um number six mi 2025 005 38 817 christian street sean rex road is the attorney
letter of non-opposition from bella vista a letter of non-opposition from council member squilla
They should be coming back in as a panel shortly, Mr. Chair.
Thank you.
Mr. Chair.
Can you see me?
No, I don't.
i know apologies i don't know if my camera is working um i can call somebody in here try to
fix it uh what i want to when i do this i'll come back to you in about 15 minutes all right i
appreciate it thank you bye
number nine mi 2025 000 543 1939 to 43 east sarge street rachel pritzker is the
attorney. There's a letter of support from East Kensington neighbors. Vote was 10 in support,
three in opposition, and a letter of non-opposition from Council Member Squilla.
Good evening. Good evening, Rachel. How are you? Could you please state your name
and spell it for the stenographer? Yes, Rachel, R-A-C-H-A-E-L, Pritzker, P-R-I-T-Z-K-E-R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Yes, my client is Modern Development Group.
That's the owner of the property.
And our vice chair has just a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel.
Do you agree to wait the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
yes thank you council please proceed thank you
okay can you see my screen we can okay
okay move down to site
so this is 1939 east sergeant street it's really 1939-43 it is a lot size of 2,238 square feet
and an existing structure on it that's proposed to be demolished that is 3,128 square feet
The lot is sort of weirdly shaped in that it is 34.5 feet by 55.9 feet.
We're proposing a demolition of the existing two-story building, which is a kind of old warehouse commercial building, even though this is an RSA-5 property.
and we're proposing a new structure with six units to match the directly adjacent structure,
the CMX1 structure also owned and developed by the same owner of this property. It'll be easier
to see kind of how this fits in when the architect brings up the plans. Although the property is
owned RSA3, this property has never been a single family home and neither is the directly adjacent
and property is CMX1. Also multifamily is not on character or out of character or uncommon
for this block. There are directly adjacent structures at 2534 emerald and 2550 emerald
that are multifamily. If we go to...
trying to show zoning posters
you can see the corner building that i'm mentioning and pieces of the existing building
again as you can see from this property given sort of the wide but short nature of the site
it had a garage and a unit above and there was some warehouse and storage in this building but
But since its existence, according to the city, it has never been a single-family home, I think, given the nature of the location and also the odd size of the lot.
We're proposing a new six-unit building to match the corner building with an alleyway, which you'll see, for internal access to the building.
and as mentioned just the inside of it so you can see the existing
structures although this is proposed to be demolished
and the warehouse again kind of wide and short
just going to bring up community meeting stuff and then talk about the refusal in a second
we had a meeting on april 9th with the community group which is the east kensington neighbors
with the community group, which was the East Kensington Neighbors Association.
Association.
We sent out mailers for this meeting, 134 mailers.
And as mentioned, we had 10 in support and three opposed.
So the community group issued us a letter of support.
We also have a letter of non-opposition from the Office of Councilman Mark Squilla as well.
I'd like us to, if possible, to promote Alex Duller from FUSA Design to go through the plans
for the project.
Thank you.
And while we do that, I just want to quickly just go through the refusals, which he'll just
be able to show a little bit better than I with the project.
the first refusal is for a fence at the side you'll see it's not really a fence it's a gate
that we've built into the structure for access a safe access point to get into i think it's
five out of the six units there's a door at the front as well and then as mentioned the only other
refusal is for use because the property is owned rsa5 even though it doesn't have a history of
single family for this particular parcel. Hello, Mr. Chair and members of the board.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer? My name is Alex Duller,
A-L-E-X, D as in David, U-L-L-E-R. You swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Counsel, please proceed.
um alex could you share your screen and go through the plans please um
i i think you have to stop sharing for me to be allowed to share
sorry about that no problem
all right i think everyone can see we do okay
um so as rachel pointed out the owner owns the neighboring building so it was our goal to kind
of develop a building to kind of match and tie into that um so the building here we would be
demolishing the existing warehouse building um the corner building was also at one time a warehouse
building that he added two new floors to and redeveloped um so what we've done here we
made a very similar building. I don't think Rachel kind of went into it, but although it's
zoned single-family homes, we did kind of explore single-family homes. If we subdivided the lots,
we would once again be in front of the board. We only would have been able to fit
two single-family homes due to the nature of the lot and the square footage requirements
and things like that so ultimately to you know justify the investment we the owner asked us to
explore kind of this route and considering it was similar to the neighboring building
we went in this direction um so we have our zoning plan here uh what we're doing is we're
creating an alleyway between the the existing buildings and this new
building the alleyway aligns with the rear yards of all the buildings on
Emerald Street that way less impact on multiple properties and so the way it
works out is we pretty much and we have we have two units on every floor they
are all two-bedroom units. We have a partial cellar to provide some additional tenant storage
and also be able to bring in all of our utilities. We have a trash area in the rear yard for the
commercial trash pickup to be done and come out in and out without going into the building.
A common entry kind of in that little center courtyard.
And then the first floor front unit, we have its own entry to basically provide that interaction on the sidewalk.
Here are elevations.
That was kind of what the side entryway would be.
the entryway is oversized we have a five foot setback we didn't do like a minimum three foot
The entryway is oversized.
We have a five-foot setback.
We didn't do like a minimum.
setback that way more light would be able to be brought in and also it's a more comfortable
you know daily entrance and also moving in moving out all those kind of things
rachel already presented a similar one there kind of in the context the
But the neighborhood is a very mixed neighborhood.
So across the street from this property, we have a Verizon building, which is pretty much just all switchboards.
Down the street is a school.
So there isn't any parking kind of on that whole block.
Both of those buildings, I believe, are zoned.
Well, the school is all zoned, RSA 5, even though it's a school.
the Verizon
building is a CMX2 building
so that's kind of
the existing building
along with the building
he developed a few years back
how many units
in the building he already developed
two units
that's a duplex
it's a two unit
two commercial units
we came to the zoning board to ask for
an additional unit because it was zoned
cmx one um and the commercial first floor uh has a um uh cycling studio okay business located on it
and then basically i have a few photos of similar mixed like apartment buildings all within
one, two blocks of this project
along with the view of the school
and the view of the Verizon building
and mixed-use convenience store
kind of catty-corder.
Not sure if anyone has any questions.
What's the square footage of each apartment?
Each apartment is
Brain just blanked
I looked at that earlier
They're I believe about 800 square feet
They're each about
700 square feet
So 690
And the upper floors
Are 715 and also 690
Rachel do you want to bring your owner on?
Please
It should be Andres Rollon.
They should be coming back in as a panel shortly.
Thank you.
Hello?
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Andres Brolin, A-N-D-R-E-S-R-O-L-O-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Andres, have you heard my testimony today?
Do you believe it to be true and accurate, and do you adopt it as your own?
Thank you.
Questions from the board.
Can you go back to the site plan?
Is the trash located in the yard everyone has access to the dumpsters?
or trash location yes can you guys can you see yeah okay so right here is the common entryway
off of sergeant street and just straight back in this rear area of the yard we have the common
trash area and they fenced off secure locations and then the rear unit also has a small backyard
Other questions?
Questions from our attorney, Hillary Emerson.
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the audience or the virtual audience?
I did have one more question.
This is your first question.
Oh, it is.
I had many in my head.
Sorry.
I've answered many in my head, I guess.
one of your refusals is for a 12-foot fence and I just wanted to walk through why is there a need
for a 12-foot fence and I wanted to confirm that it'd have to do at all with the grade change
yeah so Alex can explain this better than me but the it relates to the actual gate in the front
so it's not the rear fence that it's referring to it's the entryway
So it's not the rear fence that it's referring to.
It's the entryway.
And they're considering it a fence instead of the gateway.
But if you can see, Alex, if you can see that, like, opening that allows people to get to the lobby.
Exactly right.
And we basically made it 12 foot high so that it tied in with the neighboring building.
Yeah, I get it.
And they considered it a fence instead of a wall and part of the structure.
the other fence though is at the
required height
correct yes
because that's how it was rendered
but I was like let me make sure
questions or comments from the
planning commission
Amy Boyd with the planning commission
the planning commission
recommends no change in zoning at this
location from an existing RSA
5 residential single family
This area was remapped in 2017 and the parcel was left unchanged.
While a previous building on this property had a history of use other than single family,
the proposal is for a new building.
While there are no unique physical circumstances or conditions of the property that would prevent
it from being used in conformance to the zoning code, and this is not the least minimum,
the Planning Commission recommends the board deny the requested variance for multifamily
and fence.
Someone say something.
No. Okay. MI-2025-000-543-1939-43 East Sargent Street, I vote yes.
Michael Jones, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Taya Nguyen, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
let's go back to christian street please mi 2025 000 538 817 christian street
sean rexford rexford is the attorney they're coming back in as a panelist now sir okay thank
Mr. Chair, we appreciate your patience on that.
Sure, sure. Did I already swear you in or did we?
No, you did not, Mr. Chair.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Yeah, it's Sean, S-H-A-W-N, Rexroad, R-E-X-R-O-A-D.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Counsel, could you identify your client and the relationship to the property?
Yeah, my client is Mild Mustard LLC.
They're the owner of 817 Christian Street.
And I noticed that there's a letter of non-opposition from Bella Vista Neighbors Association and a letter of non-opposition from Council Member Squilla.
That is correct.
I understand you've been authorized by both properties to file and pursue the appeal. Is that correct?
That is correct, Mr. Chair.
And our vice chair has a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal or stipulate to his accuracy?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, we have.
Thank you, counsel. Please proceed and share your screen.
Thank you. Mr. Chair, members of the board, can you see my screen? I am sharing.
We can. We can.
Okay, great. Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members of the board. My name is Sean Rexroad. I'm an attorney with Warder Cooper Cohen-Bronfeld.
I'm here on behalf of my client, Mild Mustard LLC, owner of 817 Christian Street, the parcel which Fiorello Restaurant sits on, and Colin Cleary, owner of 825 South Baring Street, residential properties adjacent to my client's property.
Both properties are zoned CMX2.
We're here this afternoon seeking a variance to Table 14-701-3 of the zoning code, which requires minimum rear yard depth of 9 feet.
As can be seen in the photos that I'll show you, 825 South Dariant Street, 817 Christian Street,
share a covered alleyway, which was only recently a fact known to my client.
Indeed, my client has always been under the belief that its property line encompassed the entire alleyway between the two properties
and only discovered it when it was applying for its street intermediary permit, which required it to plot the property line on survey.
It was only then that they, in fact, realized that the alleyway was, in fact, shared partially with 825 South Daring Street.
My client, however, believing prior to this, believing that the entire alleyway was within its property line,
occupied the alleyway and has always occupied the alleyway,
way, which is why making the lot line adjustment is one of necessity and also practicality.
which is why making the lot line adjustment is one of the...
Without the lot line adjustment, my client is otherwise encroaching onto 825 South Darien
Street.
To rectify this, both owners, 825 Darien Street and 817, entered into an agreement of sale
for just a very small sliver property, which would complete my client's property line over
the entire alleyway.
In connection with the agreement of sale, the party submitted a zoning permit to L&I seeking to move a portion of the western lot line approximately two feet to the west.
And this is the lot line of 817 Christian Street.
However, because moving the lot line in accordance with the plan submitted to L&I would leave 825 South Daring Street with a yard depth of 6.35 feet,
L&I denied the permit application because table 714-7013 requires a minimum rear yard depth of 9 feet.
However, I know that as its current boundaries stand, which I'll show you, I'll present all this in a moment.
As it stands right now, 825 South Darien is already non-conforming.
It has just a little over 8 feet of rear yard depth.
uh so uh and moreover and importantly by permitting the lot line adjustment and you'll see
this in the photos as well nothing's going to change um it's very clear it's very evident from
the photos that both 825 the owners of 825 South Daring Street and the owners of 817
Christian Street have always presumed that 817 has the entire uh alleyway uh which is and again
it's this necessity and so that to cure this encroachment is why we're here and requesting
the variance. So with that, I will just go quickly through our exhibits. The first exhibit I'm going
to show you is just the property site itself. This is my client's property here, 817. This is
825. The area in question is just this little doorway alleyway here, which is, I mean, from all
looking at it objectively, it already looks like it's part of the property. The next thing I'll
show you. This is just some more photos. This is just a close-up. This is the interior wall
of that covered alleyway. This is the door from my client's property into the interior door to
the exterior rear hallway. And as you can see, my client's using it as a utility closet. They've
always used it as a utility closet. This is a picture of the backyard for 825 South Daring
Street. This gate right here is actually covering the access that they would otherwise have. And
And we didn't erect this fence, I believe actually 825 purchased it with the fence already erected.
So it's always been the understanding by the property owner that 817 actually has this value.
This is just a plan submitted to L&I.
I will zoom in here a bit.
This shows you really how de minimis this request is.
This area right here is where I'm running my area over here.
I think it's a little less than two feet.
As you can see, this is 825. The property line runs over here, extends halfway through that alleyway.
And what we're proposing to do, what we're asking to do, is simply move that lot line to that wall that I showed you, that exterior wall.
The next exhibit I'm going to show you is just a notice of refusal, as I stated already.
By doing this, it will – by doing the lot line adjustment, the rear yard depth will
be 6.35 feet, but again, it's already a non-conforming property.
This just shows that both properties are zoned in CMX2.
This is 825 Dectarion. This is 817 Christian.
This is the table, which requires the total minimum year of our yard depth of nine feet.
This is just a letter of authorization from my client as well as Mr. Cleary.
This letter here is from Mr. Cleary.
um this is the agreement of sale they are under agreement of sale as they stated previously um
and this is really the this is the contingency to the agreement of sale is getting the slot line
adjustment done um this just shows i'm just shooting this to show that that that uh mild
Mustard is in fact the owner of 817. And that Mr. Cleary, the next exhibit is a deed for Mr.
Cleary that shows that he is the owner of 825 South Berrien. Last, this is our application
for appeal, which was filed timely after the notice of refusal was issued. This is the PFI, PIA.
the notice of refusal was issued um this is the pfi pif excuse me
this is just the near labor letters showing that we mail finally to all the near neighbor letters
of the rco um that we sent them by via first class mail uh this is letter non-opposition which mr
Mr. Chair already noted we have received from Bella Vista Neighbors Association and this is
a picture of the zoning notice. We put one both on 817 so this fronts 817 Christian Street
and we also put a notice up fronting 825 South Darien. Both property owners are in tax compliance
We have a certificate of tax experience.
And with that, I would like to call my client on to adopt my testimony.
And both sides are great, right?
Both sides are great.
Right.
And you're bringing both clients on or just the one?
No, I'm just bringing Mark Vetri, who's a managing member of Mild Mustard LLC.
Mr. Vetri?
okay chair and council he is coming back as a panel of short thank you i appreciate it
there we go hi mr vetri please state your name and spell it for the stenographer please
Yes, my name is Mark Vettry. It's Mark with a C. V is Victor E.
All right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Please proceed, counsel.
Good afternoon, Mr. Vettry. Did you observe all my testimony that I just presented to the CBA?
Yes, I did. And was it true and correct to the best of your knowledge?
Yes, it was. And do you adopt that testimony as your own testimony?
Yes, I do. Mr. Chair, members of the board,
I have no further questions from the board.
Questions from the board. Questions from our attorney, Hillary Emerson.
You got a question? Yeah, I just wanted to confirm, has OPA already reviewed
the new plan
for the redrawn lot sizes?
Yeah, the plans they submitted are
stamped plans. Okay, that's what I thought.
Questions from our attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience or the current audience
I do not see any hands, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
And we work with the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning
from the existing CMX to
commercial mixed use. The proposal
those to adjust lot lines to reflect the existing structures. Non-conforming
rear yard is an existing condition. The Planning Commission recommends that the board grant
their class of variance for rear yard setback. Thank you. MI 2025
000-538-817 Christian Street, I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Tynetta Graham, my vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, members.
Thank you very much.
Sure. Thank you, Mr. Betrie. Number 11, MI 2025-000-596-1163 South 19th Street, Alok Sokoloff is the attorney.
We're going to take a five-minute break.
I should be coming back in as a panel shortly, Mr. Chair.
Chairman and members, I'm going to have to leave shortly, just letting you know.
What happened here?
Okay, Mike.
Good afternoon again, members of the board.
Are you able to hear me?
Yeah, counsel, just for the record, state your name.
Oleg Sokoloff on behalf of the applicant, Barbara Mosley.
And what's the name?
Barbara Mosley.
I have Kendra Mosley, no?
I believe it's a, they go by both ends.
Okay, sure.
You've already been sworn.
Our vice chair has just a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel.
Do you agree to read another refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
Good afternoon again, Mr. Shahid.
Yes, I do.
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
yes yes we have chair uh mr shaheed we do have
Yes, we have. Mr. Shahid, we do have some additional documents that we would present
today if the board is so inclined. There are floor plans and some renderings of the property.
Sure. Anything you submit to the record, please get that in so we can add that to the exhibits.
But please proceed and share your screen. Thank you very much.
Mr. Sokoloff, I noticed that there's a letter of support from Point Breeze Community Development
Coalition. That's correct. And that is this time on this presentation in our exhibit
package here okay all right so this is for the erection of a new three-story two-family residence
located at 1163 south 19th street that's basically at 19th and federal um and this this is simply a
use change to two-family living which is excuse me um prohibited in rsa 5 district
Great. Ms. Mosley purchased the property in November 2024.
And I think let me let me go through the additional exhibits and then we can get to the plans as I have Sean Kennedy and Scott Woodruff of Design Blends on the call to answer any kind of technical questions.
our zoning map here. You can see it's a corner property.
I don't know. I apologize. I don't know why it does that. Every time I
change the size, it decides to jump me down to a different portion of the exhibit packet.
So this is the property here. It is the furthest corner property there. This is 1161.
One, it is not the entirety of this lot.
And this is a picture of the property from Federal Street.
The frontage is on 19th Street
and the longer portion is on Federal.
Some aerial views of the property.
This property has been vacant at least to 2017
17, as far as I can see from any kind of zoning record or any kind of permit records.
But given the condition of the site, I believe it's been vacant for far longer.
We wanted to point the Board's attention to a number of previously granted two-family
residences in the RSA 5, in an RSA 5 district that are within about a three-block radius
of the subject property, and here are some of the ones we found.
So, we found seven properties that have all been granted by the board.
Our application for appeal.
Our project information form.
Ms. Mosley also walked around the neighborhood and obtained a number of signatures from nearby neighbors.
And I just want to point the board's attention to the specificity with which we currently prepare petitions, outlining exactly what it is that's going to be constructed.
Also, letting the petition signers know that, you know, plans are available for review and shown plans during the time of request for signatures on this petition.
Our community notice letter, we met with the community on March 24th of this year.
As the Chair stated, we did receive a letter of support from Point Breeze Community Development
Coalition and some things that I just wanted to point the Board's attention to.
Even the person who was not in support, you know, thought it was a beautiful design.
and then you can see here people are very happy that the the lot is going to be filled
and once again people are people in the community are very happy with
with a non-blighted lot or the idea of a non-blighted lot
here are our certificates of mailing
Our proof of tax compliance, you can see no balance for this year or any other years.
and then our notice posters for today's meeting.
and then our notice posters for today's meeting.
And with that, let me go back to at least the Z-level plans to discuss the property
a little bit, and then I can show some more detailed plans and renderings.
All right, so as I stated, what we are proposing is, well, let's do it this way.
So this is a rendering of the property.
This is a three-story, two-unit, first-floor unit being having an entrance on 19th Street
and the second-floor unit having the entrance on Federal Street along with a garage and
a backyard that I'll show in a little bit.
Sitemap of the property, what I'd just like to point the Board's attention to is we've
made accommodations for a trash area in the backyard that's going to be accessible through
either the backyard of the first floor unit or people on the second and third floor unit
are able to access through the gate that's located here to bring their trash out for trash storage.
A layout of the unit on the first floor, so you'd walk in, there's the living room, kitchen,
with stairs going downstairs into the bedrooms.
This would be a two-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath unit
with the half-bath being on the main floor, as you can see here,
and then the full bath being on the lower level.
Egress wells outlined here.
Now, the second and third floor would be a bi-level unit as well.
and that would be a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath.
All of the bedrooms would be located on the third floor.
Laundry located within the unit.
And then the second floor of that unit would be living spaces,
an additional little office or a utility room.
Excuse me, not a utility room, but a bonus room, I suppose it's called.
Some pictures of just design inspirations that were used by design blends to prepare the renderings of this property.
And you can see that the plans and the proposed design of the unit are very much in conformity with this side doors.
Elevations here from the front and back, excuse me, back here, front here.
Side elevation, so the garage door would be located in between the backyard, which has
the access to the trash area, and the entry to the second and third floor unit.
A layout here showing the various rooms from a side elevation.
So once again, as I stated, the walking in on the first floor, you would have the living
area and then the garage behind the stairwell, bedrooms in the basement.
With that, if I can bring on Ms. Mosley to adopt my testimony, or if the board has any
questions for the architects thereafter i'd be happy to bring them on they're both on the call as
Ms. Mosley
Let's be coming back in as a panel
shortly Mr. Chair
Mike, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Mike could you please state your name
and spell for the stenographer
my name is Kendra
My name is Kendra Mosley, K-E-N-D-R-A-M-O-S-L-E-Y.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you.
Ms. Mosley, you heard my testimony before the board today?
Yes, I did.
And is it true and correct to the best of your knowledge?
It is.
And would you adopt it as your own?
I would.
and could you give the board a brief idea of what your intended use for the property is going to be
yes and actually i'm gonna see if barbara mosley i know you mentioned both names
is able to get on it's kind of a family project and she's taking the lead i am
the owner of the property
and she's taking the lead on what the actual use is going to be
well okay yeah council could you call her one please yeah can we call barbara mosley please
thank you okay yes she is coming back one as a panelist okay thank you hello hi could you please
state your name and spell for the stenographer barbara mosley b-a-r-b-a-r-a-m-o-s-l-e-y
Thank you. Barbara, could you give the board an idea of what the intended use
for your family and this property is? Yes. I intend to utilize the first floor
and then the first floor in the basement for my personal use and then the two top floors
to be used as rental
for income purposes.
Okay, and who
would be living with you in the
first floor unit?
I'm living by myself, but I have
grandchildren in the area, so
you know, I do
have a lot of company.
Nothing further for Ms. Mungle.
Did you adopt your testimony yet?
I believe Kendra. Okay. Yes. All right. Questions from the board.
Yes. Um, I'm sorry. What's the depth of the basement, the basement below
great. But despite the fact that I'm very proud to know that answer, Mr.
Johns, I'm going to defer to the architects just so I don't get it
wrong. Sean and Scott, would you mind coming on the call, please?
Actually, it was on the drawing. You know, I just the architect, I know
Yeah, I believe it's eight feet.
The architects are here.
I just, you know, they're the professionals at it.
So I just wanted to have them answer the question.
Even though I believe I could have.
Could you just zoom in a little bit?
Because, yeah.
That was actually my question, too, Mike.
So it's pretty much completely submerged below.
I think also, because I know the direction Mike's headed with his comment, there's an
L-shaped bedroom, and for one of the bedrooms in the basement, the window well is in the
L-shape, so it's really not going to provide that much light into that room, and so I am
concerned as I think.
So let's get your architect on, please.
Sure. And Ms. Wynn and Mr. Johns, if I may, I think, you know, part of the thought process of this basement living was because Ms. Mosley intends to use it for herself. So, you know, she's aware of the...
There's no difference. I mean, it's...
Well, I just mean in terms of being aware of the potential lack of sunlight, it's something that they have discussed and then...
But if it's ever sold or if it's ever rented out, it's just eight feet below grade with minimal light and air.
It's just a dismal living space.
It just it just is.
All right.
Do you have your architect here?
Yes, I am here.
Sean, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Sean Kennedy, S-E-A-N.
Excuse me.
and last name kennedy do you swear or firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the
truth i do sean have you heard the questions they're talking about yes regarding how the
basement level is eight could you please please give us your insight um so yes the basement level
is eight feet below grade um there is ample ceiling height though as the first level above
There is ample ceiling height, though, as the first level above is two feet up above grade.
is to feel
And as the plans show, we are supplying the large windows suitable for egress as well.
So I think we don't have a concern about the natural lighting entering those bedrooms.
you get one foot of snow and you're completely buried underground literally one foot of snow
you're completely buried underground what what kind of coverage would be on those um egress wells
it would likely be a a metal grate covering i mean if the yeah the the um design could be
you know developed further if um to the chair to michael's comment about how um if you get snow
if the grades needed to be lifted off grade a little bit to counter that
other questions from the board yeah i think my question is more around the hardship right this
is a rsa5 lot you're trying to put two units on i feel like you could have fit a duplex with one
bedroom and had all of the living spaces been above grade so what was the justification for
having two two-bedroom apartments um trying to provide the the parking and as well as making
accommodations for the trash area obviously reduce some room but sean and and or scott if
either of you want to field that question a little further please i don't know that that's
an architect question i think that's an owner question because you could have had the same
first floor unit on the first and second floors and had a one-bedroom apartment on the third floor
so i don't know that it's the architect's question
i will let my mom i'll let barbara answer why because she is a fan of light
And as my mother, I do have the same concerns about what happens when there is snow and can she get out?
I do understand the safety concern.
So are you still on?
Yes, I'm here.
I personally didn't have any concerns about the light issue.
uh never really thought about snow as someone mentioned uh if i can just interrupt that was
actually not my my question my question is about the hardship um you know to have this is a single
family zone property they're now we're being requested to put two units here and a parking
space and the decision to have two two bedroom units is what is sort of justifying or necessitating
facilitating the full use of the basement. So this project could be done on the three above
great stories with a one-bedroom apartment above the two-bedroom sort of duplex, I mean, sorry,
bi-level unit. And so my question is, why two two-bedroom apartments?
Well, Alag, can you have your clients answer that? Yeah, Ms. Mosley, if you understood the
question. Board member Winn is asking why the decision was made to do larger apartments as
opposed to potentially a one bedroom on the first floor and then or by levels just utilizing the
three floors that are above grade. I just thought it would be a good use of space to do the two
bedrooms in the basement yeah i think it's probably an income you know she'll live there
part-time um and it's probably a quality of life issue just in the bigger space
and barbara is it also because you intend to have the grandchildren as guests and things like that
to have the two bedroom for yourself yes yes i definitely need two bedrooms okay um any other
questions from the board is there any opposition to raising the building to give uh to to move to
pull the basement floor out of the base you know higher yeah towards grade i would have no objections
if you know that's what's needed so so all lock left i i think you see the issues i do i think
I think a couple of board members have explained it very well.
What I want to do with this is give this as a resumptive hearing.
What I want to do with this is give this as a resumptive hearing and I want you to come back.
And I want you to come back and tell us where you stand.
I mean, we'll certainly take the board's comments into consideration.
This is going to be a resumptive hearing and we will do it on 8, 19, 25 at 9 30 a.m.
8, 19, 25 at 9 30 a.m.
And Hillary, this will be open to see where we stand.
Right. I'm not going to close it.
And you know what? I'm going to have, do you want to wait until they change? All right. So planning wants to make it, their voice is heard here. Okay. And then we'll just take public testimony based on the, for the whole thing, including any revisions at the next hearing. Yep. Okay.
thank you amy boyb with the planning commission the planning commission recommends no change in
zoning at this location from the existing rsa5 residential single family there are no unique
physical conditions or circumstances of the property that would prevent it from being used
in conformance with the zoning code the planning commission recommends that board deny their
requested variance for multifamily okay so we're we're going to continue this as a resumptive
hearing on 8 19 25 at 9 30 a.m. he'll come back and tell us where you're staying he'll take
questions from the board uh we'll have opened it up to the um the public and we'll go back to
planning to see if in fact they have any interest in changing their decision as to where they stand
okay understood thank you thank you very much okay thank you all right thank you i have to drop off
now okay so um i'm going to take a five minute break the first of all is there anybody in the
2 p.m group who have not had their case heard okay so we're going to take a five chance here
for me do not see any hands raised oh thank you jason i'm glad to hear that
we'll come back in five minutes and we only have a couple more cases left
okay here we're back good afternoon my name is bill bergman and i will be chairing this
um 3 30 meeting of the zoning board of adjustment with me is our vice chair ismail shaheed
president mr chairman thank you our board member cheryl l gaston
Oh, that's right. Our board member, Tanetta Graham.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
And our board member, Taya Wynn.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also, here is our attorney, Hillary Emerson, our zoning board director, Ian Haggerty, and our board administrator, Lakeisha Dandy.
Also, a recording of the hearing will be posted on the ZBA website.
By participating, you consent to be recorded.
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So we're going to go and look at our schedule for this afternoon.
number three mi 2024 004 956 2901 south randolph street um this is the
second listing we have no exhibits um john mccrillo is the listed owner
and cgi construction is also involved
mr mccrillo
do we see anybody in the audience
thank you so mi202400495629
So MI 2024-004-956-2901 South Randolph Street, this is the second listing, no one appeared the first time, I vote to dismiss.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is to dismiss.
Iowyn, my vote is to dismiss.
Ishmael Shahid, my vote is to dismiss.
Thank you.
Number four, MI2024.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is to dismiss.
We have it, sir.
Thank you very much.
Number four, MI2024-004-985-10168-280, Busselton Avenue.
Mark Cliff, MRC Electric, and the listed applicant is First Pennsylvania Bank and Trust Company.
No exhibits, second listing.
No one appeared.
Mr. Chair, I just wanted to note for the record for this one that they may have attempted to withdraw this matter. It was unclear. Instructions were provided back in December for how to withdraw, but we have not received a formal letter.
Very good. Thank you. So this is the second listing. Is there anyone in the audience for
this case? Thank you. So MI 2024-004-985-10168-280, Busselton Avenue. Second listing. No exhibits.
I vote to dismiss. Tanetta Graham, I vote to dismiss.
Hi, I win. My vote is to dismiss. Thank you. So number one.
Ishmael Shahid, my vote is to dismiss. Thank you, Ish.
Yes, we have two more cases.
Number one, MI 2024-004-884-1806-North 21st Street.
Zen Jin is the attorney.
There's a letter of non-opposition from Strawberry Mansion Community Concern.
Good afternoon.
Hi, I'm counsel.
Counsel, you've already been sworn.
Just for the record, could you state your name?
Yes, my name is Zen Jin, Z-H-E-N, last name J-I-N.
And could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Yes, the owner of the property is Dwayne Cherry,
and Emren, they're saying, is a project manager that's on the project.
Okay, and our vice chair has just a few questions.
Good afternoon, Counselor. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed this case five days in advance of this hearing?
I have.
Thank you, Counselor. Please proceed and share your screen.
Thank you. I'm going to share with the board what was previously submitted as an exhibit for this case. It should be coming up on the board's screen. Can the board see my exhibit?
We do, sir.
Thank you.
We have all your exhibits.
Thank you. This is an application for a partial construction on an existing property, as well as the use change of the property to a duplex.
This area is currently zoned RSA 5, and the use of duplex is not permitted.
However, the history of the case is why the community actually is not in opposition to our request.
my client's family actually owned this property for many many years his grandmother actually
started the process of this renovation back in 2012 at that time the property was zoned rm1
and the duplex proposal was actually a by right use so the process was started legally without
any issues except she ran into financial issues and actually was unable to complete the project
The property then sat for some time and eventually came to the possession of her grandson, my client, who wishes to complete and finish the project at this time.
The neighboring properties are well aware of what has been happening at the property and what the history is and what the proposal is.
and they generally had no opposition to our request for the reason that it's been something
that they are well aware of was being proposed back when it was perfectly legal and fine to do
and they're and we're just trying to complete a project that's unfortunately been delayed and
been delayed and delayed so as you can see there was no opposition from the RCO the RCO did put
delayed so as you can see there was no opposition from the
in a detailed letter explaining some of the general concerns they have such as trash storage
which we we have the placement by design for and we'll be happy to follow the restrictions on the
facade which will be maintained uh to maintain the look and the occupancy uh my my client is
going to be occupying the property uh and then one of the things as they specifically mentioned
is also the window well um has to be covered so that trash does not let me let me actually zoom
in on this section so it's easier to read uh they're they're concerned with the basement
window wells becoming heavily inundated with trash and wanted some way to make sure that
that would not happen, whether it's a blockage or a design change, so long as the well itself
won't become filled. The community was so concerned, they actually sent in pictures of
some window wells in other properties, not ours, that has had this problem with trash being thrown
into the window well, we are happy to propose a grate or grill that has small enough openings
that it won't permit this kind of activity to happen. And it could be flipped up if the
window well would be used. So from the design standpoint, the property again, this is the
property in question. It was a partial extension was started again many years ago. Much of the
interior work, what started years ago and then stopped and then restarted. And we're now at the
position of financially being able to finish the project. The proposal is to have the first floor
and basement level being one unit, second and third floor being the second unit. The layout is
the basement level would be family room and an office with the bedroom on the first floor and
living room and kitchen. The second floor, which will likely be the rental property my client
intends to occupy the first floor, would be three-bedroom unit, kitchen, living room,
with a small rear deck area accessible by the third floor. There are, again, no dimensional
variances here. The extension itself is within the footprints of what is permitted. Open space,
rear yard space are still within code requirements. So essentially, the only variance needed and
asked for it here is the use itself, which is a duplex. Again, from the standpoint of
the historical use of the property, this property was at the time that the project started a R-in-1
property. And again, the neighboring properties do not really object and also that the community
would not object to this proposal being completed. The property has sat vacant for quite a few years
and this would be a nice upgrade to the property to have it completed and used once again.
I would be happy to try to answer any questions from the board and I believe my client or his
project manager should be here to verify my testimony and I'm happy to redirect to any part
of the exhibits.
Why don't you bring
your client on, then we'll ask questions after that.
Dwayne, if you're here,
or Mr.
Saint, can you raise your hand virtually
to be identified?
He's coming back
in as a panelist.
good afternoon everyone my name is duane hi could you state your name and spell it for the
stenographer please my name is duane cherry jr it's spelled d-u-a-n-e c-h-e-r-r-y-j-r
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes please proceed counsel thank you uh mr cherry did you see my presentation hear my
representation to the zoning board yes uh can you verify what i have represented is true and correct
and adopt it as your own testimony yes thank you um zen just before the questions come i'm
we have trash stored in rear yard for first floor trash stored on the balcony for the second floor
no household living in the basement and a certificate to be obtained yes okay please board
to be to be obtained yes okay please board questions yes i have a question uh about the
depth of the basement below grade just want to know how much what it is
two window wells on the room that's labeled um office den so just wanted to also understand
and what the planned use for the basement was.
Dwayne, it's my understanding
that you might be using that space.
Can you explain to the board what your intent is with that?
So the area on the first floor near the kitchen area
is not really like super, super large
considering it's also a kitchen area for myself.
So the living area downstairs was probably just going to be
like my area to kind of just chill and hang out as like a living room or screening room i guess
you can say and then i'm 28 and i work out so i was planning on make it into like a gym so that
was pretty much my plans now the the basement is pretty much completely below grade correct
how much of it is above ground for the basement um i'm not 100 sure that would be a probably a
question for my uh um so from from the uh from the photograph uh there the basement is mostly
below grade i think i believe there might be two two one or two feet above ground uh let me put
the exhibit back up with the photograph that might better show what we're and then it's the
basement the plan is to fully finish the basement the plan is to yes and then but there was no
bathroom in the basement correct it's just the the den and then the family room correct on the
plants yes okay and then i know we said we're using the existing walls and the foundations but
this is a existing property is it it was is the rear wall still attached to the building
uh the rear wall definitely needs some work uh okay it's it was uh partially collapsing
during the there we go okay that answers my questions okay any other questions
questions more attorney not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
Mr. Chair, this is Jason Hand. I have a hand up from Amrinder Singh.
They better not speak.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer.
hi my name is uh amirinder singh a-m-r-i-n-d-e-r last name is singh s-i-n-g-h do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth sir i do sir are you a neighbor
no i'm a general contractor and a project manager uh involved this project you're involved in this
project yes okay yeah mr saying is there something you wish to add to i think we've already told the
board pretty much the um complete project here so yes i i raised my hand way before so i'm sorry i
i you know like when yep so okay so so we're fine thank you thank you uh anyone else in the virtual
audience planning commission hold on sir mr chairway about bonita cummings she's been allowed
to speak susan cummings hi um good as cummings could you please state your name is spelled for
the stenographer good afternoon chairman and board members my name is bonita cummings it's b as in
boy, O-N-I-T-A, Cummings, C-U-M-M-I-N-G-S, Strawberry Mansion Community Concern.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
I just wanted to just indicate that I think we met on, I think it was March the 3rd.
Yeah, March the 3rd, and there were, as the summary indicates, three ROCO board committee members in attendance with this meeting because I'm not doing this zoning alone.
So I just wanted to emphasize that.
Also, we just wanted to make sure in terms of the provisos, the certificate of occupancy, and we did want to stress.
The provisos, the certificate of occupancy. And we did want to stress that there were, for your review, photographs that show what we're experiencing, not only for proposed development, but many of the developments that have already been completed, the filling up of those window wells with trash.
So we've been cleaning them out ourselves from properties that are even abandoned from new development and, you know, so even, you know, closing them over is what we're starting to also see.
It really just affects further affects light and airflow.
So, you know, we would like them to do a better window just to do a window is no basement living, according to their information.
So you don't really need a window well. So just a better window, probably promoting more light and more airflow would be a better, a better design for that particular portion of the.
So, Ms. Cummings, thank you very much. We appreciate your input. Anyone else in the virtual audience?
There's no further answer, Mr. Chair.
Okay. Planning Commission.
Hi, Meg Kavanaugh for Planning Commission staff, M-E-G-C-A-V-A-N-A-G-H.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
The community was remapped from RM1 multifamily residential to RSA5 single-family residential in 2014, as recommended by the Lower North District Plan.
This block is primarily single-family.
There is no unique physical condition or circumstance of this property that prevents it from being used in strict conformance with the zoning code.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the board deny the requested use variants for two-family household living.
Thank you.
Just as a matter for the board, there is a permit on file for 2012 when the prior owner of my client's grandmother filed for the duplex.
If the board wants to see it, it is available as public record.
And what I want to do with this, I'm going to talk to the board about this next Wednesday, and we'll vote at 2 o'clock.
OK. OK. So thank you for your your presentation.
Thank you. So number two, MI 2024, 004-944-2823 to 25 West Somerset Street.
Brittany Gardner is the attorney for the owners.
There's a letter of support with a proviso from Swamp Poodle Neighbors.
counsel the chair devon ukta has been promoted to panelists for this matter
uh good morning chair um thank god it's nighttime devon i'm gonna tell you right now
if i had to start over again it'd be a little problem just for the record could you stay your
name is spelt for the stenographer? Yeah, Devin Okda. Last name is
U-Q-D-A-H. Do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes, sure.
Could you identify your client, the relationship to this property?
Yes. The client's name is Egypt,
Ms. Egypt Bates. Okay. And our vice chair has just
a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, with the exception of the expert clearer picture of the postage on the property, which I have my exhibit, but I will re-upload it.
Excuse me, Mr. Ecta, I just did have a couple of questions because the solicited attorney on this case is Brittany Gardner.
Are you filling in for her?
Yeah, she had a medical emergency, so she asked me to fill in for her today.
So I'm just filling in for her.
Yes, and the posting that we, when we looked at the, when we looked at the exhibit packet, we couldn't tell that the property was posted. So we did request an updated photo this afternoon. Do you have that with you to show us?
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you, council. Please proceed and share your screen.
it's coming up all right let me know when you can see can you see it yes it's up
okay all right um commissioner as i mentioned um taking over
Okay. All right. Commissioner, as I mentioned, taking over this case to just present the works of the council had a medical emergency. The address of this property is 2823-25 West Somerset Street. Here's a letter of refusal. The property is currently zoned as an RSA 5. The proposed use is an eating and drinking establishment takeout restaurant, which is prohibited in the residential district.
um here's the application for the appeal
and the project information form
as i mentioned the owner of the property is egypt bates
the mailings went out and here's proof of the mailings to the affected neighbors
and here is a deed to the property the property was from lauren stillis to lauren stillis and
egypt bates this property is a family property that's been in the family for
quite some time.
This is proof that the taxes are paid up to date.
And here's the floor plan. So I guess here I'll give some background about the property.
The property, as I mentioned, has been in the family for some time.
they operate a restaurant out of the side of the property it's like a takeout restaurant
that serves like um food pizza water ice things of that sort um they did not know that they so
the establishment had been there for some time um it's been like a staple of the community they did
not know that it was not zoned properly um so how the council got involved was that they found that
it was not zoned properly and immediately took action um there would be no construction to the
property um so currently the picture these are the floor pans um and the pictures that i'm going to
show are here's the property here and right over here where my mouse is circulating is um where
the food establishment is here's the inside of the food establishment again it's already been
renovated it's already been this way for for years uh this is them trying to correct it because they
found out that the zoning was incorrect um so it's already constructed it's the inside when
you first walk into the door this is pictures of the back like kitchen area
these are additional pictures of the kitchen area so as mentioned this stuff has already been like
this for years if there's no um construction that's going to happen um because it's already
been this way for years they're just trying to correct the zoning um to make it proper
and here's again a close-up picture of the outside of the establishment
um concrete cafe um as mentioned these are posting of the of the notices i should have
some more some more pictures of the inside towards the bottom of the presentation i'll show
um a close-up picture of that notice um they were able to have an rco meeting
um and they got the support of the rco
so the rco emailed over this so it seems like there was some type of issue they didn't
do like a formal letter but they did email over their support um for the establishment
There were no, there were no opposition to, to the, to the establishments, as I mentioned, it's been a staple in the community for some time now.
And as council mentioned that, I guess the original, the original upload did not have a, like a, I guess it didn't zoom in on the picture of the posting. So here's a close up picture of the posting of the notice for the hearing.
And yeah, that concludes the presentation.
You want to bring your client on?
Yes, Ms. Bates, Ms. Bates, are you on the call?
here we come back in as a panel shortly thank you
Thank you.
I'm here. Can you hear me?
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Yes, Egypt, E-G-Y-P-T-B-A-T-E-S.
Do you swear or affirm
that tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but
the truth? Yes.
Please proceed, counsel.
Hi, Ms. Beats. Did you hear my testimony?
And was it true and accurate?
Yes. And would you adopt
my statements for the board?
Yes. Thank you.
Board, I get with that.
We're going to open it up for questions.
Devin, how long has it been in operation?
I'm going to
How long, I guess, Ms. Bates, how long has the business been in operation?
It was in operation from 2014 to 2021, if I'm not mistaken, it was that year, 21.
Okay, thank you.
Questions from the board?
Yes, so do you have the support of the neighbor that's adjacent to you?
They actually came to the meeting and signed the paper.
okay and then just to be clear we're not doing any construction and we're simply just trying
to legalize the takeout portion so right this is a double lot yes okay and then where is the
trash currently being stored the trash is currently being stored um for the it's stored in a front in
the back of the store and then it's taken out on a side where we pay for a trash pickup is there
is there a picture of the side or just these two photos of the interior no it's no picture
dated i'm sorry i didn't know i needed a picture of the side i guess maybe you're talking about
right here maybe this beats does it come out of this side or is this the side over here yeah
that's where the trash comes out but you see the corner of charmers the train is like a whole
another corner it goes all the way around a corner okay and then how do you handle deliveries
um i never did okay we pick up our products um daily okay so you're going out you're picking
things up and bringing it in daily through i guess through the main door correct okay
and my other question is um are you okay with the hours to um or she requested uh hours from
11 a.m to 8 p.m is that something you agreeable to yes all right any other questions hillary let
me ask you a question i mean when this address we're using does that mean that whole property
i mean how do we just say that it's only for there i'm trying to so yeah i was just gonna
i was just gonna ask um because it does indicate on the refusal that this is in an existing
structure um with other existing uses um as previously approved um either mr ukta or miss
bates are you able to just give a little bit more information about what's at the property because
it looks like there's a whole nother house to it this is just a small portion of it yes um next
door to it is apartment building right okay that's but that's part of i mean it's part of that
address right yes correct all right um i mean so i'm mr sheriff something like i mean if we did the
whole building right put a restaurant in the building right no i mean i think um i mean we
don't have like a a key plan while we do a floor plan but um i mean you could um perhaps if the
board is inclined to grant to a proviso indicating that there'd be no you know no no expansion
of the use on the current footprint okay how many units are in the apartment building
five and are you you're one of the co-owners of the apartment building correct correct
is there a unit name like how where do you get your mail for the restaurant does it say
like rear or
R or... No, it says
office.
The mailing
address for the restaurant.
Yeah, it's 2823
West Somerset
through 2823 through 25 West Somerset
office. It goes directly
to the front door of the store.
Yeah, we got to do something. We got to put something
there to just...
I mean, should we say
Shall we say first floor extension?
first floor
extension? It's like
It's like a...
It's like a...
I mean, there is like a key plan.
Mr. Ucta, could you scroll back to the plan?
Want me to zoom in?
Yes, please. Thank you.
Because, I mean, it is like an accessory building on the first floor.
Is it attached to the main structure or is it detached?
It's attached by one part, and you can probably see it in the front.
It's attached by the roof.
I just want to note, too, there appears to be a refusal missing for multiple principal uses on this lot.
So I just wanted to make a note of that, assuming that has not been previously approved.
Are you able to zoom that in anymore?
I'm just trying to.
Sorry.
that's it here right
yeah it would i mean it would be helpful if the i think if the the commercial area was like shaded
a circle it's like there's there's some common colors between the commercial area and the
residential area the green hatching so if the commercial area was all just shaded in one
particular way or denoted as space two or something like that then it would be a little
easier to you could stamp this and proviso um that the use is limited to the space indicated in the
key plan um devon you hear that yeah so i guess um maybe i can put a name on it like maybe like
apartment building versus store and when i upload it because i have to upload it anyway where she
has to upload it with that picture of the front and maybe the proviso says
i guess this references the restaurant portion because i mean i guess it's clear that one part
is a restaurant or one part is like um residential uh is there is there a way to to just get like
this portion of it here and just have just have the you know the architect or draftsman whoever
did this make it all rich just yeah just have them like outline the commercial area in red and
just write commercial and then the green can be residential say residential and then we can just
say that it's limited that way also just to be clear is the garage that's on the property
still standing
or was the garage
converted into the commercial
space? Correct. It was
converted. Yeah, because
there's a 2022 permanent from L&I
that says that they need to legalize
the four units and the combined
use of the either existing
vacant garage or they
need to redefine the garage as the commercial
space. It's called the rear garage, former rear garage.
Correct. That's where we
started. Oh, but the
garage is only part of the commercial
space is that correct i think the garage is the commercial so the garage is this used to be the
garage yes so the garage extends all the way from somerset almost to chalmers yes it's a very unique
property okay i mean we could limit it to the garage that might be your garage i wouldn't say
rear because it's right on the front um yeah we i mean we could um yeah i mean we could limit the
use to the former um former garage or i mean yeah it's not detached so i don't know that we could
say it's an accessory structure although if it's just attached by the roof and just for clarification
did you ever resolve your open
inspection and certification
of your fire suppression
system for the building
yes they actually came out
he has to upload
that was done through
I had to deal with L&I
just making sure
because it's yeah
no one else in the audience
right there's one other hand Mr. Chair
for me there's another hand Mr. Chair
3-5-5-2
Ms. Fernandez
Hi Ms. Fernandez
Adrienne
Hello can you hear me okay
I can Adrienne
Please state your name as spelled for a stenographer
Adrienne Fernandez
My last name is spelled F-E-R-N-A-N
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
Thank you.
Please proceed.
Swampo to RCO submitted a letter of support with one proviso and also the meeting summary form, which I believe everyone should have both.
I understand that Brittany is an expecting mother and anything could have happened up until the date of the hearing to try to get it moved up.
But that never happened. So the only proviso we had was the hours, I believe daily from 11 to 8.
And this building is a architecturally unique structure in the entire swamp.
There's no other building like it. And kind of looks like a neighborhood hotel.
If you think of it, we're locked in the south, but in our neighborhood, that's the only one like that.
But we're very familiar with Egypt's business and understand she's legalizing certain parts of it now.
There's never been a problem with trash or any type of upkeep.
And also the front has a ramp, so it's completely ADA accessible.
Everything else is what we wrote in the letter, and that's everything.
Adrian, thanks for your call.
We appreciate it.
Planning Commissioner.
Thank you.
sorry about that med cavana planning commission staff um given the misrefusal i would request to
hold testimony um we don't oh we're not requesting i meant it okay all right then i'll read uh the
comprehensive plan recommends no change the existing rsa5 residential single family zoning
at this location however the lot is large and uniquely shaped for the zoning district and there
is documented history of prior commercial use at this property dating to the 1940s the city
planning commission recommends that the board grant the requested variance for use as an eating
and drinking establishment thank you uh mi 2024 004 can i just i think just looking at just looking
at like the photos i think it's in order to specify the space i think it's just going to be
easier if we have a like a key plan that just outlines exactly where the space is okay so if
we can if we can just hold the vote um and devon if you can work with or miss baker uh bait sorry
um work with whoever did the other plan just if they can just clearly outline we just need to see
clearly where the commercial space is versus the residential space and then we can just stamp that
key plan to indicate that's where that's where the uh proposed use is and devon you can do that by
next wednesday right yeah um but i guess so that means that are we not saying a proviso is in
reference to the where the garage was are we not able to do that now i so so i'm looking at photos
and it's it's confusing because it looks like there's a two-story structure in the front and
there's a maybe a yard in the middle and then the garage i i'm it's just it's very um i don't know
if we proviso it just by describing the
former garage if it's going to
make sense to L&I.
So that's why
I think a key plan would be helpful. We've done
that in other cases to help
differentiate where proposed uses are
on properties
where there's either multiple
buildings or spaces.
So Devin, we're going to hold this the next Wednesday.
Other than that, it's closed,
right, Hillary?
Yes. It's closed. Other than that,
just had that
You'll find out for us, okay?
All right, thank you.
And we'll see you next Wednesday, and thank you.
Thank you.
Is there anyone else in the virtual audience whose case has not been called?
Chair, I see.
Hold on.
Okay, I do not see any further hands, Mr. Chair.
All right, thank you very much.
Thanks, everybody.
Fairly good time here.
We're getting down over a reasonable time.
Thank you.
All right.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.