we are recording
are we three two one yet
we're recording now chair you can go forward in about a minute okay thanks
we have about 16 all together you can go forward when you wish thank you good morning my name is
Carol Tenere and I'm the vice chair of the zoning board of adjustment. I'll be participating in
today's hearing along with board secretary Confessor Plaza and board members Thomas Holloman and James
I'm sorry can we have a roll call? I know I went too fast. Confessor present. Thomas Holloman
present. James Snell, present. Bill Bergman, present. Board Administrator Tanya Sumpkit
and Jason Han are also present. Board Attorney Sharon Saleta is in attendance. Also joining us
this morning is Bill Bergman, our new chair. For those of you who haven't yet participated in one
of our virtual hearings, I'll go through some of the basics of what you can expect. First,
we will be administering oaths to individual participants prior to their testimony. Second,
we'd like to advise everyone that this proceeding is being recorded and that by participating
you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded. This is available to the public by contacting
tanya sunkett at tanya that's t-a-n-y-a dot sunkett s-u-n-k-e-t-t at philadelphia.gov
third for anyone participating by phone if you wish to testify you must raise your hand by hitting star
nine then star six to unmute yourself to enter an appearance statement call 267-270-5548 and leave
your email address and address of the property at issue. I'll repeat that. You must raise your hand
by hitting star nine and star six to unmute yourself and to enter an appearance statement
call 267-270-5548. Four, if you are an LLC, an LLP, or religious organization, you must be
represented by an attorney. But the question and answer box is not for testimony. Excuse me. Any
comments are to be directed to Ms. Tanya Sunkett. I go right to the continuances.
No, the add-on, Madam Chair.
I do that every time.
No worries.
Okay, for today, we have two cases, three cases that have to be voted.
Calendar number MI-2021-002634, 326 Roxborough Avenue.
My vote is no.
Professor Plaza, my vote is no.
James Snell, my vote is no.
Thomas Halliman, my vote is no.
Calendar number MI-2020-001841, 3469 Crystal Street, my vote is yes.
Professor Plaza, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
calendar number mi-2021-003186 2039 east york street i was not present to vote that it's
jim tom and confessor confessor plaza my vote is no to reconsideration
james snell my vote is no to reconsideration thomas halliman my vote is no to reconsideration
thank you and i'll move on excuse me with the continuances
calendar number mi that's number three on the regular list at 9 30 mi 2021 002829
mi 2021 002829 123 north 53rd street that case has no exhibits and it will be continued and it's
a must be heard number eight calendar number mi 2021 i'm sorry i hate to interrupt that's okay
but it appears as though we have an attorney's hand up for that one mr young if he could be
allowed to speak as you wish. Okay, that's fine. Is that Jeffrey Young? Yes. Okay.
Jeffrey, you can unmute and wait to be sworn in.
Mr. Young, can you hear me? Yes, yes, I can hear. Hi. Hi. Can you put your name and address on the
record and spell your last name and i will swear you in jeffrey young 3900 ford road suite b
philadelphia pa 19131 uh youngest spelled y-o-u-n-g do you swear for him to tell the
truth and nothing but the truth uh yes okay and you're speaking on um 123 north 53rd street
Yes. Exhibits were submitted over the holiday weekend, and we actually just had our RCO meeting last night, which was a cause for a delay in the exhibits being submitted.
But we do have a support letter from the 44th Ward RCO.
Excuse me, this is Sharon. This is 2351 North 31st Street we're talking about?
uh 53rd number three at 9 30. no i'm sorry
that's correct right jeff yes 123
north 53rd and this is sharon jeffrey you're saying that you submitted exhibits uh yes exhibits
were sent to um let me i can check the exact email but the exhibits were submitted to the
uh rcozba um email address was it was i copied um let me check here shannon's
um i'm sorry shannon i do not believe you were copied on that on that exhibit i'm sorry i can
forward it to you at uh now okay um the board's call then on whether to go forward i'll check to
sure to be sure that the exhibit packet is complete okay if it is complete it won't be
continued the case can be heard so the only thing missing from our exhibit packet again is the RCO
letter which we just received this morning but I can I'll submit that to Ms. Saleta as well
okay so Ms. Saleta that would mean that everything is completed and case can be heard well I haven't
looked through the exhibits yet, assuming everything is there. Okay. Thank you. Thank you,
Mr. Young. Thank you. Number eight, calendar number MI 2021-002835, 2351 North 31st Street.
This is a continuance requested by the applicant's attorney, and the continuance is granted.
Number 10, calendar number MI-2021-002652-4225 Viola Street.
Another continuance requested by the applicant's attorney, and that's granted.
Number 11, calendar number MI-2021-002840-5511 Spruce Street.
Another continuance requested by the applicant's attorney, and that's granted.
Number 12, calendar number MI-2021-002828, 6516-20, Upland Street.
Another continuance requested by the applicant's attorney, and that's granted.
And finally, number 14, calendar number MI 2021-002848-7106 Castor Avenue, continuance requested by the attorney for the applicant in order that the applicant meet with the RCO, and that's granted.
Does anyone in the virtual audience have any objection to those continuance read out?
Madam Chair, I see the Strawberry Mansion Community Concerns hand raised.
I will allow them to speak at this time.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Hi, can you put your name and address on the record?
Spell your last name and I'll swear you in.
My name is Bonita Cummings, Strawberry Mansion Community Concern Director, RSEO.
Okay, in which case are you speaking about?
Well, I was speaking about an address.
Just give me the address.
2601 West Huntington Street.
okay well that hasn't been heard yet so we'll hear that later well we it was supposed to be
a continuance so that's why i raised my hand according to the meeting we had of the attorney
we in the community asked for continuance for that i'm sorry i'm sure oh okay number nine
this is verne anastasio's case um if verne is present and could respond
did i miss a swearing name miss cummings i i am going to swear her in yes and could she spell
her last name please miss cummings can you spell your last name and i'll swear you in c-u-m-m-i-n-g-s
do you swear for him to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes thank you
i guess we'll wait to call good morning good morning madam vice chair i don't know if you
can hear me i can can you put your name and address on the record spell your last name
and i'll swear you in of course thank you good morning it's verne anastasio a-n-a-s-t-a-s-i-o
1315 walnut street suite 1006 philadelphia 19107 madam chair one second you swear or affirm to
tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes of course okay you may proceed thank you i
believe uh madam vice chair asked if anyone had a comment or concern about the list that was
already called yes and that's right and that and that's why i did not raise my hand because
that wasn't what you asked us to do so but uh since miss uh cummings has raised her hand
um i do respectfully request a continuance on 2601 west huntington in order for us to meet with
the RCO. Okay, great. So, thank you. Calendar number MI-2021-002020-2601 West Huntington Street.
This case is continued. And at this point, I will now turn the hearings over to Bill Bergman,
or new share. Good morning, everyone. Thank you, Carol, very much. Sure. Go right to case number
one, MI-2021-002849, 1203 North 41st Street. It's Mr. Anastasio. You've already been sworn,
and for the record, the RCO has sent a letter of support. There's also a revised plan of one page.
Mr. Anastasio, Carol has a few questions for you.
Hi, Mr. Anastasio.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral, photos and plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing?
And have you met with the RCO and do you have a letter?
Yes, to all of that.
You may proceed.
Thank you.
and welcome mr chairman thank you thank you okay this is um 1203 north 41st street
it's for the construction of an attached structure for the use of it as an eight family dwelling
unit and a household uh living size and location uh to be determined on the plans we have of course
it's a zone in RSA 5 which is why we're here for the eight units and we are slightly off
the minimum open area. You'll see that, I'll pull back here, it's ostensibly two buildings
with sort of an interior courtyard and these are the plans that the KJO architectural team
will go over with you. But first, I just wanted to show you some of the photos that we have
of the lot in question. There's a lot of vacancy in this particular area, a lot of underdeveloped
and undeveloped land that desperately needs some vitality.
that desperately needs some vitality and some density.
The neighbors agreed to that approach.
They would like to see it become a viable neighborhood
with lots of folks, again, living in the area.
This is the RCO letter that went out.
Here is a proof of mailing to 93 separate individual households.
Here's the letter from Centennial Parkside addressed, let me zoom in a little bit, of supporting the applicant's request for the variance for the application 2021-005-931.
one um and with that i am going to there's a revised first floor
that i'll pull back on first
and i'm going to ask uh kevin o'neill or olivia from his team or both to raise their hands and
They will walk you through the actual building, and I'll do the scrolling for them.
Mr. O'Neill has been allowed to speak.
Thank you.
Kevin, could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter, please?
Good morning.
Kevin J. O'Neill, K-E-B-I-N, J. O'Neill, O apostrophe, N-E-I-L-L.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed.
Kevin, if you would just walk the project through for the board, and we can start wherever
you'd like me to.
Okay, so essentially we have a neat unit building.
We're proposing two units per floor, so this is a four-story building.
As Vern mentioned, we are in an RSA 5 zoning district, but we're surrounded by a lot of
RM1 zones and also a lot of commercial mixed use zones. So we feel that on a lot with on a on a
parcel with a lot of vacant lots on the block, we feel it's still an appropriate use to propose
multifamily here. So the the primary variance we're seeking is for is for the use. We have
again, we have the two units per floor, the ground floor is both of those units will be accessible
units access from the street so that those will both be wheelchair accessible and then there's
a similar layout as you go up each floor is essentially the same. We do have two stair
towers so we're meeting all applicable building codes there for life and fire safety and
we're also providing a courtyard in the center of the building which will provide
light and air to all of these units. So each unit has ample windows on both the front and the rear
of the units. And we also note there is no living space in the basement whatsoever, just storage
and building mechanicals in the basement. Happy to answer any specific questions that you might
have. Kevin, this is the lot as it currently exists, is that right? Correct. And it's surrounded
primarily by rm1 mixed use to even some industrial is that correct i'm i believe there's uh commercial
mixed use and rm1 and then rsa5 if i'm not mistaken there might be some uh industrial i'm
not sure if there is right on that block or not that's correct okay but in the in this general
area here yeah we're talking about and here's our prop here's our lot right here yes okay great
With that, I'd like to call my client, Faiz Serrano, to be promoted in order to put her on the record.
Could you please state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
Please raise your virtual hand so you may be sworn in.
she says she's on as of 9 38 this morning so sorry can you guys hear me now
there she goes i'm so sorry okay my name is taylor serrano it's t-h-a-i-s s-e-r-r-a-n-o
you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes i do proceed thank you mr chairman miss serrano did you hear my presentation to the board this
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ms. Serrano, did you hear my presentation to the board this morning?
morning
Yes, I did.
And subsequent Mr. O'Neill's description of the project in question?
Yes, I did.
Was it all accurate and true to the best of your knowledge?
And will you adopt it as your own testimony?
Thank you. I have no other further question, anything to add. We're open to questions and
And I would like to move this exhibit and all testimony into evidence.
Thank you.
Question from the board.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Any other people in the audience have any testimony or questions concerning this?
No further hands, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
Good morning, Mr. Chair. Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. Last name is spelled H-E-G-A-R-T-Y.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir, I do.
Thank you. So, members of the board, in 2014, this slot was rezoned from RM1 to RSA5.
This was done in accord with recommendations from the comprehensive plan and with the support
of the community. The RSA 5 zoning on this site was an intentional decision to establish single
family use on this block face. The applicant's not established a hardship here. With respect to
the used variance for eight dwelling units, the applicant's hardship claims not supported with
evidence of unique physical circumstances or conditions of the property. They've cited the
need for vitality and density uh while that's perhaps true it's not a hardship under the law
the adjacent zoning was also cited and that's also not a hardship the adjacent zoning like the
zoning for this lot was established according to recommendations from the plan the comprehensive
plan with respect to the dimensional variance the code requirements do not impose a financial burden
on the applicant either so given the absence of hardship for either variance city planning
commission recommends that the board deny these variances with that if if i may just briefly
ask my client to uh i don't know if she's still available for testimony but to raise her hand
thais are you still there mr rano if you're still in the audience please raise your hand
she's been lucky talk sir can you hear me now thank you mr rano mr rano you understand that
this lot is zoned rsa5 is that correct that's correct okay and if you were to build a single
family home on this on this lot which is relatively large would uh would in fact it be uh marketable
not it wouldn't be buildable yep okay and and that's why since the rezoning by the planning
commission there hasn't been one single new construction single family home built in that
area is that correct that's correct okay thank you i have nothing further okay so mi 2021 002849
1203 north 41st street i vote yes excuse me chair that would be with revised plans with the revised
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes, with Proviso.
Professor Plaza, yes, with Proviso.
James Snell, yes, with Proviso.
Thomas Holloman, yes, with Proviso.
Excuse me, this is Sharon again.
Mr. Anastasio, if you could please submit to me the revised plans and the Proviso plans form as two separate PDFs so that I can stamp them for you.
Thank you.
We were already anticipating that, Ms. Aletta, and Kevin is going to be about to do that right
now for you.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Calendar number MI-2021-002651, 1230 Federal Street, the attorney is Richard DeMarco.
And there is...
Oh, wait a second.
Bill, that year's supposed to be doing that, right?
I'm fine.
I'm fine.
I heard you.
I would say the RCO, the Passion Square Civic Association, has a letter of non-opposition.
Councilman's school has a letter of non-opposition.
And the attorney is Richard DeMarco.
I apologize.
Mr. DeMarco, please state your name and spell it, please.
Good morning.
Richard DeMarco, D-E-M-A-R-C-O.
And welcome, Mr. Chairman, to the zoning board.
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, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Yes, I do.
Proceed, sir.
Great.
Thank you.
I wasn't sure whether the Councilman Swilla's letter was sent directly.
It appears it has.
Thank you.
So I am unaware of any opposition to this matter, so I'll try to be brief.
I'll share my screen.
One second, Rich.
Do you agree to with the reading of refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, a copy of the refusal
or referral, photos and or plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing,
and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Yes, to all of the above. We sent our full exhibit packet on Wednesday, part of Thanksgiving.
Okay, great. You may proceed.
Yeah, the refusal is solely for use. This is an existing two unit
dwelling property the first floor was it had a long decades long history of commercial use
on the first floor it was a bakery it's actually a permanence and then it was a tailor shop
for my client's father and the tailor went out of business and there was a long history of
vacancy on the first floor. This is a refusal. This is a residential single family, not single
family, but excuse me, a residential row home block. There's next to no commercial use on the
property. So commercial is no longer viable, but the property was built with commercial use on the
first floor. Accordingly, it would be a hardship to try to convert the property back to single
family in light of the long history of multiple use at the property show you some photos these are
plans um there is a room for trash storage in a very large rear yard
see here there's a very large rear yard for trash storage there's also an existing deck that my
clients also inherited which allows for trash storage of the second floor unit and we're not
proposing any changes to the property. It's an existing structure and existed in a two-unit
scenario. My clients did not rent the first floor, but there is a caretaker living there
rent-free. As you can see, the property is existing along with other row homes, and it
is not conducive to any single family of commercial use, excuse me, and there was a long history
of the property. My client Gabe Finnelli is available for some testimony. To accept my
statements is true and accurate. So Gabe, if you can hear, can you please raise your hand and we'll
go through some quick testimony. This, by the way, is the existing structure. You can see that
There's two entrances, as always been two entrances, there's two staircases.
So it would be a hardship to convert the property back to single family in the light of the long history of multiple years.
Gabe, are you with us?
Yes, I'm here.
Gabe, could you state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
Gabriel Fennelli.
His last name is F-A-N-E-L-L-I.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
proceed. Gabe, did you hear all of my factual statements and are they true and accurate and
can you adopt them as your official testimony today? Yes. And do you agree that there was a
long history of commercial use on this first floor and that you inherited the property in that
condition? Yes. And it would be a catastrophic amount of time and money in order to convert
the property back to single family, which would be cost prohibitive to you. Is that right? Yes.
Madam Chair, we met with the RCO. We have no opposition from them, no opposition from the council office, and we just would like to legalize this first floor unit. That's all.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
Anyone in the virtual audience have any testimony relative to this?
no hands mr chair planning commission thank you mr chair ian hegarty for the philadelphia city
planning commission members of the board the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the
existing residential single family zoning on this site however the proposed two family use is
consistent with a documented prior use of one store and one dwelling unit city planning commission
recommends that the board grant the variance. Thank you. MI 2021 0026
thank you m m i 2021 002651 1230 federal street i vote yes carol tuneri my vote is yes
professor plaza yes james snell my vote is yes thomas hollman my vote is yes
thank you everybody have a good sure thank you thank you you too
MI 2021 002670 1522 Moore Street East Point Breeze Neighbors meeting the RCO the majority
of the attendees were in support of this the attorney is Vern Anastasio Mr. Anastasio as
you've already been sworn in Carol I have a few questions for you excuse me this is Sharon
if you would like after this case two to go back to number three I did receive the exhibits from
Mr. Young okay we'll go back okay great Mr. Anastasio do you agree to waive the reading
of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy I do have you emailed the exhibit packet with
proof of ownership tax compliance refusal referral photos under plans of the property
five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the RCO and do you have a letter
I do to all that.
Okay, that's great.
You may proceed.
We're doing 1522 Moore Street right now, and it's for the legalization of a pre-existing
non-conforming use of a two-family dwelling.
This property was purchased as a duplex.
It was marketed as a duplex.
And as a result, we're here before you seeking the zoning relief because it is zoned RSA-5.
here are the plans in question
this basement is just storage and we have you know a nice one bedroom apartment on
the first floor and we have a larger unit on the second and third floors with a laundry facility
and a rear office den. I'm going to take you to a history of
take you to some photos first for the interior.
so there are already two kitchens laid out there are it's actually was a triplex at one time so
as you can see there's four electric meters there are three gas meters or two water heaters
all of this pre-existing
I have
additional materials
for you as well
I have
history of the
property as
going back at least 50
as a three family dwelling
and then ultimately
a two family dwelling
here's a three family 1960s uh there's a three family in the in the again 1960s
it's been a multi-family for quite some time
at one point the second and third floor became one unit
but as you can see history bears it being a three family for
quite a while.
Here's a
recent bill from PICO
for one of the units.
Here's another bill for a second unit.
Here's the RCO letter
that went out.
Here's an affidavit
of continuous use, which I
was hoping uh would have resulted in a permit being issued of course this is akin to being
under oath by my client where he certifies that this has been legally a multi-family dwelling for
decades uh and and has always been consistent uh in in occupancy in fact when discussing this with
the plans examiner she said but for if she saw one permit that had a two-family dwelling on it
and not consistent three-family dwellings, she would have issued the permit for us.
But there was no history of a two-family dwelling, only decades upon decades.
But there was no history of a two-family dwelling, only decades upon decades of three-family dwellings.
Nevertheless, majority, actually everyone in attendance supported the granting of this variance.
Here is the proof of mailing.
224 individual households were mailed.
And, of course, we have the tax certification.
And with that, I'm going to ask my client, Seth DiLorenzo, to raise his hand and be acknowledged by the board.
So will you state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
Yes, it is Seth DiLorenzo.
That is S-E-T-H DiLorenzo, D-I-L-O-R-E-N-Z-O.
do you swear affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do go ahead thank you mr chairman uh mr de lorenzo did you hear my presentation to the board
this morning i did and is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge yes and you adopt
it as your own testimony yes i do thank you i have nothing further questions from the board
no sir no mr chair is there anyone in the virtual audience would have any other testimony relative
to this i see no further hands mr chair planning commission thank you chair bergman ian hegarty for
the philadelphia city planning commission members of the board comprehensive plan recommends no
change the existing single-family residential zoning on this site. However, as Council has
shown, the proposed two-family use is consistent with the documented previous use. City Planning
Commission recommends that the Board grant the variance. MI 2021 002670 1522 Moore Street,
I vote yes. Carol Ternary, my vote is yes. Professor Prowza, yes. James Snell, yes.
Thomas Holliman, my vote is yes.
Thank you all.
We're going to go back to number three.
MI 2021-002829, 135 North 53rd Street.
Mr. Young, you've already been sworn.
Carol has several questions for you.
Hi, Mr. Young.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
i'm back in as a panelist okay so we'll start all over
yes i agree to wave thank you have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax
compliance refusal referral photos under plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing
and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Plans were, and photo and exhibits were emailed.
They were not five days as I stipulated before.
However, I'm gracious to the chair for allowing me to present today.
We do have a letter from the RCO in support of granting our variance.
Thank you so much. You may proceed.
Thank you.
if i can i'm trying to pull up my uh am i allowed to share my screen at the moment
yes please do i'm sorry phil
uh thank you um so again my name is jeffrey young uh 3904 road suite b philadelphia pa
19131. I'm here today representing Omar Edwards, owner of the property located at 123 on North
53rd Street. Mr. Edwards has purchased a property in the name of his LLC, Edwards Enterprises LLC.
Here is the deed to the property. My client purchased a property about a year ago, November 30th, 2020.
Next, we have the refusal. We're here today because we have applied for use of the property
as a two-family dwelling unit. We were refused because two-family units are prohibited in the
RSA 3 zoning classifications. As you can see here from the map, the majority of this particular
neighborhood in west philadelphia um has a single family um zoning classification um however uh as
i move forward in a project um throughout the discussion you'll see uh why we have a hardship
here um again this is an area map uh just for the board uh familiar to get from
Again, this is an area map just for the board familiar to get familiar with the neighborhood.
We are approximately two blocks away, two blocks northwest of the 52nd Street L Station.
So this area has some room for density to support this commercial corridor here.
Here's a picture of the property.
As I stated, my client bought the property in November 30th of 2020. He purchased the property as an existing duplex. When he went to apply for his renter's license, he was told by L&I that in fact this property could not be used as a duplex and as such was not granted the opportunity to get that license.
But upon review of the property's owner history, the property was legally approved as a two-family in 1940.
And as such, the property was converted and has been in its current state since 1940.
Here is a final picture of the property.
our property 123 is to the right. Directly to the left adjacent is 125 North 53rd Street,
which has a very, very similar layout as our property as well. Also, directly across the
street, 134 North 53rd Street has a similar layout to our property as well. This is a picture from
google maps in 2007 just to show that the previous long-standing use as a duplex and here again
uh those two doors um were were present um the layout of the property is uh two two two two
bedroom units um one on the first floor um and one on the second floor with pretty much identical
There is no use of the basement other than utilities and storage.
And as I mentioned, here is the zoning permit from 1940, and as I zoom in, so the board
can see exactly what the permit states, you know, it was to provide for a separate door
leading to a second floor, a separate unit. So again, since 1940, this property has had two
doors. This property has had two units. In about 19, around 1950. Mr. Young, Mr. Young, sorry to
interrupt. We can't see anything other than yourself. It says I am sharing my screen. So
I'm going to stop sharing and then try to come back.
is it still the same all right all right so i is it does the board need me to go back over the
uh the pictures um i'll zoom back up here um so again this is a picture of the property uh 123
North 53rd Street. Again, this property has had these two doors since 1940.
Directly next door at 125, it's a similar layout with two doors and two units directly across the
street. Again, 134 North 53rd Street, similar layout, two doors with two units. And again,
this picture, again, from 2007 to show the longstanding history of the two doors and to
to show that my client did in fact not create this hardship.
Again, the plans are two bedroom units
on the first and second floor,
with very similar layouts, bedrooms to the rear of the units.
And again, in the basement,
there's a bathroom storage utilities,
but no living space in the basement.
um here's the 1940 zoning permit um to provide for a separate entrance um and also create a
separate stairs leading up to the second floor um this was the permit that was on file since 1940
um as again for a two-family dwelling unit um in 1956 there was a zoning permit to replace the
porch um but for some reason when this permit was uh submitted uh they only submitted it as a one
family use so since um you know the property has had a technically a one-family uh zoning um history
um however the property has was never changed to a one-family use it still has always had those two
separate doors uh with those two separate uh units um here is just an email stating that we had our
um here is just an email stating that we had our community meeting um last night um for the rco and
community meeting um
i do have a letter of support that i would share momentarily um here is our proof of mailings um
that was sent uh to all the uh affected uh addresses um here's our tax clearance
and uh this is just a memo of law uh in support of our uh application um again uh given uh the
condition of the property um we are we believe we are afforded um uh variance relief here uh
because the building itself creates an unnecessary hardship uh caused by the long-standing design
Conformity with the zoning code can only be done through extensive reconstruction or demolition of the building for an issue that was not caused, again, by the applicant.
Here is a support letter from the 44th Ward.
We met with them yesterday evening, and there were no complaints or issues, hence they issued this support letter.
And with that, I asked if my client, Mr. Omar Edwards, could be unmuted so he could adopt my testimony.
Mr. Edwards, will you state your name and spell it for the court reporter, please?
Can you raise your virtual hand, sir?
mr chair doesn't seem as though this person is in the audience
okay i'm trying to reach out to him uh now um to make sure that he's maybe having some issues
getting on the zoom call mr young you're you're an officer of the court we'll we'll we'll take
that that you can adopt that testimony we're thank you i thank you mr chair i appreciate that uh any
questions from the board no sir no is there anyone in the virtual audience would have to what would
want to testify i see no hands mr chair planning commission thank you mr chair ian hegarty on
behalf of the philadelphia city planning commission members of the board the comprehensive plan
recommends no change to the existing residential single-family zoning here however the proposed
two-family use is consistent with a documented previous use as council has demonstrated city
planning commission recommends that the board grant the variance mi 2021 002 829 123 north 53rd street
I vote yes.
Carol Canary, my vote is yes.
Professor Plaza, yes.
James Snell, yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
Thank you, members of the board.
And Mr. Bergman, it's great to see you again.
Oh, good seeing you again, sir.
Thank you.
All right.
Thank you.
Okay. Case 5, MI-2021-002846, 1700 East Moimensing Avenue.
Vern Anastasio is the attorney.
Pennsport has a letter of support.
Councilman Scuola has a letter of no opposition.
You've been sworn in, sir.
Carol has a few questions.
He'll be rejoining as a panelist momentarily.
are you there verne i'm here oh okay i'm sorry i couldn't hear you i'm sorry okay do you agree
to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy i do have you emailed the exhibit
packet with proof of ownership tax compliance a copy of the refusal or referral photos and
or plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the rco
and do you have a letter yes to all that thank you you may proceed thank you uh today i'm here
for 1700 east moya mensing avenue uh please note at the top here this is a referral we are not
seeking a variance we are seeking a special exception which this board knows is a much lower
legal hurdle for us to um to get over we just have to demonstrate that we have a proposed use
that already is considered compatible with the code, which is CFX1, so long as it will not be
a detriment to the health, safety, and welfare of the immediate neighbors. And I have yet to find a coffee shop.
of the immediate neighbors, and I have yet to find a coffee shop or cafe that is a detriment
to the health and welfare and the safety of the immediate neighbors, and luckily the neighbors
agree. So this is the referral, and we have a site plan. I'm sorry, I just had an error message.
here's the site plan for whatever reason i'm having a glitch in the computer for this
would you mind if i stop sharing and rebooted and if perhaps there's another case that you
can go to while i reboot mr chairman is that okay that's fine i just uh yeah i guess what
for whatever reason i had three cases up at the same time this one decided to go blank on me
so I think if I reboot my computer I should be okay. We'll pick you up after the next case.
I appreciate that. Thank you sir. Okay so MI 2021 002717 2022 North Broadtree. Zen Jin
is the attorney. 32nd Ward sends a letter of support.
Mr. Jin has been made to a panelist. Okay
Okay. Mr. Jinn, state your name and spell it for the court reporter, please.
Good morning.
Could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter, please?
Yes. Zen Jinn, Z-H-E-N-J-I-N, 1617 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Suite 1838, Philadelphia EPA 19103, here on behalf of the applicant.
Thank you. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Carol has a few questions for you.
Hi, Mr. Jinn. Do you agree to weigh the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with required documents consisting of proof of ownership, tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral, photos and or plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Yes, to all, except when we first submitted the exhibit, there was an inability to get a tax clearance from the city system.
However, I have the HUD here with me today that shows that the city payment for 2020 was taken care of at closing.
If the board would allow me to proceed, I will go ahead and proceed with the case.
Yes, go ahead.
Thank you. I'm going to share with the board the information we submitted relating to this case.
This is the updated and latest information, which includes the HUD that I mentioned earlier.
Firstly, we have submitted the refusal RCO letter and related documentation as required by the board.
To understand the refusal in this case, this is a SPINS district that is right off of North Broad Street in the Temple area.
However, this is a historical property that once belonged to, I'm not familiar with the
exact name of the historical figure who it belongs to, but it is designated a historical
property.
My client is trying to actually save the front of the historical property and then add an
addition to the back and use it overall as a nine-unit dwelling unit.
This is a large structure.
I'm going to go ahead and jump to the photos. However, I do want to point out that we are only
looking at dimensional variances in the nature of lot size and total maximum coverage.
The property itself is 2022 and this is the attached structure with the next door building
shown in the photo, but we are this one right here. Part of the work here is to salvage
the entire front of the structure, maintain its historical nature, however adding to
the rear and making the complete building revitalized for use. The SBINS normally is
a district that applies to institutional uses, however that portion of Broad Street really
is now not being used in that form. The building itself is rather large. However, our plans
involve an addition to the rear of the property. And I'm going to zoom in because it's difficult
to see from the screen size. So our plan is to have an addition to the rear of the property
and also to basically match the entire property to a four-story structure. Part of this
Part of this is to make it so that the cost that goes into revitalizing the building would also be part of the development
is to make it so that the cost that goes into
that will ultimately bring back the revenue necessary to compensate for the cost of investment.
However, from the design standpoint, my client is very aware that trash is always of concern.
We have enclosed trash enclosures that's accessible by all units designed into this proposal,
And that can be seen better from the floor plan side, the way the building is going to be restructured with the addition includes basically access to a shared adjacent alleyway in a sense that allows you to have all units access those enclosed trash in the back.
And in addition, the residential units would then be laid out based on the existing front and combined with the rear of the property.
When we met with the community, they were very excited for the idea of preserving the building because Broad Street does have high density.
and because these kind of uses are becoming pretty commonplace in that part of Broad Street,
the community did not feel the density, the additional density, in this case of approximately
two units, would be a detrimental impact to the community. The layout is pretty simplistic. As
you can see, each floor would have a three-bedroom unit in the front, three-bedroom in the back.
The total unit count, again, is nine units.
I can direct to a specific part of any of the plan if the board would like additional view of those specific areas.
But generally speaking, this is pretty much a matching floor plan until the upper floor, which is left as only the front portion.
We did meet with the RCO, as I said, and we did get non-opposition from and support from them.
And again, from a historical standpoint, we're going to maintain the look of the property and maintain the historical fabric of the frontage of the property.
My client is here. Mr. Al-Haddad should be with us.
If the board has any questions, I'll be happy to answer them and also direct to any other portion of the exhibit if needed.
Thank you.
why don't one of your client come on state his name spelled for the court reporter and i'll
swear him thank you uh mr al-hada can you raise your hand in zoom so that you can be identified
he's been allowed to speak
good morning everybody good morning sir good morning please state your name and spell for
the court reporter? My name is Michael Al-Haddad, A-L-H-A-D-A-D. Do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. Proceed. Thank you. Mr. Al-Haddad,
did you see the presentation I made to the board and have you heard my testimony to the board?
Yes, I did. Can you verify that what I have presented is true and accurate and adopted as
your own testimony yes you did thank you thank you okay questions from the board no mrs chairman no
anyone in the virtual audience want to testify
i see no further hands mr chair planning commission thank you mr chair ian hegarty
for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
Members of the board, the comprehensive plan
recommends a change to CMX4 zoning at this location.
The proposed use in bulk are consistent
with the proposed zoning.
City Planning Commission recommends
that the board grant the variances.
Council Sharon, are we okay with the tax?
If needed, I could share the information on the HUD,
although I would rather the board look at that
without sharing it to the public.
Thank you.
that that's fine mr um we can just if you can just email me the proof of tax clearance i also
checked it on the revenue site so you're fine okay thank you all right so mi 2021 002717 2022
north broad street i vote yes harold tenere my vote is yes professor plaza my vote is yes
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Let's go back to case five. Mr. Anastasio, are you straight now with the presentation?
Let's go back to case five.
Mr. Anastasio, are you...
He doesn't appear to be back yet.
Okay. All right. All right. So then let's go number seven. MI 2021-002654-2338 North 10th Street. Zen Jen again. I'm sure you've already been sworn. Carol has a few questions for you.
Hi, Mr. Jen. Do you agree to wave the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
sorry guys he's going to be coming back in as a panel
oh great have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance
a copy of the refusal or referral photos and or plans of the property five days in advance of this
hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter yes to all questions okay great you
may proceed. Thank you. If I, I'm going to go ahead and share with the board the information
relating to this particular case. This, is this now up before the board? Yes. Thank you. So we
have submitted the refusal RCO letter and related documentation. I'm going to go ahead and go to the
refusal and address the concerns on that. This is a CMX2 zone district on North 10th Street and it's
vacant lot. However, my client, based on what is existing in the area and based on the feasibility
of a commercial unit there, has asked that the commercial unit be converted instead to a
residential unit, and that is the proposal before the board. We have met with the RCO and received
their support. As you can see, both the committee board and the attendees supported this application
simply because in that area, currently, all development pretty much is multifamily.
There is very, there's no real commercial activity on the block.
This is the actual vacant lot in question.
As you can see, it is sort of like a park in the past,
and it is actually opposite of residential development that is currently happening.
Because of this, our proposal, which is a standard three-story structure with brick facade bay and use
each floor as a unit, was met with the community's support. I'm going to try to move the plans without
jumping too much. I understand that on the screen it can be difficult to read. I'm also going to
zoom in a little bit so it's easier for the board to see the actual proposal. The unit
proposal is to have a unit that takes up both the cellar and first floor, a second unit that would
be the upper floor which is second and third floor. My apologies. I'm gonna try to zoom back
so it's easier to see the upper floors. And the second and third floor each would be its own unit.
In understanding that outdoor storage of trash is generally preferred, we do have a small rear
deck on the second floor and also a roof deck above the third floor allowing each unit to have
their own respective outdoor space both to put trash prior to pickup as well as just having small
outdoor space for anything they don't want to store within the unit itself. The basic layout
of the units are two bedroom units and again the community felt that these are good large units
that would fit the use of the neighborhood. So as a result we are asking for the board's favorable
consideration in waiving the requirement for a first ground floor commercial unit and permit
this to be used as a total of three-family dwelling. If the board would like to ask any
questions or have me direct to any particular part of the exhibits, I'll be happy to do so.
Thank you. Is your client here, sir? Yes, Mr. Could you adopt the testimony with him, please?
Yes, I will. Mr. Chigai Bader, can you, I'm sorry, Mr. Gitterman, can you raise your hand, please?
he's been allowed to speak could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
yes how are you everybody good morning my name is joseph gitterman g-i-t-e-r-m-a-n
Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes i do
Yes, I do.
Proceed.
Thank you.
Joseph, you heard my testimony and saw the presentation I made to the board?
Would you verify that it is true and correct and adopt it as your own testimony?
Yes, I do.
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
okay i will let her know any anyone in the virtual audience have questions or want to testify
do you know has mr chair planning commission thank you mr chair ian hegarty for the philadelphia
city planning commission members of the board the comprehensive plan recommends a zoning map change
to rm1 at this location this proposed use is consistent with the proposed zoning and so the
City Planning Commission recommends that the board grant the variances. MI 2021-002-654-2338
North 10th Street, I vote yes. Carol Tenere, my vote is yes. Professor Plaza, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes. Thomas Howland, my vote is yes. Thank you. Thank you. Chair,
this is Sharon. I had a text from Mr. Anastasio saying that he was having um trouble logging back
on. I don't know if someone is able to help him with that. Okay. So the link won't work and he
keeps being redirected to registration. Okay um do we have something that can help him with that
or, I mean, Tanya?
Is Pauline here today?
No, she's not here.
He would probably have to go back
through the registration process.
Any suggestions from you, Bill?
No, I mean, I'm sorry.
Oh, no, I'm sorry, other Bill.
I'm sorry, Bill IT.
What exactly happened?
Sorry.
So he tried to go back in, and it's taken him through registration, which is typically, I believe, what you're supposed to do, right?
He was the one that was having computer problems, so he logged out, and then he was logging back in.
The interesting thing was he had two or three cases before that.
I will let him know that he should go through the registration process again.
Yes, thank you.
So we have one more case, I think, if I see what all the containers are.
So I'm at MI-2021.
Go ahead.
I'm sorry.
Can I interject a thought?
He did say, Bill, from IT, that every time he hits register and fills it out, it sends him back to ZBA registration.
So it's like a revolving door he can't get through.
Any options for him?
it's your call could i send him um could we send him maybe a one-time use for
a panelist and yeah can you can you send me the uh just send me his email
sure thank you kindly i'm sorry chair you can continue so why don't we do 13 while we get him
set up um excuse me this is sharon i just spoke with mr anastasio and it's more complicated than
that he said that he has been trying to um register again and that it isn't allowing him to do that
do well do you want me to have any problem tanya would that help no um we're going to resolve it
we're going to send them a panelist email okay thank you very much all right sure all right so
let's let's see if we can get 13 in and then we'll we'll we'll go to rooms everybody great
everybody i mean i agree mi 2021 002650 6940 tarsdale avenue zen jin rco the taconi civic
association has a letter of support with the book provisos um mr jin you will you've already sworn
carol will have a couple questions for you sir hi mr jin do you agree to waive the reading of
refusal and stipulate to its accuracy i do have you emailed the packet the exhibit packet with
proof of ownership tax compliance a copy of the refusal or referral photos and our plans of the
property five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter
yes to all thank you you may proceed thank you i'm going to share with the board the
I'm going to share with the board the information we submitted with this case.
information we submitted with this case it should be
It should be up before the board at this point.
We have submitted the refusal, RCO letter, photos, and related documentation.
This particular matter is an interesting refusal in the sense that it is zoned both,
the property is zoned both CMX 2.5 and RSA 3.
However, it is one lock.
Half of the property is CMX 2.5, and the rear half,
which is actually a vacant portion of this property, is RSA 3. The proposal is to use what
is an existing commercial space on the first floor and also two dwelling units above, which used to
be the use as well. The property is currently vacant. However, if the board would take a look
at the refusals, they all apply because of the RSA 3 zoning. Had this property been a CMX 2.5,
in its entirety, we probably wouldn't be here before the board. That being said, the Taconi
Civic actually supported our application because the neighbors and the civic associations were
aware of the property and what it was used for before. They did attach some provisals, which
some are probably not enforceable through ZBA. However, we have agreed to those provisals and
certainly will work with them to fulfill our obligation on agreeing to those provisals.
The main point is that this property was, in fact, a commercial property at one point
and had a residential use above the property.
The Taconi Civic particularly want us to simply make sure trash, the cleanliness of the property,
exterior lighting, licensing, and safety, including installing cameras, and possibly
going with the police safe cam, which all which my client is going to work on and certainly agrees
to do. So whatever proviso can be enforced through the permit, we're happy to have that included in
any decision of the zoning board. Otherwise, we will make an effort to make sure that it is met
per our discussion with the RCO. In addition to that, I'm going to go ahead and show the
photograph. As you can see, the main property faces Poorsdale Avenue, which is the CMX 2.5 side.
This is the portion back here that is technically RSA 3. However, it is simply the rear yard of the
property. The property itself, again, was used for many years. However, it has been left vacant.
The primary walls are still intact, although the specific layout interior of bedrooms and bathrooms would be redone as part of a complete renovation of the property.
Here is the first floor, which is also the vacant commercial floor and have access to the basement.
The plans that we have proposed includes basically a vacant commercial first floor, along with a two-unit second floor residential and storage connected to the existing first floor, which is in the basement.
There will be a vacant commercial space only at this point, since the entire property would have to first be renovated before use can be applied to it.
The upper floor, again, is divided into two units, a single bedroom, a small unit in the front, and a two-bedroom unit in the rear.
Again, the community feels that the size of the unit, the layout, and the commercial use would all be consistent to what is on Toursdale and had no other objection to our proposal.
So as such, we would ask for the board's favorable review of this application, and I am happy
to answer any additional questions or redirect to any specific exhibit that the board would
like to see again.
Your client here?
Yes, my client should be here today.
This is, if the board could just bear with me one minute.
um sorry uh steve the last name is very difficult for me to pronounce
okay can you raise your hand to um be identified
sacco sacco sacco would be the last name okay
he's been about to speak steve could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter
please yes good morning everybody uh my name is uh sviatoslav last name is sacco i will spell it
the first name is s-v-y-a-t-o-s-l-a-d the last name is sacco s-a-c-h-k-o do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes i do proceed sir thank you um mr
Thank you. Mr. Sachko, did you see the presentation I made to the board and have you heard the testimony I made to the board?
Dr. Sachko, have you, did you see
Yes, I did.
Can you verify that they are true and correct and adopt it as your own testimony?
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, sir.
Planning Commission.
thank you uh chair bergman ian hegarty from the philadelphia city planning commission
um so in 2017 the zoning map was amended from cmx 2 to cmx 2.5 on the portion of this site
um the proposed changes here only occur only in an existing structure that's entirely located
within the portion of lot that's zoned cmx 2.5 as council has demonstrated
and so the city planning commission recommends that the board grant this variance
karen before i vote were the provisors okay um i believe only two of the provisors would be
enforceable and that would be um trash storage of rear property and commercial trash pickup
okay so we we can make note of that right yes okay all right so mi2 mi2 021 002650 6940
Tarsdale Avenue. I vote yes with the provisors that we stated. Carol Tenere, my vote is yes
with proviso. Professor Plaza, yes with proviso. James Snell, yes with proviso. Thomas Holliman,
yes with proviso. Thank you. Have a good day. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, Mr. Anastasia.
just looked like he joined but now he's not there i'm here okay great great great thank you guys i
don't know what that was all about but thank you for your help and my 2021 zero zero two eight four
six seventeen hundred more mencing avenue letters of support from pensport civic letter of non-opposition
from councilman squilla that's correct been sworn carol has a couple of questions for you
hi do you agree to wait the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
i do have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance
a copy of the refusal or referral photos under plans of the property five days in advance of
this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter i do okay you may proceed
thank you and thank you for your patience and your help getting back on the basement is going
to be just empty uh for the most part and then the first floor will be the cafe coffee house
there'll be art exhibits there as well and some you know community sort of oriented programming
there is a side door to which the apartment on the second floor will be occupied by the owner
um and this is a really beautiful property that um i'm going to
just get let it's um i'm sorry i'm disoriented because again my computer's not giving me
everything i want but this is the most important part we already have met with the penn sport
Civic Association. They had unanimous support for the proposal. Councilman Squilla's office
already sent a letter of non-opposition as well. There's going to be commercial trash pickup,
exterior lighting. It's right across the street from a park. It's really ideal for a coffee shop
Cafe, and the neighbors are extremely excited about it. And with that, I would like to ask
my client, Ms. Lu, L-U, to raise her hand and be recognized.
You're allowed to speak.
Good morning.
Good morning. Could you state your full name and spell it for the court reporter?
Sure. My name is Wei Lu, spelled W-E-I, last name Lu, L-U.
do you swear or affirm that tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes i do proceed thank you thank you mr chairman wait did you hear my presentation to the board
today yes i did was it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge yes it is and do you adopt
it as your own testimony yes i do tell the board about your hours of operation roughly sure um
It's going to be open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Wonderful.
So no evening activity on a regular basis.
Correct.
Correct.
And did you say seven days a week?
And did you say seven days a week?
Yes, seven days a week.
Yes, seven days.
Number of employees or roundabout?
Currently, it's slated to be three, myself, my husband, and a part-time employee.
Wonderful.
And you'll be living upstairs, is that right?
Correct.
Wonderful.
I have nothing else to add.
Thank you.
Thank you, Wendy.
Questions from the board?
Yes, sir.
I would like to just move all of my exhibits into the record as well as the testimony.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Any questions from the virtual audience or testimony?
I see no hands, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
the proposed special exception will not cause detrimental impacts to the neighborhood beyond
what normally might be expected for this use and so the city planning commission recommends
that the board grant this special exception. MI-2021-002846-1700 East Moy-Mansing Avenue,
I vote yes. Carol Tenere, my vote is yes. Professor Plaza, my vote is yes. James Snell, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holloman my vote is yes thank you all and again thank you for your helping
me get back on today welcome back no problem Tanya I think that was our last case for the
morning it looks like everything to you okay Tanya excuse me would you want to make an
announcement if anyone is here for a case that they believed was going to be called
could they raise their hands yes that's great
anyone in the virtual audience if you have anything that you wish to be heard today that
was supposed to be and wasn't please raise your hand and let us know if not that will conclude the
hearing and we see no hands thank you making the announcement right thank you all right chair
that completes it very well. Thank you
so much. Great job
Chair. Just thank
the IT professional Mr. Bill
for all he does. He does
a lot behind the scenes. So thank you so much
Bill trying to get Vern back on.
No problem.
All right. Bye y'all.
See you at 2. Okay great.
See you at 2.
We're live.
okay we can begin thank you good afternoon my name is carol tenary and i'm the vice chair of
the zoning board of adjustment i'll be participating in today's hearing along with our chair bill
bergman board secretary confessor plaza and board members thomas halliman and james snell
Our Board Administrator is Tanya Sompkett and Jason Hand.
Also attending is our Board Attorney, Sharon Soletta.
For those of you who haven't yet participated in one of our virtual hearings, I'll go through
some of the basics of what you can expect.
First, we will be administering oaths to individuals, participants, prior to their testimony.
Second, we'd like to advise everyone that this proceeding is being recorded and that by participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded.
This is available to the public by contacting Tanya Sunkett at tanya.sunkett at phila.gov.
That's T as in Tom, A-N-Y-A dot S as in Sam, U-N-K-E-T-T at phila.gov.
Third, for anyone participating by phone, if you wish to testify, you must raise your hand by hitting star nine and star six to unmute yourself.
To enter an appearance statement, call 267-270-5548 and leave your email address and address of the property at issue.
Four. Wait, let me go back to that. You have to hit star nine, then star six to unmute yourself.
To enter an appearance statement, call 267-270-5548. Number four. If you're an LLC,
LLP, or a religious organization, you must be represented by an attorney.
Fifth, the question and answer box is not to be used for testimony. Any comments or
The question and answer box is not to be used for testimony.
Any comments are to be directed to Ms. Tanya Sunkit.
I will now turn this over to our chairman, Mr. Bill Bergman.
Hi, good afternoon, everyone.
Before we start the list, number nine, MI 2021-003532, 3114 Grace Furry Avenue, is listed to be continued.
Is there anyone here who would want to make a comment about that?
Mr. Chair, Ms. Kerri Nase-Poust has a hand raised.
Allow her to speak at this time.
Sure, sure.
Ms. Nacepaust, you've been allowed to speak.
Would you please state your name and spell it for the court reporter, please?
Hi, good afternoon. My name is Carrie Nacepaust. I'm an attorney with the law firm of Fox Rothschild.
Address is 2700 Kelly Road, Suite 300, Orrington, PA, 18976.
Here this afternoon on behalf of the applicant, 3114 Grace Ferry Avenue, LLC.
Pardon me, let me swear you in first.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Thank you.
I'm sorry.
Chair, if I could ask, Ms. Paust, could you please spell your name, please?
First name, Carrie, C-A-R-R-I-E, last name, Nase, N-A-S-E, hyphen, Paust, P-O-U-S-T.
Hi, good afternoon.
We have an appeal that was filed before the Zoning Board back in August due to the size
of this project.
We are also required to review this project with the Civic Design Review Committee.
We received a notice of referral for CDR back in August as well and promptly filed an application
to CDR on August 27th. We've been requesting to be on the CDR committee meeting agendas for
October and November. Unfortunately, due to backlog, we were not included on any of those
agendas. We did receive notice that we are currently on the agenda for next Tuesday,
December 7th. Back in September and October, we did meet with the community and the RCOs.
notice was sent out to the applicable neighborhood participants, I'm sorry, neighbors, and meeting
was held on October 7th at such time that we did receive a letter of support. So we are, we have
met all of our requirements. We are ready to proceed with the hearing today. However, due to
the fact that the CDR has not met to review this, we are asking for a very short continuance until
next Wednesday, December 8th, if available, so that we could continue to have our hearing
on that day after we review the project with the CDR committee.
Thank you.
Tanya, tell us about timing.
No, no possibility at all.
We would ask, again, unfortunately, we did satisfy all of our requirements.
This is a delay that is not of our doing.
We do have certain contractual obligations that need to be satisfied and would request
if a hearing could be scheduled for sometime in December, whether it be the 15th or the 22nd.
So, Chair, what we could do is wait until the CDR is completed, and then I can work
with Ms. Carey to see if we could schedule her by the end of the year. However, the requirement is
that CDR must be completed before I can schedule you. So typically, once the director lets me know
that they've completed it, I can immediately contact you and schedule you. If that works
before the end of the year i can make it happen for you however it must be completed first
okay counsel is that okay uh yes that's fine thank you all right thank you
okay first case oh by the way is there anybody else has continuances or withdrawals
i'm gonna see no hands mr chair thank you we'll we'll start okay number one case
I'm going to see no hands, Mr. Chair.
this is sharon um yes some confusion over number 13 yes that case is actually now scheduled for
tanya please correct me if i'm wrong um december 22nd at two o'clock it's to be heard with a
companion case for a property at 6215 North 13th. Thank you. It would be 930 a.m. I'm sorry.
Oh, okay. 930. Correct. 930 a.m. for that case. Thank you. Thank you, Sharon.
Our first case, MI 2021-00956-13 North 3rd Street. RCO, the Old City District,
meeting shows majority in opposition. Councilman Squillis sent a letter in opposition.
Counsel is Joseph Consul.
Consul is coming back as a panelist, sir.
Hey, Joe Consul.
Thank you.
Could you give your name and spell it for me, please?
Joseph Consul.
That's J-O-S-E-P-H-C-O-N-S-O-L-E.
It's Consul Madison, LLP, 1 West 3rd Street, Suite 204, Media PA, 19063.
You swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Smart, sir.
um briefly did what did councilman squilla weigh in on i i was like so are you asking for a
continuance no no i'm not i'm not i while i was being while i was being made a panelist you said
councilman squilla there's a letter of opposition from councilman school from councilman squilla
okay i believe my client can testify to it that he had spoke to them and they they had
they had indicated support but um that's not the case this is sharon mr council i will forward that
letter to you now. Okay. And Mr. Chairman, I think I have to waive the reading and have him
waive the reading. Yeah, that's right. Go ahead. You go ahead. I know. Mr. Consul, do you agree to
waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy? I do. Have you emailed the exhibit
packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal, referral, photos, and or plans of the
property five days in advance of this hearing? And have you met with the RCO? And do you have a
letter we do yes and we have okay you may proceed after um mr letta i guess you're going to follow
through uh sorry i mean yes i will uh forward that as soon as i pull it up and yeah i will send it
All right. Hello, everyone. Joe Consul here, 13 North 3rd Street. I got Michael Stasek here. He owns two restaurant bars in Old City. This is going to be the third restaurant. We're here for a referral, not a refusal, for 13 North 3rd Street.
13 North 3rd Street is a two-story space.
I'll show you the pictures.
It's a two-story space on North 3rd.
There's the outside.
It's a block.
There's the outside of the building.
It's 900 square feet on the first floor, 700 square feet on the second floor.
Here's the interior.
Obviously, it needs work.
Are these big enough for everyone's screen?
remember last week people are saying like my images were too small okay um and the intent here
is to create not um not like a nightclub or anything like that but a more like a sit-down
restaurant akin to like a bottle bar or a foodery with simple food and a focus on local beers
um here's some proposed uh images for the inside of the property here's a couple of more here
and again the space uh needs a lot of work um michael owns two other two other bars in the
neighborhood none of like i said have ever had a dj or a nightclub which that seemed to be the
opposition of the neighbors. Now, you said we had the letter from the councilman. I haven't seen
that. The RCO board themselves did vote three to two to support it. There was some negative
attendees from the neighborhood, but they appeared to be against any kind of development at all.
We think what's really important for this project is to note that in Old City, there's at least
79 ground-level empty offices and buildings, and Mike has two successful restaurants now,
and we want this to be the third. We think this is an area that needs...
And we want this to be the third. We think this is an area that needs this kind of love and care that he's given.
And he's stuck by this area and he wants this to be his next spot.
And to that end, his idea to have a more laid back restaurant with a focus on local beers, he believes will be what the neighborhood needs,
as he's always getting questions about where like from tourists and that sort of thing where folks
can find um local local eats and drinks um not from your national chains but from more local
focused breweries and and that kind of a thing um so also this is a referral not a refusal um we
we believe that the opposition again was just folks that didn't want to see any kind of um
business go into the spot that that would attract tourists um and as you can see the spot the spot
needs work and the block needs work so we're hopeful that we can get the support here of of
the zba and we can go excuse me mr console this is sharon did you say that the rco letter
sent a letter in support there it's the the rco board themselves supported three to two
The meeting attendees was 4 to 11, and the RCO themselves didn't seem to indicate either way on this document.
They did not state a position, but it does say that all meeting attendees, 4 supported and 11 opposed, 3 did not vote.
Right, that's what I just said.
Yeah, for some reason they broke it down.
I just suspect that the RCO wanted it.
I think the board did.
I just believe that the neighbors that came out and called in, they wanted to appease them as well.
So they took no position, not even a negative position here, and didn't attach any kind of rationale to this.
So we're hopeful that we can get the support.
We think it needs it.
And like I said, Michael has a proven track record of success here.
And in a second, I'll let him talk.
Briefly, he wanted me to mention that he'll be employing at a minimum of 12 people, possibly up to 20 people, and trash.
He'll be recycling all bottles.
He has some sort of machine that turns all the glass bottles into sand, and he sends them out for recycling.
And otherwise, he has daily pickup for his other two restaurants that will also continue to pick up this trash.
It'll be a daily trash pickup.
so we don't believe there's any issue
in terms of trash and that kind of a thing.
So if I could call Michael,
if you could raise his hand and we could swear him in.
Michael, may you please raise your virtual hand
so you can be sworn in, sir.
Michael, please state your name and spell it for the court reporter.
Do we have him?
What is the name again?
Michael Stasek, S-T-O-S-I-A-C.
Can you please raise your hand to be recognized?
If not, we will move on.
Thank you.
Nothing?
right so so council we understand you're an officer of the court so we'll we'll understand
that that would adopt a testimony so we're fine okay any questions from the board no mr chairman
no sir are there other people in the virtual audience that would like to talk or or testify
about this i see no hands mr chair planning commission
um well this is mason austin representing the planning commission
um it's m-a-s-o-n-a-u-s-t-i-n
um so the property uh i'm sorry one minute chair if you could swear him in he's newly
um appointed for the planning commission for today sure do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes i do thanks uh mr chair and members of the
board, this property is designated for commercial mixed use in the comprehensive plan and zoning
matches that designation. Given the location in the heart of an area that has long served
as a destination for dining and entertainment, there's no reason to believe the impact of this
proposal will be greater than what one would normally anticipate from that use. Consequently,
staff of the planning commission support the request for a special exception. Thank you.
support the request for a special exception. Thank you.
MI 2021 00956 13th North 3rd Street, I vote yes.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes.
Pastor Plaza, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
Thank you, board.
Thank you.
MI 2021-003551, 1325 Beach Street.
No RCO letter from the Fishtown neighbors.
Councilman Squill did send a letter of non-opposition where he talks about provisos, etc.
Council is Stephanie Boggs-McMagda.
Mr. Chair, Mr. Ronald Patterson has his hand raised.
I can speak at this time.
You can promote him.
Mr. Patterson will be rejoining us as a panelist.
i'm here good afternoon good morning mr patterson could you state your name and spell it for the
court reporter sure good afternoon uh nice to see you mr chairman uh ronald patterson p-a-t-t-e-r-s-o-n
claire harrison law firm 1835 market street philadelphia pa 19103 on behalf of the owner
developer and the tenant in this application you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth i do okay sir uh okay do you want me to follow through yeah yeah yeah
do you agree to waive the reading of refusal and stipulate to its accuracy i agree to waive the
reading um the refusal is not accurate it calls this a special exception case when it actually
as a variance case. So I want to make that note. Okay, so noted. Have you emailed the exhibit
packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal, referral, photos under plans of the
property, five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have
a letter? I have done all that. I don't have the letter, but I have assigned a proviso agreement
that we have with Fishtown Neighbors Association. Okay, great. You may proceed. Great, thank you.
Let me share my screen here.
Is the screen shared? Yep. Okay, great.
One second.
So, this application regards, the address is 1325 Beach Street.
You'll see an aerial photograph here.
I'm sorry, Mr. Patterson.
This is Tanya Sunkit. We're unable to see.
Oh, we lost it.
Okay, let me try it again.
are we clear now
yes okay great thanks
So, this is an aerial photograph of the property. To the left, which is to the south, is Penn
Treaty Park. It's at the Delaware River, obviously. It's the site of the historical Pico-Delaware
generating power plant station that surfaced Philadelphia from 1923 until about the early
2000s. Here is a rendering of what it's going to look like. So the building that exists is
historically designated. Mr. Winderman, an architect from the time designed this building,
constructed in the classic revival and bozart style. The owner and developer,
which I mentioned I also represent, is preserving yet renovating the building and restoring it.
which I mentioned I also represent as preserving yet renovating the building and restoring it to
its former grandiose but different state. The property is approximately 16 acres
and it's a six-story building containing and will contain these former boilers that are
at the top of the building. So some renovations have been underway at the facility
to bring it back to life over the last couple years. I obtained by right approvals
that collectively approved a two-story addition here atop of the building,
creating 284 single-family residential dwelling units both inside the building
and that new addition, creating business and professional offices back here
in the front, and creating 322 on-site parking spaces.
So this application regards a use approval in the interior of the building
along this area here that would be facing the river. We seek to use the Grand Ball areas
for banquet events by Joe Volpe who owns and operates the Chess Cafe operation. He also
plans to move his main headquarters here. So the property is located in a CMX3 commercial
zoning district plus four special overlay control districts. One of them requires that
that any such use as this requires a variance.
Now, there's no separate category for banquet events,
but it's contained within the use category
of nightclubs and private clubs.
And that's why the refusal reads that way,
which is kind of misleading.
So what is proposed will activate the building
in the waterfront, as Joe will briefly describe,
events can take place along the rear here
and also utilize this open space. This is the river trail that I'm pointing to which will
connect with Penn Treaty Park and proceed to the north and it will remain open to the public.
So what is proposed again is large banquet event space, no third-party events
like all of Joe's other seven venues in Philadelphia. So while our use is a banquet
hall as I mentioned it's not a nightclub which is that use category of the zoning code which
brings us that we met with the Fishtown Neighborhood Association and showed and committed to
series of provisos some of the pictures
pretty fascinating
There's some interior photos, space under construction to our final provisor conditions here.
so it's my exhibit two of my packages they're actually their letter here as you'll see i don't
know why you don't have it but the um we've agreed to the proviso conditions which regard
it's probably beyond what the board is interested in but um it kind of boxes us into the banquet
hall use so we're not turning it into a nightclub or private club which is not what we're asking so
the categorization of the banquet hall as well as the location of this property the building
its past uses, its proposed use, and its surrounding use creates an unnecessary hardship to allow
us to viably reuse this building.
And yet the use coupled with the FNA provision conditions, for example, are evidence that
the use at this location will create no adverse impacts for the public health and safety
and welfare.
So with that said, I would ask if you could promote Joe Volpe, V-O-L-P-E.
I'm allowed to speak.
so are you there i'm here and mr volpe could you mention your name and spell it for the court
reporter george joseph volpe j-o-s-e-p-h-v-o-l-p-e mr volpe do you swear or firm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do thank you thank you uh hi joe uh could you let
the board know your connection with this application yeah certainly first uh thank you to the
entire zba board for here in our case we we appreciate it um my name is joseph volpe as we
stated earlier um the owner of a cheska the event group which is a full service uh wedding and a
Wedding and a large gala event production company located right here in Philadelphia.
large gala event production
As Ron stated, we have seven other venues here in Philadelphia, and we ask that you make this grandiose building our eighth venue and our corporate headquarters.
So that is our intention. I've been working with the FNA for about three or four years now to get this off of the ground.
um i finally have uh partnered with the the right um developer who's going to make that happen
and uh you know we ask that you uh grant our uh our approval so thank you joe let me ask you a
few questions um you heard my presentation would you agree that it's true and accurate and you would
adopt it as if you were your own yes and let's just focus just briefly so this is not a night
club or a private club correct no and as you use it as your as like your other banquet facilities
and it wouldn't be rented for third party use where they could come in and do whatever they
want in the space is that correct correct it'll be it'll be um ran just like our seven other
venues we specialize in weddings and large galas and that is our intention for this facility as
well so you saw fna support letter and i'm showing right now the provisors although they go beyond
what the board can approve but just to see the flavor of what um you know the spirit of cooperation
with them and you're you're in in agreement with those provisors yes we've agreed to all of those
correct um thank you excuse me this is oh i'm sorry mr patterson no further questions for mr
sorry to interrupt i just wanted to say that i've gone through the proposed uh provisos
and my recommendation for what would be permitted and enforceable would be these provisos
permitted use limited to private events not open to the public number one two hours of operation
they would be as stated in the letter from fna and trash to be stored indoors do you find those
acceptable that's for you joe yes i do thank you questions from the board i have no questions
other people in the virtual audience who have uh issues that we want to raise
no hands mr chair planning commission hi mr chair and members of the board this is mason
austin speaking for the planning commission this property is designated for commercial mixed use
in the comprehensive plan and the zoning was updated in 2015 to match that designation
the location is well separated from residential uses and the proposal will help to revitalize
the historic property further this use is only prohibited pursuant to an overlay that was not
supported by the Planning Commission. Consequently, staff of the Planning Commission support the
granting of the requested variance. MI 2021-003551-1325, Beach Street, I vote yes
with the provisos that our council mentioned. Sorry, Bill. Harold Tenere, my vote is yes with
provisos. Professor Plaza, yes with provisos. James Snell, yes with provisos. Thomas Holliman,
yes we'll devise those
thank you so much
thank you
have a great day
that's amazing
MI 2021
003536
1438 McKean Street
Mark Danik is the
counsel no RC letter
no RCO letter from the
South Broad Street Neighborhood Association
Mr. Danek has been promoted to panelist.
Would you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Yes, Mark Danek, M-A-R-K-D-A-N-E-K.
I'm the attorney of record for 423 Cedar Lane, the owner of 1438 McCain Street.
Do you swear for him to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
And a representative of the LLC is also, he might only be on the phone, but I know he's available.
Could you ask some questions for him?
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral, photos and or plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the RCO and do you have a letter?
Yes. You may proceed. Thank you. Sure.
If I may share my screen. Yep. Sure.
Okay. Do you guys see my screen? Yes. Okay. Thank you.
So this, I think, is a fairly simple application. This property, 1438 McCain Street, has, my
understanding, has always been used as a single family home. The reason why we're here today is
that my client was doing renovation work. They purchased it. They were looking to fix it up and
resell it as they move through the process. Because it's zoned CMX2, the zoning code requires
commercial use on the first floor. Since the house has always been used for single-family home,
they wish to maintain that use. So the purpose we're here today is to establish the legal
non-conformity of the single-family home in what is a CMX2 district.
Okay, and this is a photo of the subject property. You could see it looks like a single-family
family home, there's no commercial use present. And the, okay, and then my client has also had
prepared these interior alteration plans. And these are what were submitted to L&I. As you can
see, you know, it's a single family home with bedrooms. With respect to the South Broad Street
neighborhood association uh we did meet with them uh via zoom they did belatedly issue uh this uh
letter which mr butanti did um copy the zoning board uh email address on the submission but i
do have the letter here if the board doesn't have it i can submit it again as you can see
uh there's a non-opposition vote so they're essentially in favor of the application
And if need be, I can have Muneer Bataway sworn in and he can, he's the LLC representative.
He can give you an overview of the property when it was purchased and then the renovation process.
Sure. Bring him on.
was there an individual sir uh well it should be meneer badaway or it might be monpier if not
if he's not on the zoom i think he if he had technical problems he might be on his phone
which is a 703-930 number
okay he's been about to speak
okay uh mounir are you can you hear me are you on i can i can hear you and i've been
following the the hearing so far okay well could could you state your name and spell it for the
court reporter? Yes, it is Mounir Badawi, M-O-U-N-I-R. Badawi is B-A-D-A-W-Y.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Okay, Mr. Badawi, were you present when I was discussing the application before the zoning
hearing board today yes and if i would ask you all the questions in which i provided responses
to the zoning board would you adopt the same as if you presented that testimony yourself
yes okay thank you and um you know to support what i've already said um i'd like you to
you know basically discuss the property and then also discuss the renovation process so
I have the photo on the screen share right now, and then when you're ready, I can go to the renovation plan.
Thank you.
So I cannot see anything, but I can talk about the project and about the building.
The building was purchased, I want to say, about seven, eight months ago.
and when it was purchased, it was represented to us that it was a residential
and it was, in fact, a residential building.
There is a kitchen.
there is a kitchen, a bathroom, and a living room on the main floor
with two bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor
and a bedroom and a bathroom on the third floor.
And the work that is being done on the property
is purely renovation and remodeling.
Nothing is being added.
Nothing is being removed in terms of rooms.
but the appliances are being upgraded.
The bathrooms are being upgraded, retiled.
New sheetrock is being put in
and the place will be painted
and new flooring put in place.
That's basically the extent of the work being done
and the nature of the property
is remaining the same as it has been
for the last 20 years.
okay and mr batta we are there any renovations occurring to the outside of the property
the only thing that will occur to the outside of the property would be a power wash of the facade
okay so then uh right now on the screen i understand you know you can't see it but i
i have a picture of the the front of 1438 mccain that you know shows the posting notices and so
So just to the best of your information, knowledge, and belief, has this property ever been used for commercial use?
No, it has not been, and it was always, for 20-plus years at least, it was a residential.
Okay, and then the front facade that shows just the front door and, you know, a small window there, that's always been present on the first floor?
Yes, it has been.
Okay. And I do want to note for the board, I think I'm still within the 21 days for the posting, but the metadata on the photos I submitted shows a November 10th, 2021, 1019 a.m. date.
But I want to just note for the record that my client had emailed me these documents on November 9th around 6 o'clock.
So I think either way, we're still within the 21 days prior to the hearing.
I just wanted to note that I wasn't sure why there was a discrepancy in the metadata,
but I just, I didn't alter anything.
I just submitted to the board the information I have.
And with that, I have no further questions for Mr. Battaway.
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
Are there other people in the virtual audience who would want to make comments?
You know that's Mr. Chair. Planning Commission please. Hi Mr. Chair and members of the board
this is Mason Austin speaking for the Planning Commission. This property is designated for
commercial mixed use in the comprehensive plan and its zoning matches that designation. While
there's no clear hardship a commercial space would be out of character within this otherwise
consistently residential block of row houses it would not likely be successful consequently staff
of the planning commission have no objection to the granting of the requested variance
MI 2021-003536-1438 McCain Street I vote yes Carol Tennerin my vote is yes
Professor Plaza, yes
James Snell, my vote is yes
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes
Thank you
Great, thank you, we appreciate it
Have a good day
MI 2021
003556
Frankford Avenue
Fishtown, Kensington, and Aries
business improvement letter of support no letter from the fishtown neighbors association council
is melanie lacy sir mr michael phillips at his hand race i promoted him to panama okay sure
good afternoon uh chairman bergman members of the board michael phillips
This is Claire Harrison, 1835 Market Street, Suite 1400, Philadelphia PA, 19103.
Carol, you want to ask some questions?
Wait a minute.
Yes, I do.
Let me read first.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
Carol?
Do you agree to wave the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
And have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal referral, photos under plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCL, and do you have a letter?
Yes, to all those questions. And also, Fishtown Neighbors Association has sent a letter of support with provisos that will be in the exhibit packet that I'll share.
Yes to all those questions, and also Fishtown Neighbors Association.
Okay, great. You may proceed.
Thank you. I will share my screen.
All right. Can everyone see?
Yeah. All right. So again, I am here representing Van Leeuw in Philadelphia,
Frankfurt Ave, LLC. I'm seeking a special exception approval for an ice cream shop at 1601
Frankfurt Ave, which is right in the Frankfurt Ave commercial corridor. We received a referral
due to the use as a takeout restaurant, which requires special exception approval in the CMX2
zoning district. Also, we are in the North Delaware overlay, and so we would also need
special exception approval for that. I do want to just note that while the application was for
a takeout restaurant, we're kind of on the cusp of a takeout restaurant versus a prepared food
shop the distinction is whether or not we have four or more or more than three seats right now
we're proposing two which qualifies us as a takeout restaurant however if we added two more seats we
would be classified as prepared food shop so for that reason I will be asking for a proviso
requesting either prepared food shop or takeout restaurant however I'll go into the plans and
And also note, Fishtown Neighbor Association is requesting a proviso limiting the use to an ice cream shop.
Here is a letter of support from Fishtown Neighbor Association.
You'll note their provisos requesting limitation to an ice cream shop.
Again, while I personally might not think that that is the greatest idea on behalf of my client, that is an ice cream shop.
No objection to limiting it to that use because that's what my client does.
We have also no objection to limiting the hours to 11 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday and midnight
on Friday and Saturday. With respect to the final proviso, I don't believe that's something
within the purview of the zoning board, but we have agreed to apply for a sidewalk cafe license
to permit bench seating. We also have a letter of support from Fishtown Kensington
Area Business Improvement District, who I think adamantly supported this project.
So I'll just briefly walk you through the plans and tell you a little bit of background
about Van Leeuwen.
Van Leeuwen was based out of New York.
They started out of a food truck in 2008 and have now expanded to a little over two dozen
ice cream shops across the nation, predominantly with 17 in New York. This would be their second
location in Philadelphia. They have one at 13th and Chestnut that has had great success so far.
They are also very committed to working with the community and becoming
just another destination on Frankfurt Ave. They will be engaging in a lot of community outreach
and have some Philadelphia-specific plans.
When they opened their 13th and Chestnut location, for example,
they partnered with Federal Donuts and introduced a special ice cream flavor
that I believe was strawberry lavender donut ice cream.
So this is the existing location right now,
but it is under a building permit that it will demolish it,
and there will be two tenant spaces. The tenant space is where my, that will be located is where
my cursor is right now. It's on the corner of Frankfurt and Oxford. See a little better here
and zoned CMX2. It's just a little bit of background about the company. Again, starting
it out with a food truck. They'll both have ice cream that you can order for takeout, but they'll
also have a refrigerator with pints that can be purchased on the go. I'll take you just through
some of the floor plans. So here is the basic floor plan. Walk in, there will be a trash container
here, two stool seats along the window, counter to order, ice cream will all be right lined up for
uh you know lined up for you to look at public restroom and then this is a you know backup staff
you to look at, public restroom, and
with uh backup house um there will be additional trash uh cans back there um we're proposing trash
collection uh it'll be six times a week there's a dumpster that is located behind a fence um two
doors up at 1605 frankfort avenue um so there'll be commercial trash collection there six uh six
times a week. We also have submitted a litter cleanup plan that I will show briefly. This is
just some exterior renderings of the building. This is what it's proposed to look like for the
facade. Here is our trash plan that notes that we will be monitoring and regularly
maintaining the premises, cleaning out of any trash, and also that will apply to the exterior
within this area that's been delineated in yellow.
So we've agreed to go a little bit beyond the property lines
and just monitor every couple of hours the outside,
make sure that there's no trash being disposed of.
And then just here's our posting and our mailing.
I have Corey Siegel, who is the Chief Operating Officer of Van Leeuwen,
who is on the line and able to answer any questions
that the board may have and to adopt my testimony.
Please state your name and spell for the court reporter, please.
Please raise your virtual hand so you may be sworn in.
you're allowed to speak hi can you hear me now yes okay please state your name and spell for
the court reporter sure cory siegel c-o-r-e-y and s-e-g-a-l do you swear for him to tell the
truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes good afternoon cory uh you heard my testimony
a moment ago yep and would you agree that everything i stated is true and accurate
yes and you agreed to dot my testimony as if it were your own yes nothing further
questions from the board no no
anyone in the virtual audience would like to make a comment
Do you know who hands at this time, sir?
Planning Commission.
Mr. Chair and members of the board, this property is designated for commercial mixed use in the comprehensive plan, and the zoning was updated in 2015 to match that designation.
Given the location on a commercial quarter with several other takeout restaurants, and given the support of the RCO, there is no reason to believe that the impact of this proposal will be greater than what one would normally anticipate from that use.
Consequently, staff of the Planning Commission support the request for a special exception.
MI 2021-003556, 1610 Frankfort Avenue, I vote yes.
Carol Teneron, my vote is yes.
Professor Plaza, my vote is yes.
This is Sharon.
Did you want to add any of the provisos
requested by the community organization?
So Sharon, how are you with the provisos?
I would say you can add provisos stating
approved use limited to an ice crane shop and hours of operation limited to 11 p.m sunday
through thursday and 12 a.m friday and saturday that's fine we'll do that
so my vote in carleton area my vote is yes with proviso
Professor Plaza, yes, we're proviso.
James Snell, yes, we're proviso.
Thomas Harleman, yes, we're proviso.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Take care.
MI-2021-001566, 1541 South 24th Street,
Point Breeze RCO Development Corporation
has a letter of support
with revised plans on one page.
Henry Clinton is the attorney.
Mr. Clinton will return as a panelist.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the board, Henry Clinton for the applicant.
Could you spell your name for the court reporter, please?
Sure. H-E-N-R-Y Clinton, C-L-I-N-T-O-N, 1313 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19146 Queen Memorial Building.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Okay, sir.
Do you agree with reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with the required documents consisting of proof of ownership, tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral, photos under plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Yes, to all of the above.
Okay, great. You may proceed.
I can share my screen.
is that visible yes yes good afternoon henry clinton for the applicant this is my presentation
package which contains a table of contents aa through a11 and i'll walk through
the package this is my appearance statement this is the refusal of the key document
This property is at the northeast corner of 24th and Tasker Street, zoned CMX-1, but because it's attached to an RSA-5 zoning district, the L&I examiner indicated that the zoning of CMX-1 really should catapult into the zoning of RSA-5.
And what I want to show the board is that all four corners at 24th and Tasker are zoned commercial, and we are not proposing commercial in this space, even though it's zoned CMX1, we are proposing three residential units.
I'd like to point out, through our original application, it asked for four units, but as a result of meeting with the RCO, we did provide a letter of support.
We have reduced that to three units.
Here's the Point Breeze Community Development Letter of Support, which the Chairman already alluded to.
And here's photographs. Again, just to give you some perspective, this is 24th and Tasker.
The street down here on an angle is Point Breeze Avenue, so we're basically a block and three-quarters from the commercial district in the heart of South Philadelphia.
This is another photograph looking north. Here's the property. Point Breeze Avenue is over here to the east. And this is the railroad trestle at 25th Street, which runs all the way down to Washington Avenue.
This is a photograph looking west.
This has been a vacant lot for some time.
And you can see across the street another vacant lot.
This is also zoned commercial, but obviously not in use.
And I believe there's a vacant space, a catty corner to our space, which is also zoned commercial.
The other thing about this particular lot, which is again shown here in the foreground,
is that it's one of the larger lots on the block.
It's actually 20 feet wide.
about four feet larger than most lots again just some more shots of the vacant lot so the board
can get an idea of the location so we do have revised plans of one page if the board looks
kindly upon this application this is the presentation package put together by
the architect is on the call with me if we need to have any input from him.
And this is just showing the corner of 24th Street, Tasker Street, going to have three
units, one three-bedroom unit and two two-bedroom units that will be trash storage in the rear
yard with the gate accessing on Tasker Street for use by the tenants.
These are the floor plans, which I can walk through, or Mr. Orr can walk through if the board
desires. This is the elevation. Again, a lot of detail on this corner property, a brick,
mainly a brick facade, nice cornice work at the top, which is turned around on Tasker Street,
and the cornice line continues on Tasker Street with the bay at the second and floor level,
And again, continued brick pattern throughout. We have lighting on the front of the building, and we have basically eliminated the steps on Tasker Street to give the building more of a commercial look than a typical residential look.
And this is the rear yard where the trash would be stored.
So we see this project as being in harmony with the code.
We see it as a unique situation where you have a vacant lot with other commercial corners at the 24th.
you have a vacant lot with other commercial corners at the 24th street and task or location
that are not used. There's another vacant lot across the street. One of the other vacant spaces
is, excuse me, one of the other commercial spaces is vacant. And we didn't want to have a situation
where we're going to have vacant commercial space here. And when my client adopts my testimony,
he can speak to that a little bit more about the inability to find a commercial tenant at this
location. One of the reasons being what I pointed out in the early part of the presentation is
we're not very far from Point Breeze Avenue. Like I said, about a block and a half. We also think
that this is in harmony with the code. It's in harmony with what the community group wants as
evidenced by their letter of support. So with that, I would rest and entertain any questions
from the board or if the board wants to talk to the architect uh we're available
do you want to adopt a testimony yes uh can john can you raise your hand
i'm here hank all right john john did you hear my testimony i did yes john could you state your
name for the court reporter and spell it please jonathan bollier j-o-n-a-t-h-a-n bollier b-e-a-u-l-i-e-u
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, yes.
Thank you, John.
John, you were here during the entire presentation, correct?
You heard my testimony.
And one of the things I mentioned was the commercial space at this location would not be viable.
Can you touch on that very briefly for the board?
Yes, in our diligence for the property, we did speak with a number of real estate professionals who advise us against the feasibility of a commercial tenant in this location and in these market conditions.
And John, if you had the opportunity to testify, would you adopt my testimony as your own and as true and correct?
I would, yes.
Thank you, John.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
no the virtual audience any questions from anyone in the virtual audience
mr chair we have a misha gelfand with the hand raised i will allow her to speak at this time
elfin are you available
misha unmute please
i'm sorry i think i might have uh just pressed that by accident i apologize about that okay
planning commission i'm sorry chair um it might be that they were confused
Misha was here to testify
Misha could you please state your name
and spell the whole name
oh yes of course
yes hi
thank you for inviting me to
the meeting here
my full name is Mikhail
M-I-K-H-A-I-L
last name is Gelfand
G-E-L-F-A-N-D
you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes I do
you may proceed
Misha did you have testimony
that you wanted to present
yes I was
here with
David Orfanides
as my attorney for
i'm sorry i think you're here for the wrong case if you stand by we may get to that okay
uh chair i believe we do have others um jason you can continue yes i'm sorry here
is a geneva with their hand raised i have a lot yeah sure
it's only allowing me to promote them to panavis because they're using an older version of zoom
They're just going to testify, right?
Geneva, are you there?
Please unmute and wait to be sworn in by the chair for your testimony.
and wait to be sworn in by the chair for your testimony.
You state your name and spell it for the court reporter, please.
You state your name and speak.
I'm sorry, they put their hand down.
Next, we have Mr. David Orfanides with his hand raised.
Mr. Orfanides.
Could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter, please?
Mr. Orfanides, are you here for this case?
Could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
David Orfanides, last name is spelled O-R-P-H-A-N-I-D-E-S.
Do you swear or phone to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
and i just stepped out of my office for a second it's hanks is this still hank's case
or my case on now no it's mr clinton's case what why am i why was i just asked to come on
you weren't sir please stand by okay okay any other hands up planning commission
All right, sir, we have a call-in user with their hand raised. I will allow them to speak.
Sir or madam, please unmute.
Hello. Hi, this is Tiffany Green.
Could you spell your name for the court reporter, please?
Yes, Tiffany Green, T-I-F-F-A-N-Y-G-R-E-E-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
I must put on the record that this is like the third time we have called in on a case, and the phone has not been answered.
We were not answered.
We missed our testimony on several other cases, which I will send an email in on.
And this is just unfair.
The phone people have to be able to be able to speak, too.
I'm sorry, ma'am.
If you wish to present testimony for this case, please do so.
All issues and concerns, please report to the zoning board administrator.
Thank you.
We do.
but the thing i wanted to just put it on record okay i haven't received anything ma'am but please
proceed just send the email i uh uh 1541 uh south 24th street um we're rco and i just wanted to
speak on this case i know that the block captain is on she's on on on the um on the text me she
texted me she's on and i guess she's having problems getting on to testify so uh hopefully
Maybe you can look for her on there. But in the meanwhile, I'll just make the testimony. First of all, there was a vote glitch regarding this particular meeting that was already reported to Jonathan Goins and regarding the vote glitch.
The block captain let me know that there were other residents on who called in who never received any voting opportunity to vote.
So, therefore, we're saying the summary letter is incorrect because the community, particularly on this block, which is a very nice block, it's a homeowner's block, and most of them are homeowners, and they stated they did not support this particular project.
Initially, they wanted a single-family home.
The developer was not interested in doing a single-family home.
So then at that particular point, he's always asked for to do commercial.
Initially, we asked for first floor commercial to maintain the commercial piece.
If he's going to do CMX-1, to maintain the CMX-1 and have two units to the property.
According to the block captain, he's never talked with the block captain regarding this particular project.
And this was a very strong community.
They made it be known that they wanted to maintain a commercial piece.
For the record, Point Breeze Avenue is two and a half blocks away.
That's near 22nd and Dickerson.
This is our way on 24th and Tarasca.
There's not a lot of commercial in this area.
They thought maybe a nice nailery might be nice or dentist's office
or some type of professional office, insurance office, would be nice for the community.
But what the developer was proposing is that he's saying that he wants to rent this out
for a year, the first floor commercial,
and then, I mean, for residential,
then if he get a commercial person,
that would be, then he would do that.
But that's neither here nor there
because that does not really prove hardship
at that particular point.
And I don't, we don't necessarily agree with that
because people will move into a new commercial place
People were moving to a new commercial place more so than an established commercial place where they have to paint and fix up and everything like that.
more so than an established commercial place
where they have to go.
And we also felt that he needs to take into consideration the target population that is living in that area may not be the type of business that he is targeting.
And we requested that he work with the community to possibly look into businesses that might be conducive to the target population in that particular area.
What is the target population, Tiffany?
I'm saying more lower, moderate income in that particular area.
So, therefore, if you're targeting, you know, it depends on what type of commercial businesses are you targeting and where are you advertising.
Okay, that plays a big part in who you recruit in terms of what type of, who may be interested in moving into this type of area.
Thank you.
Okay, let me just also finish with, it is according to, if you build according to code, monkey family is prohibited.
So the fact that the community was willing to support two apartments on top, as long as he maintained the commercial, I think that the board should take that lease into consideration.
They were willing to at least work with the developer.
And in my closing, I feel at this, we feel that, let me see.
I just wanted to make, I have my notes real quick.
I know what you're going to do.
And there's no real hardship here. I mean, I think that we think that he could, you know, the property with the two apartments in the first floor commercial. He's actually getting 50-50 and working together with the community. I hope the blockhead can come on because a lot of the residents are not having a hard time with the zoning. So I hope the planning, I mean, not planning, the VBA board would take that into consideration. Thank you.
Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, can I just address that?
Sure, you can.
Yes. Ms. Green, this is Henry Clinton. How are you today?
Hi. How are you, Henry?
We had at least three community meetings concerning this project, and you participated in all those meetings, correct, and voiced the same concerns during the meetings as you did today?
Okay. And then just to point out for the board is one of the changes we made in the plan is on Tasker Street, we had steps here leading up. And because the possibility exists that maybe someday this area could be commercial, we made this facade on Tasker Street appear to be commercial because we're still a block and a half, block and three quarters from Point Breeze Avenue, which is a commercial corridor.
and there's numerous vacancies on Point Breeze Avenue now.
So it doesn't make sense at this point, and my client testified,
that it would be very difficult to get a commercial tenant in here.
If circumstances change, we have the building in an adaptable condition
to make that worthwhile.
Henry, that may be, I know you made that,
and the residents said that they did not support that.
They told you that.
And they said that because they are two and a half blocks away.
Okay, and what happens on Point Breeze Avenue stays on Point Breeze Avenue. Here is a small community area, 24th and Dickerson. Okay, there's no other commercial on the other three corners. And a nice little commercial, you know, business in there would be great. And that's what they told you. Okay, now whether you want to accept it, that's what it was. Okay, and then you want to say that you will rent out as an apartment first, but hey, you could do a three-year apartment lease, two-year, you know, and then, you know, or prolong it.
They're saying, no, they would like to have the commercial, if the ZBA wants to approve, approve with the first floor commercial with the two apartments.
You're getting the two apartments that you want.
You're getting the multifamily that your client wanted, okay?
Because, like I said, multifamily is prohibited, according to the code.
All my point is that these concerns were raised, and we have a letter of support.
So that's what I would present to the board, is that we have a letter of support from the RCO.
So these opposition from Ms. Green, and I respect her opinion.
She's very well informed, but her opinion didn't carry the day.
And we're going to ask for approval for three residential units with one page revised.
And with that, I rest.
What we're asking for is, she has petitions.
That's why the block captain wants to come on.
We're asking ZBA if not to hold off and review the petitions.
She has those two, three pages of petitions.
of the block captain. She showed me the petitions and the community did not support it.
That's all I want to say. And you're right. It's my opinion,
not my opinion, our RCO opinion, but she has the petitions
and the residents speak for themselves. It's not me, it's the residents.
Okay, thank you. Do we have any other hands?
Yes, Chair, we have Pietra Gamble.
We allow her to speak. Please.
hello could you please state your name and spell it for the court reporter
Could you please state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
Petra Gamble
Petra Gamble, first name P as in Peter, IE, T as in Tom, R, A, last name Gamble, G as in game, A, M as in man, B as in boy, L, E.
Thank you. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Go ahead, ma'am.
I am a member of the PBCDC, the coordinating RCO for this project.
As Mr. Clinton stated, we had several meetings for this project. The community members were
allowed to come out and speak. We had some problems with the voting, but they were fixed,
and everybody who had a problem with the vote, we encouraged them to reach out to us so their
vote was counted. We counted votes that had problems, and the community spoke for it.
I just want to say we support it.
okay thank you very much you're welcome sorry i'm having a connection problems
okay thank you any other hands up
no sir that is all okay planning commission
hi mr chair and members of the board this is mason austin speaking for the planning commission
property is designated for commercial mixed use and comprehensive plan and its zoning
that matches that designation. Whereas only one unit plus up to additional commercial space is
permitted in the zoning district, the proposal is significantly in excess of this, even after the
reduction to three units. If the applicant earned the mixed income housing bonus for providing an
affordable unit on site, these three units would be permitted by right. But as is, there is no
demonstrated hardship that would require the overuse of this property. Consequently, staff of
planning commission recommend against the granting of the requested variance mr chairman yes i'd like
to request that we hold this case for discussion and our board i was just going to mention that
thank you i'm going to hold this case for discussion next wednesday at our executive session
thank you mr chairman okay chair this is sharon if we could announce you could announce that the
record is otherwise closed closed oh yes records closed and we'll talk about it next week
and have a decision
i don't agree with that i want to put that on the record but that's what we'll do
thank you thank you
Okay. MI 2021 003531, 2001 South 10th Street. No RCO letter. Attorney, Jared Kline.
Mr. Kline will be rejoining as a panelist, sir.
Mr. Kline, could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter, please?
certainly uh good good afternoon mr chair members of the board it's jared klein j-a-r-e-d
last name is k-l-e-i-n from blank rome 130 north 18th street philadelphia 19103
you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do the vice chair
will have several questions for you sir hi hi mr klein do you agree to waive the reading of the
refusal and stipulate to its accuracy yes i do have you emailed the exhibit packet with the
required documents proof of ownership tax compliance refusal referral photos under plans
of the property five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the rco and do
you have a letter yes to all the above i heard the chair mentioned the board does not have a
copy of the letter but it was provided to me earlier this morning and i'll have a copy to
share my uh exhibit packet thank you okay great you may proceed thank you uh just confirming that
everyone can see my screen. Yes. Okay, great. Thank you. So yeah, as I said, I'm here for 2001
South 10th Street, which is a mixed zone property that's had a history of commercial use.
And the use that we're seeking is a restaurant use on the ground floor. The refusal that we
received because the property is dual zoned RSA 5 and CMX 1 and the portion of the property that's
owned residential is the larger portion. It's being evaluated under the residential district
controls and for that reason we received a refusal. Property does have a history of commercial use.
You can see this is the property certificate that we obtained that as of December 14, 2020
there was a retail variety store with accessory sale of packaged goods and the zoning archives
And the zoning archives further show the Variety Store going back to September of 1990 as a pre-code use despite the residential zoning.
further show the variety store going back to September.
And this is, again, the 1990 zoning application showing a Variety Store with residential apartments above.
The site is located here, the corner of 10th and McKean Street.
To orient the board, here's an aerial photo of where the property is located.
And these are some photos of the property from both faces.
This is off the 10th Street frontage, this is off the McKean frontage.
McKean Street looking both directions.
And then we have some photos of the zoning posters that were put at the site.
See they're located here.
um we um provided a floor plan for demonstrative purposes to show the intended layout of the space
uh this is uh what the area for the restaurant would look like there's going to be dry storage
employee lockers trash stored in the basement with bilko doors to allow egress for the trash
and the actual dining area will be located here there's a counter that will have some seating
some tables we're showing tables outside uh with the understanding that we will have to apply for
a sidewalk uh cafe license and go through the appropriate uh approval process there
and the kitchen area is located here and extends through the back the the property itself is
currently in an l-shaped uh so we're using this space as sort of back of the house
um we met with uh the east pass young crossing civic association uh and their uh letter of
support uh is on the screen here the vote was 15 to 1 uh in support of the zoning variance
um and they were uh generally excited about having this use uh come come to their neighborhood the
The style of the restaurant is going to have a lot of gluten-free and vegan offerings,
and it'll be a little bit different than your normal sort of coffee shop or small dynet experience.
It's going to offer some more sophisticated takes on the vegan and gluten-free options.
With that, I'd like to ask my client to raise his hand.
Dan, if Dan, if you can raise your hand and wait to be unmuted.
Do we see Dan Rubin?
Mr. Rubin, you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Okay, I'm here.
Can you state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
Sure. Daniel Rubin, D-A-N-I-E-L-R-U-B-I-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
okay thank you uh dan did you have a chance to hear my presentation this afternoon
yep and did you adopt my statements as true correct and your own if you've been given the
chance to testify yes i do thank you very much uh mr chair that concludes our presentation
mr rubin is here if the board has any questions as specific to the operations of the of the
restaurant. Questions for the board? No, Mr. Chairman. No. No. Anybody in the virtual audience
have questions or make a comment? No hands, Chair. Planning Commission. Mr. Chair and members of the
board, this is Mason Austin representing the Planning Commission. The property is split zoned
between single-family residential and commercial mixed use, and the comprehensive plan does not
recommend any changes to those estimations. While there is no significant hardship, impact will be
minimal, and given the support of the RCO, staff of the planning commission have no objection to
the request of variance. MI-2021-003531-2001 South 10th Street, I vote yes. Carol Tenere, my vote is yes.
confessor plaza my vote is yes james snell my vote is yes
now miss harlem my vote is yes thank you all very much thank you your afternoon
okay mi 2021 003534 219 r street rco old city district letter of support councilman
school of letter and non-opposition.
Mr. Nockeson is the
attorney.
here we have clementa amazon from mr nackamson's office who's coming forward as a panelist
Here we have
Clementa.
good afternoon hi please please state your name and spell it for the court reporter
of course clementa amazon c-l-e-m-e-n-t-a last name is a-m-a-z-a-n address is 123 south broad
Street, Suite 1600. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth? Yes, I do. The Vice Chair will have a couple of questions for you. Hi, good afternoon. Do you
agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy? It is actually a
referral, but yes, I do. Okay. Have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents
consisting of proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal referral, plans, and photos of the
property five days in advance of this hearing. And have you met with the RCO? And do you have
a letter? Yes, I do have a letter of support. Okay, you may proceed. Thank you. So again,
my name is Clemente Amazon. Today, I will be representing Boblin Wiersinski from 217-219
Art Street. If I may, I'm just going to start sharing my screen. Can everyone see my screen?
Yes. Yes. Perfect. And welcome Chairman, it's nice to meet you virtually. Sure, thank you.
So first I will go through the table of contents which includes our notice of referral,
the letter of support that we received from Old City District, maps of the area,
photographs of the lot, our proposed plans and drawings, the notice that we sent out
for the community meeting, as well as a deed, the application for special exception, and the
certificate of tax clearance. So again, our notice of referral, the property is zoned as CMX 3,
so we're looking to do two things. First, we're seeking the relocation of a lot line to create
one lot from the two lots, so we're just looking to create 219 Arch Street between 217 and 219
Art Street, our second point that we're trying to do here is we are looking to create a takeout
restaurant. In actuality, my client is looking to create a cafe here. So my client is actually
a food engineer or food chemist, and he wants to create a cafe that would focus on clean label
foods, organic foods, so they wouldn't include any pesticides, MSGs, or herbicides. So no cooking
would be done on the premises. It would be just a clean cafe to provide healthy options for the
neighborhood. So we did meet with the community and we received a letter of support. It was actually
a letter of unanimous support. They were very excited about what my client is looking to offer
to the community and the benefits that it would have here. We are looking to hire local. We're
looking at about half a dozen employees for this particular project. In addition, this is going to
be a family-run business. So I find it very excited about this proposal. So here we do have
a map of the area. Again, we are along R Street and North 2nd Street. Google map view of the area.
And here we have a view of the front of the property as it is currently. We are looking
to renovate the property a bit. So we would be changing some of the windows, fixing up the brick
a bit, adding shutters, as you may have seen in the cover page. And I will just highlight again
And in our rendering of the property, here we have a view to the right of the property along Arch Street, a view to the left of the property along Arch Street, and our proposed plans and drawings.
As I mentioned prior, we are looking to renovate the brick here, add more shutters, and pretty much bring the property to its full potential in the best way that we can.
We are looking also to do a second story addition.
so here we have the layout for the first floor in total for the interior of the property we have
a capacity of about 40 individuals we are also going to have outdoor seating that would carry
about 24 people so again this is going to be a small cafe that will provide clean options
healthier options to the community no cooking would be done on site and we just have some
indoor seating available we're also going to be repairing near a fireplace as an interior of the
property so we're really looking to renovate this in a responsible manner and the second floor would
be available for employee use so an area for administration a break room as well as a bathroom
and then here you have a view from that second story addition that we're looking to add
as well as the exterior of the property and this is the outdoor seating area that would be available
for that lower-level pathway. And again, we did send out notice to the community regarding this
meeting. Notice was sent out about two weeks prior to the meeting on October 5th. Meeting was held on
or two weeks prior to the meeting on October 5th. Meeting was held on October 19th at 5 15 p.m.
October 19th at five.
We included the Zoom information, meeting ID, as well as the dial-in, and a copy of our notice of
referral. Again, it's just a relocation of the lot line to consolidate it to one lot,
as well as a takeout restaurant that would be truly a cafe in nature. And again, it's a referral,
so the standard is a bit different here. And our hours of operation would be daily between
7 to 10 pm so this would not be a late night operation in any way and again no cooking would
be done on the premises we are required to notify 51 properties here are the list of the properties
that were in fact notified and our certificates of mailing to show that the notice was sent out
two weeks prior to the meeting and the deed showing that my client does in fact own this property
the application for special exception again it's just the relocation the second floor addition
and the use of the cafe that we are seeking here the project information form
and certificate tax clearance showing that my client is in good standing
um i will request that my client bogdan worcinski raise his hand so that he may adopt my testimony
and they can unmute themselves
good morning everybody could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
Yes, my name is Bogdan Wierczynski. My last name W-I-E-R-C-I-N-S-K-I.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Counsel?
Thank you, Bogdan. If you could also spell your first name for the court report, I think that would be helpful.
First name, Bogdan B-O-G-D-A-N.
Thank you. And Bogdan, did you hear my presentation today?
Yes, thank you. It was a great presentation. That's exactly what we try to do here.
I'm involved in clean label food and I would like to introduce clean label products to the city of Philadelphia.
Thank you, Bogdan. And was my presentation true and correct?
yes thank you and would you adopt it as your own testimony
yes thank you thank you so if the board has any questions questions from the board
no no no
anyone in the virtual audience have uh want to make comments
i see no other hands mr chair okay um planning commission mr chair and members of the board
this property is designated for commercial mixed use in the comprehensive plan and its zoning
matches that designation given the location in the harvin area that has long served as a
destination for dining and given the support of the rco there is no reason to believe the impact
of the proposal will be greater than what we normally anticipate from that use. Consequently,
staff of the Planning Commission support the request for a special exception.
MI 2021-003534-219 Arch Street, I vote yes.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes. Professor Plaza, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes. Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
thank you thank you
mi 2020 002851 2421 masher street catherine misner is the attorney nars square homes alliance
letter of support
Ms. Missemer has been promoted to panelists.
Good afternoon.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Yes, it's Catherine Missemer, M-I-S-S-I-M-E-R, 1835 Market Street, Suite 1400, 19103.
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do thank you the vice chair will have a few questions absolutely hi catherine
Thank you. The Vice Chair will have a few questions.
Absolutely.
Hi, Catherine. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral, photos and or plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Yes, to all of the above.
Okay, you may proceed.
Thank you.
Good afternoon, everyone.
here on behalf of the owner of the property at 2421 Masher Street with an application to add
six accessory parking spaces. No new construction is proposed as there is a buy right multi-family
building on this site with 18 existing units. With me today is owner's representative Doug Jordan
as well as project architect Logan Dry. You have letters of support from both
North Square Civic Association as well as several near neighbors in your packets.
And then this is the zoning site plan. This is a through lot that is zoned RM1.
It runs on both Masher Street as well as Waterloo. Waterloo is a one-way street with
no parking on either side of the street. As mentioned previously, this site currently hosts
a by right multifamily apartment building with 18 units. During construction of that building,
my clients received several comments from the neighborhood that parking was becoming a growing
issue in their neighborhood. Its scarcity with the addition of not only this project,
but several other projects in their neighborhood was making it more and more difficult for them
to park. As a result, my clients have agreed to seek a variance to provide six accessory
rear access parking spaces on site to help alleviate any of that parking scarcity in the
neighborhood. As you can see from some of the surrounding neighboring photos, again,
this is just the existing permit for that by right building. This is a photo of the by right
building in place, and the rear, and then this is the area where the parking would be.
As you can see, this is Waterloo Street that is the rear of our building. There are several
existing garages on this block as well as other rear access parking for homes fronting on both
Masher and on the opposite side as well. Waterloo is one way towards Cumberland to the north.
and the current use of both sides is typically for parking on Waterloo.
This proposal does generate two technical refusals. Again, because this lot is zoned RM1,
this parking is viewed as a typical surface parking lot would be. So a surface parking
lot requires five foot landscaping surround to screen it from any public street. So because,
again, if you pay close attention to the site plan, we're proposing direct access to these
parking spaces from Waterloo. We are unable to provide that five-foot buffer there. But again,
given the existing conditions of Waterloo, whereas it's parking the length of this block,
we don't feel that providing that landscaping really would be appropriate in this case.
We do provide two five-foot wide buffers on either end to sort of separate this parking from any
neighboring uses on either side of the property. And then secondly, the other refusal is for a
dry vial. Again, they're envisioning a large surface parking lot when reviewing something
like this. So they're talking a 24 foot wide access to these spaces rather than what we're
proposing here, which is the direct access again from that rear Waterloo Street. We did meet with
Norris Square, obviously, to discuss this proposal, and it was, you know, a welcome addition to the neighborhood to help alleviate some of that parking stress that they're feeling currently based on, you know, the development in the neighborhood and some of the other issues there.
So the proposal is consistent, obviously, with the existing condition on Waterloo Street and provides this needed resource that's really becoming a growing problem in the neighborhood.
The requested variances are the least modification of the code necessary to accommodate this request,
and they're not contrary to the public welfare, as again evidenced by our letters of support.
I would just ask that Doug Jordan be unmuted. Doug, can you raise your hand so you can be found?
Mr. Jordan has been about to speak.
Hi, this is Doug Jordan.
Hi, this is Doug Jordan.
Could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
Could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
Yep, Doug Jordan, D-O-U-G-J-O-R-D-A-N.
Doug, have you heard my testimony today?
Can I swear in first?
Oh, I'm sorry.
No, that's okay.
That's okay.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
Doug, have you heard my testimony this afternoon?
Yes, I have.
Would you agree that it's true and correct?
Yes, I do.
Would you adopt it as your own?
Yes, I would.
Thank you.
And we are available for any questions
the board may have.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, sir.
Anybody in the virtual audience have comments?
Mr. Chair, I have some folks with his hand raised.
I will allow him to speak at this time.
Mr. Folks.
Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Chair, members of the ZBA Board. My name is Sloan Folks, S-L-O-A-N-E-F-S and Fire, O-L-K-S, representing the Office of Counseling Maria Quinones Sanchez.
Let me swear you in first, Mr. Folks.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Thank you.
thank you the applicant having met with coordinating rco and received a letter of
support the council member has no opposition to this various request thank you thank you very much
any other hands in the audience
no sir that is all planning commission mr chair and members of the board uh the property is
designated this is mason austin representing the planning commission the property is designated
for multifamily residential in the district plan and at the time of this application the zoning
matched that designation off street parking is not required in the zoning designation the
construction has proceeded without these parking spaces consequently there is by definition no
hardship that necessitates the building of these parking lots without the required landscaping
further being the site is less than a block from the market frankfurt line station the proposal
would impair pedestrian circulation at a location where the comprehensive plan prioritizes non-autonomous
transportation. However, given the support of the RCO and the council office and the existing
conditions of Waterloo Street, the staff of the Planning Commission has no objection to the
granting of the variance. Thank you. MI 2020-002851-2421-Masher Street, I vote yes.
Carol Tennerin, my vote is yes. Confessor Plaza, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holliman, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
MI 2021 003535332 East Tioga Street, RCO Impact Community Development Corporation,
letter of support, Mr. Nakasim.
Mr. Chair, Ms. Clementa, Amazon has been promoted to panelists once more.
Dr. Mann.
Hi, you've already been sworn.
The vice chair will have a few questions for you.
hi clementa do you agree to away the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
have i shared yes i do have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax
compliance a copy of the refusal or referral photos under plans of the property five days
in advance of this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter yes and we do
have a letter of support. Okay, you may proceed. Thank you. Can I want to see my screen? Yes.
Yes. Let's make it a little bit thicker here. So again, today I am presenting 332-52 East
Tioga Street. During my presentation, I will go through the notice of refusal,
The letter of support from Impact Community Development Corporation, maps of the area, photographs of the property before as well as current conditions of the property, our proposed plans and drawings, the notice that we sent out for the community meeting, as well as a deed showing that my client does in fact own the property, the application for appeal, and the certificate of tax clearance.
So first, the notice of refusal. The property is currently sown as I2. My client is looking
to place a cement plant there. And as such, we are receiving a refusal because it is considered
And as such, we are receiving a refusal because it is considered intensive industrial use.
intensive industrial use.
We did meet with the community, and we received a lot of support from Impact Community Development.
Specifically, they mentioned that they were excited about the contribution to the growth and revitalization of the neighborhood that the plant would provide.
My clients are from the neighborhood, and they look to hire individuals from the neighborhood as well.
So they are very excited about this project, and we are happy that we were able to get the community support of the project.
So here we have a view of the maps of the area, and I will just point out that this is a very significant lot, over 100,000 square feet.
And we are fronting along East Tioga, C Street, and East Ontario.
And we have Rose Hill Street, which is the street that has the closest residential use.
As you'll see in my presentation, the plant is significantly set back from Rose Hill in an effort to minimize any particular disturbances that may result as a result of the use.
Again, we wanted to make sure that we were really considerate and were replaced this particular plant.
So we do have photographs of the lot prior. As you can see, the fence was pretty dilapidated. It wasn't in the best condition.
So here's a view from Tioga Street.
And here we have another view from C Street, as well as from East Ontario Street.
Again, the property really was in a state of disrepair prior to my client taking over the lot.
And upon purchasing the property, my client did a lot of clearing and grubbing of the area, really in an effort to make sure that the property was in a better state.
They are from the neighborhood.
They wanted to make sure that they were good neighbors in the maintenance of the property.
so they included a new fence. As you'll notice here, there is an existing curb cut that my client
will be continuing to use for this particular plant, and here we have an aerial view as well
along East Tioga, C Street, and East Ontario Street, and Rose Hill Street would be along here.
As you can see, there is a significant distance between Rose Hill and where my client would be
placing the particular structure, which we have the aerial view right here. A rough estimate would
be about 100 feet apart or separate from the start of Rose Hill Street.
So here we have a view, an aerial view of the site plan, again, Rose Hill Street being
the closest residential, and as I mentioned, we are significantly set back from Rose Hill.
Here we have the actual structure, I would estimate about 100 feet away from Rose Hill.
just going to zoom out a bit and we did meet with the community did express support and
appreciated the fact that we were considerate in placing the structure in addition to our hours of
operation which would be from 7 a.m to 5 p.m um this is not an intensive use in that it takes
about seven minutes start to finish to make the cement and to get the trucks loaded my client
anticipates to have about 20 lows a day at most. The cement plant is solely for my client's use.
He is not creating cement for the use of others. Some of the clients include the city. So we really
want to make sure that we're providing quality work products. A rough walkthrough of how the
cement plant works. So the materials are loaded here. I'll just zoom in a bit so it's a bit more
visible. The materials are loaded in here. They are mixed. They go up and through the structure
here, and they are placed into the mixing truck here, which is below. There would be a small
office located in the space as well. Again, we are looking to hire local. This entire process
takes about seven minutes, so it would not be something that would be intensive or an ongoing
use throughout the day. We plan to close at 5 p.m. Some days we're sure that it would close a bit
earlier because we're only anticipating about 20 lows per day. And here we have an aerial view
again, we're significantly set back just from the property line itself. It's about 44 feet from
Rose Hill. There is another lot that's adjacent to us that's about 56 feet in length, so about
100 foot away from Rose Hill Street. And here we have an example of the structure just to provide
more flavor and characterize to what it is that we are looking to build here. And we did send out
the notice on October 5th for the meeting on October 21st at 6 p.m. We included the
Zoom information, the link, date, time, as well as the passcode, and a copy of our refusal.
In total, 169 properties were notified, a list of the properties that we did send that notice
out to on October 5th, as I mentioned earlier, and our certificate of mailing, showing that
needs a cement notice to each of the properties required by the city.
And here we have the D showing that my client, Cruise General Construction, owns the lot.
They've been in business for about 50 plus years now, so they're very familiar with what's necessary
To facilitate the responsible use of a cement plant, here we have the application for appeal, as well as the refusal.
to facilitate the responsible use of a cement plant.
Again, the property is known as I-2.
The cement plant is considered intensive industrial use, although, as I mentioned, this is not an ongoing use of legal alone all day.
Our hours of operation are from 7 to 5.
The process from start to finish takes about 7 minutes, and we anticipate about 20 loads.
Our project information form, our certificate of tax clearance, and I would also like to mention that in an effort to be good neighbors, we did agree to repair the sidewalk surrounding the property because that was a source of concern for the neighbors as well.
So with that, if I can have my clients, Lewis Cruz and Kevin Kwaninski raise their hands,
if it is at my testimony.
Mr. Cruz had his hand raised.
I have allowed him to speak.
Good afternoon.
Hi, Mr. Cruz, could you state your name and also spell it for the court reporter?
I'm sorry, sir.
Do you have on two devices?
You have to mute one.
We're getting feedback.
Could you mute him, please?
I'm sorry.
He cannot go forward unless he only has one device because of the feedback.
so as an officer of the court i would stipulate that my client would adopt my testimony that's fine
questions from the board yes mr chairman is the site plan does it have uh
landscaping fence sign indicated on it yes it does we also do have a retaining wall
Can you show the site plan again?
Yes, of course.
Can you show the site plan again, please? I didn't see it.
Of course.
So I'll just zoom in here.
So as you can see here, we do have the retaining walls here as well as here.
This is a lot that is next to us.
And then we have the existing curb cut here as well as the fencing along here.
is that new fencing it was fencing that we've sent to the place yes yes and landscaping is
a new landscaping we just did clearing and grubbing say that again there's no we just
cleared the lot there's no additional landscaping that's been made do you have a plan for landscaping
as of right now no we do not have a plan for landscaping
do you have signage there is no signage now again my client is looking to create the cement
for his own use this isn't something that would be available for public use he's not selling this
to other individuals either thank you of course other questions from the board no no no
So, people in the virtual audience, any questions from there?
Mr. Sloan, folks, as his hand raised, I have an item to speak, sir.
Thank you.
Good afternoon again. Sloan, folks, Office of Councilman Maria Quinones-Sanchez from 508 City Hall.
the applicants uh having met with the coordinating rco and having received a letter of support
again the councilman offers no opposition to this various requests thank you thank you mr folks
anyone else in the audience
there are no left chairs don't have the hands mr chair planning commission mr chair members of the
board this is mason austin representing the planning commission the property is designated
for medium industrial uses in the comprehensive plan and its zoning matches that designation
proposed use is considered intensive industrial and could impair the use of the adjacent industrial
adjacent residential properties given this as well as a lack of hardship staff of the planning
commission represents against granting the variance however if the board does grant the
variance staff further requests that it be done with the proviso that the facility be constructed
and limited per the plan submitted to ensure adequate setback of operations from residences
if ownership changes. We'd be happy to adopt that proviso. Excuse me, the board unfortunately cannot
add that proviso. They are required to construct it in conformity with the plan so it's really not
construct it in conformity with the plan so it's really not necessary they would have to come back
Karen do we want to vote on this oh you can vote on it I just would recommend against adding the
proviso. Okay. MI 2021-003535, 332 East Tioga Street. I vote yes with no provisos. Carol
Tenere, my vote is yes. Professor Plaza, yes. James Snell, yes. Thomas Holliman, my vote is no.
Thank you. Thank you.
MI 2021 003555 337 titan street councilman school letter and non-opposition refers to
an rco letter in support brandon gassini gassini it's a per se case
chair this is sharon this is the case we discussed this morning we do now have all
required exhibits thank you that's that's good thank you
uh can everybody hear me yes could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter
sure my name is brandon gussoni b-r-a-n-d-o-n-g-u-s-s-o-n-i
Our Vice Chair has a few questions for you.
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral, photos and or plans of this property five days in advance of the hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
I have done all those things, except it was not within five days.
I was waiting for the RCO letter, and I didn't email until Monday with the information.
Well, I think you still may proceed.
I appreciate that.
Thank you.
May I share my screen?
Attached here is the, can everybody see my screen now?
Not yet.
Here it comes.
We have it.
Okay, great.
Thank you.
Attached is the refusal.
I don't take any exception to the refusals.
I'm sorry, Brandon.
Could you just enlarge it, Mrs. Tanya, so that all can see?
Thank you kindly.
Oh, not a problem.
Thank you.
The refusals were about rear lot line and rear yard, nine foot.
We're looking for seven foot and minimum distance from the side lot lines of 18 inches.
um the zoning notice for today's meeting uh my original application for appeal with information
uh project information form deed and tax clearance uh did receive as mentioned a letter from
councilman squill of non-opposition and a letter of support uh from the pensport civic association
uh mailing list and certificate of mailing and the request uh for the plans is there we have
we had a structural engineer come through and let us know that we have a single story i guess
the best place to start would be uh with this our house here is where my mouse is right now 337
titan street and this single story kitchen uh is uh the edge the back edge of the kitchen is seven
feet away from our rear yard lot lot line and the structural engineer uh indicated that have to take
structural foundations through um our uh our kitchen to make that foundation support so we
have to tear apart our kitchen which provides a hardship for that we are looking to make the
foundations in line with the back edge of the kitchen which would be seven foot from the rear
yard lot line and the other issue that we have is the 18 inches and I'll go back to
the drawing here and let me zoom in
our issues here is that if i move this uh these in 18 inches off the side lot line uh they would
be right in the middle of our uh walkway at 18 inches is about just about half of the side yard
so uh we are looking to get that change to or the variance approved so that we can uh keep the
change to or the variance approved so that we can keep the vertical posts just inside of our
property lines and the rear yard lot line from seven foot to nine foot it's a two-story deck
that comes out of our third the first level comes out of our third story and then there's
second level that goes up to the upper deck that is the long and short of our request are there any
questions no questions from the board no mr no um questions for anybody in the in the virtual audience
There are no hands, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
Good afternoon.
My name is Greg Waldman from the Planning Commission staff.
Can I swear you, please?
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
And I'm sorry, Greg, if you could just spell your name for the record, please.
Certainly.
It's G-R-E-G-O-R-Y, last name Waldman, W-A-L-D-M-A-N.
Thank you kindly.
This property is designated for a single family residential in the comprehensive plan and its
zoning matches that designation.
While there is no hardship, impact will be minimal and given the support of near neighbors
and the RCO. Staff of the Planning Commission has no opposition to the granting of their requested
variances. MI 2021-003-555-337 Titan Street, I vote yes. Carol Tenere, my vote is yes. Professor
Plaza, my vote is yes. James Snell, my vote is yes. Thomas Holliman, my vote is yes.
Thank you. Thank you very much, everyone. I really appreciate it.
Okay. MI 2021, 003523, 4418 Holmesburg Avenue, RCO letter in non-opposition from the Holmesburg Civic Association. David Orfandis is the lawyer.
He will be returning as a panelist, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon.
Could you please state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
Certainly.
David Orphanides, O-R-P-H-A-N-I-D-E-S.
I'm with the law firm.
Orphanides and Toner.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing about the truth?
The vice chair have a few questions for you?
I'd be happy to answer them.
Hi, David.
Do you agree to wave the rating of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
It's actually a referral.
If you show two referrals on it, then it is accurate, and I wait the reading.
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, photos, and or plans of the property,
the referral, five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Yes, yes, and yes.
You may proceed.
I think I have all the yeses.
You got it all right.
I may proceed.
All right.
Okay, 100,000.
First of all, welcome, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you.
Pleasure to have you here.
And again, my name is David Orfanides.
May I share my screen?
I don't know if I've already done that.
Let's see.
Can you see my screen?
Okay, great.
Again, my name is David Orfanides.
I'm with the law firm of Orphanides & Toner, LLP.
We're at 1500 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Suite 800, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19102.
I'm here this afternoon on behalf of Mike or Misha, who's also known as Misha Gelfand,
who spoke up, raised his hand earlier.
Apologize, Hank probably was a little surprised to have him raise his hand and then have me
jump in on top of that on this hearing.
We apologize for that interruption.
So you've already heard from my client earlier today for a moment, and he does business as Pops Automotive LLC.
He's a tenant at the subject property, 4418 Holmesburg Avenue.
He's operating an auto repair shop there.
We, as mentioned, we do have a letter of non-opposition from the Holsberg Civic Association dated November 26, 2021.
As mentioned, we do have a letter of non-opposition from the Holmesburg Civic Association.
We did check in with Councilman Heenan's office.
He is the councilman within whose district the subject property is located.
And they emailed us yesterday afternoon that they support the community of Holsberg and the decision not to oppose.
I'm showing you a copy here.
This is not in my exhibit book, but it came in after we had submitted it.
but I did want you to see that. As I mentioned, there are two referrals in this case. The reason
I asked for two is because initially there was one that was issued because there was a question
regarding the existing vehicle repair, personal vehicle repair maintenance at the subject property.
As I can show you from the zoning archives, back in 2009, the current owner of the property,
Patrick Marino, zoned the property for an auto repair shop with oil changing in the existing
structure, just as my client had been using it. But the Department of License and Inspections
could not find any record of a certificate of occupancy having been issued for that use.
So as a result, I had to, originally my application was just to add personal vehicle
sales and rental to the existing personal vehicle repair and maintenance. But because
Ellen and I and the current owner, Patrick Marino, my client's landlord, could not find a
certificate of occupancy for the personal vehicle repair and maintenance, we had to add that to the
application. And we need a special exception approval for that, as well as the addition of
the personal vehicle sales and rental. Again, both are special exceptions. We do not have a variance
in this case um the subject property 4418 holmesburg avenue this is a tab three of my exhibit
book um you could see here's the property uh in question it's located along at it's a dead end
part of holmesburg avenue it dead ends right in here into penny pack park with the creek located
over here we have we're bounded on the one side by holmesburg avenue by the park at the other end
railroad tracks on the other side of us opposite homesburg avenue and then other
light commercial uses auto repair uses abutting us on the opposite side the property across the
street is used a zone for residential it's probably it's the only one the only residential
use on this portion of homesburg avenue but it also includes vehicle parking and animal husbandry
they have horses there. Here's a close-up of the property. This is the existing one-story
structure that was referenced in the permit back from 2009 and that my client is presently using
for his auto repair business. There is no proposed change to the height or area of this building.
This lot, the open area, is part of our property. It's presently fenced in. My client presently
uses it to store the vehicles he's working on and that's the area where he will have the vehicles
for sale here's a close-up again going back here you can see the railroad tracks on the one side
and the park on the other and then the house with the parking and the uh and the horses on the other
side 3d images of the subject property from all sides it's very remote you can see on the up even
on the other side of the railroad tracks here we have non-residential uses it's not till you get
um on the other side of this property across the railroad tracks from us it's non-residential
use uh like commercial light industrial uses here that you get to residential properties
and then further up Mill Street that passes underneath the railroad track.
The property is zoned ICMX.
You can see here, again, you have on the opposite side,
you have the RS of the late commercial property.
On the opposite side of the railroad tracks from us, you have residential,
and then you have industrial ICMX properties extending along Holmesburg to Frankfurt Avenue.
and here are pictures of our property existing on the left here's holmesburg here's the lot
um that i showed the open area that's our property where my client
we had a site visit with the community group and basically there's going to be no change to what
you see right now um there'll be cars parked there that he's working on and cars parked there
that'll be selling.
According to my client,
most of the sales of used vehicles
of used vehicles with an operation such as his um take place through the internet uh you don't it's
with an operation such as his
take place through the
not going to generate a lot of traffic and as you see it's it's a dead end even at our end so there's
no through traffic here um and most of the sales are through the internet by appointment people
come so it's not where people are necessarily parking driving here parking to browse so when
we get to the criteria for special exception, you'll see that we do meet those criteria and
meet our minimum burden. And then moving around, and here's the existing one-story structure
that my client's operations are located in. And then I mentioned the other auto repair uses that
are located in the buildings and budding us on the same side of Holmesburg Avenue. And here are
photographs of their operations, and then a view with the dead end at our back, our property to
the left, looking back towards Mill Street and the other end of Holmesburg Avenue. And just to
quickly scroll through, this is the view up underneath the railroad tracks that pass behind
us on Mill Street, homes further up Mill Street on the opposite side of railroad tracks, and then
other commercial late industrial uses on holmesburg avenue there is this cell tower back here too
and then here you get out to the other end opposite the dead end of frankfort avenue
and then coming back the opposite side and here's i think where you have the horses the animal
husbandry opposite of us extending back to our property and again the dead end of holmesburg
avenue at the far end um as i mentioned um these are the zoning archives for the prior use from
09 and the permit that was issued at that time um typical auto repair on the inside um a couple
office's copy of our application. Our application for special exception points out many of the
things that I just stated regarding Holmesburg Avenue, the existing conditions and uses on
Holmesburg Avenue in the immediate vicinity, and the project information form, both of which were
submitted within the applicable appeal period from the issuance of the notice of referral.
So you've heard mention already today about the – there have been a couple special exception cases today,
which is kind of a little unusual that you have so many.
So you have some experience with them.
I'll have your memory refreshed, but down at the bottom, it talks about the specific conditions of the use,
that the applicant shall have the initial duty of presenting evidence,
and the burden of proof that the proposed use meets the definition for a use permitted by special exception.
And I can show you those uses, which, again, are personal vehicle repair maintenance and personal vehicle sales and rental.
That all dimensional standards are satisfied.
Again, it's an existing structure.
We're not proposing any change to the height of the area of the existing structure or any additional structures.
And that the application complies with the criteria and meets all the conditions applicable to the proposed use, including all applicable use-specific standards in 14603.
And I've included those, and we do and will comply with those.
The specific detrimental impacts on the neighborhood, through what I've stated and what will then be adopted by my client, we do not believe that the granting of the special exception will cause the following specific detrimental impacts to the neighborhood beyond that which normally might be expected from the proposed uses,
which is, again, personal vehicle repair and maintenance and personal vehicle sales and rental.
And that would be in terms of congestion in the public streets or transportation systems.
You saw that our property is located at a dead end of Holmesburg with train tracks on one side,
park and woods on the other side, residential use opposite of us with the horse farm.
Not much traffic coming down there at all.
No overcrowding of the land.
We're not changing the height or area of our building that's there.
The existing conditions that have been there for the past 10-plus years will continue in terms of the use of the land.
Again, no changes to the building, so there will be no impact or impairment of light and air to adjacent properties,
no burdening water, sewer, school, park, or other public facilities.
We will not be injuring the use of adjacent conforming properties, as the uses that I've indicated,
and we're not going to be endangering the public health or safety by fire or other means.
And here are the specific use standards from 14603 for vehicle repair and maintenance.
And here are the specific use standards from 14603.
And again, we will be complying, do and or will be complying with those conditions.
The deed for that, we have authorization from the owner to proceed with this matter.
And here is the deed showing that he owns the property.
May have passed it.
That's Patrick Marino, who had originally had the permit back in 2009.
And then a copy at Exhibit 14 of the lease between Mr. Marino and my client, Mr. Gelfand, along with its authorization to proceed with this matter.
Photographs, just some housekeeping matters, photographs of our posting of the notice for today's hearing, along with the July 15th notice of referrals at the subject property.
and then the correspondence from the planning commission from august 23rd confirming the
holmesbrook civic association as a coordinating rco our 14303 notice and um of the meeting that
we had on oops of today's hearing on december 1st and then um oops yeah and our meeting with
homesburg civic on october 12th along with the list of addresses um to which we mailed them
and the certificate of service a copy of the notice of referral was included as well and
here's a copy of our certificate of service back from september 14th along with the list of
addresses to which we mailed it and those addresses were for the from the planning commission's
website. So with that, I would rest. I would just ask my client to again be allowed to speak
so that I may have him adopt my statements. Sure.
Misha, Gelfand, could you raise your hand, please?
He's been allowed to speak.
Okay. Thank you.
Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
well hello once again uh again thank you for uh for having me on and uh allowing us to uh
uh give us uh give you our application of course do me a favor state your needs go ahead
of course uh michael misha m-i-k-h-a-i-l uh last name is gelfand g-e-l-f-a-n-d
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
Yes, of course.
Thank you.
Mike, did you hear the statements that I made to the board this afternoon?
Yes, of course.
And were they true and correct to the best of your knowledge?
Yes, they were.
And would you adopt those statements as your own?
Yes, I will.
Okay, thank you.
The one thing, members of the board, and I apologize for not bringing this up at the beginning, I should have,
is that we do not have a tax clearance, so I just ask that this matter,
that's the vote in this matter be held until we do provide that to you
Karen yeah if you can give me a minute to check on the revenue site
maybe I think there is one more case to be heard if you could move on to that
with that I rest so it's just could we maybe sharing it has some access that we
we haven't been able to get a clearance yet so
excuse me mr chairman yes this is thomas holliman i'll be signing off
okay yes sir thank you thank you and chair we do have individuals who wish to weigh in on this
whenever you're ready okay so let me do the questions from the board first yes sir no
Okay. All right. Questions from the people that are in the virtual audience.
So David DeLugos had his hand raised. I have allowed him to speak, sir.
Yes, sir.
Hello. Can you hear me?
Yes. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Yes. My name is David DeLugos, spelled D-L-U-G-O-S-Z.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
yes thank you um so i'm the zoning chair for the holmesburg civic association so i just wanted to
be here to say that we you know obviously you should have gotten the letter of non-opposition
and i just wanted to i had a question for mr orfanides earlier just to verify that plans
were not required from this special exception before the board and to verify that and if they
were to make sure that we get a copy because he said they were not required or they weren't
produced for this yeah just for just for the record to answer that we did not submit any to the zoning
Yeah, just for the record to answer that, we did not submit any to the zoning to LNI because it was just a use application of the existing structure, and we have not produced any throughout the process to provide to you or to provide to the zoning board.
So we are plan-free.
Thank you.
Anyone else with their hands up?
Mr. Michael Williams.
his hand up i've i've allowed him to speak sure williams please unmute yourself i'd like to be
sworn in it's uh well my name is michael williams i'm an attorney i have a matter for 59 58 vine
street i i don't want to weigh in on this matter i want to make sure we're not we're not on that case
thanks tanya any any any other hands out there
That appears to be all, Chair. If I could just put a statement on record. If you have questions, please use the Q&A box for any and all questions. Thank you very kindly.
Planning Commission.
Mr. Chair and members of the board, this is Mason Austin representing the Planning Commission.
this property is designated for industrial commercial mixed use in the comprehensive plan
and its zoning was updated in 2018 to match this designation while the property is adjacent to
uses similar to the proposal it also is also in close proximity to penny pack creek therefore
while the planning commission supports the granting of the special exception it requests the addition
of a proviso that an impermeable barrier be constructed around any outdoor areas of the
site where work will be performed in order to ensure all chemicals and waste products are
retained on site and to prevent runoff into the nearby park and waterway.
Chair, excuse me, this is Sharon. I looked up the property and there is a significant tax balance,
so it will have to be held pending proof of tax compliance or of an agreement.
Okay, so Sharon, let me ask you that quick question. Did you hear the Planning Commission's
issues? I'm sorry. Could you state the proviso again? I apologize.
Sure, no problem. The request of proviso is just that if work is going to be done in any outdoor
areas, that an impermeable barrier be constructed around those areas to prevent runoff of chemicals
into the nearby Parking Creek. I really think that that is, with all due respect,
more of a building permit issue it's not really related to um what's proposed all right so
we're going to continue this until we have information relative to the taxes am i right
yes you will hold your vote pending receipt of tax compliance the record otherwise closed
fine thank you thank you counselor thank you have a good day all right maybe maybe excuse
yes thank you we have one more case from the two o'clock so it's mi 2021-003-533-6434
tarsdale avenue rco tacconi civic association have a letter of support and it's a melanie lacy is
counsel. Ms. Lacey has been promoted to panelists. Okay, thank you.
Good afternoon, members of the board. Melanie Lacey. I'm with Claire Harrison, Harbin,
Brandsburg, 1835 Market Street, Suite 1400, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
19130 on behalf of the applicant.
Tell your name for the court reporter, please.
M-E-L-A-N-I-E, last name L-A-C-E-Y.
Do you swear on or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Vice Chair will have a few questions.
counsel you agree to waive the reading of its refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
i do and have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents approval of ownership
approval test compliance copy of the refusal or referral photos and plans five days prior to this
hearing i did and have you met with the rco and have a letter yes thank you please proceed
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, Professor.
I was muted.
You're welcome.
Thank you.
I'm sorry, Ms. Lacey, this is Tanya, the Zoning Board Administrator.
Would you be able to get closer to your mic or turn your volume up maybe a little?
turn your volume up maybe a little? Sure. Can you hear me now? Yes. It's still a little faint.
Can you hear me now?
Thank you.
I apologize. That is perfect. Thank you. Sure. Okay. So the subject property is a McDonald's
restaurant located at 6434 Torresdale Avenue. And it's at the corner of Torresdale Avenue and
Hellermann Street. So here we have some photos of the existing property.
And this is a fairly simple sign application. The applicant is seeking variances for two
proposed replacement menu board signs that would be digital, whereas the existing signs,
which you can see in this photo, use paper inserts. So the refusal letter,
the refusal letter refers to the digital aspect as animated sign illumination which isn't permitted
in the cmx 2.5 zoning district or within 150 feet of a residential district
as you can see on the zoning map this portion of torsdale avenue is comprised of commercial
properties surrounded by residential and mixed-use properties
So, as mentioned, the proposed signs would replace existing signs that were previously
approved on August 5, 2008, which you can see here in the zoning history.
But I'd like to underscore that despite the refusal language, there isn't any animation
or flashing lights involved with these signs.
We're proposing next generation signs that are static, which you can see in this photo,
but allow the restaurant to digitally display and update the menu without swapping out the
paper inserts. You can also see them in this photo and here as well. So the digital screens
will display the customer's order, allowing them to confirm the accuracy of the selections and
pricing. And the screens will be only visible to drivers who are directly in front of the menu
boards due to a security screen technology feature. And you can see in this picture,
which is actually a different location, not the subject property, but it has the boards that we're
referencing, that the boards aren't very bright when viewed from a distance. So lastly, the boards
will have an integrated speaker system, which we've identified in this photo, and that'll allow
the removal of the current, what they call tombstone speaker boxes that are separate and
freestanding. But overall, these menu boards will permit the restaurant to comply with the national
franchise branding. So here we have the zoning plan, and you can see the placement of the new
menu boards. The dimensions and placement are co-compliant, and the proposed signs remain in
their current locations, but they're actually slightly smaller, roughly half the size of the
the existing signs at 21.5 square feet instead of the original 43.3 square feet.
And as mentioned, we met with the RCO. The letters were mailed out on September 3, 2021.
and the Taconi Civic Association. We met with them on the 21st of September, and they
support the application, indicating that, you know, the restaurant has been there since
the early 1970s. They've kept a clean property, and they do not oppose what we're seeking to
accomplish. So that summarizes my testimony on this application of appeal for variances
concerning the digital aspect of the signs, the animated sign illumination. I'm accompanied by
Mary Batchard from Bowler Engineering, as well as Eileen Seberger, who is a representative of
the applicant. So I'll ask you to promote Eileen so that she can be sworn in.
She's been allowed to speak.
Good afternoon.
Hi, Eileen.
Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Eileen, E-I-L-E-E-N, Seberger, S-E-E, Berger, B-U-R-G-E-R.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Thank you.
Hi, Eileen. Did you hear the testimony that I provided to the board this afternoon?
Yes, Melanie.
And do you affirm that my presentation was accurate?
And do you adopt the testimony as your own?
i do great thank you we'd be happy to address any questions that the questions from the board
Great. Thank you. We'd be happy to address any questions that the...
we have no no okay um questions for anybody in the in the audience virtual audience
i see no hands mr chair planning commission hi mr chair this is members of the board this
is mason austin representing the planning commission the property is designated for
commercial and mixed use in the comprehensive plan, and the zoning was updated to match that
designation in 2017. While the McDonald's is a legal non-conforming use, having been permitted
and built prior to the zoning change, these electronic signs would constitute an expansion
of that use and would impair the intended transition of this corridor to a walkable
commercial corridor. Consequently, and given the lack of hardship, staff of the planning committee
recommends against the rent this various. MI 2021-003-533-6434 Tarsdale Avenue. I vote yes.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes. Confessor Plaza, yes. James Snell, yes.
Thank you. Thank you. Can we take a five-minute break please?
oh we can take a chair break okay how about a five minute break okay thanks sounds good
yes yes okay good afternoon my name is carol tenary and i'm the vice chair of the zoning
board of adjustment i'll be participating in today's hearing along with our chairman
Bill Bergman. Bill, I forgot your name. Board Secretary, Confessor Plaza, and board members
Thomas, strike that, and board member James Snell. Our board administrator today is Tanya Sunkett,
and board attorney is Sharon Saleta. They are in attendance. For those of you who haven't yet
participated in one of our virtual hearings, I'll go through some of the basics of what you can
expect. First, we will be administering oaths to individual participants prior to their testimony.
Second, we'd like to advise everyone that this proceeding is being recorded and that by
participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded. This is available to the public by
contacting Tanya Sunkit at tanya.sunkit at philadelphia.gov. Third, for anyone participating
by phone, if you wish to testify, you must raise your hand by hitting star nine, then star six to
unmute yourself. That's star nine and then star six to unmute yourself. To enter an appearance
statement, call 267-270-5548. The number again is 267-270-5548 and leave your email address
and address of the property at issue. Fourth, if you're an LLC, an LLP, or a religious organization,
you must be represented by an attorney. And finally, fifth, the question and answer box
is not for testimony. Any comments are to be directed to Ms. Tanya Sunkett.
Are there any requests for continuances? Because we, I don't think we have any
on the 330 so Mr. Chairman I'll turn that over to you okay hi I'm sorry to interrupt this is
Tanya Sunkett um yes so if I could ask if we can go out of order we do have a Spanish speaking
applicant here today oh god fucking damn it oh oh god who's that
wow and we have um i'm sorry me off um we have an interpreter if we could ask if the interpreter
um could handle the case for fifth street which is number number five it's number five okay we'll
there first okay thank you for sure mi 2021 002888 4337 north 5th street
um nuevo espranza housing economic development meeting was held 11 16 rco letter has not yet
been received okay so chair i do have the interpreter interpreter are you there
she has to unmute herself thank you yes the interpreter is present
could you hold one moment please um chair if we could swear in the interpreter and then i have
francisco who needs to be sworn in as well yeah okay so could for the interpreter could you state
So for the interpreter, could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
your name and spell it for the
Thank you.
My name is Ingrid Perez, and I'm an interpreter from Global, a Spanish interpreter.
And spell it Ingrid, spell Y.
Can you see a name?
It's Y-N-G-R-I-D.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I swear.
Okay, so the owner of the property now will have him and she'll interpret for me for him?
Could you have him state his name and we'll spell for the court reporter?
Señor, estamos en, por favor, diga su nombre para el record de la corte.
Francisco Eustate.
asked him
does he swear or affirm
to tell the truth
the whole truth
and nothing but the truth
¿Usted jura decir la verdad
y nada más que la verdad?
Yes, I do
I'm sorry
if I could interrupt
just a moment
and just ask
for the spelling
of his full name
Por favor
estamos interrumpiendo
¿Podría decir
el nombre completo
deletrear su nombre?
Francisco
Francisco, F-R-A-N-S, de casa, I-S de sapo, S de casa, y una O, Francisco.
Francisco is spelled as F as in Frank, R as in Rome, A as in Alpha, N as in Nancy, Z as in Charlie, I as in India, S as in Sam, C as in Charlie, O as in Oscar.
El apellido.
And my last name is spelling.
Una E, una U, una S, una T, una A, una T, y una E.
Last name is started.
E as an elephant, S as in Sam, T as in Thomas, E as an Alpha, T as in Thomas, E as an elephant.
Okay. Could you ask him to start presenting his case about where he is and what he wants to do?
Me podría empezar presentando el caso. ¿Qué es lo que usted desea que suceda? ¿Qué nosotros hagamos?
Sí, yo necesito el permiso porque estoy estableciendo una barbería en esa propiedad que compré y la cual la estoy dejando igual.
okay can we pause for an interpretation yes um yes um i would like to establish in there
the barbershop it was a property at the first time it was i'm i'm leaving the first floor
was a um a local area that i'm leaving it in the same state that i found it
so so carol uh vice chair to be sure could you ask a few questions through the interpreter
to see what he has and where we stand um do you know what i do have to ask the about the exhibit
packet right okay um to the interpreter and then you'll ask him has he has he emailed the exhibit
packet with proof of ownership, proof of tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral.
Señor, usted ya envió...
No, Vice Chair, this is Sharon. I can confirm that he did.
Okay, great.
Gracias, señor. La pregunta era que se ha enviado unos paquetes y la respuesta fue dada que sí. Usted lo envió.
okay let me let me add one thing there was no rco letter the um meeting was scheduled for november
16th and um he hadn't yet received it i don't know that he has since this time you asked him
where he stands with the rco están hablando del rco es una carta que de una de establecida
Usted la recibió en la carta que estaba esperando, la recibió...
Yes, I did.
And I will send it yesterday.
Was there a vote taken at a meeting?
I'm introducing that information on the RCO letter on the screen.
Can you see it?
no we cannot
not yet
no todavía
our shield letter
you gotta
you gotta hit that one there
si en la parte de abajo
de ese renglón
que usted tiene en el medio
hacerle click
a la parte de abajo
el renglón del medio
el renglón del medio
there it is
there it is
there was no opposition
Can you see it?
Yes, we can.
All right, good. Thank you.
That's the property.
Arriba es un apartamento
Arriba es un apartamento
The top floor is an apartment
La cual va a manejarse por mí mismo
And I will be managing the property
Myself
And is this going to be a barber shop?
Is that what we're saying?
Entonces usted va a poner una barbería allí, correcto?
So a barbershop on the first floor.
Entonces va a ser en el primer piso usted va a tener la barbería.
And the second floor is the rental units.
Y en el segundo piso va a ser rentado, correcto?
How many apartments on the second floor?
En el segundo piso, ¿cuántos apartamentos tiene?
Only one.
Sharon, the paperwork you have, can you make out what the request was for?
I'm talking to our attorney, our attorney. Sharon?
If you can give me one moment to pull it up.
Thank you.
I apologize, Sharon. I'm having a hard time opening the document. Now, take your time.
Un momento, señor.
Sharon, would you like me to assist?
I have here in the application
a permit for personal service
at first floor
in the same building
with one apartment above.
No sign on this application.
Thank you, Tanya.
No, just a change of use.
All right, so
it's a change of use
of this property.
Sí, entonces estamos hablando
de un cambio de uso
de la propiedad.
¿Es lo confirmado?
Let me ask you, is the plan and commission on?
Yes, we're here.
Do you have anything more on this project?
We don't have anything more than the application.
Le está preguntando a la comisión de planes si tiene alguna información más y dijo que no.
let me ask you
did he just
purchased the property
una pregunta señor
usted acaba de comprar
la propiedad
el año pasado
Last year.
last year
Wait a minute.
No mento.
All right.
All right.
I see.
Lo estoy viendo, señor.
All right.
All right.
So he purchased the property,
has an apartment upstairs,
and he's opened up a barbershop on the first floor.
All right.
Está reiterando lo que dijo anteriormente,
que compró la propiedad
y tiene un apartamento
en la parte superior
y en la parte inferior
usted va a construir
lo de la propiedad
de barbería.
¿Está preguntando
sobre las taxas
alguna persona más?
and i just said two sentences with um mute on um it is okay with taxes i can if you'd like i can
forward you the email with the exhibits attached and it includes photos would that help yeah i
think so i mean i mean it looks to me he just purchased the property right and he's telling
us he's putting an apartment this apartment he's going to have on the first on the second floor
and a business on the first floor,
which is a barbershop.
Estoy reiterando la información
de lo que está leyendo.
Is that right?
Entonces,
señor, entonces, correcto.
Usted va a construir
la barbería en la parte de abajo
y arriba va a tener una propiedad
que es un apartamento, correcto?
And Cher, if you are able
to open your email,
I did just send the,
forward you the exhibits,
It's the, the photos show that it's a corner property.
It does appear to be a commercial use or to have been used as a commercial use in the past.
But I, Tanya, excuse me, Tanya, could I, if I forwarded this to you, could you pull up the photos?
La señora Sharon está diciéndole que ya le mandó la corte, ya le mandó el email con fotografías y como parecía antes que no era de una propiedad.
No, because I'm not on my computer, because it clashes with our VPN.
Actually, it's saying that the attachments are too large for me to forward in any case.
Dice que lo que está tratando de mandarle no ha podido mandarlo porque los files son muy pesados y no lo puede transferir.
unless you wish to hold it
and look at the
documents and then
vote it next week as your call chair.
That's fine. We'll do that.
Si, le está pidiendo entonces...
By next week, let's have a better
understanding of where we are and we'll vote
it next week.
Si, para la próxima semana entonces
votamos sobre esto cuando tengamos
mejor entendimiento de lo que está pasando
los files no se pudieron transmitir.
Qualify.
So which file
couldn't transfer?
We're going to hold the vote for the board to review the documents presented and a decision will be made next week.
He does not have to be available. We'll send him the decision in the mail.
Thank you to him and thank you to the interpreter.
Thank you very much for your help.
Thank you so much for your kindness.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Don't go anywhere.
I'm sorry, Chair.
We still have the council person's rep who wishes to speak on this?
Interpreter will still need you.
Mr. Sloan, folks, you can unmute.
Todavía tenemos a un representante que va a hacer preguntas o va a preguntar.
Le están pidiendo al intérprete que se mantenga en la línea.
Good afternoon. Am I being heard?
Well, you most certainly are. You've been sworn before.
Thank you again. My name is, for the record, my name is Sloan, folks.
L-O-A-N-E-F-S and Fire, O-L-K-S.
Office of Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sanchez, 508 City Hall.
The applicant, having met with the RCO,
receiving a unanimous vote from the RCO committee
in support of the various requests,
the Councilwoman does support this various request.
does support this variance request thank you thank you very much
Thank you.
Yes, Mr. Sloan.
okay thank you chair there's no other people who wish to speak
the planning commission would like to put a position on for this
if you will planning commission yeah well
no you have not all right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing about
the truth i do and will you state your name and spell it for the court reporter sure my name is
Ron, R-O-N, last name Bednar, B-E-D-N-A-R.
I'm with the City Planning Commission.
El señor Ron Bednar acaba de hacer su jurar decir toda la verdad
y dice que viene de la ciudad, del planeamiento de la ciudad,
de la Comisión de Planeamiento.
So this property is currently indicated for residential
in the city plan, but given the site conditions,
we recommend that the request of variance be granted.
Thank you.
I'm sorry, Chair, could you just swear him in
after the fact, just to be on a record?
Okay, all right, I did swear him in before,
but I'll do it again, okay?
Do you swear for him to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
Thank you so very kindly, interpreter.
Thank you so much for your kindness and the word you do.
Mrs. Tania, if you wanted to resume
what Mr. Ron
said right now
Yes, and then you can depart if you wish
Yes, thank you so much
I will
Thank you
Thank you so much for your kindness everyone
Thank you so much for using our services
Thank you so much
Okay, bye-bye
Bye-bye.
Thank you.
All right.
So we're going to go to case one that we have, MI 2021-003-775-1215-17, Addison Walk.
Revised plans.
No RCO letter yet from the Washington Square West Civic Association.
Attorney's Catherine Misumer, you were sworn in before, and the Vice Chair will have some questions for you.
Hi, Catherine.
Hi, do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
I agree to waive the reading. I just have two quick clarifications.
one the minimum lot size in the center city overlay district is 1080 rather than 1440 square
feet as cited on the refusal and two we believe the refusal errantly has a typo they're stating
zero rear yard when there's five foot rear yard proposal okay have you emailed the exhibit packet
with proof of ownership tax compliance refusal referral photos under plans of the property five
this in advance of this hearing and have you met with the RCO and do you have a letter?
Yes, to all of the above. Great, you may proceed. Great, thank you. This property is located at 1215
17 Addison Walk. I am here on behalf of the owner. With me today is owner's rep Brian Zubek
as well as our project architect Gabriel Deck. We are here with a proposal to relocate the lot
lines of the existing corner lot at KMAC and Addison Walk to create two lots from the existing
one lot and the new construction of a single family home on each lot. You have letters of
non-opposition from both Council Member Squilla which you should see on your screen now as well
as the Washington Square West Civic Association. I believe it was mentioned earlier that it had
not been received yet but the non-opposition letter has been submitted both to the board
and the RCO ZBA address as well. We also include a strongly worded letter of support from the
near neighbor at 414 as well as 416 South Camac Street directly located across Camac Street from
this corner property. He is unable to attend today but does send his strong support for the project.
So again, this is 1215-17 Addison Walk at the corner of Camac and Addison Walk in Washington
at the corner of Camac and Addison Walk in Washington Square West.
Square West.
Property is zoned RSA 5. This is a overhead view of the relocation plan. It's an existing
one lot at this corner. We are proposing to create two smaller lots. You'll note that there is a
reserved easement in the rear of the properties. This allows egress from the existing apartment
building next door. At one time, this lot was part of that lot as well, so they have retained access
to an egress stair that does fall within the property boundaries of this property.
These are a few surrounding area photos. As you can see, this is a beautiful brick tree-lined
enclave in the city. It's a very tight-knit neighborhood with small walkway streets.
This is nearby properties. This yellow shaded area is the actual site. This is looking down
Kmack and this is Addison Walk. Another view. This is the site plan as you can see. Two single
family homes. Again with that rear egress for the apartment building next door. A five foot rear yard
for each home and then an egress through between the homes to Addison Walk.
These are just the layouts of the homes.
You'll note the material is very important in this neighborhood as well.
We did stick with the historically significant brick look, as well as the mansard roof that
you do see on the surrounding area photos.
So this property consists of over 1700 square feet.
It is almost double the size of the neighboring lots.
By proposing a subdivision here, we're able to bring this lot within conformity. As you can see,
we did a quick survey of surrounding lot sizes. Our two lots are proposed at 872 square feet and
887 square feet. You'll see that the majority of the lots in this area are well below that,
some by even 200 square feet. The proposal also includes the new construction of a single family
home on each of those new lots. Again, we propose to use like and kind materials, including both
the brick and the mansard roof. Our proposal does generate two minor dimensional variances
for each of these proposed lots. First, the minimum lot size. As discussed initially,
RSA 5 does typically require a lot size of 1,440 square feet. Certain sections of the city does
allow for lots in excess of 1,600 square feet to be subdivided, so long as each subdivided
lot is 800 square feet. In those cases, this would be a by-right subdivision. However, because we are
in the center city district overlay, we are required to provide 1,080 square feet for each
new lot. Again, we feel that because these surrounding lots are well within the context of
what we're proposing here at 872 and 887, we think that we are proposing a subdivision that really
brings us into conformity with the surrounding lots. Absent a subdivision here, a buy-write
project could consist of a 5,000 square foot, 38 foot high house, which neither the neighbors
or the property developer really think makes sense. The second request is for rear yard
refusal. Again, if we go back to the site plan, you'll see this is sort of a unique
scenario in that not only do we have a five foot rear yard for each of the homes, there's
also an additional four foot area that is not technically included in the rear yard calculation.
That's because it is reserved for the easement, but it does provide over nine feet based on the
five foot of the rear yard and the four foot easement between these properties and the apartment
building next door. So we do have the effect of a nine foot rear yard here again, but technically
L&I would not include this easement area. So there is showing a five foot rear yard on each.
these are both minor dimensional variances it's the board as the board is aware this standard for
dimensional variances is much lower using the hertzberg standard as a reasonable adjustment
of the code is what is required to utilize the property conformity with the neighboring parcels
this project as i'm sure you will hear today has evolved extensively through the community process
As the RCO will attest, the developer has met with the full community on two separate occasions as well as a separate meeting with near neighbors.
It should be noted that prior to our initial meeting with the neighborhood, a neighbor circulated a petition in opposition to this project.
Prior to anyone seeing any plans, any design, or any presentation materials for the project,
That petition errantly cited only the lot line relocation and the erection of structures.
that petition errantly cited only the lot line relocation and the erection of structure.
Since several meetings have taken place...
If I can interrupt for one minute.
We did today receive an email and a letter in non-opposition from Councilman Squilla's office.
In the email, the petition was attached, but they know there's a petition and map attached as well.
But we believe the issues these neighbors had were resolved by the applicant.
Excellent.
I was going to say many of those signatories have now supported the project.
So I think that does show that the petition was early in haste and predated any explanation of what the proposal here was.
Kate, one thing, I still am unable to find a copy of the RCO letter.
And in the councilman's letter, he refers to requested provisos.
So I apologize if you have already pulled that up.
but could you at some point do it again so that we know what the requested provisos are?
I believe they're in the councilman's letter as well, but I will pull up,
see if they're set here. You can see the height and massing to be consistent with plans presented
on 11-23. Those are the revised plans that the chairman referenced in the reading introduction
of the case, as well as a development agreement, which I'm going to get to in my discussion.
Okay, to proceed? Yes. Okay. As we discussed, the petition bears little weight on the discussion.
While the bulk of comments from the neighbors really related to design and massing of the
proposed structures rather than the requested variances, in the interest of being a good
neighbor and in long-standing relationship with this particular area of the city, the developer
has really shown a commitment here to the neighbors. There was willingness to alter some of
these by-right, otherwise by-right features of a design to be responsive to their concerns.
By way of example, the by-right height in the RSA 5 district, as you know, is 38 feet.
We have voluntarily reduced the height of these buildings to 31.4. We have also reconfigured the
proposed entry on the home at the corner from a corner entry to a front door on Addison Walk.
We've also reconfigured some of the window sizes to be more appropriate to the neighborhood
context. And we've also added additional windows along the South Camac Street side as well.
As mentioned in the provisos requested by the neighborhood, the near neighbors also requested
a developer commit to certain terms and conditions of construction while again outside the
purview of the zoning board. We have voluntarily signed that agreement. So my client has executed
that agreement as drafted by those near neighbors and is willing to commit to working with them
throughout the construction process, as we know that this is a delicate neighborhood. There's
some historic streets to preserve, and there's some interesting concerns here that you may not
have in other neighborhoods of the city. Obviously, this proposal is not detrimental to public
welfare as evidenced by both the councilman and RCO letters of non-opposition. We respectfully
request the board grant the requested variances with respect to the revised plans as presented
today. I'll just ask that my client Brian Zubek raise his hand so that he can be unmuted.
Mr. Zubek has been allowed to speak. Mr. Zubek, could you state your name and spell it for the
court reporter? Yes, sir. Brian Zubek, B-R-I-A-N, last name Zubek, Z as in zebra, O-U-B as in boy,
E-K. Thank you. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir. Thank you. Brian, have you heard my testimony today? Yes. Would you agree that it's
true and correct? Yes. Would you agree to adopt it as your own? Yes. Thank you. We're available
to the board should there be questions our architect is also available should there be
questions on the design or the revised plans questions from the board no no
okay um questions from the uh from the virtual audience any questions
okay no hands mr chair planning commission this is uh ron bednar city planning property is
indicated for residential use on the city plan given the um existing site circumstances we
recommend the quest for variance be granted mi 2021 003775 12 15 17 addison walk i vote yes
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes.
Confessor Plaza, yes.
Professor Plaza, yes.
Thank you all.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
MI 2021, 002884, 1714 Bainbridge Street, A, Kimberly Mangrini, RCO South of South Neighborhood Association has a letter of support.
Ms. Magrini will be coming back in as a
panelist. Excuse me, this is Sharon. We did not, however, receive
exhibits for this property. I'm aware.
I'm sorry. Hi, this is Kim Magrini.
I apologize. I've lost my voice. I emailed exhibits on Friday.
Can you please spell your name to the court reporter? Yes.
Kimberly K-I-M-B-E-R
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do. Thank you. My last name is Magrini, M-A-G-R-I-N-I. I emailed all of my exhibits
on Friday afternoon. Ms. Magrini, this is Sharon Saleta. Was I copied on those emails?
Let me check. I emailed it to the three emails that were in the packet I received.
okay hold on also ma'am uh the package had been uh submitted five days prior to this hearing
yeah that friday was five days ago i sent it to rcozba at phila.gov
sletta zba at gmail.com pcp.zoning at phila.gov jason hand and copied my architect
i'm happy i'll have to check it maybe it went into my spam folder i will look for it now
Thank you.
I'm happy to forward as well, if that's helpful.
If you could, that would be helpful.
Thank you.
Ms. Saleta, I'm sorry to interrupt.
This is Tanya.
Ms. Saleta, I'm looking at the email that was sent to all boxes, as she stated, along with the PCPC.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And I would respectfully ask, since I'm having some difficulty speaking, I have my architect here today and was wondering if she could give the presentation and share her screen.
to discuss the plans. Sharon if it's okay I would ask that if you can begin the presentation
Ms. Magrini briefly and then allow the architect to jump in. We would have to promote her to panelists
if the chair allows and have her promote her screen. Yes definitely promote her. Okay what is
your architect's name? Adrienne Swetoja. Okay, if she can raise her hand, the ZBA administration
will promote her, and she can share her screen after you begin your presentation.
Thank you.
Adrienne Turner will be coming back in as a panelist.
good evening could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter please
yes and i have a correction i use weataka as my um professional name but my legal name is turner
so my name is adrian a-d-r-i-e-n-n-e last name turner t-u-r-n-e-r
and also sometimes known as Adrian Swiataka.
I can also spell that if you would like it for your records.
S as in Sam, W-I-A, T as in Tom, O-C-H-A.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
All right.
Thank you so much for hearing our case tonight.
We appreciate it.
um and thank you also for letting me uh speak on behalf of Ms. Magrini um I would like to
start by giving an overview of the property um Kim resides at the residence um at 1714a
and it's a pretty unique property for Philadelphia in that it doesn't have the typical depth that you
see. Um, and the reason why is that the property is, uh, so this is Bainbridge street running this
way and you have, it looks like typical, uh, attached row homes, but really, uh, Kim's property
is the front of the Bainbridge facing side and her neighbor has the back. So it says,
the Bainbridge facing side and her neighbor has the back. So essentially her property is about
a 25 foot by 25 foot footprint as well as the neighbor and all of these buildings along this
block of Bainbridge are broken up in that way. The units in the front have a garage which has
an easement for the owner in the back and then the resident in the front has the second and the
third floor. So Ms. McGraney currently has a ladder that leads up to a roof hatch to her
roof deck. She had a roof deck which got badly damaged in a storm and it was unsafe so she took
it down herself. And what she would like to do is build a code compliant stair with a pilot house
up to, um, a new roof deck that she would build, um, you know, for, for safety and convenience
reasons. Because the footprint of the property is so small, um, other neighbors along the same
block have built their pilot house right on the back of their property line. And the reason for
that, and I'm going to skip ahead with some of the additional drawings that we presented after
the neighbor meeting that we attended for additional information. There is a stair
underneath, and that's the stair of her home. So underneath the roof deck is her bedroom,
over in this corner is the bathroom, and then there's her egress hallway. And so because of
space constraints what she would like to do is build her stair on top of an existing stair
because there's really no other place within the footprint to build a stair um so going back to our
refusal and i'll just zoom in here a little bit so you can see this better um so there's a required
five-foot setback for the pilot house and we are proposing zero feet and putting that pilot house
right on the lot line in order to build the new stair over the existing stair.
This is our application for appeal. Our argument is that there's a hardship because right now the
ladder that she's using isn't safe and she would like to have a code-compliant stair and there's
no other place in the footprint um to build that stair um so kim sent out all of her letters um
we attended our neighbor meeting and we have our letter um which was not a part of your packet
because it didn't oh it didn't come in on time so i have to go to a different tab that i have this
letter of support. And what they say is that the zoning committee member says he walks by the row
of houses every day and he's never noticed a pilot house roof deck before. So impact is minimal.
It was agreed amongst the committee and the applicant that it would not be necessary to
slope the roof of the pilot house. That's something that we talked about because the visual impact is
low and there are limited neighbors whose view would be obstructed. So we had five supports from
SOSNA in support, seven supporting votes from the community at large for a total of 12 to abstain,
no in opposition. And then going back to the exhibits that we emailed, we just had
um an updated drawing because we were asked about the finish on the outside of the pilot house and
um excuse me yes can i ask um i'm looking now at your revised plans form is it only the materials
that are changing yes okay and that would not require revised plans um and they if the board
were to approve revised plans it couldn't be contingent on pricing and availability
so the revised plans probably aren't necessary okay okay that sounds good we do have a letter
of support from south to south neighborhood association yep thank you um and then the rest
of our materials um project information i don't know if you want me to go through these
um, proof of ownership, um, tax clearance, and the, uh, proof of posting of the zoning
signs at the property um and that's all i have so uh we would gladly take questions um and i don't
signs at the property. Um, and that's all I have.
know if we need to ask uh ms mangrini if she agrees with my presentation uh we can do that
i do thank you
i have no questions
Professor? Professor? No, I'm okay, Mr. Chair.
All right, good. Any questions by anybody in the virtual audience?
I see no answer, Mr. Chair. Planning Commission.
From Bednar City Planning, property is indicated for residential use on the city plan.
Given the existing site conditions, we recommend the cross-reverance be granted.
MI 2021-002884-1714 Bainbridge A, I vote yes.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes.
Professor Plaza, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
MI 2021-002887, 311 Reiter Street, RCO Wissahickon Interested Citizens Association Letter of Support, with revised plans on two pages.
Daniel and Chelsea Flesher, Pro Se.
Mr. Chairman, Mr. Flesher has been promoted to panelists.
Mr. Flesher, could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
Yes, my name is Daniel Flesher, D-A-N-I-E-L-F-L-E-S-H-E-R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Start your presentations here.
Oh, wait a minute. Talk to our vice chair. I'm sorry.
Hi. Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal, referral, photos under plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing?
And have you met with the RCO and do you have a letter?
Yes, to all of the above.
Thank you. You may proceed.
Great. My name is Daniel Flesher. I'm the owner, architect and applicant for 311 Rider Street.
it's currently a two-story row home built in the 1950s located in the Wissahicken neighborhood
it's roughly 950 square feet of finished interior space my wife and I bought the property in
December of 2015 and have lived in it for the past six years we live in it with our two kids
age seven and nine they go to Cook Wissahicken which is just two and a half blocks up the street
here my wife volunteers at the school regularly including their green committee and scholastic
book fair, and I also volunteer in the neighborhood. So we would like to stay in the neighborhood
rather than move, which is why we are pursuing variances. And so the proposal is for a third
story addition, a rear deck level with the first floor with steps to grade, and a pilot house with
roof deck. The proposal generated two refusals. The first is for the steps to grade.
from the roof deck I mean not from the roof deck but from the rear deck
rear decks for fully attached structures are not allowed to have steps to grade
and so that generated refusal the second one is for maximum height 38 feet is allowed whereas the
proposed is 46 10 and a half but I like to put a hard asterisk on that which is that the height
refusal is really based on the pilot house location it's really the same as what you just
saw for the previous applicant because the pilot house is not five feet off the rear of the building
the height of the pilot house is considered in the total height of the building
so really the third floor itself is actually 36 10 and a half whereas the 10 feet of pilot
house makes it 46 10 and a half for that rear five feet and I'll show you that in the plans
here's my application for appeal project information more project information
the deed showing that my wife and i own it
the tax clearance and an authorization for my wife just in case you needed it that she's you
know allowing me to do this we had 105 near neighbors and here's the certificate of bulk
mailing that I sent to everyone, the address list that I sent, photos of the posted refusal
that are dated, these have been posted since November 9th,
And the most recent before I sent this package to all of you, showing November 22nd, I met with the RCO, and I did not have their letter at the time I sent this, but they had, after I sent this, sent it out.
and the most recent before I sent this package to all of you showing
This is their meeting summary.
On the matter of the height variance for the location of the pilot house, they have an official position of non-opposition.
There were two near neighbors who opposed it.
but for all meeting attendees it was nine in support so a slight majority and then for the
matter of the steps to grade from the rear deck 14 were in support with the two near neighbors
being in support of that. I did submit proviso revised plans I think I'll just talk about the
differences between them uh between submitting this and uh this hearing there was uh i sort of
worked on the plans a little bit more and there was the uh reduction of the size of the rear deck
itself from 13 11 feet to 10 feet there's an addition of a uh cantilever at the third floor
at the rear that does not generate any new refusals it would otherwise be a by right
cantilever. And I forgot what the third change was. Oh and I added a metal shade awning and I wasn't
sure if shade awnings aren't normally covered in zoning but I figured I would just add it and show
it so that it would be covered just in case. Here's the proviso plan so you can see at the rear there
is a cantilever and that that cantilever would you know overhang at the rear deck in the rear yard.
One thing I would like to note one is again that refusal is really about the location of
the pilothouse. If this pilothouse were five feet off the rear of the extreme rear of the building
it would not generate this refusal for height and the other thing I would like to note is that
my current lot coverage, even in this Proviso plan, is less than 50%. In the RSA 5 zone,
I'm allowed 75%, and I could avoid this refusal simply by adding five feet to the rear of my
building for three stories, but that would be prohibitively expensive. And so I think that
represents the hardship of not granting the variance. I do have a buy-right way of essentially
keeping the pilot house exactly where it is, but it's more expensive, creates more bulk and less
access to light and space for all of my neighbors than if the variance is granted. Here's some
side elevations so you can see what this looks like as well with the cantilever here. It's a
three foot four cantilever just for the third floor. So why is the pilot house where it is?
I have a really small house. It's about 35 feet in depth total. It's currently living room,
dining room, kitchen. There's a bedroom in the front and then there are two small bedrooms in
the back. Since COVID, I've had to kick my daughter out of the smaller bedroom, and so my two kids are
sharing an 8 by 13 bedroom, and I'm currently, where I'm sitting right now, is in this office
here. It's 7 feet by 11 feet, and my kids, who were 1 and 3 when we moved into the house, are now
7 and 9, and we're really outgrowing the space. We need more space. The demolition would include
the dining and kitchen would be combined. This has really no effect on the zoning. The upper
floor with bedrooms two and three would be demolished and turned into a single bedroom
and you can see the proposed floor plan so those two bedrooms become one bedroom here
as you come up the stairs you come to a landing at the second floor and then continue straight
up to the third floor up here will be a new office for me which will function as my office
as it is now another bathroom walk-in closet master bedroom so it's a three bedroom will
remain a three-bedroom. And then the steps come up again, and we get a roof deck here.
I tried many variations to not generate this refusal. There were really no design considerations
that met the needs. This really is the minimum variance. I'm seeking the minimum variance and
really the most efficient way to get what I need for my family. Here's the proposed elevations.
Again, in the revised plan, there is a metal shade here because this is a west-facing window.
It's a vertical shade and it's kind of a box shade. I think it ties kind of the top and bottom
together. I also have a petition of support from my near neighbors. These are all near neighbors,
so I sent letters to 105 properties and I was able to get 80 total signatures from near neighbors
only. And this is a map of all the properties that signed that petition. With that, that's my
properties that that uh signed that petition um with that that's my presentation
presentation.
questions from the board
question from the virtual audience
i see no answer mr chair planning commission uh ron bednar city planning this property is
indicated for residential use on the city
plan. Given the
existing site circumstances
and based
on the revised plan, we
recommend to request a variance to be granted.
MI 2021
002887
311 Ryder
Street. I vote yes.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes.
Excuse me, Mrs. Sharon, that's
with revised plans, two pages.
okay my vote uh carolton airy my vote is yes with revised plans consisting of two pages
professor plaza yes with proviso
thank you good luck with your project thank you so much great presentation thank you very much
mi 2020 003 149 41 14 cambridge street no rco letter
No deed yet, so we'll have to check on that.
Michael Lambert is the attorney.
Mr. Chair, I do not see Mr. Michael Lambert in the audience at this time.
Is there anyone in the audience from 4114 Cambridge Street?
still no answer okay let's let's move on chair this is at least the second listing and perhaps
the third listing for this property so we dismiss it uh i i think we dismiss it i mean we just can't
keep doing it yes do i do i say that you want me to i make a motion we dismiss this project
Yes, you can vote to dismiss it.
Right.
I vote to dismiss.
Carol Tenere, dismiss.
Professor Plaza, dismiss.
MI 2021-003790.
James Snell, dismiss.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you, Jane.
5019 Beaumont.
Heinz Ishmael, no exhibits.
Anyone from 5019 Beaumont?
Mr. Chair, but once again, I do not see anyone in the audience.
Was this the first listing for this?
Yes, I think it is.
Oh, was it?
I think so.
It's on the number, yes.
All right.
So let's go to number seven.
M.I. 2021-002886-5958 Vine Street, Michael J.P. Williams, Esquire, RCO HMC Squared, letter of support with provisos.
Michael Williams will be returning as a panelist.
Thank you.
hi this is hi this is attorney michael williams thank you mr williams would you
spell your name for the court reporter it's m-i-c-h-a-e-l williams w-i-l-l-i-a-m-s
right my attorney id number is uh 205-614 my address is 6217 frankfort avenue
Thank you.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
The vice chair has a few questions for you.
Hi, sir.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal, referral,
photos, and or plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing?
And have you met with the RCO?
And do you have a letter?
Yes to all questions.
Great.
you may proceed. Okay. I have with me my client, Ms. Ladera-Smith. She is the tenant applicant
At 5958 Vine Street, our application is for a takeout restaurant.
at 5958 Vine Street. Our application is for a takeout restaurant.
My client does fresh food, mainly fish.
This is her first business.
She met with the RCO that's HMC Squared.
We attached a letter of support.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Do you have exhibits to share?
I'm going to screen share here.
Thank you, Kylie.
Thank you.
Sorry for the interruption.
no no worries it's um i'm just uh i'm usually doing these in person with the board and this
is the first one that i did electronically and so i'm looking for the screen share here it is
okay um are you able to see that that's today's hearing
and okay here's the uh here's the refusal
okay the zoning is rsa5 this is a corner property that's located at 60th and bind street
adjacent to this property there's a mini mall that has a food market and also a uh take another
takeout food restaurant and then diagonal or caddy corner there's a Chinese takeout
restaurant.
So, we feel that our application is in conformance with the character of the neighborhood, that
it would not be detrimental to the neighborhood or impact it negatively in any way.
this is our project information form that we submitted
this is our commercial lease agreement
immediately behind this is a letter of authorization from the landlord that says that we have his
authority to appear here to make this presentation as the tenant for the takeout restaurant
um this is our tax um compliance form um it's valid through december 1st 2021
um here's our floor plan
and this is the notice that my client sent out to the rco and to the um uh surrounding neighbors
We sent out approximately 150 letters, proof of mailing.
And then this is the letter of support from the RCO.
And then they have a summarization that's attached of the meeting that they had.
You can see that they say this will be Mrs. Smith's first business.
No renovations or construction are required to the building.
This was set up as a takeout restaurant by a prior tenant who left before making an application to the board or to L&I.
The first floor was vacant before my client assumed possession.
It was vacant for about 18 months.
Her hours operation would be generally from 11 a.m. to about 9 p.m. in the spring and summer,
and then in the winter to close earlier, approximately 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
My client added security features, dusk to dawn lighting.
She's going to have security cameras.
And this is just the list of witnesses.
My client is present and she's prepared to testify.
If the board has any questions, I can field the questions now, or if you would like me to call my client to adopt my testimony.
Why don't you call her now, and we'll adopt the testimony.
All right. State your name for the record, please.
Ladera Smith.
Ms. Smith, you've heard my testimony.
Hold on one minute. Could you spell your name, please, for the court reporter?
oa d like david e-r-a smith s-m-i-t-h thank you and then do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth nothing but the truth yes okay thank you miss smith you've heard my testimony
here this evening yes and do you believe it to be true and correct yes um do you adopt it as your
own yes is there anything that you think that i left out or that you would like to add no okay
with that i would ask if the board has any questions we'd be happy to answer them any
questions on the board yeah i just have one question there's not going to be a takeout
window correct no they would walk into a counter okay thank you correct
no they would walk into a counter okay thank you correct
any other questions from the board no
any questions from the virtual audience
the chair there is a miss jacqueline carton with her hand raised i have allowed you to speak at
this time sir thank you uh yes i didn't hold on one minute could you could you state your name
and spelled for the court reporter yes j-a-c-q-e-l-y-n carlton c-a-r-l-t-o-m all right do you
swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes thank you uh first
i'd like to uh clarify what hmc square stands for it stands for four communities haddington
mars park carroll park and cathedral park uh this property is in the haddington component of hmc
square uh council i didn't hear about uh trash that is an issue in our hmc square with these
takeouts we the residents have to clean behind these small businesses and i didn't hear anything
about your trash uh are you gonna have commercial trash pickup we we i can address your concerns um
So once my client's going to have a private dumpster company pick up the trash, the dumpster
will be located at the rear of the property in a fenced-in area with a privacy screen.
So you won't be able to see the dumpster, but it will be there.
My client, if you've looked at the property recently, hopefully you've seen the improvements
that my client has already made to the exterior of the property in terms of cleaning it up.
She's painted the property. She's removed graffiti. She has also picked up litter trash.
She will patrol this area on a daily basis. She wants to help keep the neighborhood neat
and clean, and this is certainly one of her priorities.
Is there any other people with questions?
I see no other hand, sir.
Planning Commission.
Sir Ron Bednar, City Planning.
While this property is currently indicated for residential use on the city plan given
the documented site history, I recommend the request for variance to be granted.
MI 2021-002-886-5958 Vine Street, I vote yes.
Harold Tenere, my vote is yes.
Professor Plaza, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Councillor.
Thank you. Maybe you'd be excused.
Thank you kindly.
okay mr chair what do we do with number six number six is was the um the no exhibits
no exhibits no no conversation no nothing but they said it was the first listing
it's the first listing if you are to continue could i suggest that it be must be heard
can you announce that on the record please chair sure
let me get it up again here okay i i can do it um mi-2021-003790 5019 beaumont street
this case is continued and it must be heard. Thank you ever so kindly. Oh, sure.
Thanks, everybody. Thanks to the court reporter for being here a little long.
Chair, if I could ask if you could make the announcement to make sure everything that should
be presented today has been and no one is waiting in the audience. There is no one waiting. Should
we checked is there anybody waiting in the audience i see no hands sir we went through
all the cases there's nobody waiting and we're officially over we are all righty thank you all
thank by the way thank you everybody great job thank you thank you mr bergman i appreciate you
have a good night
bye guys
have a good night
thank you Bill
Tita forgot to
look at Tanya
I'm telling you
he's my new favorite
I know I can already tell it
I'm feeling it
you got yourself
a girlfriend here
this is unbelievable
great job
great job all right thank you everybody
thank you everybody
have a good night bye bye Jason thank you bye DPZ Zoom
I was going to