Thank you.
Chair, we have 40 attendees, and we can start as you wish.
I'm ready.
Good morning, everyone.
My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this morning's DBA hearings.
With me is Ismail Shahid, our vice chair.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Thomas Holliman, our board member. Present, Mr. Chairman. And James Snell, our board member.
Present, Mr. Chairman. Also present is Hillary Emerson, our attorney, and our executive director,
Tanya Sunket. Here's our virtual format. The advice proceedings are being recorded.
The video will be available by contacting tanyasunket at phila .gov. For the benefit of
our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you are participating by phone, if you wish to testify, press star nine to raise your hand
and star six to unmute. To enter an appearance statement, call 267 -270 -5548. Leave your email
and the address of the property in question. And finally, the question answer box on the screen
is not for comments or testimony. All comments should be directed to our Executive Director,
Tanya Sunken. Here's today's hearing list and our continuances.
Number one, MI 2022 -005 -548 -1052 -54 Roy Street. That case is continued.
Number three, MI -2022 -001 -638 -451 -451 -Rawne Street. That case is continued attorney moving party.
Number six, MI 2022, 005 -589 -1320 South Capitol Street. That case is continued.
Mr. Chair, this is Hillary. Going back to number six, the continuance request we received was from
the rco can we see if anyone's present um for the applicant listed applicant is laden car
this is the first listing and we also do not have exhibits
good morning mr chair this is jason hand i do not see a mr laden car in okay thank you very much
so mi 2022 excuse me sir yes i don't see his hand raised but there's another hand raised it
it's from a miss okay let the other one see who the other one is uh the other one is for a later
case that we are continuing okay so it's not it's uh that's not for this case okay okay thank you
so mi 2022 005 -589 -1320 south capitol street that case is continued mark must be tried
Number seven, MI 2022, 005 -723 -755 South 15th Street. That case is continued.
Number eight, MI 2022, 005 -442 -3021 Vare Avenue. That case is continued.
Number 12, MI -2022 -001 -641 -451 Ron Street. That case is continued. Attorney moving party.
Number 13, MI -2022 -005 -549 -1500 Winsome Street. That case is continued.
And number 15, MI 2022, 005 -434 -5853 Master Street, that case is continued.
that case is continued.
Sorry, Mr. Chair, this is Hillary.
Sorry, Mr. Chair, this is
Hillary. It's 5953
Masher Street.
5953 Masher Street.
And number 16,
there's a
request from
the FAFE CDC for
a continuance.
Anwar Wright
in the audience.
yes sir mr wright has been allowed to speak okay mr chair can you can you read the
thank you mi 2022 005 552 36 east culture street uh mr wright could you state your name and spell
for the court reporter please good morning mr chair my name is amwar wright a n like nancy w -a -r
right w -r -i -g -h -t right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing
but the truth yes i do sir we have a request um for continuance from the faith cdc the coordinating
rco they have resolved they want to resolve property line questions yes that's correct
Are you OK with the continuance? That's fine, sir. OK, so am I twenty twenty two zero zero five five five to thirty six East Kohler Street?
That case is continued. Are there anyone who has comments relative to the continued cases?
mr chair i don't see any hands at this time okay we also have three cases that we do not have
exhibits number five mi 2022 005 501 2316 and memphis street brian mccallister um
Um, we have no exhibits. This is the first listing.
We also have a letter of opposition from Council Member Squilla.
Sir, Ms. Rachel McAllister has been allowed to speak.
Hi, sir. Thank you. I'm here with Brian McAllister as well.
Okay. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Sure. It's Rachel McAllister, R -A -C -H -E -L -M -C -A -L -L -I -S -T -E -R.
Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
All right.
We do not have exhibits for this case.
And we also know there has not been an RCA meeting.
And so because of that, we thought that this meeting was also going to get postponed because
we weren't able to have the RCO.
All right.
The case will be continued.
Excellent.
And then you'll receive communication via email on when it will be continued to?
You will hear from us.
Okay, excellent. Thank you so much.
Thank you, sir.
MI 2022 -005 -501 -2316 Memphis Street. This case is continued.
Number nine. Hold on one minute, please.
please. Number nine is
number nine, MI 2022 -005 -440 -5008 Hazel Avenue. No exhibits first listing. Richard Lawrence is the
owner. I see no hands for that case, sir. Okay, so MI 2022 -005 -440 -5008 Hazel Avenue,
that case is continued. Mark must be tried. And number 10, MI 2022 -005 -554 -2320
Reed Street. No exhibits, first listing. Scott Schaefer is the elicit applicant.
Mr. Schaefer, if you're in the virtual audience, please wait, please raise your hand.
Mr. Schaefer has been allowed to speak, sir.
Mr. Schaefer, state your name and spell for the court reporter, please.
Scott Schaefer, S -C -O -T -T, S -C -H -A -F -F -E -R.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, sir.
This is the first listing.
We do not have your exhibits yet.
I've submitted them through an email.
So I must have had a wrong email sent in.
Okay. My apologies. Okay. Excuse me, Mr. Chair. Mr. Schaefer, what is your relationship to the
My apologies.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair.
property? The owner is Octavia Hill Association, Inc. I am the president and CEO. I am represented
by an attorney, Jake Siegel. Okay. I do see Mr. Siegel on. Okay. I wanted to make sure you had
an attorney yes we do thank you okay thank you absolutely uh and maybe we should let mr siegel
speak as well bring mr siegel on please mr siegel has been allowed to speak sir
i'm mr siegel could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
yes sir jake siegel siegel s -e -g -a -l do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth? I do, sir. Mr. Siegel, we do not see the exhibits. We don't have any exhibits
for your client. I understand. It was our impression that they were emailed. If we had
the incorrect email address, we would respectfully request that the matter be continued and we just
get the email address. Thank you. And what you should do is contact the office and we'll make
sure you have everything that's appropriate, okay? All right. Thank you so much. Thank you. So MI
MI2022 -005 -554 -2320 Reed Street. That case is continued. Okay. We're going to go to our add -on
list. Our first case is MI2022 -005 -216 -5110 Haverford Avenue. Our vice chair is going to
handle this vote. Mr. Shaheed. Yes, good morning. So, want me to go ahead and trade into the vote
chair? Sure. So, was there any provisos on this? There is. My vote is yes with provisos, Ishmael
Shaheed. So just for a point of record, the provisors, no trash stored under front steps
and no roof deck. Thomas Tomlin, my vote is yes with provisos. James Snell, my vote is yes with
Proviso. Number two, MI 2022 -004 -796 -815 Forest Avenue. I vote yes with Proviso.
Temporary variance expires March 1st, 2025.
5. Thomas Tollman, my vote is yes with proviso. James Snell, my vote is yes with proviso.
Mr. Snell, this is, sorry, this is Hillary. Can you please certify that you watched the video
of the hearing on January 25th? I apologize for that. Hillary, yes. James Snell, I did watch the
video and I certify that I attest that I watched the video and have full knowledge of the case.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you, everyone.
Going to our regular list, number two, MI 2022 -0048, oh, I'm sorry, number 14.
We're going to start with number 14.
MI 2022 -005 -483 -1304 Cresce Street.
Brooke Reeder is the owner
letter of opposition from the
Fishtown Neighbors Association
this is a pro se
Brooke Reeder
Sir, Mr. Reeder will be promoted as a
panelist and coming back in soon
OK. Yes. Hello, this is Brook Reeder. Good morning. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Yes. Brook Reeder. B -R -O -O -K -R -E -E -D -E -R. Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
All right.
So this application is for the use as a visitor accommodation in an existing structure.
That's proposed use visitor accommodation is prohibited in the RSA 5 zoning district.
Our vice chair has a few questions for you, Mr. Reader.
Good morning, counsel.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
I'm sorry, can you repeat?
I'm sorry.
Can you repeat?
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
do you agree to waive the reading of the
Have you emailed all the required documents that is needed to proceed with this case five days in advance to this hearing?
Yes, I have.
Thank you.
Please proceed and share your screen.
and sir can you uh start your video please uh yeah absolutely hold on just a moment
all right is everybody able to see
We can. Yep. Wonderful. All right. So the pertinent details here are about a year ago, we applied first of all for visitor accommodations. That was, or I'm sorry, for limited lodging that was denied because we do not meet the requirements for residency.
So the advice was to revise the permit to visitor accommodations and come before this board for the hearing to get a special exception made.
My wife and I, Shauna, are the original owners of this property, and we're not able to reside there full time at the moment.
And this is our only property, it's our second home in Philadelphia.
And because we can't be there full -time, it denies us from the eligibility for the typical zoning permit required for short -term rentals.
So our desire is to get an exception made either for limited lodging or for visitor accommodations.
Either would be acceptable to allow us to occasionally rent this for short -term guests to just offset income and help us maintain and keep this home.
This is the only property we're doing this for, and we are careful to vet our guests,
et cetera.
We've already reviewed this with the Neighborhood Association, and it's not something we plan
to be running as a business or anything of the sort.
It's simply to help offset our costs because we can't reside there full -time at the moment.
Do you have pictures of your property?
Absolutely.
Just a moment.
Some of those were submitted as well.
We'll pull those all up.
Not sure which ones you'd like to see in particular.
It's a large five stories from basement to roof deck, fairly narrow property.
This is the main room here during some times when we're doing some of the setup.
And we are there whenever we can be in the other times we'd like to allow some guests that are carefully vetted to stay there, including friends and family and other folks.
Do you have the copy of the letter from the RCO?
Yes, I do.
Can I see that, please?
Mm -hmm.
Oh, no, that's the refusal.
Just a moment, let me pause my screen and go grab that from my email here, here we go.
What you'll see reflected here is, you know, as when we first began renting this unit through Airbnb, we had a little learning curve on how to properly vet guests.
There was a couple of incidents, and we've since learned that we're incentivized as anyone to take good care of this and respect the neighborhood and the community and the home, because it's our second home.
my wife suffers from some autoimmune health conditions which is actually one of the reasons
we can't reside there full -time because we have to be elsewhere for her health care
but one of the requirements of that that set of diseases she has is that we have to keep it
very very clean and free of chemicals and free of any sort of issues that would present
dangers for water intrusion or mold and the like so we're very particular how we vet the guests
so we're very particular how we vet the guests uh from from neighbors where in early on uh as we
were just getting this thing started we had to learn the hard way about how to do that properly
thank you um questions from the board
no mr chairman no mr chair
no mr chairman thank you tom questions or comments from the virtual audience
mr chair i have a miss megan greiser with her hand raised i have allowed
her to speak at this time thank you hi could you state your name please state your name and spell
for the court reporter? Yes, my name is Megan Greiser, M -E -G -H -A -N, last name G -R -I -E -S -S -E -R.
I live across the street from this property. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. Proceed. I just wanted to share that we've,
we're, as in general, supportive of Airbnbs in our neighborhood at the right place and time,
and when they're well managed. We've unfortunately not experienced this property being well managed
as cited in the neighborhood letter. There have been several parties that have gotten quite out
of control, guests that I wouldn't say necessarily represent the characteristics Mr. Reeder was
describing, not really well caring for the property. In general, there are issues with
trash removal. I believe nearby neighbors have had also issues with egress and their ability
to access the alley next to the home, which is supposed to be accessible by multiple properties.
When I attended the FNA meeting in the fall, I was very open to hearing their proposal about
how they plan to better manage this property. And when I asked the other co -owner, you know,
how we could get in touch with them with ongoing issues, they said, oh, we make ourselves very
available but wouldn't provide any methods by which we could contact them. And that's frustrating
as a neighbor that I have no ability to reach out to the owners directly or the property managers
who they wouldn't name or give a phone number for in the event of ongoing security issues,
trash issues, parties, et cetera. Okay. All right. Thank you for your input
and thank you for calling in. Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
I do not see any further hands. Good morning, Planning Commission. Good morning, Chair Bergman. Ian Eggerty 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, nothing but the truth? Yes, sir, I do. Proceed.
Thank you. Good morning, Board members. The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing RSA 5 single -family zoning at this location.
for these visitor accommodation cases as you know we're looking for evidence that the proposed use
is necessary to enable viable economic use of the property we don't think the applicant has
met the burden of demonstrating such in this case and so the city planning commission
recommends that the board deny the variance so mi 2022 005 483 1304 cressy street i vote no
Thomas Solomon my vote is no
James Snell my vote is no
Ishmael Shaheen my vote is no
Thank you sir
Number two
MI 2022
004 -886
617 East Durham Street
Demetrius Parrish is the attorney
letter of support from the East Mount Airy neighbors.
Mr. Parrish? Good morning, as a panelist, sir. Okay, thank you.
Good morning. Good morning, Mr. Parrish. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the
court reporter. Good morning. My name is Demetrius Paris, D -E -M -E -T -R -I -U -S. Last name is P -A -R -R -I -S -H.
I am the attorney for the applicant. Okay. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Yes, sir. Could you identify the applicant
in a relationship to the property? The applicant is Robert C. Hill. He is the owner.
Okay. Thank you. And our vice chair has just a few questions for you, sir.
Sure. Good morning, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes. Have you emailed all the required documents and exhibits to proceed?
Have you emailed all the required documents and exhibits to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
I believe so. The only item that was missing was the tax clearance certificate. However, I think Miss, I think her first name is Hillary, looked at the tax information online and the taxes are paid up through 22 and they're not due until March 31st of 23.
Understood. Please proceed and share your screen.
Excuse me, this is Hillary.
Sorry, I did just look at this.
When I pulled up the report, there's actually a little bit of taxes due from 2011.
I don't know if that's correct or an error, but we will need to just hold this case to get that addressed.
Mr. Parrish, I'll send you the report over so that you can see that.
Thank you.
We're going to hold the vote. We'll hold the vote.
Yes, we'll hear the case, yes.
Sure. Panel members, this property was built in or about 1953 as a twin property.
I'm sorry.
Share your screen, please.
Yes, sir.
Oh, hold on.
This property was built in 1953 as a twin property, and each side had two apartments, one on each floor. This is the original housing approval for the property as two family residences.
I was able to locate this application from the neighbor's application for
variance a few years ago. In any event,
they were originally intended to be listed as a 619 and 621 Durham street,
but the actual addresses are 615 and 617 Durham street.
At some point, the, the zoning changed to a single family homes in that area,
which made out of line with respect to the zoning.
We are applying for variance to allow it to continue to exist as a duplex.
With respect to the property, when I reviewed the refusal application,
it indicated that A, it was zoned single family,
and b we did not uh make a provision for parking uh there is parking available um on the on the
street and and in the uh rear of the property i have i've sent pictures and uh i have to locate
the picture of the back but i did provide those as exhibits if you give me a second i can show them
uh the picture of the back uh to you one second one he shows the whole property if you have photos
Oh, sure. I'll share my screen. I'll just have to locate the pictures and then I'll share my screen. Hold on one second.
Take your time.
this is the rear of the property. The property that we're talking about today is on the left
of the picture. As you notice, there are two garages and as well as a driveway in the back.
So that would satisfy, in my opinion, the requirement for parking.
and I'll show you the other pictures of the property.
This is the front of the property.
And as you see in this picture, it's the property on the right.
And as you will notice that both sides are mirror images of each other.
On the left is 615, the right is 617, which is the property that we are here for today.
And there is an apartment on the top, a two -bedroom apartment on the top, two -bedroom apartment on the bottom.
it's being operated as a duplex right now uh you mean in terms of occupied yes i think that
it's being operated as a duplex right now
the the apartment up top is occupied the one on the bottom is vacant and the separate utilities
that's correct all right thank you all right um questions from the board no mr chairman no mr
chairman no mr chairman questions are calm oh i'm sorry is your uh is your client here
he is um we bring him on to adopt your testimony i'm sorry okay
robert hill
he may be uh present by phone uh i know mr hill could you raise your hand please
please raise your virtual hand mr hill if you're still in the audience
Councilor, you're an officer of the court. We will take your testimony.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
No hands, sir.
Planning?
Thank you, Chair Bergman. Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
Board members, the comprehensive plan recommends no change in the residential single -family zoning in this location.
However, this application does legalize a duplex built in 1953 or 1954.
The proposed legalized use is consistent with the existing physical configuration of the building
and is clearly substantiated by the record of due family use associated with both the adjoining twin home and this home.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant the variance.
Thank you. MI 2022 -004 -886 -617 East Durham Street, I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
Mr. Chair, I'm sorry.
We need to hold this one for the tax clearance.
You're right.
I'm sorry.
So, Mr. Parrish, we'll get the tax clearance.
We'll bring you back as quick as we can.
So we'll get another date?
We'll just take the vote.
We'll vote.
And I will follow up and work on getting the tax clearance certificate.
it it when I tried to get it yesterday for some reason they wouldn't allow me to get it okay all
right all right so once you get it get a hold of Hillary and we'll put it back on okay thank you
so much all right thank you bye -bye MI 2020 number four MI 2022 005 573 123 East Gorgas
Jennifer Bazzillo is the attorney.
Councilwoman Vass has no objection to granting the variance.
Letters import from East Mount Airy neighbors.
Neighbors would like to see permutable pavement utilized for the parking spot.
Good morning.
Give me one second here.
Take your time.
Yes, sorry. There I am.
Can you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Sure. Jennifer Bizzidlow. My last name is B as in boy, A as in apple, Z as in zebra, Y, D as in David, L as in Larry, O as in Oscar.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client in relationship to the property?
Sure. So my client is Stacy Harley, and he is the property owner.
Okay, thank you.
Our vice chair has just a few questions.
Good morning, counsel.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed in to our offices all the required documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing to proceed with this case?
Yes, and I just want to let Ms. Emerson know that I put in all required documents.
I realized I was missing one photo.
I just emailed it to her for the record. Okay, thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
One second.
Okay, so like I said, my name is Jennifer. I'm here with the homeowner and homeowner and occupant
Stacy Harley. I'm going to just scroll through my documents here to show you everything.
We have, let me just move this so I can scroll easier. Sorry, one second.
Technical glitch. All right, there's the refusal. We'll get back to that.
Our application, project information form, the deed that shows Mr. Harley's ownership.
We have property taxes are paid, zero balance even this year.
Zero balance even this year.
The letter of support.
The letter of support from East Mount Airy.
We met with them twice, by the way.
Aerial views of the property.
This is a parking survey
because this involves a parking space that the RCO did.
I'll come back to this to talk about parking.
This is the variance for the neighboring property
which is pretty similar to what we're asking for.
Photographs, there's the required postings.
This is the property in question. One, two, three is Gorgas. Rear yard, side yard.
There's another shot of the rear through to the front. This is the street. This is Gorgas Lane,
100 block of Gorgas Lane. That's the property next door. And these are some other properties.
We'll come back to these and the plans. So let me just tell you a little bit about
this property and what we propose to do. So 123 East Gorgas Lane is a little over almost 4 ,100
square feet. It's zoned RSA 3 and has an existing single family home on it. This property has been
in Mr. Harley's family for generations. He is in fact in his 60s and he was brought home by his
mother from the hospital to this property. And he currently lives there with his elderly mother,
which is why we're proposing what we're proposing.
The proposal is a one -story addition in the rear of the property.
You can see here kind of the sloped roof, and this is the footprint,
as well as an accessory off -street parking space.
Both the parking space and this addition and how it's configured is really to allow for the aging in place of both Mr. Harley and, more importantly, his mother.
At this point, the addition is going to be used for a first an additional first floor living space and a full handicap accessible bathroom, which will allow this family to continue living in this home as they might have limited continue to have limited accessibility to the bathrooms and the living spaces on the upper floors of the home.
So really just to continue maintaining living in this this home that they've they've had for generations at this point.
So I wanted to. And the parking will also allow just to have that easy access into the home for for this family and not have to walk further as, again, mobility issues continue to increase and mobility declines.
And so this created two refusals. I'm going to go to refusals and I'll go through each one of them.
The first is for the minimum side yard. The required is eight feet and we are proposing five feet.
So I just want to go back to this side. And the second is for parking in the required front yard.
So let's just go to the photos of, one second.
All right. So the addition that we're proposing in the back is not going to be any, it's actually less, it's no further out than this existing front porch.
So when you look at the back here, you can see where the front porch comes and the addition is going to be in this rear area where there was a prior addition that had to be taken down.
And to rebuild that addition with a similar footprint in terms of side yard to this front porch.
There's actually going to be a little bit bigger side yard with the addition than where that front porch is.
um there's still going to be over eight feet of separation in between these two homes
um so there's going to be like no safety issues about being able to access this rear yard
and really no issues with light and air access i will also note that we are proposing a side yard
that is two feet greater than what is um on this new construction house next door
That was permitted and built in 2007. Well, the variance was granted in 2017, and they only have a three -foot setback. So we're actually proposing something that's significantly bigger percentage -wise than what has been allowed and granted on the property next door here.
um we did talk to the neighbors about whether we could make this edition code compliant
And the reason that this was chose to make these dimensions of this 18 by 18 square, this allowed for configuration that while not meeting the technical necessities of the code, actually has the least impact on the adjoining neighbors.
and the reason that this was chose to make these dimensions
Because you can see here, in terms of coming out in the side yard, we already have this sort of narrow side yard going through both of these properties, largely because of existing conditions of both the grandfathered in five foot setback on the front, and then the recently granted three foot setback to the adjoining property.
And by condensing the length of it and keeping it this square, it's actually limiting that time where you have that narrow, unusable side yard for both properties and makes a larger rear yard, which creates more light and air access, while maintaining the square footage necessary to have these handicap accessible spaces.
The other thing is when I was talking to the architects, when you have these dimensions, you have this nice sloped roof in the back, which we typically see in rear additions of homes in Philadelphia, that really minimizes the impact to the adjoining twin, because you're having it sloped down.
And you're also keeping the amount that's attached to that property line small as possible.
So if you went for something longer and narrower, it changes how you have to configure that roof.
And so now you're having the highest point of the roof on the property line with a greater impact to the adjoining neighbor at 125, sloping down to the side yard.
So really, while this is not technically code compliant, it was designed in mind to have the minimum impact on both adjoining neighbors.
All right, so let's see.
And then I want to go into the parking space.
So as you are already aware, parking, off -street parking is allowed in RSA 3.
And in fact, if this was a new home, and we were knocking this down and building it again, that parking space would be required.
However, let's just go to the picture. One second.
However, here, because of the physical dimensions and existing conditions of this property, the only place where you can put a parking space is in the required front yard.
So it's going to be going, you know, essentially on the right side of the property, there'll be a parking spot put in.
And it's going to look very, very similar to what's next door, which is this.
So this is 121.
This is the adjacent property.
And they have this off -street parking spot to the left of their property.
um so we also uh i wanted to come back to the um so again it's we're only looking for a variance
for the location of the off -street parking not the off -street parking itself um as rsa3 not
only allows but now requires off -street parking for new housing uh and there's no other place
we can put it so i want to go to the parking survey that east mount area has put together
because it's actually very explanatory of what's going on on this block.
So there are 36 houses on this block.
26 of them already have off -street parking.
So the majority of this block has off -street parking,
many of them with two or three off -street parking spots.
And of those 26 houses,
at least 13 of them have parking in the required front or side yard.
We can look here and they did a chart of where this is located.
but you can really see in these views
that this is not uncommon.
You have 101, 103, 105,
they all have parking in the front yard,
116, 118, 120, 122, 126.
And then of course, immediately adjacent to 121.
So this is not out of character for this neighborhood.
We have a neighborhood that has off -street parking.
This block has off -street parking
and the majority of cars have that.
And now if you want to look at also availability of on -street parking here, they did a survey and they found that there are, in addition to these, to the majority of the 36 houses having off -street parking, many of them multiple cars, there's an additional 27 spots of on -street parking.
so there is accessible parking on this block.
But more importantly, if we look at the alignment,
this is my client's house 125 and where the cars are parking.
and where the cars are parking. When we add in the driveway on the right -hand side, the space
When we add in the driveway on the right...
between 121's driveway and our driveway is going to be like 21, 22 feet. And so right now, you can
pretty much only put one car in that space anyway, and we're maintaining that one parking space on
the street while bringing the Harley family's car off the street. So it really has a minimum
impact on the near neighbors and parking availability on this street while giving a
great service to this family to have easier access to their home. We did discuss putting a handicap
clockwork in front of the house. And as it turns out, if you did that, you're basically taking away
two parking spots and not getting a car off the street because the handicap spot will require the
entire front of 123. And then you would not have another space to put another car between the
driveway of 121 and where the handicap placard was. So it actually maintains better parking ratios
by putting the driveway on the street rather than having that handicap placard.
So like I said, we met with East Mount Erie. We had two meetings they do, one that is an
an informational meeting, and then a second voting meeting. And at the end of the voting meeting,
they voted to support the variances. The only thing they asked us to do was to consider permeable
pavement for the parking. And we have not made any decisions on that, and we'll absolutely explore
that. But this was the vote. So there was five in support, one opposed, and two in non -opposition.
So, again, I just wanted to summarize that here we have an addition and an off -street parking space that will allow Mr. Harley and his mother to stay safe in their home, safely age in place in this house that his family's had for generations and loved very dearly, with minimum impact to the near neighbors and in a fashion that is consistent with the character of the neighborhood.
So is your client here?
I believe so. Mr. Harley, if you're here, can you raise your hand?
There's a button at the bottom of the screen to raise your hand.
I know he's on the call. I just don't know if he knows how to do this.
He's been allowed to speak.
Mr. Harley, could you state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
Mr. Harley?
Are you muted? You may have to unmute yourself.
Yes, please unmute yourself, Mr. Harley.
There we go.
Stacey Harley.
Stacey Harley.
Okay, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Stacey Harley.
S -T -A -C -E -Y.
I'm sorry.
Do you have on two devices, sir?
it's been
a better time
so council
you're an officer of the court I will accept
your testimony thank you
questions
questions from the board
no Mr. Board no Mr. Chair
no Mr. Chairman
questions or comments
from the virtual audience
don't see any answer Mr. Chair
planning commission
Thank you, Chair Bergman, Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
Board members, comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing RSA 3 single -family zoning at this location.
With regard to the dimensional variance, the proposed variance is minimal, and we feel it doesn't conflict with the purpose and spirit of the zoning code.
And with regard to the use variance for parking, the proposed use is consistent with adjacent nonconformities on this block.
and we agree represents the minimum variance needed to meet the off -street parking requirement
for the zoning district city planning commission recommends that the board grant the variances
thank you MI 2022 -005 -573 -123 East Gorgas Lane I vote yes
Thomas Holloman my vote is yes James Snell my vote is yes
Ishmael Shahid my vote is yes thank you counsel thank you so much
Okay, we're moving to number 11, MI -2022 -005 -446, 1200608, Busselton Avenue. Adam Laver is the attorney.
Letter of support from the Somerton Civic Association.
Letter of support from the Somerton Civic Association.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman.
Good morning. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Adam Laver, L -A -V -E -R.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do, Mr. Chairman.
The Vice Chair has just a few questions.
Good morning, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Good morning, Mr. Vice Chairman. Yes, I do.
Counsel, have you emailed all of the required exhibits and documents five days in advance to our offices?
Yes, Mr. Shahid.
Thank you. Please proceed. Mr. Shahid, speak.
Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, members of the board, I'm here this morning on behalf of Avelina Management LLC
and its principal, Dr. Violeta Berdichevskaya. Dr. V, as she's known, is a well -respected
family medicine practitioner in Northeast Philadelphia. Also with us this morning
virtually from Harman Deutsch -Oller Architecture is Ryan Solomeo. I have submitted an exhibit
package with 13 exhibits, along with an updated revised proviso plan, which is in line with what
we shared with the community and with Councilman O 'Neill's office. I'm not sure if I heard correctly,
Mr. Chairman, but I wanted to state at the outset that in addition to the coordinating RCO support,
there is a letter of support from Councilman O 'Neill, which has been submitted and I'll share
with you in due course. Hillary, do we have that? I'm sorry, Mr. Chair. Yes, can you hear me?
We received it as part of the exhibit packet. Okay, thank you. Excellent. Dr. B purchased the
property that's up on your screen just to help situate this. You can see Game Fix and Beauty
House. These are two retail businesses that exist on the parcel itself. She purchased this property
within the last year. Her practice is currently located at 2375 Woodward Street in Northeast
Philadelphia, where she rents. And her hope is that with her vision realized at this Busselton
Avenue site, she would close that location and move to this location. Here are some additional
photographs. You can see on the left in red the subject property. It's a large property with those
two front -facing retail businesses on Busselton Avenue. Here again, an overhead. On the left
is the subject property. You'll see a mix of businesses along Busselton Avenue, but also
it's worth noting, and I'll get into this later, that there's actually a lot of residential right
across the street as well. And another photograph. On the screen before you is the zoning map.
The subject property is zoned CA1 auto -oriented commercial. It's also subject to several overlays,
namely the Northeast Overlay District Map B, which prohibits medical practitioner use.
It's worth noting, Mr. Chairman and members of the board, that if this overlay was not in place,
the underlying zoning district, CA1, would permit the medical office that we are proposing.
At the time of purchase, the subject property was approved for the two businesses that you saw a
moment ago, along with a residential dwelling and 11 parking spaces. There is a hairdresser
located 12008 Busselton Avenue. That lease ends in October of this year. And the game fix retail
that you saw in some of the photographs a moment ago at 12006 has closed. It's not operational.
In the last year, five family medicine physicians in the community have retired,
and there's a need for a medical office to serve this community.
Dr. B proudly serves as the chief medical officer for Veterans Affairs for the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania. And the proposal for this location would be for a solo practitioner's family medical
practice. One doctor, one administrative assistant, three residential units above,
three residential units above, and an increase to 15 parking spaces. No other businesses would
and an increase to 15 parking spaces.
continue at this property once the medical practice is built. On the screen before you
is the notice of refusal. Number one, residential is not permitted. However, this is an existing
non -conforming use, and furthermore, it's in line with the surrounding area. If we go across
the site, you can see these condominiums right across Busselton Avenue.
The overlay district also prohibits the medical practitioner use, which would otherwise be
permitted within CA1, and the support of the community and the council member speak to the
appropriateness of this use in addition to the need from other retiring practices. The rebalance
of the refusals concern de minimis parking space dimensional relief, and we are seeking to increase
the amount of parking on the site to 15 on -site parking spaces. You'll see that those dimensional
issues are quite minor in terms of the space for each of the stalls. And finally,
the existing side yard at the property is non -conforming, and this would be an extension of
that. Dr. B's practice focuses on nutrition, physical fitness, weight loss, whole health.
She also serves a number of nursing home residents outpatient, which speaks to the low intensity
of this on -site use.
On the screen in front of you, you can see conceptual renderings of what would replace
those two retail businesses with one medical practice with the residences above.
Ground floor would be the medical practice, second floor, three residences, and the floor
above, which really isn't a floor, it would be a non -habitable attic. The overall height is under
32 feet, which fits into the surrounding area. A zoning site plan and floor plans follow.
Here you can see at the ground floor, which is entirely the medical practice,
three exam rooms, again, only one doctor and one administrative assistant.
Dr. B has been in touch with the neighboring restaurant right over here. Uzbekistan Restaurant
has permitted Dr. B and her patients to have additional parking there until 6 p .m. if needed.
This is in addition to the 15 spaces that you can see on site. Her proposed hours would be Monday
through Friday, 9 to 5, with the exception of evening hours on Wednesday nights until 8 p .m.,
And commercial trash pickup, of course, is an important part of the plan.
The basement area, the cellar area, has additional space for wellness and storage.
The ground floor we went through a moment ago.
And the upper floor, the second floor, has three residential apartments.
One, one bedroom, one bath.
Two, two bedroom, two baths.
the somerton civic association we're very grateful for the close working relationship with them
the sca's position is one of support for the requested variances per the revised proviso
plan that does clarify the intention which is for a total of three residential units
and the very comprehensive letter that's been submitted from the coordinating rco
goes through all of the commitments that Dr. B is prepared to make through a private binding
deed restriction. I've highlighted for the board just a sentence or two stating the building and
landscape improvements did not appear at odds with the surroundings or threatened to worsen
the appearance of the property. The plans appear to show that a substantial investment in a property
near the busiest intersection in the neighborhood was being made and the most significant
result of the development would be that a new medical practice would exist to serve residents.
In addition, on the screen is Councilman Brian J. O 'Neill's letter I've highlighted. He wrote,
I have no objection to the grounding of the variants at this location.
Mr. Chairman and members of the board, the authorization of variance relief
Mr. Chairman and members of the board, the authorization of variance relief will not
alter the character of the neighborhood or district or be detrimental to the public welfare.
The proposal fits into the surrounding neighborhood as evidenced by the support of the coordinating
RCO and the district councilman. The variance will represent the minimum variance to afford
relief and represent the least modification possible of the regulations at issue. The grant
of variance relief will not substantially increase congestion in the public streets.
increase the danger of fire or otherwise endanger the public health, safety, or general welfare.
The proposed uses here, one medical practice, and the residential, residential that's in line with what you see across the street,
may actually reduce negative impacts on the community, reducing the commercial footprint at the site to the one medical practice, which is needed.
This will not adversely affect transportation or unduly burdened water, sewer, school, park,
or other public facilities.
There are no environmental issues.
I believe Dr. B is with us virtually, as is Ryan Solomeo of Harman Deutsch,
all our architects, if there are questions.
And again, Mr. Chairman and members of the board,
if the board is inclined to grant the requested relief,
we would ask that it do so pursuant to the one -page revised proviso plan submitted to Ms. Emerson.
Counsel, you started with four units and revised to three?
Yes, sir.
Thank you.
Is your client available?
Dr. Berdichevskaya, would you kindly raise your virtual hand?
There she is.
Good morning.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
My name is Dr. Violetta Berdichevskaya.
B is a boy.
E is an Edward.
R is an Robert.
D is an David.
I is an Inc.
C is a cat, H is a Henry, E is an Edward, V is an Victor, S is a Sam, K is a king,
A is an apple, Y is a yellow, A is an apple. Thank you. Do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes, sir, I do. Counsel, proceed. Thank you.
Good morning, Dr. B. Have you been present for the entirety of this virtual presentation before
the Zoning Board of Adjustment? Yes. And would you adopt and affirm the testimony that I have
offered as your own? Absolutely, yes. Thank you. Questions from the board? No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Do not see any hands, Mr. Chair. Planning Commission? Thank you, Chair Bergman. Ian Hegarty
for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. Board members, the comprehensive plan recommends
the zoning map change from CA1 to CMX2 at this location. Proposed use is consistent with the
recommended zoning district, and so the City Planning Commission recommends that the board
grant the variance. Thank you. MI 2022 -005 -446 -12006 -08 Musselton Avenue. I vote yes with provisos.
Maximum three units, revised plans, one page, stamped by ZBA on February 22nd, 2023.
Thomas Holliman, my vote is yes with provisos.
James Snell, my vote is yes with provisos.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the board.
Thank you.
Hays, can you vote?
Yes, I voted.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Can I get that on the record?
Yeah, why don't you do it again, Ish, just be sure.
Ish, my word is yes.
With provisos.
With provisos.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Is there anyone in the virtual audience whose case has not been called for this morning's schedule?
I don't see any hands, Mr. Ch...
Wait a minute, a hand just went up.
And for Mr. Hal Shermer, I have allowed him to speak.
Did I miss his case?
Good morning, Mr. Chairman. I had requested a continuance. I was actually on the road, family medical. I just want to double check that 1 ,500 winsome has been continued. It didn't show up in the webinar chat.
What? Hold on a minute.
It was number eight.
Actually, Mr. Chair, this is Hillary. It's number 13. You did continue it.
I already continued it, sir. Yep.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay. See everybody at 2 o 'clock. Thank you.
Good afternoon. My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this afternoon's EBA hearings.
With us is Thomas Holliman, our board member.
is Thomas Holliman, our board member. Present, Mr. Chairman. And James Snell, our board member.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
And James.
Present, Mr. Chairman. Our Vice Chair, Ishmael Shahid, will be on in about 15 minutes.
Also present is Hillary Emerson, our attorney, and our Executive Director, Tanya Sunken.
Here's our virtual format. Be advised, the proceedings are being recorded.
Video will be available by contacting tanyasunkett at philip .gov.
For the benefit of our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you're participating by phone and you wish to testify, press star nine to raise your hand and star six to unmute.
if you want to leave a message a message statement call 267 -270 -5548 leave your email
and the address of the property in question and finally the question answer box on the screen is
not for comments all comments should be directed to our executive director tanya sunken let's look
at our continuances for this afternoon. Number one, MI -2022 -002 -945 -1400 Englewood Street.
That case is continued. Number four, MI -2021 -003 -169 -90 Rochelle Avenue. That case is
discontinued attorney moving party.
Is there any comments relative to those two continuances?
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.
I do not see any hands at this time.
Thank you.
Are there any other requests for continuance?
Mr. Chair, Ms. Alice Ludovic.
Good afternoon, Chairman, members of the board.
Alice Udovich, on behalf of Councilman
Brian O 'Neill.
On the case... Hold on
one minute. Do you swear
to tell the truth, the whole truth,
nothing but the truth? I do.
What case, Alice?
Bybury Road.
I'll be right with you.
That's number three, Mr. Chair.
Yes. Do you want a continuance for that case?
I would like to request a continuance. I take partial responsibility in not facilitating a meeting with the RCO.
Okay, go ahead.
Alice, let me call the attorney so he's online.
Daniel Lynch.
Hi, Chair. This is Tanya.
May I respectfully request that Ms. Udovich spell her name, please?
Sure, we will.
Yep, thank you.
A -L -I -C -E, last name is Udovich, U -D -O -V -I -C -H.
Mr. Lynch.
Mr. Chair, I don't see Mr. Lynch in the audience.
Is there anyone?
how about uh i'm sorry i'm sorry i believe it's mr chair i believe daniel lyons is in the audience
i may have miswritten his name i believe he's the attorney okay daniel lyon
he's been about to speak hi sir could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
hi yes can you hear me my name is i can thank you so much my name is daniel lyons uh l -y -o -n -s
Right. Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Mr. Lyons, the council members for the area is requesting a continuance so they can facilitate a meeting.
Yes, I can represent that there was some miscommunication, I suppose, on behalf of the RCO.
We did back in October request a number of times a meeting, and each time those requests went unanswered.
So I can confirm that part of it.
So we're going to continue this case, okay?
All right. So number three, MI 2022 -005 -910 -4340, Bybury Road, this case is continued.
Thank you for getting on Mr. Lyons. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman and members of the board.
Thank you. Any other continuances?
Thank you. Any other continuances?
Yes, Mr. Chair. Mr. Vladimir Leon has his hand raised. I've allowed him to speak.
Yes, hello.
Your Honor.
Wait a minute.
State your name and spell it, please.
Yes, Your Honor. This is Vladimir Leon. V -L -A -D -I -M -I -R -L -E -O -N.
wait a minute
calm down
do you swear for him to tell the truth
nothing but the truth
your case is going to be
your case will be called shortly
thank you
thank you
thank you
thank you
is there any other request for continuances
yes sir
mr jimbert has a hand raised
I have allowed him to speak
My apologies. I probably should have put it down. I was with the Byberry case. I represent the owner.
All right. Hold on a minute. State your name and spell, please, for the court reporter.
My name is James Burt, B -U -R -T -T.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?
So we've decided to continue that case.
Yeah, I know. And I apologize. I probably should have put my hand out. This has come out of left field.
we thought we were going to be approved today.
Yeah, okay.
And so I have to go back to it.
The seller, I mean, the owner on this.
Thank you very much.
Ars, thank you, sir, for calling in.
We appreciate it.
Any other requests for continuances?
Sir, there are no other hands at this time.
Okay, thank you.
So number eight, MI 2022 -003 -307,
711 West Montgomery Avenue.
We have no exhibits. This is the second listing.
Christina Osborne.
Mr. Chad, do not see anyone answering to that name.
So MI 2022 -003 -307 -711 West Montgomery Avenue.
I vote to dismiss.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is to dismiss.
James Snell, my vote is to dismiss.
Thank you.
We're going to go to our add -on list.
Be right with you.
Number one, MI2022 -004 -389 -1222 North 41st Street.
I vote no to reconsideration and rehearing.
Thomas Holliman, my vote is no to reconsideration and rehearing.
Jane Snell, my vote is no to reconsideration and rehearing.
Number two, MI 2022 -004 -390 -1220 -North 41st Street, I vote no to reconsideration and rehearing.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is no to reconsideration and rehearing.
James Snell, my vote is no to reconsideration and rehearing.
Number three, MI 2022 -005 -393 -2546 Page Street. This will be heard during the 2 p .m. hearing a little later when Mr. Shahid gets on the phone.
number four mi 2022 003 851 7200 marston street i vote yes with proviso use limited
to the retail sale of baked goods thomas holloman my vote is yes with provisos
James Snell. My vote is yes, with provisos.
Number five, MI 2022 -005 -509 -2552 -64 North 3rd Street. I vote yes, with proviso. Per amended
refusal dated 2 -17 -23. Address and refusal for streets, trees added, attached. Maximum 64 units,
revised plans, two pages, stamped by ZBA on February 22, 2023. Use registration required
Use registration required prior to occupancy for vacant commercial spaces.
prior to occupancy for vacant commercial spaces.
Thomas Holliman, my vote is yes with provisos.
Jane Snell, my vote is yes with provisos.
Number six, MI 2022 -003 -166 -4847 -49 Haverford Avenue.
This vote, the vote on this matter, will now be held on Wednesday, March 1st at 2 p .m.
Number seven, MI 2022, 004 -886 -617 East Durham Street, I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Thank you. We're moving to our regular list.
Number two, MI 2022 -005 -916, 1400 South Christopher Columbus Boulevard, Ronald Patterson is the attorney, letter of non -opposition from Penn Sports Civic Association, letter of non -opposition from Council Member Squilla.
So, Mr. Patterson, we'll be rejoining as a panelist.
Thank you.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.
Ronald Patterson here.
Mr. Patterson, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Ronald Patterson, P -A -T -T -E -R -S -O -N, at Claire Harrison Law Firm, K -L -E -H -R, 1835 Marketplace.
street Philadelphia. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth? I do. Could you identify your client, a relationship to the property? Sure. The property
owner is Tower Investment. Principal owner is Bart Bladstein. Okay. Thomas, could you follow up
with follow -up questions? Yes, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon, Council. Do you agree to waive
reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy? Yes I do. Did you email all the exhibits
and documents as required five days in advance to this hearing? Did you meet with the RCO and
do you have a letter? Yes to all of the above. Thank you please share your screen. Great thank you.
can you see my screen we do yes yes okay great thank you yeah great thank you i will begin
uh so this application regards 1400 south columbus boulevard it's uh an unoccupied former
entertainment center we're probably all familiar with this on columbus boulevard um it's uh it's
So on Columbus, South Columbus Boulevard, Reed Street, Dickinson Street, and to the rear is what we'll call I -95 and Water Street, which is important to the project because this is where our parking has and always has been.
um uh mr blasting first developed this uh entertainment complex in 1993 and it has a
united artists regal theater probably the best producing one in the in the east coast um a couple
other uh uh spaces here uh had changed over time but generally you know all entertainment related
uses. There was a laser tag, a Sega Gameworks. Later in this area was Warm Daddy's Jazz Bar
restaurant, we would call it. It was sold to Cedar Realty Trust in 2000, and they operated it.
The theater closed probably maybe eight years ago. Cedar kind of mothballed the property
a few years back and had plans to renovate it, but then unfortunately Cedar became a casualty
of COVID, wound up selling all of its assets, its Philadelphia assets. This asset was from this
property all the way to a couple other centers, all the way to Washington Avenue, one on 23rd
and Oregon, and Aaron may go, I just say that by way of background, because then Mr. Blastine
repurchased this. He was the best one to do this and renovate it back in May of 2002 with the
desire to restore it back to life. When it was originally approved in 1993, it had an array of
assembly and entertainment uses that I believe may have been permitted at the time, but later and now
the property located in CMX3 Commercial Zoning District. The assembly and entertainment use
The assembly and entertainment use that we're proposing, which you'll hear about, requires a special exception.
that we're proposing, which you'll hear about, requires us.
So pursuant to, and I hate to cite code, but 14 -303, Section 10, these uses under their zoning permits have lapsed or expired since they had not been operating in the past three years.
So hence, we're here again to get, I'll call it a reapproval for the assembly and entertainment that's proposed at this location.
And let me find the site plan here.
Well, it's more of a floor plan, but Louis Theater, the other two spaces, what our proposal is, is to combine these three spaces.
that create one large space of 46 ,325 square feet.
The theater that occupied this area
had 17 little theater rooms
which need to be all interiorly demolished and renovated.
So it requires major renovation.
At the proposal, we do have entertainment,
assembly and entertainment, arcade type use
with food uses and the like.
We believe that the proposed use will have no adverse impacts and certainly will not be any greater than what was previously there, based upon the use in the history.
As to the density, it will be less people there than would be you would expect at a movie theater and less traffic impacts because as movie theaters release, there is a slug flow of people that kind of crowd the area.
In terms of traffic and parking, as I mentioned briefly earlier, the property has enjoyed a longstanding agreement with PennDOT to park beneath the I -95 overhead, which is operated by PennDOT through an organization called ILMAC.
This is where all the parking is provided by way of lease, and it's also open to the public when nothing is operating at the facility.
We did meet, as you mentioned, with PennSport, and we also have a letter from Councilman Scuola.
So with that said, I'd like to introduce Bart Blatstein to go over some testimony.
Mr. Blatstein, could you stay your name and spell for the court reporter?
Mr. Blatstein, if you're in the virtual audience, please raise your hand.
It may be by phone.
i've allowed him to speak
all right mr hi could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter yeah
bart bladstein b -a -r -t -b -l -a -t -s -t -e -i -n do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
and nothing but the truth yes sir proceed counsel thank you uh hi bart um so can you see me can you
see my video off oh your video is off how do i i don't work this thing um maybe there's a camera
tab you could push and turn your camera on um actually mr patterson assist tanya he's only
available for sound if you need his video we can do that okay okay i'm better looking at first
All right. All right. So, Bart, you've heard my statement, my testimony. Would you agree it is true and accurate?
Yes, Ron. And would you adopt it as if you were your own?
Yes, Ron. Okay. I have a few questions. So it's true you built this way back, 1993?
Yes. A much younger and thinner part built that.
Yes, but finer. And the use is proposed. If you could briefly just describe to the board
and kind of, you know, inflect how that they're less impactful
than what was previously there?
Whereas this is a use that people flow in and out,
whereas the theater, which had nine screens on the first,
11 screens on the first floor,
it could have held a couple thousand people,
up to a couple thousand people at a time.
And what are you proposing now?
An entertainment venue on the first floor. I can't disclose the tenant, but it's an entertainment tenant that's well known.
tenant but it's a entertainment tenant that's well known and that entertainment will have
um as i mentioned arcade games food and other entertainment correct okay that's all i have
for mr bladstein if the board isn't questions from the board no mr chairman
no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
Mr. Chair, this is Hillary.
I just had a quick question for Mr. Patterson.
In the deed that was submitted in the packet,
it said the owner was Riverview 3 LLC.
Is that part of Tower Investments?
That's correct.
Yes, that's the holding company.
Correct.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
No, any further hands, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
good afternoon chair bergman david facto f -e -c -t -e -a -u with the city planning commission
do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes sir i do proceed thank you mr chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends
no change in the commercial mixed use zoning at this location the applicant has shown that the
proposed assembly and entertainment will not cause detrimental impacts beyond what would normally be
expected so the city planning commission recommends that the board grant the special exception
mi 2022 -005 -916 -1400 south christopher columbus boulevard i vote yes
thomas holloman my vote is yes
james snell my vote is yes thank you counsel thank you
okay let's continue uh number five mi 2022 005 915 90 red lion road
um recommendation of support from the greater busselton civic league with provisos
attorney
maybe John Pack
Mr. Chair
Ms. Udovich has her hand raised again
do I allow her to speak
she's been allowed to speak sir
okay could you state your name please
and scroll to the court reporter
Alice Udovich
U -D -O -V -I -C -H
for councilman brian o 'neill you've already been sworn um you have a comment relative to this case
i do um as you know the uh the case has been um denied due to the councilman's overlay
the councilman opposes this project um i realized that the community supported it with provisos but
we often find that those provisos are not enforced after the fact. And, and the councilman,
you know, has been trying to prohibit this type of activity in industrial areas.
All right. Well, what we're going to do is we're going to hear the case first. And then,
okay. Alice, you can come, why don't you hang on? You can come back on when I call for comments
from the, I certainly will. Yes. Mr. John Pack, P -A -K.
or joseph acaro mr pack has been allowed to speak thank you oh yes good afternoon
my name is swamp john pack last name p -a -k right and i'm here to affirm to tell the truth the whole
truth nothing but the truth yes i do could you identify your client your relationship to the
property. Oh, yes. I'm here with my client, Mr. Cockerberry Kubin -Zay, and he's the property
owner at 90 Red Ryan Road. Okay. Hi, Chair. I'm sorry. This is Tanya. May I respectfully request
him to spell his first name? I can't hear you. Okay. I can spell my first name. Go ahead.
It's U as an umbrella, A as an apple, M as a merry.
But I also go by John, J -O -H -N.
Thank you.
Mr. Howman, do you have a few questions for this gentleman, please?
Good afternoon, counsel.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy?
Did you email all of the exhibits and documents as required?
five days five days in advance to this hearing did you meet with the rco and do you have a letter
did you meet with the rco and do you have a letter we do have the letter from the rco i
we do have
believe it's been shared with everybody uh in this room and i believe all the um uh exhibits
have been shared by my predecessor mr attorney joe vicaro thank you please proceed and share
your screen and he's coming back in now as a panelist uh i thank you
Is Mr. Pat coming back in?
Am I in?
yes and you can um start your video and then you can share your screen sir
i can start my video sorry i'm sort of new to this so um you can bear with me
that's fine mr pack you're fine now now now now share your screen okay the green button at the
bottom green button at the bottom oh right here
you guys hear what you see this um you have to open up what you're
what you're going to present now right uh oh your application for appeal right right
can you open that document i didn't open it it's not open here yeah we're still seeing your uh
file so if you can just stop sharing and then share again once your file is open
So you can click the green button.
and then it will ask you what documents you would like to share and just click on the document.
Yep. Okay, now this is the photograph of the premises.
Okay, so as you are aware, the standard concerns and application for personal motor vehicle sales
and rental and auto tags and associated repairs and maintenance. Now the repair and maintenance
will be limited to the cars that they sell and they sell and they rent. There will be no other
vehicles being maintained or repaired at the site. This property is owned by one industrial,
but because of the far north -east overlay, the proposed use of the personal sale rental is
prohibited. Now, my client, Mr. Kubinense, did attend a meeting with the RCO,
and the RCO will provide a letter of support with DeFi provisos, which we all, my clients
know, issues will ring to.
Now, I'm showing you some pictures here.
You see some pictures here with the voting notice that was posted 21 days prior to the
voting hearing.
uh what he plans on doing at the site is he plans on operating a used car uh sales store
and like i said previously he'll be doing repairs and maintenance of those vehicles only
um there's sufficient parking spaces at the location already
um this is just a picture of the inside this is where the office is going to be
I think there's 21 parking spaces at this location already, and they already have a
commercial dumpster contract, so there's not going to be any trash issue.
So for those reasons, we ask you, Chair, and the Board to approve the variance for this
So, those reasons we asked you are -
application.
Mr. Pack, what else is in the complex?
In the complex?
This is the only business there.
Only business there?
do you have the letter there
from the
I'll share that
So this is the letter, RCU letter, and it's actually a letter of support, not a non -opposition.
And these are the five provisos that they're asking us to agree to, which we have no issues with.
Could you have your client adopt your testimony, please?
about my testimony yes
can you uh i don't understand what you're asking
no you you're well your client should state his name spell for the court reporter oh
then you're then you're going to say to him did you hear my testimony
and would you accept it as your own okay so have your client state his name
and please spell it for the court reporter
k -a -k -h -a -b -e -r -i
the last name
c -h -u -b -i -n -i -d -z -e
do you swear for him to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth
I know
and counsel you just say to your client
did you hear my testimony
would you adopt it as your own
Do you hear my testimony and do you adopt my testimony as your own?
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Alice?
thank you chairman uh members of the board alice just state your name again you've already been
sworn sure alice yudovich u -d -o -v -i -c -h as i stressed earlier the uh the councilman had put
this overlay in place for exactly the reason that i mentioned that he'd like to uh prohibit this
type of use in industrial parks. Although the the Greater Busselton has put in many provisos,
we often find that those are difficult to to get enforced. So for that reason,
the Councilman strongly opposes this project. Thank you. Other questions or comments from
the virtual audience? Sir, I do not see any further hands at this time.
planning commission thank you chair bergman david fecto with the city planning commission
chair bergman and members of the board the comprehensive plan recommends no change to
the medium industrial zoning at this location in november 2013 the planning commission did
not take a position on bill number 130634 which created the far northeast overlay district
without the overlay the proposed vehicle sales and rentals would be allowed by right
The applicant's proposed use is the type of business that a reasonable person would expect to find at this location, and it is consistent with the current use of the building.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the board grant the use variance.
Mr. Pack, do you have any more comments?
I noticed you started to say something.
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
If it would help the cause, maybe we can have a meeting with the councilman's office.
Mr. Chair, if the board would like, we can hold the vote on this for a week or two weeks so that that meeting can occur.
We'll hold the vote for two weeks and the record will be closed other than hearing from the council's office. Is that okay, Hillary?
That is fine, Mr. Chair. Thank you.
That is fine, Mr. Chair. Thank you.
All right. Thank you, Mr. Pack.
All right. Thank you, Mr. Pack.
Now, Ms. Ellis, who do you, sorry, I'm going to mess up your last name. Can I have your telephone number where I can reach you?
Why don't you do that? You can find her telephone number in the councilman's office. You can find that. I won't give an email. Thank you.
Number six, MI 2022 -002 -904, 1000 to 1010 North Delaware Avenue.
Ronald Patterson is the attorney.
Letter of support from Fishtown Neighbors Association.
Application provided five form letters of support from neighbors.
civic design review required and completed. Mr. Patterson, just state your name. You've already
been sworn. Great, Mr. Chairman. I'm still here. Thank you. Ronald Patterson, P -A -T -T -E -R -S -O -N,
Law Firm, 1835 Market Street, on behalf of the owner and developer. Mr. Patterson,
could you identify your client and relationship to this property? Sure. Owner and developer,
name is 945 Frankfurt, LLC. All right. Thank you. And Mr. Holloman has just a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to wait for the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy?
Yes, I do. Did you email all of the exhibits and documents as required five days in advance
to this hearing? Did you meet with the RCO? And do you have a letter? Yes, so all of the above.
Thank you.
Please proceed.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You can view my screen?
All right.
Great.
Thank you.
As you stated, this regard is 1000 North Delaware Avenue.
You see here on our screen.
It's located at the corner of Delaware Avenue and Frankfurt Avenue.
It's a peculiarly configured parcel, vacant.
It's approximately 12 ,350 square feet.
and it's located behind this septa bus turnaround here. It's surrounded by the Fillmore Complex,
flanked by mid -rise buildings to the north and other buildings to the south. It actually,
frankly, is a gateway anchored to entering into a Fishtown area. The zoning district,
we are here. It's a CMX 2 .5 zoning district, and looking at the map, it's kind of an outlier
along North Tower Avenue, since we are flanked left and right, north and south, let's say,
by CMX 3. And it seems consistent with the district plan for commercial and walkability
in this area. What we're proposing here is to
construct one detached standalone seven -story building comprised of, on the first floor,
A commercial space, as you see here, which is very high floor to ceiling, so dedicated for commercial space, approximately 4 ,374 square feet with a residential lobby and accessory amenities, and also with a nice public open space that will remain open and accessible here of the property.
On floors two through seven, proposing 78 single -family residential dwelling units. And on the roof, a roof deck to be used by residents, a residential roof deck with roof access structures and mechanicals.
The total square footage of the building, GFA, would be around 69 ,160 square feet.
This is our refusal letter.
I'll start with the bottom one first.
We're required to have 26 bicycle spaces.
We had originally provided 24.
We did revise our plans to provide 26, so that refusal has left.
In terms of, and you'll hear from our architects, we designed a building kind of in accordance with CMX3, and that's why you see some deviation here.
The height proposes 84, where 55 is allowed.
The number of units in CMX2 .5, the number of units is based upon the size of a lot area.
CMX3, there's no limit to the number of units.
The roof deck area, this does apply in more of a residential setting, 125 square feet, but as you hear, what we're proposing in this 428 square feet is what you would find typical in a building like this, and it includes the staircase, the elevator, and the required elevator lobby.
It's not meant to be an occupied area that has a sink or bathroom and the like.
as you see it's a very
As you see, it's a very handsome design with articulation and distinguishing features to create this nice lower floor area.
And it's all designed to fit within the character and the context of the surrounding buildings and utilizing the open space to as best degree as we can with this peculiarly reconfigured property.
We did meetings with the Fishtown Neighborhood Association, also with Fishtown Kensington Area Business Improvement District, and as well, as you mentioned, we did complete the civic design review, which was on October 11, 2022, all of which provided great comments and support, and it's all helped for the future design of the project.
As you mentioned, I also included some support letters from immediate neighbors.
In terms of hardship, the height, the peculiar configuration, the location, and the surrounding uses create this hardship to viably develop the property, which necessitated increasing the height to create first the commercially viable space, as well as the populated with residents that would use the space.
I mentioned about the roof deck and I mentioned about the units.
All trash will be stored inside the building.
Trash removal route, which we agreed upon, which would go down Sarah Street and out East Allen.
So with that said, I'd like to introduce our architect, Carrie Jackson Yance.
If you're there, please raise your hand.
i've been recognized can you guys hear me could you could you state your name please and spell
for the court reporter my name is carrie jackson yachts that's c -a -r -e -y jackson j -a -c -k -s -o -n
yachts y -o -n -c -e right you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but
the truth? I do. Proceed, counsel. Thank you. Hi, Kerry. How are you? Hey, Ron. So you've heard
my presentation, my testimony. Would you agree that it's true and accurate? I do. And would you
adopt it as your own so far? I do. Great. Thank you. So as mentioned, you're the architect on
this project? I am. Which means you designed and helped create and develop the site plan and the
elevations. Is that fair to say? That is correct. And in doing so, you considered many considerations
of the area. For example, this picture that I'm showing here and some other buildings you've done
in the Fishtown area. Is that fair to say? That is correct. The image that you're on right now
are two previous projects that we did with the same developer that we're doing this project with
now. And I think you've got to see the kind of attention to detail that we put in these two
projects. You can even see some of the kind of similar motifs. So the arched openings, the large
windows, the brick detail, and these are all things that we're now proposing to bring to this gateway
to Fishdown just at a larger scale. Thank you. And so if you want to, you know, elaborate on
the approach and what the uses are for and how you design for this high commercial space and
utilizing the open space area, I would ask you to please elaborate on that to activate the public
space. I think as Ron mentioned earlier, the site is a little bit of an irregular shape. So one of
the first design decisions we made was to not quite square off the site, but to make the footprint a
little more regular. In coordinating with the community group, with the remaining property
that was kind of cut off, we've created this pocket park that is adjacent to the trolley
turnaround. So that will be a public park. It will, in this image, the commercial entry is to
the left of that. And there will potentially be a commercial entry through the park. But as we go
down toward Delaware, and as we turn Delaware Avenue, that is all going to be commercial space.
uh as ron mentioned quite high ceilings i think we're in the 16 foot tall range at one point
and we just anticipate that being a very high profile kind of very viable active commercial
space right at this main corner when you start to enter the fish town neighborhood and the size
and design of the building you believe fits within the character and the context of the neighborhood
Completely, especially at such a high -profile intersection.
And what considerations did you take into account in terms of this being a transit -oriented area?
We're hoping that being the kind of terminus of the trolley line, that we're going to create multiple new users for this trolley.
that we're going to create multiple new users for this trial is literally at their front door.
Yeah, what I'm really getting at is you're really activating Delaware Avenue here and you're
providing extra bike racks. Completely, 100%. Okay, that's all I have. Unless you have any
questions, Mr. Chairman? Fine with him. Anyone else on the board have a question for the architect?
No, Mr. Chairman.
Proceed, Ron.
I have no other witnesses unless someone from one of the states.
You want to use your client here or no?
No, no thanks.
Okay, all right.
Ron, one question.
One question.
Could you show me the area again, how this fits in with the rest of the area?
That photo?
Yeah, that's good.
So there are apartments to the right, too, up there?
That's correct.
And as you move farther north, there are.
Okay, good.
All right, thank you.
As much more as you move north.
All right.
Questions from the board?
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman.
Thank you.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Mr. Chair, I have a hand raised for Mr. Mark Colazzo.
I have a lot of time to speak, sir.
Hi, sir.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mark Colazzo, M -A -R -C, C -O -L -L -A -Z -Z -O, Executive Director of the Fishtown -Kensington area
Business Improvement District.
All right.
Do you swear or affirm, tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Proceed, sir.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to also thank Mr. Patterson for his great presentation
and for Carrie's design. As someone who, like myself, who's entrusted to the continued growth
of this corridor, this area in particular at Frankford and Delaware Avenue was of particular
interest to us since we were formed in December of 2019. Since then, besides having Rivers Casino
there, that area has erupted as our entertainment district with the Fillmore, Brooklyn Bowl,
other half brewing. But the one thing that it needed, because it is a gateway, that's where
actually where our bid starts, was how do we continue building both residential and commercial
density in different parts of the corridor that need it, specifically here. We were thrilled to
have other developers come in who have other properties as you've seen and as you and if we
can leave this one up here to the right where the site is there's actually more being developed there
at this particular height you can see that it really doesn't interfere with any there's really
not really any residential around it because what and why this is so important is we're creating
really what we believe is a walkable corridor. And what helps that, we actually just received
a $750 ,000 community funding award from Congressman Boyle to do a Frankfurt Avenue
connector project, basically enhancing Frankfurt Avenue from Girard all the way through the
Delaware River Trail, basically connecting to and from the river. And this fits perfectly in
exactly what we wanted to do. I don't want to belabor it because I know Mr. Patterson has our
letter of support, but I really want to strongly advocate for this to be passed. And we're very
excited for this project to really be the gateway that's been much needed. Thank you.
Very much for calling in and we appreciate your comments. Is there anyone else in the virtual
audience? You know, for other hands, Mr. Chair, planning commission. Thank you, Chair Bergman.
Excuse me, one second. Sorry, I just had a quick question, Mr. Chair, for Mr. Patterson. There was a note in the letter from the RCO that additional bicycle spaces were added, removing a refusal there. Are there revised plans that would need to be stamped if the board granted the variances?
um i believe yes there are i'm not sure if the examiner had revised the refusal i don't
think that she did but sure i would be happy to submit the revised plans okay all right we would
just need a the form and the number of pages sure thank you thank you
thank you chair bergman david facto city planning commission the proposal completed
the proposal completed its civic design review in october 2022 the civic design review committee's
its civic design review in october 2022
advisory recommendations are not an expression of the city planning commission's recommendation
or opinion regarding zoning variances special exceptions or other discretionary approvals
associated with this proposal the comprehensive plan recommends no change in the commercial mixed
use zoning at this location the project is within a 500 -year floodplain and has an irregular shape
which could be argued to create a hardship affording relief from the dimensional standards
of the zoning code however the applicant has not stated by the 48 units allowed cannot be built
while granting dimensional relief the city planning commission recommends that the board grant the
dimensional variances but deny the variance for unit count thank you ron you want to respond i
I mean, Mr. Patterson?
Yes, and also with Mr. Yachts.
The ability to put the commercial space there and not to provide parking pushes the building higher.
And so to fill that building, you could do larger units or you could do smaller units.
And the number of units we selected comported with what was, I would call, market or workforce type of units that would be appropriate for the area.
So that's why the number was slightly increased.
MI 2022, 002, 904, 1000 to 1010 North Delaware Avenue.
I vote yes.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair.
Sorry, we will need to hold the vote for a revised plan so we know how many pages to put into the record.
All right.
We will hold the vote then, waiting for a revised plan.
Or, Hillary, I could accept the refusal as is and amend afterwards.
Yes, you could do that as well.
Yeah, I'd rather do that if you don't mind.
That is fine.
So I vote yes.
and do we
do we want to put here revised plans
eliminating bicycle parking
we don't need to do that Mr. Chair
just vote yes and no
provisos
the second proviso
I would still include
I vote yes with proviso
use registration for first floor
commercial space required
prior to occupancy
Thomas Holloman. My vote is yes with proviso.
James Snell. My vote is yes with proviso.
Isra, you won.
Thank you, Mr. Patterson. You have your three votes.
Thank you so much, Captain.
All right.
Number.
Okay, here we go.
Number seven, MI -2022 -005 -912 -2400 Montgomery Avenue, Alan Nockamson is the attorney.
Recommendation of support from the United Neighbors Alliance Civic Association.
Mr. Nockamson has been promoted to panelist, sir.
hi mr knockamson could you state your name please it's spelled for the court reporter
good afternoon mr chair uh members of the board alan knockamson a -l -a -n last name knockamson
n -o -c -h -u -m -s -o -n right do you swear or affirm tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but
the truth i do could you identify your client the relationship to this property
Yes, my client is VP 2400 Montgomery LLC, and in the virtual audience is its representative, Roy Aronovich.
Okay. Mr. Hallman has a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel.
Good afternoon.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy?
did you email all the exhibits and documents as required five days in advance of this hearing
did you meet with the ordeal and do you have our yes and all respect yes and all respect
please proceed and share your screen
all right so i'm here to present 2400 -02 west montgomery avenue
In our presentation packet, we have the notice of refusal.
We actually have revised plans as well, which we provided to Ms. Emerson before the hearing,
so she can review them. Essentially, the revised plan removes the seller level.
Essentially, the revised plan removes the seller level as part of our project, making these units as ADA compliant and removing any potential basement living in the property.
We have a letter of support from the United Neighbors Alliance Civic Association, which you'll see is unanimous support.
And we'll go through that letter and the rationale behind that.
Nearby multifamily variances.
So this board has seen on a few occasions requests for variants of a similar nature, and we're asking that the board equally support this project.
Maps of the area, photographs of the property, example of interior photographs of projects that my client has done in the past, and we'll go through those.
our plans and drawings, our RCO meeting notice and proof that we mailed that notice out to
affected properties, our application for appeal, our deed to the property, showing that VP 2400
Montgomery LLC is the owner of the property, and our certificate of tax plans. Again, at the
conclusion of my presentation, we will have Mr. Aronovich virtually raise his hand, be sworn in,
and then adopt my testimony as his own. We'll be more than happy to take any questions from
the board thereafter. Notice of refusal. So this is two properties, 2400 and 2402 West Montgomery
Avenue, corner of Montgomery and 24th Street, down the block from the commercial corridor on Ridge
Avenue, directly adjacent to us, as well as Cecil B. Moore. And we're looking to consolidate these
two properties of a significant size and to put eight family dwellings. So we have two refusals.
First, we're eliminating the commercial component, and we believe that that is appropriate under the circumstances.
We're trying to support the commercial corridor that's a half a block away on Bridge Avenue, as well as the commercial corridor on Cecil B. Moore.
It would be more in tune with the neighborhood to have no commercial use on this property and instead essentially swap out that residential use, excuse me, commercial use with two residential units on the ground floor.
And then the other refusal has to do with the fact that we're in the overlay. Again, because we're in this overlay, there is stricter requirements in terms of lost square footage per unit. But again, in order to help support this commercial corridor and honestly, to make this project feasible and affordable to the community, we do need this type of density.
And then here's our RCO, excuse me, our revised proviso plan form that we completed. And again, what we're trying to do is eliminate the seller. We think it's a very responsible proviso in that we're building on slab, which helps the fact that now both units on the ground floor are ADA compliant, which was important to the community.
and the second reason is we're not allowing now any limit in the basement and then these are just
the one page of plan z100 so if this board is inclined to grant or variance request we ask
they grant it with proviso one page and then here's our letter support from the united neighbors
alliance civic association as you can see is unanimous support we work diligently with them
And we did enter into a separate community benefits agreement.
What was important to them was the fact that these are now ADA compliant units on the ground floor.
And then we're actually designating one of those units for affordable housing at 80 % AMI.
And we're going to agree to that by way of a community benefits agreement.
But because of the fact that we eliminated the basement living or cellar living, plus made them ADA compliant as a result, plus made one of the units affordable, and then we have other community benefits as well, the neighborhood was overwhelmingly in support of this project.
and then it's not uncommon for this board again to grant nearby multifamily uh variances and we
just gave uh again we looked at the public record uh again other than our property there are 13
other instances in close proximity to our property where that's been the case again increasing the
density within this area especially as you can see the commercial corridor here is on ridge avenue
and you can't see it up but up here is cecil b more it makes sense to help do that
and then you can see uh the uh maps of the area again we are cmx2 property um but really the cmx2
portion should be more so here and less here and this would probably be more rm1 again from
would probably be more RM1. Again, from a city planning perspective, that's what you're seeing
a city planning perspective that's what you're seeing
over here. So if you had a mirror image, you see that this is RM1, this really should be RM1 as
well. Again, help support the commercial corridor. It's all sorts to have that commercial component
over here of CMX2 in nature, leading towards the RSA buying portion of the neighborhood.
And again, you'll see again, you know, from a Google Maps perspective of where we are in the
neighborhood and the fact that Ridge Avenue and up here, Cecil B. Moore, are commercial quarters.
And then photographs of the property. This is our property. We're the corner 24th in
West Montgomery. This property has been vacant for some time. You can also see how my client
takes care of the property. In 2009, when you see a Google photo or a photo on Google Earth,
you can see that this property was in pretty bad shape, even as a vacant lot. But it has been a
vacant lot for some time, and we're hoping, you know, to develop that lot, but, you know, through
the, you know, this variance request. And then this is our property from 24th Street. As you can
see, it's pretty significant in size. And then this is our hearing notice poster as well, showing
that, you know, proof of posting on the property from both angles, Montgomery and 24th Street.
And this is West Montgomery Avenue to the right of the property, West Montgomery Avenue to the
left of the property. As you can see, there's really no commercial component in this little
proximity. Everything's on bridge and Cecil B. Moore. And then 24th Street to the right of the
property, 24th Street to the left of the property. And then again, my client is Vich Properties. This
is a company, a sole purpose entity that they own, but Vich Properties is well known in the
Philadelphia area for providing a good quality product. And this is just some examples. I always
try to show living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, just so you can see what you would expect for this
from this project. So here's a kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom, dining room. So you would
expect that type of product in this property as well. And then this is just a rendering of what
you're going to see here. Again, we're not asking for any lot coverage variances, height variances.
It's a rather large property. It's a corner property. We're trying to responsibly use this.
And then this is the updated site plan. What you can see from the floor plans are this.
Each unit is built on grade on the slab. Each unit on the first floor. On the first floor,
they have direct entrances from the streets.
So first floor units each have direct entrances on the streets.
They're each two bedrooms, one to two bath, one to one bath.
You go up a flight of steps.
Second floor has three units, a two bedroom, a one bedroom, and a one bedroom.
And then the third floor kind of mimics the second floor.
You have a two bedroom, a one bedroom, and a one bedroom.
And then there's a roof deck access structure with a roof deck up there as well.
Now, we met with the community on February 8th.
154 addresses were notified of that meeting.
It was a well -attended meeting.
Proof of the addresses that were notified, proof of mailing to those addresses.
And there are applications for appeal showing that VP 2400 Montgomery LLC,
the owner of the property filed that application for appeal, or I filed that on behalf.
The notice of refusal, the project information form, the deed to the property showing that VP 2400 Montgomery LLC is the owner of the property.
And then finally, our tax clearance certificate shows a balance of one hundred dollars and seventy nine cents.
It has to do with the fact that, you know, 2023 taxes are not due yet.
So we are tax compliant.
So with that being said, I would ask that Roy virtually raise his hand and be sworn in.
He's been allowed to state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter.
Roy Aronovich, R -O -Y -A -J -R -O -N -O -V -I -C -H.
You swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Proceed, counsel.
Yes, Roy, you heard everything I had to state about your zoning matter.
Is it true and correct?
And do you adopt it as your own testimony?
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I do not see any further.
I do not see any further.
Hi, Planning Commission.
Hi, Planning Commission.
Planning Commission.
Sorry.
That's okay.
Good afternoon, David.
Fecto, City Planning Commission.
Mr. Chairman, members of the board,
the comprehensive plan recommends no change
to the commercial mixed -use zoning at this location.
The applicant wishes to combine 2400 and 2402 West Montgomery Avenue into one 2300 and 31 -square -foot lot.
CMX 2 requires ground floor commercial, while the applicant proposes none, and the applicant proposes eight dwelling units where four are allowed.
The comprehensive plan recommends concentrating commercial units on Ridge Avenue, so we would argue that commercial mixed use 2 zoning creates a hardship relating to ground floor commercial requirement in the zoning code.
Eight dwelling units is not the minimum variance necessary to afford the applicant relief from
the zoning code.
We also note that the density is not directly correlated with affordability, and affordability
within a benefits agreement cannot be enforced by any city agency.
The City Planning Commission recommends the board grant the variance for not including
ground floor commercial and deny the variance for unit count.
Thank you.
Mr. Nockmson, do you want to respond?
I mean, again, you've heard this argument before from me, but with rising interest rates, you know, construction materials, you know, being at its greatest amount, it's not feasible, you know, to provide only four units.
And it's more than four units. We're closer to five.
Plug for swapping out the commercial units with two residential units on the ground floor.
It was really important for the community that these units be affordable, and we have committed to providing one affordable unit by way of a community benefits agreement at 80 % AMI.
So for those reasons, we do ask that the board grant our variance request.
So MI 2022 -005 -912 -2400 Montgomery Avenue, I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman. Excuse me, Mr. Chair, there are the revised plans, one page.
Okay, so I wrote yes, revised plan, one page.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes, proviso.
James Snell, my vote is yes, proviso.
Thank you. Mr. Nockamson, please stay on.
group number nine mi 2022 005 913 1645 north marshall street and could attorney steve masters
also join in mr chair this is ishmael shaheed i'm in thank you
mr masters good afternoon mr chair members of the board i could you state your name please
mr masters my name is steve masters s -t -e -v -e -m -a -s -t -e -r -s i'm with the law firm of just
laws right do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do and i represent the adjacent property owner to this location whose name is joshua
Cohen. Thank you. Mr. Nockamson, could you identify your client and the relationship to
this property? Yes. My client is Preston Berkeley, LLC, and they're the owner of the property.
And in the virtual audience would be one of its representatives, either Bill Murphy or
Sanjeev Nadeau. Okay. Mr. Shaheed has a few questions for you.
Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy?
Have you emailed all the required documents and exhibits to our offices five days in advance to this hearing?
Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
Before you start, the council president's office is not taking a position on this case, and the applicant has also provided a petition of support signed by approximately 28 neighbors.
So just two housekeeping items before we begin.
So we've worked diligently with the neighborhood, as you can see by way of that petition, as well as with the property owner to the left of us.
But we're still having further conversations with the property owner to the left of us, which has nothing to do with zoning -related matters, has more to do with construction -related matters.
But we're still having further conversations with the property.
But out of respect for him and Mr. Masters, we ask that the board hold this matter for two weeks so we can work through an agreement that's non -zoney -related, and then we can have commentary from Mr. Masters and or his clients.
assuming they're showing their support for this project. The second housekeeping matter is that
we are, as part of that arrangement with the neighbor to the left of us, we do have revised
plans of one page. So if this board is inclined to grant the variance request two weeks from now,
we would ask they were granted by way of proviso. Mr. Chair, can I be heard with us?
you can all right thank you um in general uh we agree with mr nokamson's representations
we requested that the board hold off a vote for two weeks so that we could continue
and complete our settlement negotiations we disagree though that this has nothing to do
with zoning um our client who owns 1647 north marshall street was also the property owner at
1645. And those two parcels were owned together. He sold the parcel at 1645 to Mr. Nachamson's
client. And because of the configuration of the stairs in front of 1647, there is no way to
occupy the house next door to this project during the construction until we can arrange for suitable
arrangements. And that's what we've been negotiating. And we believe that both sides
are operating under good faith and that we will shortly reach a favorable conclusion.
But it is completely zoning related because in a request for variances, one of the tests is,
will the grant of variances negatively impact the surrounding neighbors or will it be against
the public interest. And certainly to lock people out of their house for weeks at a time during a
construction project would meet the test of not being able to justify a variance. So we're happy
that that is not going to be the case. We believe that we are going to be able to work this out.
So you both know Ms. Emerson briefed me on this beforehand, and we all agree that this will be a
two -week hold to vote. So why don't we have Mr.
Knuckles from the start? Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
All right. So this is actually other than the issue about the fact
of how the neighboring property owner steps are configured.
And as you can see here, this rendering kind of shows it.
Again, there's no record of a proper
permit to build those steps that way, because how the steps are configured, the only way that
the property to the left of us at 1647 North Marshall Street can access it is through our
sidewalk, which is very peculiar. I have not seen that in the course of my career that that would
happen that way, but there's a first time for everything. But other than that, it's a pretty
straightforward project. So we'll go through this, the notice of refusal, the correspondence we
received this morning from the 5th Councilmatic District. Again, there was no recording in the
RCO. The 5th Councilmatic District, all they did was provide a form for people to be heard. The only
person who actually physically showed up to the meeting is Mr. Master's client. But we did do
significant outreach to the community is what you'll see by way of that petition. And again,
through our conversations with Mr. Masters' client, at the very least, we elected to change
the configuration of the steps, which you'll see by way of the revised plans. Again, not uncommon
for this board to hear matters on North Marshall Street, in particular this block, because we are
near a commercial corridor on Germantown Avenue, and basically almost every one of these properties
is multifamily in nature.
So it's, again, not uncommon.
But, and then we give a little layout
of the 1600 block of North Marshall Street as well
to show how many of these properties
are multifamily in nature.
Then we have maps of the area,
photographs of the property,
our plans and drawings,
our RCO meeting notice,
our application for appeal,
our deed to the property,
and our certificate of tax clearance.
At the conclusion of my presentation,
I would ask that Mr. Nadu or Mr. Murphy,
virtually raise their hands, be sworn in, go.
virtually raise their hands, be sworn in, they'll answer some questions for me in order to adopt my testimony as their own.
They'll be more than happy to take any questions from the board.
So first things first is the notice of refusal.
We're not asking for any dimensional variances here.
We're just asking you to use this lot for three as a tri -bless.
And again, it's not uncommon for that to happen, as you'll see further along in my presentation.
The correspondents from the 5th Town Semantic District, again, they acknowledged that the only person that showed up was Mr. Cohen, the next door neighbor.
But there was a significant presence in terms of a petition that was signed.
But because of the lack of physical involvement from any of the neighbors, their office is taking no position and they're deferring to the board to decide this matter.
and then our revised plans all we're trying to do is reconfigure the the um the front steps
so instead of it you know you know basically essentially blocking uh 1647 steps uh we're
we're changing at the configuration so the landing is in common with 16 our landing is in common with
1647s landing where their landing is on our property uh and then you'll see that from right
here. So originally we had our steps here. Our landing was here. Obviously out of respect for
Mr. Cohen, we changed the configuration. Now all we're dealing with is just construction related
issues, which are non -zoning related as well. Because whether you're going to build a single
family home or a multifamily home, you have to put steps on this property. So here's the petition
petition signees, again, we had 23 people sign the petition. And you can see we're number one
in green. And here it's within that affected area. I always ask my clients, just give me the affected
area. I don't need signatures from anywhere else. The individuals are most directly impacted by this
project. Please let me know if they support it. And by the way, my client, when they distributed
that petition, and I think Mr. Masters would agree with this, reached out to Mr. Cohen as well.
And that's, you know, and we started that dialogue starting at the community meeting level N6.
And then here's our petition. And then nearby multifamily variances, you can see 1643 North
marshall street uh this is more north 6th but we're between 6th and 7th on marshall uh between
oxford and c still be more um but here you have 1644 north marshall so just two instances of
variances 1643 and 1644 north marshall street right in close proximity and then you can just
see the block as a whole right other than our property there are 10 instances of multi -family
structures on the 1600 block of North Marshall Street. That's pretty significant. So what we're
asking for is not out of character from what you would see if you walk by the 1600 block of North
Marshall Street right now. And then our zoning map, yes, we're yellow, but as you can see,
there is RM1 here, but there's a significant amount of properties which are currently RSA5,
which are a multifamily in nature.
So, and then as you can also see,
we are close proximity to Germantown Avenue as well.
And then 1645 North Marshall Street,
this is the front of the property.
And as you can see,
these are the steps that lead onto our property
to the nearby property owner.
And then just proof of the hearing notice posting.
You can see that we posted the property.
But again, here are the steps as well, as you can see.
And then this property has been vacant as far as you can document on Google Earth.
So clearly there's a need to develop this property.
Unfortunately, it cannot happen based on the current zoning because of rising interest rates, affordability of cost materials.
Plus, it keeps the units more affordable the more there are.
Plus, we're trying to support the commercial corridor as well.
And then this is North Marshall Street to the right of the property, North Marshall Street to the left of the property.
As you can see, there's multimeters all over that you can show multifamily use.
And then our plans and drawings.
Again, originally, we had our steps, the landing here with the front door here, which would have blocked Mr. Cohen's property steps or the steps to his property.
Again, we're trying to be reasonable here.
again we're trying to be reasonable here um and i would you know again i would ask that at the
And I would, you know, again, I would.
conclusion of this matter two weeks from now we hope to get a letter um from mr cohen in support
of this project as well where he would sign off with the his other neighboring property owners
just another angle of our property um and just so you understand this is a seven foot
property wide property that's owned by the state of philadelphia so there's tons of lightning there
in general for our property because of that basically buffer. And then this is just our
property. Again, this Z100 is revised from what was originally submitted to L &I. So we would ask
that the ZBA, if they do grant this variance, grant it with a proviso with revised plans.
And then, again, just simple floor plans here, but as you can see, each of the floors have its own unit, with the exception of unit number one, which is bi -level.
And here's our meeting notice.
We had it on January 11th.
143 addresses were notified of the meeting, was the addresses.
proof of mailing to those addresses,
or application for an appeal that shows that Preston Berkeley LLC
is the owner of the property,
the notice of refusal or project information form,
or deed to the property,
during that Preston Berkeley LLC is the owner of the property,
and then most importantly or equally important,
is to show we're compliant from a tax perspective.
While it shows that $1 ,958 .32 is owed,
Those taxes are not due until March 31st of this year. With that being said, I would ask that Mr. Murphy or Mr. Nadeau virtually raise their hand and guess we're in.
Mr. Murphy has been allowed to speak. Mr. Murphy, could you state your name and spell it please for the court reporter?
to william murphy w -i -l -l -i -a -n -m -u -r -p -h -y do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the
whole truth and nothing but the truth i do proceed counsel oh yes mr murphy you heard everything i
had to state about this testimony matter yes i did and is it true and correct it is
Do you adopt my testimony as your own?
Yes, I do.
All right.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'm going to go to the board.
Mr. Masters, do you have anything else you want to say?
I'm not going to make any additional comments at this time, Mr. Chair, but I do want to reserve the ability to submit something in writing at the two -week mark before the vote is out.
We will make sure that happens, okay?
Thank you.
All right.
One more thing, Mr. Chair, if Mr. Masters does submit anything, I just would like an opportunity to respond as well.
Sure. Okay. Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chair.
No, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no further answer, Mr. Chair.
Hi, Planning Commission.
Thank you, sir. Good afternoon. David Fecto with the City Planning Commission.
Chair Bergman and members of the board, the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the
single -family zoning at this location. There is no unique physical condition or circumstances
of this 1 ,032 -square -foot lot that would prevent it from being used in conformance with the zoning
code. Since 2018, the ZBA has granted variances for several multifamily buildings on this block.
However, on balance, there are still more single -family homes than multifamily homes.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the board deny the use of variance.
Thank you. So, Hillary, can we close this except for a response from Mr. Masters or his client and also a response from Mr. Nockamson?
Yes, Mr. Chair, we can we can hold the vote for two weeks. Record is closed except for a letter from Mr. Masters and any response by Mr. Nockamson.
OK, so we will hold this for two weeks and Mr. Masters, you'll have a chance to respond and Mr. Nockamson, you'll have an opportunity.
Okay? Thank you. Thank you. All right. Asia, I want to go back to the add -ons.
Let's see. Okay, sure. Let me see. We have one, I think, here. Here it is here. So number three in
add -ons. MI 2022, 005393, 2546 Page Street. This is a vote for you, Thomas and Jim Snell.
uh thomas and and jim snell
thomas holloman my vote my vote is yes hold on one second thomas was there any proviso
hold on a minute i do not see proviso okay
thomas holloman my vote is yes
james my vote is yes james snell my vote is yes
thank you is there anyone in the uh the 2 p .m audience virtual audience whose case has not been
called sir i have a hand up from mr daryl miller okay i have allowed him to speak at this time
i share could you please state your name and spell it please for the court reporter
yes daryl miller d -a -r -r -y -l -m -i -l -l -e -r do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth yes i do could you tell me the case you're interested in 3832 north 18th
street 3832 mr chair this is hillary this was an add -on from last week um then the board granted
the uh variance requested in this case mr miller you and your attorney will be re -receiving a
notice that the board's decision being email. I'm sorry, Ms. Emerson, I didn't hear what the
first part you said. This case was voted last week on the board's add -on list, and it was granted.
Oh, wow. Thank you. All right. I didn't know. They told me it was the 24th. I appreciate it.
When will it formally be on the docket? It was last week. I mean, excuse me, not the docket.
If someone was researching, like I have an appraiser reaching out to the city, it's already, I guess, confirmed.
Mr. Miller, once the notice of decision is issued, then it will be publicly viewable on the board's calendar as well as the Atlas website.
Thank you. I appreciate it. I'm sorry for your time.
No, thank you. Thank you.
Anyone else have anything?
Okay, we're going to take a five -minute break, and then we'll be back for the 3 .30 list, okay?
Thank you, everyone.
Thank you, Chuck.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Mr. Kelly, are you ready?
Yes, Chair.
Thank you.
Lakeisha, is everybody back?
Yes, Chair.
and we are recording. I'm ready to go.
You can begin. Good afternoon. My name is Bill Bergman and I will be
chairing this 330 ZBA hearing. With me is our Vice
Chair, Ishmael Shahid. Present, Mr. Chair.
Thomas Hollman, our board member. Present, Mr. Chairman.
And James Snell, our board member. Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also present is Hilary Emerson, our attorney, and our executive director, Tanya Sunkett.
Here's our virtual format. Be advised the proceedings are being recorded.
A video will be available by contacting TanyaSunkett at philip .gov.
For the benefit of our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you are participating in my phone, and if you wish to testify, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.
To enter an appearance statement, call 267 -270 -5548.
267 -270 -5548. Leave your email and the address of the property in question.
And finally, the question answer box on the screen is not for comments. All comments should
be directed to our Executive Director, Tanya Sumter. Let's look at our continuations for the
330 hearings. Here's three cases that are together. Number one, MI 2022 -005 -626 -830
North 40 Street. Number two, MI 2022 -006 -089 -847 North 40 Street. And number three, MI 2022 -006 -090 -818
North 40 Street. All cases are continued. Turning moving party. Number five, MI 2022 -005 -718 -2231
North 4th Street. This case is continued to Wednesday, March 1st at 3 .30 p .m. Number six,
MI 2022 -005 -716 -1027 -1029 Spring Street, that case is continued. Number seven, MI 2022 -005 -715 -1801
Ritten Street. That case is continued. Number nine, MI 2022 -005 -717 -3517 North 18th Street.
That case is continued. And number 10, MI 2022 -004 -352 -3743 North 18th Street. That case
is continued. Is there anyone has comments relative to the continued cases?
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair. I do not see any hands at this time.
Are there any other requests for continuance?
Once again, sir, I do not see any hands at this time.
Okay, we're going to go to case number eight first, MI 2022 -005 -694 -1029 Mountain Street.
Reagan Weldy is the owner -applicant.
There's a letter of opposition from East Pashunk Crossing Civic Association.
There's a letter of opposition from the neighbor behind the subject property and a letter of
opposition from council member squilla the applicant at the applicant provided a petition
of support from approximately 22 neighbors 20 of which live in the 10 hundred block of mountain
street reagan one weldy he's promoted to panelist okay could you state your name please and spell
for the court reporter? Reagan, R -E -G -A -N, Weldy, W -E -L -D -Y. Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? I do. This is for the erection of an
addition above the existing attached structure with two roof decks for use as a single family
household living size and location as shown in the applicant's plans. You are the owner, am I
correct yes okay and our our vice chair has a few questions for you sure good afternoon have you
emailed all the exhibits and documents required to proceed with this case five days in advance
of this hearing yes thank you please proceed and share your screen
excuse me mr chairman do we need a video yeah for some reason it's not coming on
your camera's not working i don't know why because i use this for video all the time
yeah i don't know why i can't have somebody on who could help
oh um i probably need to like get out of zoom and come back in why don't you get out and start
over and see all right i'll do that
I'll do that.
Thank you.
Regan.
She's not on chair.
Wait a few minutes.
So I use this all the time for Zoom
meetings and for some reason your platform isn't letting me it's not recognizing my camera
okay um hillary
that's a nikki question i there's nothing that i can do on on the phone yeah figured um
what are you seeing like are you seeing any errors the problem is you have a mac
Yeah, I do have a Mac. And I do use Zoom all the time on this computer. It just has a little triangle with an exclamation point in it.
Is your Mac like an older model?
It's a mid -life model.
Okay, you might have an update. There's nothing I can do to force the...
I'm going to push the reload button that it's showing me.
I don't know what it'll do.
Mr. Chair, if she cannot get it to work, I think you've already sworn her in.
We can proceed without the video.
Reagan?
do you want to move on to the next case and then come back to mind we're going to move
we don't need your video at this point okay you've sworn in start your presentation sure um
you can see my screen
um i see
oh there it is okay okay um so yeah residential property um i moved to the city 24 years ago
and after running my way through the various neighborhoods in my 20s and 30s east pass yunk
was by far my favorite and where i did my search 10 years ago um i've owned my house for the past
10 years and I have no plans on just doing this remodel, flipping it and selling it like this is
my forever home. So I just want to preface that before we get started. Pandemic has brought my
husband and I both home for full time now with our jobs. And so I sit in the living room. My
husband has the back bedroom. So having more space for us as a family and for work is part of the
goal of this renovation. The second one would be at this point, we really have no room for
family and friends who come to visit. So that's another goal that we would like is just to add
some more space for us. So as we get into it, going into this project, I thought I was only
going to need two variances, but turns out Ellen and I found two additional ones. So that's why
But it seems like a lot for such a regular, seemingly regular remodel addition.
My deed, which I'm sure you guys have already looked through.
That's clearance.
So Mountain Street is a small side street that is in between Morris and Tasker. And it also is has Fernon behind it, which is also a small side street. So the one weird thing about our side of the block, the north side of the block that I'm on, is that our backyard space doesn't have the three foot alleyway, which makes our backyards smaller than most.
So Mountain Street is a small side street that is in between.
So that's one of the variances that came up. The other thing is, because our lots are not as deep, they still built the houses as if they were. So it's like all of our houses are beyond that 75 % lot capacity threshold that is one of the other variances that was found with L &I.
um i can show sorry it's your face again um
it's a two -story
block of houses aside from
why is it street view guy
we do have um this multi lot across the street that is a three -story but also sits higher than
the front facade but for the most part aside from the one there's a multi -family three -story
down the street with a setback but for the most part we are a two -story block
I would be the first on the block to be going down this road of adding an addition. This is my property right here.
So getting into nuts and bolts, the first two stories are going to remain relatively unchanged in that the only thing that we're going to really be doing on the second floor is widening the hallway to
account for the new stair, the new wider stairs that have to go in and bringing the laundry from
the basement. Bedrooms, the front bedroom and the back office bedroom and the bathroom are all going
to remain the same. So we're trying to minimize the amount of construction that happens in the
current formation of the house. The third floor, going to the front on the third floor will allow
us to keep, just to have a master suite, bedroom, bathroom, walk -in closet, a bathroom that actually
has a bathtub, which we don't have today, and just added closet space, which we don't have today,
and that additional second small office, which if it's not an office, it could probably be a small
bedroom or den or something, and then going up to the roof deck, instead of just having a roof deck
that can only be used in the warmer months, we decided to add a small living space in the middle
that sits back more than 11 feet from the rear of the house and eight feet from the front of the
house. So while we're asking for an additional 10 inches, it's not something that you're going to see
from the front of the house or the back of the house. So it's kind of move from that vantage
point this is where we get into the odd property size um so you can see here um this dotted line
this like wider dotted line is the actual what would be the center of the alleyway which we
don't have all of our fences kind of just split our yards so when you take into account the my
portion of the three foot alleyway it makes my backyard on only six feet deep and then um
so that's that variance
and then going in on the actual like height of the addition my my goal with the height of the
addition is to really only add one visual third story from the front and back so that it doesn't
seem like it's this big thing, but also keeping some use of space on the what would be the fourth
floor roof deck that can be used as an all year round thing. So just kind of trying to maximize
the cost per square footage. Going with a more traditional look instead of going more modern,
and just to make it seem like it was something that was built for this neighborhood is also one
of the goals. I didn't want something that looked out of place. I do realize that with the variances
I do realize that with the variances and us going by right on the variances that we're going to start creating all these setbacks and our goal was to use the footprint of the house so that we could have straight clean walls so that we don't have issues down the road with water intrusion or animals nesting in weird little nooks and crannies.
I think it'll be a clean a cleaner look at the end of the day which will lend itself better to
the neighborhood as opposed to having like a tiered cake looking structure so today like you
saw on the google it's a two -story house in the summer spring summer fall this tree basically
blocks the whole front of my house. I know that trees don't last forever, but for the foreseeable
life of the tree, that will be something that will block the house. The front parlor is where
I'm sitting now. This is my office shared with two barky dogs that are in the same room during the
day. Straight through into the kitchen, typical South Philly, was renovated before I bought the
house 10 years ago. Front bedroom, main bathroom, middle bedroom, which would become the new
laundry. And then the tiny back bedroom, which is my husband's office. Basement is laundry and
storage. The half bath. So the back, I just wanted to show, so just the back facade. There's a three
story that has gone up within the past couple of months on Fernand Street so the it's starting to
come the the third stories are actually starting to really come into our area our blocks um just
view from the back view from the back window as you can see all of our all of our shared
backyards with no easement I did get um so while the RCO decided decided against
supporting the project I did have the majority vote for that one of those votes was my neighbor
who I share a party wall with so I just wanted to make sure that's noted also this letter this
petition that was signed by the majority of my neighbors that I could that I could round up in
the in the time that I had both of which party both party wall neighbors have signed this as well
So this is all just the ancillary stuff that is requested.
I did try and find, and I don't know what the letter of opposition says from my neighbor,
but I can speak to what was in the letter.
And her concern was the amount of sunlight that my addition would block.
And while we do live in a city with densely populated row homes, any height added to any building is going to create an effect for the buildings around it.
And I understand that. And my goal wasn't to use the full 38 feet that I by right could use and go front to back.
my goal was to just create something smaller that gave us more room with the added bonus room that
sits in the middle. So I just wanted to make sure that was noted as well. So that's what I have
today. All right. So questions from the board? No, Mr. Chairman. No, Chair.
no mr chairman thank you questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see a hand from a cara meadow okay
miss meadow can you unmute yourself yeah hi hi could you state your name please and spell for
the court reporter? Sure. My name is Kara Meadow, K -A -R -A -M -E -D -O -W. I'm the property owner at
1030 Fernon Street, which is directly behind 1029 Mountain Street. Do you swear a firm to tell the
truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Proceed. Hi. So as I mentioned, I am the
property owner directly behind 1029 Mountain Street. My husband, who is a co -owner of our
property is also on the phone. We did write a letter to the ZBA. We attended
the RCL meeting that 1029 Mountain Street presented at and we have some real
concerns about this project that are both personal in nature about the
relationship of this project to our property as well as the potential
relationship of this project to our property as well as the potential impacts this property will
impacts this property will have.
have on the neighborhood we believe that the proposed addition for this project is just
extremely out of scale in size relative to the vast majority of surrounding houses including our
own and that the requested variance is for height and to build both a third and a fourth story as
well as relief for the rear yard setback on a block where most of the homes are two stories
and the yards are already cramped is really not a hardship. As direct neighbors, we're concerned
about this project's pending approval and impact on our livability and property value.
We believe that the scale of this proposed addition will make our home's rear yard enclosed
with far less light and far less air. In addition to the fact that the rear yard,
the third and fourth story rather and the third story addition is going to exceed the rear yard
setback that's required so it's going to be it's the rear yard sorry the third story addition will
be even bigger than it should be in the back impacting our property um in the back um the
height of the addition will block light and air um we currently get access to incredible southern
sunlight it's one of the reasons we love our house this is going to be like a size a skyscraper in
our backyard given the fact that as Reagan showed the rear yards are just so small. And you can see
from the images this project is going to double the size of this house which given the scale of
the neighborhood we feel like it's going to put the property values just vastly out of scale to
everything else in the neighborhood. If you could go back to the elevation I don't know who's sharing
screen. And in general we're just concerned that the approval of this project is going to establish
a precedent for oversized row homes in a neighborhood that we cherish due to scale
and due to its affordability and we're just really concerned about getting price out of
our own neighborhood with a project like this and so we hope you take that into consideration.
Thank you for calling and thank you for your comments. Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
i do no other hands chair no further hands planning commission
this is uh ron bednar city planning first name ron r -o -n last name bednar b -e -d -n -a -r
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
I do. Proceed. This property is indicated for residential use on a city plan or adopted
district plan recommends no change to existing zoning at this location. The applicant's hardship
is not supported with evidence of unique physical circumstances or condition of the property that
would prevent it from being used in conformity with the code. Therefore, we recommend request
advantage not be granted. Thank you. MI 2022 -005 -694 -1029 Mountain Street, I vote no.
I vote no. Thomas Holloman, my vote is no. James Snell, my vote is no. Ishmael Shahid, my vote is no.
Thank you.
Number four, MI 2022, 005 -624 -1950 South 15th Street, Sean Ward is the attorney, letter of support from East Point Breeze Neighbors.
Mr. Ward will be rejoining as a panelist, sir.
Hi, Mr. Ward.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.
I apologize.
Yesterday, I should have expressed my condolences.
on the loss of your your colleague and uh i yeah my heart of hearts um i am uh you know
zoning and code council for fop5 and uh i uh i share your pain so uh again yeah yeah i got it
thank you um could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
Yes, Sean, S -H -A -W -N, last name W -A -R -D, Esquire, attorney for applicant and owner.
Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, told the truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client in relationship to the property?
Yes, Mr. Chair, I represent Devis, J, I mean, G, capital G, small j, U -Z -I, G -J -U -Z -I, owner of the property.
Yes, Mr. Chair, I represent.
Our vice chair has just a few questions.
Yes, sir.
Good afternoon, Counselor. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy?
I will waive or waive the reading of the refusal at any given time, Ishmael.
Thank you, Counselor. A little tongue -tied this afternoon.
That was a tongue twister.
Yes. Have you emailed all the required documents and exhibits to our offices five days in advance to this hearing?
Yes, I have.
Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
Okay. I believe my screen is shared. Mr. Chair, can we confirm?
It is.
Okay. Awesome. Again, I have submitted my typical exhibit packet.
I represent a Devish Josie doing business as AP Construction LLC at 1950 South 15th Street.
This is a permit for a food, beverage and grocery store at the first floor in the same building with the existing uses above.
It resulted in two refusals.
The use is not permitted in RSA 5, and this comes up every once in a while.
Multiple principal uses are not permitted in a district.
So in any event, we see two refuses variances for those.
As a matter of housekeeping, A2 is the application of appeal, A3.
the PIF project information form A4 proof of ownership and A5 tax clearance for the board's
information I provide a safe location map at A7 we have photographs of the posting the subject
property aerial and street views RA is as previously mentioned by the board a letter of
support from east point breeze neighbors if a letter has been submitted from the district
council person i would ask that that be marked as a nine i have not received one but and then
just uh a10 is our relevant zoning history just to go back from from 1963 up until 2014 it was a
retail butcher shop delicatessen grocery type use a11 is the zoning map and a12 is the aerial
photograph so uh not to belabor the point but to give you uh you know the overall comments
uh the former owner was joseph at toasty or toasty i i i you know i don't know how to pronounce that
name, but, uh, but he operated as a Joseph's meat market or Joe Joe's, uh, for many, many,
many years. Uh, my client bought the property from the estate. Uh, it is now an RSA two
residential district. Um, it was a retail grocery store with a two family dwelling above
for many, many, many years. Again, the zoning history indicates at least since 1963.
It was a retail butcher shop, deli, grocery kind of operation.
So why are we here today? Well, Mr. Toasty passed in 2009.
uh yeah yeah i imagine the family tried to let the business go on however they let their business
license expire in 2014 we acquired the property in 2021 and as such because no licenses or
operating permits have been on premises for a period in excess of three years
L &I deems this as a discontinued use.
There was no intentional discontinuance of the use, however.
In order to reinstitute and get a client or a tenant there, we do need a new zoning permit for that use.
With regard to the license history, I did a search, and again, there's food prep and serve, expired in 2014, scales and scanners, somewhere around 2012, and there was a dumpster license up until 2014 for this use.
With regard to the license history, I did a search.
So we're here today to seek the reestablishment or reinstitution of the use permit to permit this property to be used for what it has been historically used for.
So not to, again, belabor the point, we have the application of appeal, the transmittal letter, the deed.
Tax clearance showing that taxes were paid through 2022, 2023, and not due until the end of March.
Again, here is the site location map.
As you can see, this is just off Passionk Avenue on 15th and McKean.
And as you can see, the existing photograph still indicates that it's a, you know, it appears to be, you know, Joe Joe's or Joey Joe's market.
There's our application in the window.
Here's the side view.
You know, another shot from the corner.
uh we did meet with east point breeze neighbors uh they voted
uh you know in support of the application
with regard to the zoning uh history again it meets in delhi's uh you know i mean this
application was abandoned but it was filed uh well before most of us uh were involved in this
business but uh um yeah and you know and the history goes on and on 1963 may 15th 1963
uh you know for the board's edification i will turn 60 june 25th of this year uh so this
application predates you know my being on this uh god god forgive him planet so um the zoning
application or the map shows the property is surrounded by cmx it is a corner property
and typically they have been used for commercial purposes back in the day so
um i know uh hillary had asked me uh for some photographs you know as you know some of the
renovations are going on upstairs to make the uh residential units uh you know you know improved
um it is now a storage or staging area for such purposes but this is the first floor
there is that front door as we saw on the exterior photos uh you will see here uh you know here's
the door to the walk -in uh which is still on -premises and there is evidence of uh you know
still existing uh you know restaurant equipment uh on site so uh it is certainly you know it may
be suspended, but there was no intentional abandonment or discontinuance of the existing
use as a first floor commercial deli grocery type operation. With that, Mr. Chairman, I have nothing
else. I do have Devis, who should be with us online. If he can raise his virtual hand, which
would be found at the bottom of the screen there he is how to speak state your name please and
spell for the court reporter davis juzy d -e -v -i -s first name last name juzy g -j -u -z -i
do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do proceed counsel thank you chair uh davis you heard my representations
to the board today yes i did already true and correct to the best of your knowledge
information and belief yes and would you adopt them as your own testimony today yes i do
okay questions from the board board no mr chairman chairman
Okay. Questions from the Board? Board? No, Mr. Chairman. No, Chair. No, Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience? I see no further hands, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission? This is Ron Bednar, City Planning. While his property is currently indicated for incidental use on a city plan, given the physical circumstances of the site and its documented use history, we have no objection to the granting of the variance.
Thank you. MI -2022 -005 -624 -1950 South 50th Street, I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes. James Snell, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Captain.
My vote is yes.
Thank you. Have a great day.
All right. Is there anyone in the virtual audience whose case has not been called on the 330 list?
Mr. Chair
I have a hand raised by
one Richard Van der Slees
I have a lot of people speak at this time
Mr. Chair I was just raising my hand
to support the previous application
Okay thank you
thank you very much
we appreciate it
is there anyone
else in the virtual audience
No sir no
we are through
my clock says, my watch says
like 4 .13.
I think this might be a record.
Yes. I think this
might be a record and I
thank everyone
for your hard work today.
Good job.
Have a good night.
Have a good night.
Good night.
Thank you. Good night, everyone.
Careful.
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