floor and this is no I'm sorry this is the third floor right here this is the second floor
and I believe this is the first floor
and let me go to the actual plans of the building
Okay. So what we have here is, again, it's three floors. This is the first floor. This is the
The first floor, this would be essentially the funeral parlor chapel area.
This would be a viewing area.
It's two viewing areas on this floor.
Then we go up to the second floor.
The second floor is the conference room.
Then we have a casket room, which would be this back here, a casket room.
And then a part and also a part of it would also be office space as well.
So the third floor, which is right here, which I'm pointing to, is a storage area.
It's just general storage area for the needs of the particular funeral home.
Let me go back to the...
Is there an elevator?
There is no elevator.
There is all, it's all steps.
Hold on, let me go back to the.
Thank you.
Correct.
Steps right here.
This would be, this is walking from the,
this is walking from the first floor up to the second floor,
which drops you off into the conference room area.
And then from here, then you go up to the third floor.
right here, and then that's going to drop you off into the third floor,
which is the steps right here, which would just be storage right there.
thank you
uh this is the deed just indicating the ownership of the property
of the property by Mr. Garris. Also, as far as trash, trash will be in the rear of the building.
by Mr. Garris.
There's going to be private dumpster for this building. And also, there is going to be,
as far as parking, there is a coordination. There's going to be a coordination with North
pen baptist church which is right across the street where they're going to allow uh for
there to be parking for these services uh they're going to be working in tandem with each other and
my client can testify as to that as well um he expects to have 20 to 25 caskets within the
showroom of uh this funeral home and what again what we're seeking to do is we're seeking to
make the entire use of uh the building conducive to a funeral home it's well rooted within the
community when it was open for many decades and that's what we're asking for and we ask that
given the fact that there's been a great amount of community support for this that this uh variant
be granted
once upon
once receiving
the tax
upon once receiving the tax claims
Mr. Harris
is your client here?
Yes he is
Mr. Brian
Harris could you raise your hand please
We have one calling user with the phone
number ending in 6578
Please unmute yourself.
Would you please state your name and spell it?
Mr. Garris?
I don't know what happened to him.
I know I just...
Mr. Harris, you're an officer of the court.
We will take your testimony.
Thank you.
Yeah, I just spoke to him.
I just spoke to him by text.
questions from the board no mr chairman there
no questions or questions or comments from the virtual audience
chair we have odessa tate please okay uh i'm gonna have to promote her to panelists
thank you for her to speak okay
hello hi could you state your name and spell could you state your name and spell for the
court reporter please my name is steve harris a-e-i-t-h-h-a-r-r-i-s no relationship i'm
jermaine harris do you swear or firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
I do. Proceed.
My name is Chief Harris. Again, I'm the ward leader in the area.
And this institution of power for the home has been a pillar in this community.
And ever since it had gotten defunct, the community time has been scrambling around to like, you know, because we've always been a close knit community.
Also, Mr. Garris is a part of our community.
Like, you know, he didn't grow up too far away from there.
Also, he has an interim or he has some relationship with the previous owner,
Ms. Isabel Powell, that owned the Powell funeral home.
So we were related to know that he had bought this funeral home
and he was going to reestablish it.
So he has full support of the whole community, all the families, other RCOs, the NAC, myself, I'm the ward leader, and we're hoping that you're gracious enough to approve his endeavor.
Thank you, Ms. Harris, for calling in. We appreciate that.
Any other questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Yes. Good morning, Chair. Good morning, too.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Hello?
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Chair, she's coming back in as a panelist again. I'm sorry.
Okay, sure.
hello can you hear me i could yes could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
yes so that's the tate o-d-e-s-s-a-t-a-t-e
Yes, Odessa Tate, O-D-E-S-S-A-T-A-T-E.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed.
I just wanted to piggyback off of Mr. Harris. Yes, Powell Funeral Home was a staple in our community.
We are happy about the restoration of the property and looking forward to working with Mr. Garris.
there is a part of the proviso where he has to equip us with some additional information
post-construction but I just wanted to make clear as well for Mr. Harris to follow up with us with
with the tax clearance proponent but yes as was stated the community is in support of the funeral
home thank you thank you thank you for your call anyone else I see no more hands here planning
Commission. Thank you, Chair Bergman. Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning
Commission. Members of the Board, in 2014, this zoning map was amended from RM1 to RSA5 in this
location. This applicant is proposing an expansion of a legal non-conforming use, and we believe the
proposed variance is the minimum necessary to accommodate the needs of the business. So the
City Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant the variance. Thank you. MI 2021-004827-2430
north 27th street i vote yes carol excuse me chair this is sharon um we're i you have to
actually hold this one i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry thank you all right so we'll we'll hold
this until we receive your uh tax certificate very well we will very well we intend on getting that
to the board shortly all right thank you mr chair i think we are closing the record on it
We are.
And Mr. Harris, if I can say even it doesn't necessarily have to be a certificate, any proof of tax compliance or of your client entering into an agreement would be would suffice.
Yes, can you?
Hello.
Yeah, Mr. Harris, did you hear that?
I didn't hear that. I'm sorry.
Sharon.
Yes, just if it doesn't, it's just proof of tax compliance or that you have entered into a payment plan that we will receive.
Okay, I do have a payment plan. I do have a payment plan that Mr. Garris entered into for the subject property.
Okay, if you could email that to me, then it can be put on the next hearing list to be voted.
okay i'll email i'll email that to you uh i'll email that to you this morning
thank you thank you
mi 2021 004761 2600 wharton street no rco letter at this point henry clinton
this is Sharon we have since the summaries went out we've this morning received um letters in
support from the RCO on both this and the next property okay I'll talk to Henry about that when
he gets on thank you thank you good morning Mr. Chairman hi Mr. Clinton um state your name and
spell for the court reporter please sure Henry H-E-N-R-Y Clinton C-L-I-N-T-O-N do you swear
affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i don't mr clinton 10 and 11 are
they related uh no it's two separate clients okay good we'll go with 10 mi 2021 004761 2600
wharton street could you identify who your client is for this and the relationship to the property
The client is OTE Realty LLC, and the principals are on the call, Edan and Tuval Shalom.
And they're the owners?
And our vice chair has a few questions.
Hi, Mr. Clinton.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
It appears that you've submitted all of the required documents timely.
Is that correct?
Thank you.
Except we just got the letter from Grace Faraday's support last night.
Okay. You may proceed and share your screen, please.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Is that visible enough?
It sure is.
All right. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the board.
Henry Clinton for the owner of this property, OTE Realty.
And I'm showing you my presentation package, which contains table of contents AA to A11, which I'll ask to be admitted into evidence.
to A11, which I'll ask be admitted into evidence. It's my appearance statement, and this is the
It's my appearance statement.
refusal. So what we have here is one large lot, 28Y by 61 deep, and the proposal is to subdivide
that lot into two lots, each 14 by 61, which are basically the same size lots as most of the other
properties on this side of Wharton Street. And the request then is on each lot to build a two-family
dwelling. The refusals are three. One is because both lots are zoned RSA 5 and we're asking for
two-family that's expressly prohibited. And the other two refusals are concerning lot sizes. But
as I say, our lot size is basically mirroring the other lots on the block so everything is going to
be consistent on that block in terms of width and depth. We do have an RCO letter of support
from Grace Ferry Community Council. And these are photos, just to give you some perspective.
And my argument is we have some unique circumstances here that warrant the grant of a
two-family dwelling in this RSA 5 zone. The properties are right here on the corner and
then one in. Across the street is a church. It used to be the old King of Peace Parish. It's now
the Church of the Pentecost, and down the block is the former school of King of Peace. Then directly
across the street, and I'll show you some closer photographs, is a large apartment building,
five apartments with a daycare on the first floor.
This is just another perspective of the lot looking north. This is the apartment building.
three plus stories across the street.
And it used to be a restaurant on the first floor
or like a banquet facility.
Now there's a daycare there.
Another perspective, looking south,
this is the church, the old school,
and the two vacant lots.
And from my review of the zoning records,
it looks like these lots have been vacant
for 20, 25, or 30 years or even more.
And if there's other neighbors on the block
who have more knowledge of that than me,
They can speak up, but no one really knew
when we had the meeting with Grace Ferry
how long these lots were vacant.
And this is a ground view of the lots,
again, the corner lot.
It's now 28 wide, 61 deep.
This is the apartment complex across the street.
And these are two-story homes
going west on Wharton Street.
These are zoning posters.
And these are our plans.
to shrink them a little bit.
Basically, first and second floor, one unit,
second and third floor, another unit,
and then the rooftop deck.
So the open space for the second unit
on the second and third floor would be the rooftop deck.
And for the first floor,
they would have opening to the rear yard.
We have no issues with regard to open space,