I'm representing Ms. Guignard in her husband and their efforts to open ad events on the
Ave. It'll be a place for special events on Germantown Avenue. Their vision is to provide
a welcoming space where members of the community can celebrate life's special moments close to home.
They strive to create an environment where guests feel comfortable, safe, and valued
while enjoying quality event experiences at reasonable prices. Baby showers, birthday parties,
weddings, wedding receptions, company meetings, group gatherings, repasses, church events, and
more. Typical hours of operation will be Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and events will run anywhere
from in between 12 noon and 11 p.m., obviously, you know, blocks of time within that time frame.
They manage the space. Ms. Gignard's husband has many, many years of experience at the Fittler.
club which is a very well known private event space in center city and he's been with them
since its inception and now he wants to bring that sort of level of quality and professionalism
to germantown avenue the petition that we're submitting into evidence we have a 71 page
exhibit packet today. As you can see here, all immediate neighbors on the 5600 block of
Germantown Avenue who are signing in support of this. We also have already a commercial activity
license. We have other petitions of support that we are submitting today. I'll just briefly scroll
through them. You received a full letter of support from the RCO as well and the vote tally.
The Google reviews for this business as it has been operating as well, you know, five stars. There's not one bad review in, you know, in the entire. I think it's 87 plus reviews that they have that garnered through the Google review process.
and we should show you show you some plans
of course there'll be commercial trash pickup
there's the interior layout drawn to scale just the first floor
you see there's a vestibule sort of common area we have restrooms storage
little kitchenette area for you know there'll be no cooking on you know in
here just stuff to refrigerator or prep and then the ballroom area itself access
to the whole glass door in the back there's the oops our exit to the rear
yard here are some interior shots and exterior shots
currently operated burn yes they were they were unaware that they needed a
special exception they thought the use was uh consistent with
with the code, but as you can see, it's ready to roll.
This is the letter that was mailed out to the 12th Ward and all the other corresponding RCOs.
54 individual households were mailed, and we have proof of tax compliance as well.
With that, I'd like to call my client, Cornelia Guignard, to the stand.
Do we see the client?
Yes, I'll be rejoining as a panel shortly, Mr. Chair.
Good morning.
I'm sorry.
Are you able to see me and hear me?
I can. Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Yes. Carnina Ginyard. C-A-R-N-E-N-A. Last name G-I-N-Y-A-R-D.
Do you swear or affirm that tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Counsel?
Thank you. Ms. Ginyard, did you hear my presentation to the board?
Yes, I did.
True and accurate, for the most part, to the best of your knowledge?
Yes, it is.
And do you adopt it as your own testimony?
Yeah. Thank you. I have nothing further, Mr. Chair.
Questions from the board.
Just the usual. Okay. So this is going to be for what kind of events for the most part?
I can go back to that page if you'd like. It's birthday celebrations, baby showers,
um funeral repasses i did a list of them and i submitted that into evidence as well
okay and then um actually on page 59 miss gaston of the exhibit packet as you can see here showers
parties weddings wedding receptions company meetings too small oh i'll pull it back i'll do
You're welcome. Okay.
Again, just 3 days a week is what's expected between noon and 11.
Okay, and then in the in the plans there you had a little prep areas.
They're like a sink in there and I'll bring it. I can bring that back as well.
Hold on. I'm always concerned about, you know, making sure that there's some place where of course.
So there's another source of water for cleaning purposes, you know, that we're not using the bathrooms for that, that we do have some place where there's maybe a larger kind of.
Yeah. Again, here's the, I'm going to start at the top. There's access through the glass door to the events hall.
And then in the rear, we have the kitchen prep area with a sink, countertop, refrigerator, storage, all of that.
countertop refrigerator storage all of that so that's separate from the um three other bathrooms
So that's separate.
okay and is there um i guess the question is is there some other kind of area where we have
water that can be used for like mopping and uh cleaning the tables and things like that
i think they probably use the kitchen sink uh but ms guignard can you
miss guignard do you use the utilize the kitchen sink as a source of water when it's time to mop
the floors they can use the water however we do have a mop sink as well that's what i was asking
okay thank you other questions
questions from our attorney not at this time mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual
audience yes mr chair i have a handout from a pamela bracy i will allow them to speak okay
good there good morning could you please state your name and spell for this thermometer
Pamela Bracey, B-R-A-C-E-Y.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
I'm not a neighbor. I'm part of Solo Germantown Civic Association.
Thank you very much. Please proceed.
We'd just like to say we'd like for the proposal to follow the lease, which I believe is five years.
and we talked about um security not necessarily in uniforms uh but someone there to kind of make
sure that everything goes well and um also for trash they said three days and we said if something's
on sunday then could you make sure the trash gets out covered up and that sort of thing and that was
basically what i'm testifying today thank you thank you for taking the time to calls we appreciate it
and mr chair for the record my client agrees to the trash plan as uh as demonstrated by the witness
uh as well as the security plan okay thank you very much um anyone else in the virtual audience
i do not see any further hands mr chair planning commission thank you chairman and good morning
david effecto with the city planning commission chairman and board members the comprehensive plan
then recommends no change to the CMX3 commercial mixed-use zoning at this location most of this
neighborhood still carries its original 1933 zoning designations this property has a history
of commercial use and is not in and is on an active commercial corridor we created the event
assembly facility definition to accommodate businesses that would have less of an impact
than nightclubs or private clubs and the appellant has shown that the proposed event assembly facility
will have no detrimental impacts beyond what might be expected the city planning commission
recommends that the board grant a proposed special exception thank you very much uh mi 2025
004 958 5610 to 14 germantown avenue i vote yes with proviso temporary variants to expire
7 16 31 all events to be done by 11 p.m. at night and no cooking on premises
thank you mr. chair michael johns my vote is yes with provisos
Cheryl Gaston my vote is yes with provisos Tenetta Graham my vote is yes
with provisos Ryan McAdams my vote is yes with provisos thank you my vote is
with proviso. Thank you, Vern. Thanks. Okay. Number 8, MI 2026, 000441, 1342 South 22nd
Street. Zen Jin is the attorney.
They should be back in as a panama short message here.
good morning good morning counsel could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
yes my name is zen jen z-h-e-n last name j-i-n right do you swear or affirm to 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 uh mr uh lutz geminez hernandez uh for geminez property
investments which is the owner of the property okay our vice chair has a few questions
good morning have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing
yes and do you waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
we do take issue with one item on the refusal which is the two-year rule i do not believe that
should apply to this case and i'll explain it during my presentation sure okay all right thank
Sure. Okay. All right. Thank you. You want to share your screen and proceed?
you want to share your screen and proceed yes thank you
Yes. Thank you. I'm going to share with the board what was previously submitted as an exhibit.
I do want to note that I believe we did update this exhibit
afterwards because of the plan changes. However, I will go over that as well when we get to the
plans. So good morning. This is an application for 1342 South 22nd Street, a CMX1 zone property.
this is for an application for eating and drinking establishments essentially a sit-down restaurant
which will use the first second floor and the basement of the property there's no residential
use being proposed so the application has a bit of a history it was originally filed and handled
by another firm they took about a year without making a lot of progress with this
we eventually were hired to take over this matter. And when I was hired, I asked that
my client get the prior counsel on record to go ahead and withdraw himself as counsel and then
move so I can enter my appearance. He apparently withdrew the case instead of withdrawing as
counsel. What then happens, we refiled this case and this is now before the board. However,
the two-year rule generally applies where a case is denied or dismissed by the board i do not
believe a withdrawal should normally apply in this uh apply the two-year rule in this case
so the sole refusal here is in my opinion the proposed use which is uh prohibited because it's
a sit-down restaurant is prohibited in the cmx1 commercial district this property has quite a
history as a takeout restaurant in two apartments. In fact, you will see from the photos that as of
the last time that this property was used, it was essentially a Chinese restaurant,
takeout restaurant with residential above. However, the interior is currently basically
vacant and gutted and is in need of full renovations, which makes our application
make more sense, because we will do the entire fit out based on the updated plans that is going
to be part of this proposal. The RCO supported us strongly in this application. They voted to
support, and I want to know some of the neighbors' comments regarding this. They're looking forward
to another local business. They're supporting, they would love to have the idea of a restaurant
at this corner. They like the fact that we're keeping the two-story structure without trying
to add to any of that. So this was a well-supported proposal with the neighborhood.
So to get to the actual application, the property will be renovated completely by my client as a
sit-down restaurant. He has about 15 years of experience operating this exact style restaurant
at 951 Wolf Street.
It's a Mexican restaurant
and it will be a Mexican-style restaurant here as well.
The one at Wolf Street is called Los Gallos,
a well-reviewed Mexican restaurant.
This one will be a little bit larger overall
because of the use of the second floor with seating.
But it's otherwise going to match
that restaurant's operation in almost every way.
It is primarily going to be designed for people to come in and sit down and eat.
There will be delivery, but not as much focus on takeout.
It's going to be mostly sit-in and with the delivery as a side function.
One of the things that is being utilized is the basement will be utilized for a lot of the coolers, dry storage.
and one of the primary changes we eventually worked out with the architect is that we wanted
to have make sure that there is a trash storage room that is going to be utilized and there are
Velcro doors right near it so that it allows trash to be stored in the basement and taken out the
Velcro door. The rest of the property will be basically utilized 100% on the first floor with
the kitchen in the back, a seating area in the front, and there is a bar service in the front
as well. There's also the second story, which will be a small bar and sit-down service. There
are restrooms, ADA restrooms on the first floor, and additional restrooms will be on the second
floor. First floor is ADA accessible. Second floor would require people to go upstairs. There's no
elevator being proposed in this particular proposal. So that is basically the idea here is to
So that is basically the idea here is to have a restaurant that has good food and provide a environment that allows people to relax and enjoy.
What I'm going to also do is share with the board real quick the look of Los Gallos at 951 Wolf Street, which isn't in my exhibit package.
I just pulled it up on Google to kind of give the board an idea of what we're talking about food-wise.
So this is the menu and food at Los Gallos at 951.
This will be the same menu that would be used at the current location.
So as you can see, the operation hours will be very similar, seven days a week, about 10 a.m. to 10.30 p.m.
and everything is going to be essentially a second location of Los Gallos
with similar services, food, and ambiance.
And with that, the primary hardship to this property
is that it was, in fact, used as a restaurant for many years,
although a takeout operation.
We believe that this use here does fit the neighborhood's needs
and with the neighborhood's feedback,
we believe that this will be a good use at this location would ask for the board's favorable
review of this variance application. I'm happy to put up the exhibits again and also answer any
questions from the board. Why don't you bring your client on and have your testimony adopted?
Sure. Lutz, can you please raise your hand virtually to be identified?
Mr. Chair, I'll be coming back in as a panel shortly.
Thank you very much.
Hi, my name is Luz, L-U-Z, Jimenez.
Could you spell, please, for the stenographer?
Yep. L-U-Z, Jimenez, J-I-M-E-N-E-Z.
Thank you. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Truth.
Counsel?
Thank you. Mr. Jimenez, did you see my presentation on your screen and hear my representations before the zoning board?
yes can you verify what i have uh shown and uh uh presented to the zoning board to be true and
correct and adopt my testimony as your own that's correct thank you questions from the board yeah
can you go back to the plans yes and this is full this is full eat-in no takeout it's eat-in uh
takeout would not be a primary use that's correct gotcha okay and your hours of operation uh 10 to
10 30 seven days a week okay commercial trash pickup commercial trash pickup yes what about
venting uh venting to the roof uh through the roof or through the building through the roof
or outside through the roof uh it's through the building so the the rear of where the kitchen will
be is actually on the first floor uh the second floor here is where the uh there's no actual
So because the second floor is set back, it will be vented up through here.
It'll be on the first floor.
So here's actually the hood system, and it will be vented through here.