mi 2024 002 517 6721 to 27 up on the street
i vote yes with proviso maximum four units commercial trash pickup
my vote is yes with proviso
Michael Johns my vote is yes with proviso
Tsunetta Graham my vote is yes with proviso
Cheryl Gaston my vote is yes with proviso
Tyone my vote is yes with proviso
James Snell my vote is yes with proviso
thank you Mr. Clinton
thank you Mr. Chairman members of the board have a great day
We're going to move on to 14, and then we're going to go back and do the one we didn't get to yet.
We're going to move on to 14, and then we're going to go back and do the one we didn't get to yet.
MI 2024-002-602, 31 to 33 North 43rd Street.
Meredith Verliger is the attorney.
No RCO letter or summary, but notice was sent to nearby neighbors with proof of mailing attached.
Meeting was held on May 30th, 2024 by West Poulton Saunders Park RCO.
Mr. Chairman.
Could you please state your name and spell it for the court stenographer?
Meredith Ferliger, F-E-R-L-E-G-E-R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, your relationship to the property?
My client is the owner of the property, owner VLLC, represented today by Rami Shrine.
um our vice chair has a few questions good afternoon counsel do you agree to waive the
reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy i do agree to waive the reading i
don't stipulate to the accuracy i believe one refusal was issued improperly and i will address
that thank you have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that is needed
to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing i sure did thank you please proceed
I'll start first with what was seemingly missing, but is actually not missing here.
Can you see the RCO letter up on your screen now?
Okay, great.
So there was a letter.
It was sent, I believe, just yesterday.
It was a letter in support.
there is an attached letter, which I can bring up if you have interest in reading it while I get
started. Just do me a favor afterwards, make sure Hillary gets a copy of that. I most certainly will
do that. Mr. Chairman, members of the board, the property before you today is 31 through 33
North 43rd Street, which is a property that is currently approved and permitted for the erection
of a new structure for use as a three-family dwelling that was permitted by a prior owner
of the property. Today's request merely seeks to reduce the number of units from three to two
and to add a small medical dental office on the first floor and within the basement.
The property is an extremely unusually shaped small property measuring 901 square feet at the
corner of North 43rd Street and Powleton Avenue. The exhibit packet before you includes 15 exhibits,
including tax clearance at Exhibit 2 and the deed at Exhibit 3. And as I mentioned,
this is the new owner of the property who purchased it in June of 2023.
In addition to the owner, I do have the project architect on the line,
should the board have any detail-oriented questions. By way of a preliminary summary,
this property was previously approved and is currently permitted for the construction of a
multifamily dwelling to contain three units. And I did include the prior permit history at exhibit
five. As you can see on the aerials at exhibit nine, this property sits among a diverse group
of structures and uses both on North 43rd Street, which is here, as well as on Powleton Avenue.
This view from the north here shows this very small triangular parcel right at the corner.
To the rear here is Fire Station. And if I flip to the east view, you'll notice across
North 43rd Street is a shopping center that contains a subway restaurant as well as a Dunkin'
Donuts. Looking from the south, the board will note again the extremely unusual conditions
burdening this corner property, which is adjacent to residences heading east on Powelton Avenue.
These residences include a mix of two-family, three-family, single-family, and some higher
density uses, which you can see in this view here. Finally, from the west, the board can see the
conditions across the street on Powelton Avenue, which is the beginning of the Drexel Athletic
Complex. From this view, you may also notice the commercial property that I referenced directly
across North 43rd Street, which does contain a subway and a Dunkin' Donuts. There is also an
entrance to the fire station directly behind this subject property which is entered from North 43rd
which is entered from North 43rd Street. The zoning map is also included at Exhibit 8,
Street.
which shows that while this property is zoned RSA 5, it is surrounded by a dense mix of
classifications, including CMX 4 across Powleton Avenue, CMX 3 across North 43rd Street and
directly behind the property, as well as RM1, which starts roughly halfway up this block along
Powleton Avenue. Flipping to the photographs at Exhibit 15, again you'll see the unusually shaped
lot right at the corner, which is next to a recently improved triplex. The next view is from
the side along North 43rd Street. As noted earlier, you can see the subway and the Dunkin' Donuts
directly across North 43rd Street in this next photograph.
In the next view, you'll see the entrance to the Drexel Athletic Complex,
which is directly across the street from the property, which is just here in the corner.
Flipping in the other direction again, the board will glean the mixed character of this direct corner.
If we move farther west on Powleton Avenue, you can see the location of this corner property
out here in the distance indicated by the arrow, which is directly behind that shopping center.
I have also included a final view looking north on North 43rd Street, where the board can see the
adjoining entrance of this fire station. Photographs of the zoning posters, which were
timely posted on July 2nd, are also in the packet. As I referenced earlier in the presentation,
in 2021, this property received a zoning permit for the erection of an attached structure for use
as a three-family dwelling. And as I mentioned, I did include that at Exhibit 5. We have also
included the zoning plans that were approved with that permit. Those zoning plans are not
slated to change with this instant application. As you can see, the former owner and former
applicant secured a variety of variances from this board in the past, including for exceeding
open area and height, insufficient rear yard depth and use. The previously approved zoning plans are
also shown, and as I noted, these are not slated to be modified. The application before the board
today is merely a change of use. In the previously approved floor plans, you'll notice, and this is
an important fact, that unit A was actually proposed to comprise the full cellar level
and the first floor. A building permit for this was approved in July of 2022, which remains valid
and active today. With this instant application, the new owner and applicant is proposing to
eliminate the basement and first floor residential unit and instead to replace it with a small
1,360-square-foot dental practitioner office. We did include updated floor plans at Exhibit 6.
And you can see here, I don't think there's anything necessarily surprising.
This is really laid out as a traditional dental office. I did include a printout of the dental
practitioner's practice to give the board a brief overview. This is an award-winning
practitioner who currently has another location in Center City. In the cellar level, there will
be staff areas, an office, sterilization room, and one patient room. The first floor will have
three patient rooms and a reception area. The dental office will be entirely separate from
the residential entrance. You can see here's the entrance to the dental office. Here's the
entrance to the residential hallway, which is towards the front. The two remaining residential
units will be substantially similar to the previous design, with a few modifications to accommodate
a sale of the units as condominiums versus the previous plan for rental units. Unit one will
remain 645 square feet and unit two will increase from 929 square feet to 1015 square feet with
bi-level living area on the fourth floor. I'll zoom out. In response to working with the local
community on this application, my client has also made modifications to the exterior look.
We've included renderings at exhibit seven to show the modified design intent and you can see
their balconies for the two residential units. The office hours for Dr. Al-Harir are currently
Monday through Friday 9 to 5 and Saturday 10 to 1 with flexible appointments available.
and Saturday 10 to 1 with flexible appointments available. This location would have very similar
hours. And in terms of trash disposal, as I mentioned, the zoning plans are not slated to
change here, but there is a designated trash storage area on the side that would be used by
both the residences as well as the dental office. And you can see that in the rendering here that's
meant to be shielded from public view. Regarding the refusal, this proposal received two refusals,
one which we submit is incorrect. The proposal received a refusal for the proposed two-family
use. To address this succinctly, because this proposal was already approved for a three-family
dwelling, this applicant or any other applicant could have elected to reduce the unit count
without seeking variance relief? Because the project was previously approved by variance for
multifamily use, and this application is only looking to reduce the units, unless the board
commands otherwise, I will largely not focus the argument today around the proposed multifamily
use, which was previously adjudicated by this board and will only be reduced in density by
this application. Instead, I'll focus on the second refusal, which notes that the proposed
commercial use is prohibited in the RSA 5 zoning district. The applicant submits to a hardship
given the history of this property, the size and shape of this property, as well as the context of
this neighborhood and block. Given the unusual shape of the permitted design, as well as the
dense commercial surroundings, a first floor and cellar commercial use is more feasible in this
location than an exclusively residential use. As the board saw in the evidence I presented earlier,
this corner sits in a dense mixed residential and commercial area.
The proposed dental office will allow a more efficient use of the heavily unusually designed
space and will be a community-serving, very small dental office, which would be permitted
if the lot were zoned CMX2, like many corner properties throughout the city.
Additionally, the board also saw that the third residential unit that was originally
approved would have been required to occupy the full basement and first floor, which is
certainly not as desirable in terms of living conditions.
Conversely, despite the layout challenges that render a residential use less desirable,
the cellar and first floor of this structure are perfectly suited to accommodate a small-scale dental office.
I should also note that the refusal specifically only seeks to approve a dental office.
I'll highlight that here.
and not a broader medical use, which is narrowly tailored intentionally directly in response to
discussions that the applicant had with the community. The applicant submits the proposal
as the least minimum variance, as the property was previously adjudicated to have a hardship
in complying with both the use and dimensional requirements of the zoning code. Given the
property's location on a corner and the surrounding dense commercial uses, adding a small dental
office is the least minimum variance to more closely align the use of this property with both
the surrounding multifamily uses as well as the commercial uses. The proposed unit reduction will
also bring the property further into compliance with the RSA 5 zoning, with now only one extra
unit above that which the code would ordinarily allow. We submit the proposal will not increase
congestion, harm neighbors' properties, or impair light and air. Given this property's favorable
location at North 43rd Street and Powleton Avenue, it is surrounded by ample on-street parking and
does benefit from close proximity to area public transit, including the Market-Frankford line one
block south. Given the dense commercial uses, this proposed use does represent a careful balance
between surrounding residential and commercial uses and is consistent with general planning
principles that encourage small commercial uses at corners. I should also note that this
sits squarely within the 46th Street and vicinity commercial corridor, which does run all the way
up to Powleton Avenue. The proposed structure here is already permitted and is not proposed
to change except for the interior and the facade. A full analysis is provided in the memorandum of
law that I submitted to the board at tab 12. With respect to the community, we did meet with
Powleton Saunders Park RCO several times, including most recently for the official meeting in May.
including most recently for the official meeting in May. That discussion resulted in a vote of
That discussion resulted
support that, as I mentioned, was sent to the board yesterday, and I will ensure that council
receives a copy of that. One of the main concerns was ensuring that the approval would not
inadvertently grant approval for any other medical use, which the board can be confident that that
is the case, given that our application was specifically for a group dental practitioner
or office and no other. So I would bring up my client to adopt my testimony as well as to be
available for any questions the board might have. If the administrator, if you look for Rami Shrine.
Okay. They have been allowed to speak. Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the
stenographer? Hello, Rami Shrine, R-A-M-Y-S-H-R-A-I-M. Do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth told you is nothing but the truth i do appreciate counsel uh rami have you heard all
the testimony and evidence that was offered before the board today yes would you agree that testimony
was true and accurate and would you adopt it as if it were your own yes very happy to take any
questions you have questions from the board
go ahead yeah what size units are these going to be council so the unit sizes uh let me bring
up the floor plans here so unit two which is the second floor that is not changing from how it was
originally approved so that was originally approved at 645 square feet that is not proposed
to change the second and the third and fourth floor unit is actually getting bigger it was
originally about 960 929 square feet and it's now being increased to 1015 square feet
and these are I can't I can't tell because it's so doggone small is this two bedroom one bedroom
what so the second floor unit is two bedrooms and then the third and fourth floor which is a
bi-level unit uh that is also a two bedroom and again these are the the design changes here
were really to accommodate more of a condominium based design versus the prior rental
okay and there's going to be a deck i'm not sure if i saw whether there was it was on the front
yeah and that was that was a part of the original zoning approval so that would not have been a part
of this particular application which was just a change of use but that should be that should be
reflected on the original ones. I guess just the question is more about how small things are and
because of the unusual shape that's all. I understood it and certainly we would submit that
you know eliminating one unit and and expanding the size of one is is certainly a much better
situation than you know the original approval had so this is this is really bringing it a lot closer
to compliance as much as possible, at least in terms of the residential units.
Okay. And then with respect to this group dental practice, how many dentists, how many assistants
can you have? So with the group dental practitioner classification, that does not
limit the number of dentists or staff. So that limit really only comes if you have it approved
as a sole practitioner office. Rami, I know that you're very familiar with this dentist and his
current office. Are you able to address how many dentists you would anticipate him having in this
space and staff sure um and again this is based on the um other practices that that we have uh
for a four chair practice there will be um two dentists rotating and um and two staff um again
rotating uh you know different days but but it will be two dentists and two staff and one receptionist
thank you sure you're welcome other questions from the board
questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson just briefly mr chair um first i just
wanted to note for the record that there appears to be a refusal missing for multiple principal