sworn in to adopt some of my other testimony that was not architectural in nature okay
sir could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer evan e-v-a-n talheimer t-h-a-l-h-e-i-m-e-r
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth counsel evan you heard
everything i had to state today about your zoning matter yes is it true and correct yes and do you
adopt this your own testimony yes thank you questions from the board uh yeah i do um first
first off i just want to say that this is a i thought was a very thoughtful design for that
corner um i think the um artful use of light windows and airiness to create some outdoor space
is unique right question what is the material that's used for the fencing in this in the rain
screen we're looking at using a perforated metal i'm sorry this is the reporter could
get closer to try to get a little closer sorry uh we're looking at a perforated metal
okay um the one thing the two criticisms that i have one is on the corner it would be great to see
some some additional fenestration at that corner right whether it's a window on the first floor
or something where that kitchen is the second thing is you're only three feet out of the ground
you've got a nine foot ceiling which puts you six feet below grade i think you could you could pull
that basement up at least another foot or even more to give you well no you're you're you're at
three foot you're at three foot you're at you're at three foot above you're three foot one to the
three foot two right to the top right so i'm saying if you pull it up some more you get even
some more light and you won't be six feet below grade right um so but but overall in my opinion
I think it you've done a good job. Thank you. Any other questions?
I think I would second that comment. That was going to be my comment about the egress wells.
I think while you've done the best you could with the rest of the spaces, you have two bedrooms
in that lower unit and they have a very different light quality than the upper units. Does it not
have such a difference between the two? I think the second question I had was about the sort of,
guess the front yard or the the triangle um what's it's with where it begins and is there a plan to
enclose that with a fence and have that be sort of accessible by the tenants i don't so i'll i don't
think the intention and correct me if i'm wrong jackie is to have it enclosed was more to keep
because the neighborhood appreciated that tree there and it's just to respect that open area for
then more so for the neighborhood we talked with the neighborhood group about that quite a bit
there was you know do we fence it in but then if we fence it in people are just going to throw
things in it um do we differentiate the sidewalk there to somehow sort of like pay homage to the
fact that it's still part of the property and um you know the neighborhood didn't have a really
strong like you you have to do this so i think for now we're keeping it open and you know it's owner
you have to do this so i think for now we're keeping it open and you know it's owner operated
operating
building so over time maybe that'll develop into something different depending on how the community
ends up using it i think the only thing i was thinking is that like while you did the best you
could it's a very small shared yard um and so to be able to have the tenants be able to also use
that front portion if they needed to then you have two differentiated spaces so just to clarify it's
a shared yard the yard is for the lower unit gotcha first floor unit got it and here are the dimensions
board member when uh you know for the six feet eight inches at the tip and then maybe 10 feet
maybe 11 feet there at the other when it touches the building okay is the plan to i know um you're
losing that tree that is beloved by the neighborhood are you replacing it with other
trees is that the trees are along the side yes we are um we will have at least three trees
um but of course we'll get as many as they'll let us have okay thank you questions from our attorney
not at this time mr chair comments from the virtual audience i see no hands chair planning
commission thank you chairman and good evening david fecto with the city planning commission
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the r5 residential
potential single-family zoning at this location the city rezoned this neighborhood in 2016 in
accord with recommendations in the comprehensive plan at this time this block at that time this
block had been zoned single-family since 1978. this is an oddly shaped triangular lot at 960
978 square feet this lot is only slightly larger than the 960 square feet minimum size required in
rsa 5 in the fifth council or seventh council district sorry uh there is no unique physical
condition or circumstance that prevent it from being used as single-family dwelling
however the lot's shape and dimensions would lead a reasonable person to believe
the dimensional relief would be required to enable its use so the city planning commission
recommends the board grant the proposed dimensional variances but deny the proposed
use variance for two dwelling units so mr chair i would state again that because of the regular
shape having a single family lot it would be very difficult to design it that way it is a corner
property there's nearby multi-family uses and i think given the unique architecture here i think
it's something that we should embrace uh for this project thank you mi 2026 001 768 1648 cad wall
cadwalter street i vote yes michael johns my vote is yes cheryl gaston my vote is yes
tenetta graham my vote is yes ryan mcadams my vote is yes all right so alan you were right
it was a good presentation and it was great thank you looking forward to it being built
all right and it was the scale alan
yeah come on i thought you were gonna you didn't work yourself in there i don't i was looking for
that like everybody's laughing we love when you work yourself into these things
all right 601 devro avenue joseph vaqueira
and then we'll come back and we're going to take a break
Mr. Vaccaro
Mr. Vaccaro has been allowed to speak okay thank you hi Mr. Vaccaro sorry we took a while to get
back to you we had a few here okay not a problem all right um you've been sworn in am I correct
yes I have and this is a resumptive here and we want to update about where you stand right
Right. And if I could just start sharing my screen, and with the board's indulgence, if I could just stay off of video, I guess, as it may have happened.
Just to get it to work, that's all.
Right here, just to get it to work, exactly. If I could, where is the, where's the button now to share my screen? It was right here.
it should be there it should be there I don't see I see transfer to room settings show captions
transcript Q&A raise hand and chat oh good god
oh okay
Oh, okay.
Now that I'm a panelist, I should be able to share.
Okay, can you see the post?
It's coming up.
It's coming up.
Okay, fine.
So very briefly, I'm just going to scroll straight down and zip through. Here's the posting, the most recent posting that was done on the property, as well as some additional photos of the area.
Previously, there was a shed and a bunch of other materials. Melody has removed the shed from the property, as well as most of the material. She's cleaned it up to make some additional space.
And here are some revised plans that go to board member Wynn's concern that was raised about parking. I could zoom in on that area.
so my cursor well here it's labeled Bingham Street so the traffic would go in the direction
of the arrow make a right turn this shaded rectangle is is a vehicle that would be a
representation of a vehicle turning right and then turning right to the area right under the
existing rear deck, which would be above. If I could zoom in some more, it would be eight foot
wide by a 16 foot, 16 and a half foot vehicle that would be able to park in that area. Then
in order to leave, it would back out into the alley, just follow the arrows, and then we're
following the arrows back onto Bingham Street or go through the alley over into the next street.
If I could stop sharing this and then I could also show a rendition of what we hope
the project would look like at the end of everything should the board grant this variance.
here you go so here's the rendition here would be the completed deck after the reductions yep okay
so that's on Bingham Street side the roofing material has been removed then the deck has
been reduced in size there's space for vehicle but obviously the plan shows the vehicle in the
uh parked in the area under this other deck again with the roofing material having been removed
i'll show you another view here's another view here's another view from bingham street
another view from bingham street and here's the view from the alley so with that uh i understand
that the board still needs to have a tax clearance certificate my client would work as expeditiously
as possible to get that tax clearance certificate and we would hope that the board grant us the
requested variance and we thank the board's questions from the board grace and courtesies
so where is this parking supposed to be not as you're showing in the rendering you said but in
other space right my cursor is floating over that area it's right under the
existing deck in the rear two cars here oh one or two cars obviously the the
there's ample parking there's ample parking on Bingham Street as well as
Devereaux however the the renditions they do show that there's space for one
spot over here and another spot over here and where's the curb cut oh there's already an alleyway
in the back ms graham okay so what you're showing here is that you don't you don't need a curb cut
or where are the pictures this is the rendering where's the well the pictures i've already uh
the pictures at our earlier hearing, there's already an alleyway in the back
that provides for parking for the whole block. So there's already a curb cut on
the alleyway. I could show you that if I'll stop sharing this and I'll
go back to the to the other photos that I showed.
here we go so here's there's already a curve
cut over the shaded rectangle a little bit since i saw this so i'm just okay no that i understand
i understand so so the curb cut would be right over here goes to the alleyway we don't we don't
see anything further down at the other end of the block ah okay do you see it now
I see the, I see a plan. I don't see. Okay. So, there's a curb cut over here. There's a curb cut immediately to the left of the rectangle, which is a representation of the vehicle. If I could scroll up, further up, I'll show you some other photographs. Let's see what we have here.
there's a curb cut immediately to the to the right okay the right of the photo
which is what is which is what exists now
okay thank you my pleasure the questions on the board i just want to have a question because i'm
I'm comparing photos and the photo you have is different than what is in Google Earth and Google Maps, which is from not even a year ago.
So I just want to confirm that there was demolition done by your client for the shed at the rear of the property, and that there will be further demolition of the enclosed rear addition on the second level.
right here we we do need to have a permit to demolish all the high sections of that white area
i just want to clarify because right now your rendering is different from your drawing is
different from the photos is different from google maps well the photos are showing what's going on
now that rendering is the is at the end of everything sure but the rendering is also not
correct to the drawing so it's also misleading so um and without a demolition like a cleaned
demolition plan it's and with all all of this being overlaid on a single zoning document it's
hard to decipher so what we are going to put back is there'll be the one surface parking lot the one
surface parking lot is going to be covered by the by the replacement rear deck and that is what
you're indicating for the parking spot because you're you've correct okay and i do just want to
point out because i know you said well another car could fit there and your drawing shows that
it shouldn't be able to fit like based on the width you should not be able to fit another car
there also based on the structure and where you showed the structure to support both uh now that
the decks are split uh you should not be able to fit another car there against the fence
and still have clearance all the questions
we're not voting today anyway questions from our turn of our attorney um not a question but
mr verkauer we're gonna need revised plans um in order to vote on this as well um because
i see that the the side the deck on the side has been shrunk from the original plans also the
covering that was originally proposed for it has been removed as well so those things need to be
noted on an updated set of plans and submitted to us with a proviso form before the board can vote
on this okay um just for the record if those were submitted at the last hearing i'll just resubmit
them again along with the proviso form okay yes so we might not we yes and they need to match the
set that was submitted to lni which looks like to be about four pages understood yeah all right
questions from the virtual thank you i see mohan's chair planning commission thank you chairman and
good evening david vector with the city planning commission chairman and board members the
comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa5 residential single family zoning at this
location the city rezoned this neighborhood in 1975 and a council supported map change
There is no unique physical condition or circumstance that would prevent this property from being used in strict conformity with the zoning code.
The City Planning Commission recommends the board deny all proposed variances.
Okay, so we're holding the vote on this, right?
We're not going to give it a date, right?
Once he, and everything's closed, right?
Except for what he's turning to you.
Well, we do like to put dates on things.
Oh, sure.
Yes. So, Mr. Recaro, do you think you could have the plans and taxes?
um Mr. Vaccaro do you think you could have the the plans and taxes issues addressed by September 2nd
absolutely okay so we'll schedule this for September 2nd at 2 p.m all right thank you very
much thank you thank you thank you all right number 12 MI 2026 002 329 6409 Woodland Avenue
Darlene Threat is the attorney.
A letter of support from Southwest
Consortium of RCOs.
We're going to take a break.
Good evening, Commissioners.
It's Darlene Freed on behalf of the applicant, Mamie Sartney.
Could you please first state your name as spelled for the stenographer?
My name is Darlene, D-A-R-L-E-N-E, last name Freed, T as in Thomas, H-R-E-A-T-T as in Thomas.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I have a letter of support from Southwest Consortium, RCO, group.
our vice chair has a few questions good evening have you submitted your documents and exhibits
five days in advance of this hearing yes i have and do you waive the reading of the refusals and
stipulate to the accuracy yes i do okay thank you you can share your screen and proceed with your
are you able to see my screen it's coming up right you it's up down yep we see it
uh good afternoon commissioners i'm here representing the woodland produce market today
My client is Mamie Sardney, accompanied by her son, Dali Confumba.
A commissioner, as I filed a use application permit to the zone license and inspections to legalize an addition, which was added on to this property.
I did submit a host of documents contained therein are the syllabus.
the uh commit application refusal the appeal property information form the deed general
property information tax information plans pictures proof of mailing he has letter and
i did supplement my presentation today with the letter i got from the 34th ward this morning
Commissioners, my client purchased this property back in 2021. She had the opportunity to work
here for many years, and then she had the opportunity to purchase it in 2021. Immediately
after she purchased it, she started getting broken into this property. She had her freezers
located in the rear of this property and they were um enclosed by a fence uh after her property uh
got broken into several times she did hire a contractor to enclose the freezers in the rear
once the contractor began work uh ellen i came by and indicated that she needed a permit to get this
work done. Unfortunately, the contractor led her to believe that he had actually gotten a permit
and came back and finished the work. Thereafter, she got a zoning violation, which is why we're
here in front of the zoning board today. Commissioner, this is where the property sits
on the block. It's called Woodland Produce Market. It's on Woodland Avenue in the Commercial
district right next to it is a cousin's food market and to the other side of it
is a Jamaican restaurant if you look at this little layout here you'll see