almost all the stores on the block are built back almost to the property line
I'm certainly thought she was doing the right thing she actually did hire a
contractor to enclose the freezers in the back of the store unfortunately she
didn't know enough to ask the contractor to actually see the permit uh here is the layout
of the building this was the original one story uh building and this was the addition which was
built to enclose the freezers and the addition was actually built back to the property line
this is how the store looks in the front here's a picture of the posting
Here's a picture of the posting, just another picture of the posting, but here's the interior of the store.
Thank you.
It's really just a straight back store. This is looking from the front door all the way to the back.
I'll show you the room in the back a little later where the freezer isn't closed.
To the right, she has some freezers for her perishable items.
To the left, excuse me, in the middle, she has some fruits and vegetables.
And to the left, she has some goods.
Her cash registers are here at the front of the store.
She employs five people from the community.
Her hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
This is a picture from the rear of the store looking out to the front.
This is a picture of the back room, which encloses the freezer.
As you can see, it's a very, very large freezer.
There's a little room to the side of the freezer.
This is the exit to the rear.
There's really no rear yard.
When you exit in the rear, you're really exiting into the alley.
uh i wanted to give you a side view of the property so you can actually see
the addition this is really not actually our building you can't really see it our
building is a completely one-story building this is the jamaican restaurant next door
but their addition is about the same length as our addition our addition is right next door
and this is the little like breezeway alley in the back of all of these properties you can walk
through here it's kind of yucky but you can get out through the side this would take you right
out to 64th street this is actually simpson street um it's the opposite side of the block
i put these pictures in here to show you where all the businesses here store their trash
We store our trash in either the first or the last garage door here.
We have commercial trash pickup.
It's picked up twice a week or more if actually necessary.
This was a picture.
Let me just slide it over a little bit.
There we go.
That was the proof of mailing. I did notice a meeting on July 28, 2026. I sent flyers to 131 residences.
This is the letter that was circulated in advance of the meeting.
And this is just to show you our trash storage. I did add these pictures after I submitted the presentation last week.
and i did get a letter from the 34th republican board today it was just an email letter and it
did show that uh we had the meeting i believe there were two other rcos that attended but not
many residences and they supported the project completely and that's all i have for you today
commissioners thank you do you want to bring your client on and have your testimony adopted
Ms. Sartney, can you raise your hand, please?
Do we see a hand?
Mr. Kafumba, are you on the line? Can you raise your hand, please?
No, I don't see any hands.
Darlene, you're an officer of the court. We will take your testimony.
Questions from the board?
what is what is in the addition in the addition houses just the total freezer it's a huge uh
freezer i'm going to scroll down to the pictures okay
This is the addition and it houses.
This is the back door.
This is the addition that houses a really,
that houses a really really large freezer and that's the only thing that's in the addition
really large freezer.
it's just the freezer it's a commercial it's a big commercial a freezer which originally i really
thought i could remove to comply but it's not removable and it's very very very expensive wow
yeah and and and he's using this your your client uses this yes my client uses this to uh store uh
perishable goods uh she really needs this freezer to uh operate her business she is right next door
to the cousin's supermarket and she is uh competing for a grocery business in this area
gotcha okay all right thank you where's this freezer in relationship to the the garages that
you showed in the other image well the garages are around the corner um the freezer is in the
back of the building let me just scroll up a little bit more or do you or do you have another
photo of larger context because i think it's very zoomed in all you can see is a portion of the
freezer and the the rear door yeah these garages are actually on simpson street um it's the next
block it's to the left um they're not attached to the store at all um they're just spaces for
these commercial businesses each of them i don't know if they rent them or what but they do have
separate units each of the stores to store their own uh trash thing so this is actually 64th street
through all the way through here is a really small app excuse me this is simpson street i'm sorry
all the way through the back here is an alley that goes out to 64th street let me see if i have a
better picture this is just a close-up of the alley from actual 64th street those garages are on the
next block they're actually on Simpson Street and I could have had a better
picture but I don't so if a person like from the rear door next to the alley I
mean start from the rear door next to the addition you would enter into this
alley and exit out on 64th Street you could exit out on 64th Street I don't
think you could get through that alley honestly I tried to Simpson Street but
you can exit to 64th street okay and then do you have a site plan that shows this addition in
relationship to the rear property line did i miss that yes i do okay
is there anything else in this edition because the addition in drawing looks larger than your image
Well, it really was tight, Ms. Wynn, so I could only kind of walk up and take that picture in the back. There's a little bit of space in front of that freezer before you come into that room. I would say maybe six feet or something like that.
right but like your image shows the addition coming out proud of a doorway to this property
and this is showing the addition being the entirety of the remainder of the lot so where's
that door on this site plan so this is the existing one story correct all right and there really
should be a door right here on the back here and there should be a cutout correct isn't there
it's there's a cutout right yeah so this drawing is not depicting what is actually happening in
real life is that freezer actually 51 feet wide what long i didn't hear that i'm sorry so the
freezer is 51 feet long according to uh this diagram yes i know but looking at your photo
it looked like it was like 15 feet so that's why i'm i'm asking for clarification
maybe it is i don't know yeah sure that should show the door that's not the only thing that's
contained in the back room uh i i apologize i don't have the actual dimension but the only
thing in the back room is the freezer it does sit back up against the wall and there's a little bit
a space in front of the freezer but not much okay and there's nothing else happening back there not
garbage nothing else happening back there uh during it during the day uh they may uh before
the end of the day they may store some trash back there but then they walk it out into the
the trash storage area on Simpson Street and place it there in the E.
trash storage area on Simpson street um and place it there in the evening time okay questions from our
attorney not at this time from the virtual audience I see no hands here any 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 cmx2 commercial mixed
use zoning this location this commercial corridor still carries its original 1933 zoning this
building addition appears to have been built without the benefit of permits the city planning
commission recommends the board to deny the proposed dimensional variances
and my 2026 002 329 6409 woodland avenue i vote yes michael johns i vote yes
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Ryan McAdams, my vote is yes.
Ryan Wynn, my vote is yes.
Is there anyone in the audience whose 2 p.m. case has not been called?
I see no hands.
We're going to take a five-minute break, and then we'll...
Good afternoon, everyone.
my name is bill bergman and i will be chairing this meeting of the zoning board of adjustment
with me is our vice chair tanetta graham president mr chairman our board secretary
cheryl gaston president mr chairman board members michael johns
he's he's here taiwan mr chairman and ryan mcadams president also present is our attorney hillary
emerson this hearing is being recorded and will be posted on the zba website by participating
you agree to be recorded this is an in-person meeting with remote participation whether in
person or on zoom if you're called to speak please state and spell your name then wait to
be sworn in once you've been sworn in in the future just state your name each time before
testifying to enter your appearance um indicate the proposed the property address on your zoom
webinar speak with a staff member call the zba office by the close of business tomorrow
215-686-2429 and provide your name email and the case address remote participation
raise your virtual hand when when directed to speak when we call on you make sure that you
click the join as a panelist button use the q a only for um procedural questions don't ask
questions about the case itself if you're joining by phone press star nine to raise your hand and
star six to unmute. Let's look at our schedule. Number one, MI 2024 006122 814 Brighton Street.
Frank Turner is the attorney. We have no updated exhibits. I'm allowing Frank Turner to speak.
good afternoon hi mr turner could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
yes frank turner f-r-a-n-k t-u-r-n-e-r do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth i do um mr turner this is uh we still don't have any updated exhibits
and this is the fifth listing could you give us a sense of what's going on with this case
Yes, my apologies. I sent the exhibits earlier this afternoon around noon. I got an email back from, it was listed as board council, saying that it could not be heard today because you guys had not received the exhibits.
I suggested that it might be in everyone's interest to actually hear the merits this afternoon.
They reiterated that you would not be able to hear that.
I would ask if it's continued.
We're going to continue this case?
Is it possible to continue it to maybe the August?
So listen to me.
This is what we're going to do.
We're going to continue this to 12-6-26.
6 at 3 30 p.m. and what will happen is uh if you can if you need to get in earlier then you're
going to have to call the office and see what they can do for you okay i understand thank you
I understand. Thank you very much.
very much all right thank you so everybody knows that case is continuing
All right. Thank you.
So everybody knows that case is continuing to 12-6-26 at 3.30 PM. Number 4.
MI 2026-001-103-2102 Bridge Street.
Zen Jin is the listed attorney. This is the first list and we have no exhibits.
Excuse me chair. I think that case should be continued to 12, 16.
Okay, 12, 16.
26. Thank you.
Okay, so, um.
Do we see Mr. We see Zen's hand anywhere.
No, chair. I do not see the engine in the audience.
Okay, so this case will be continued. MI 2026-001-103-2102 Bridge Street. It will be continued until 12-16-27 at 3.30 p.m.
Right? 26?
I have to put it on the clip. It's on the slip.
Okay, thank you. All right.
Number three, MI 2026, 001-093-1968 North 31st Street, Christopher Dean is the attorney.
Christopher Dean has been promoted to penalist.
good uh evening chair afternoon mr dean could you please state your name is spelled for the
stenographer christopher dean last name d-e-a-n all right um do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do yeah you're taking a place right here
oh our vice chair our not our vice chair our board secretary has a few questions for you
how's that good afternoon counsel um did you submit your documents and exhibits five days
in advance of this hearing i did and do you waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its
accuracy. I do. Then you can proceed with your case. Great. Thank you. Hopefully everyone can
see the screen. I have the pleasure of representing Stephanie Tarkenton, the owners of 1968 North 31st
Street. This is a narrow request to legalize an existing duplex, not expanding it. We're not
expanding the footprint of the building. My clients bought this building actually just last
October as an existing duplex there were no modifications that created the
issue here today my clients were happy to reinvest in a community where they
actually had in fact Kevin had Kevin's family ran a convenient of a market BT
and sons for nearly 20 years in strawberry mansion the requested
variance is the minimum relief possible it authorizes no new construction no
additional unit no changing of the footprint the blueprint it simply preserves the existing
residential building in its present form the use is compatible with the neighborhood because it
remains residential and does not intensify the property and it preserves the below market rental
homes and strawberry mansion in fact my client offers rent at 11.25 a month which is we believe
$200 less than the average PHA rent.
The affordable rents are not a
hardship argument, though. The existing building physical configuration and the burdens
of having to convert this to a single family are.
The hardship was not self-graded. The relief is minimal. And the existing duplex
will not harm the health, safety, welfare of the neighborhood's character.
So if I could just go through my exhibits, and I do have Stephanie on, and our
architect is here in case there's any questions uh ben from pace in case there's any questions
about the design so i want to go through your documents sure but remember we have all your
documents so um if you had drawings and pictures would make it easier all right so i'll just go
through the existing floor plans um there's a picture photos of the property um excuse me
there are i'll get the units up there are two units two floors um each is a one bedroom the
Each is a one-bedroom.
The first floor is a 650-square-foot unit.
first floor is a 650 square foot unit
The second floor is a 728-square-foot unit.
It existed when my clients purchased it.
There's a rear staircase that leads, I'm sort of highlighting right here, on the first floor that leads to the second floor.