that unit himself at one point and uh wanted a basement in the bed or excuse me wanted a bed
in in the basement but yeah we have no the current the current tenant just uses it for storage
so and and is there a bathroom down here too no no no
but they'll be for washing and dryer i'm sorry there's a washer dryer right it's for washer
dryer and storage and utilities that's it no living no living in the basement okay and then
that washer and dryer is available for the use of the tenants of both of the units no i think the
washer and dryer is used for the first floor unit mr sommer can you confirm that yeah that that is
correct the first floor unit has access to the basement which is where the wash dryer unit is
the upstairs does not have washer dryer thank you thank you other questions yes can you walk through
any plans that you have for future construction at the site?
Yeah, thank you. So nothing, nothing major, just going to spruce up the upstairs unit
before we rent it. You know, new carpets, flooring, paint, that sort of stuff.
Okay. And then just because I'm looking at the records, it does look like this applied for a
zoning permit in 2022 for work that was likely completed and done without permits at that time
and was dismissed for a two-unit building. And then he attained a rental license during the
pandemic for one unit when he was living in it, which is probably how he ended up here.
Aram, can you confirm that, to the best of your knowledge, all of the utilities have been
properly separated yes i can and i'm sure mr sommer can yes both elect so we're saying
electrical and um all of the gas everything i don't know what that what kind of gas there is
but i think yeah i mean electrical and well i guess i think most of it's electric i think
everything is electric mr sommer there's um electric is separated there's one gas that's
shared by the that's shared one gas meter okay so that would probably need to be updated but um
you can work that out with lni okay definitely questions tomorrow attorney
no chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
I see no hands.
Planning.
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning to the RSA 5 residential single-family zoning at this location.
The appellant sinks two dwelling units in an existing two-story row home.
There's an expired rental permit on file for one unit in 2020.
There is no history of anything on this property other than single-family.
2052 2070 and 2087 are legal duplexes that predate the current zoning maps otherwise this
is a single family block face the planning commission recommends that the board deny
the requested variance for two dwelling units mi 2024 006 177 2068 east somerset street
I vote yes. Certific of occupancy to be obtained and no basement living.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with proviso.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tywin, my vote is yes with proviso.
Vern, why don't you stay there?
MI 2024-006-699-2021 Stenton Avenue.
Just for the record, Vern, please state your name.
Vern Anastasio on behalf of Mr. James Ingram.
Okay. Do you waive the reading on the refusal and do you agree with its accuracy?
Please start your presentation.
Thank you.
We don't have an RCO yet, and I understand there's a problem. There's a new RCO.
so uh am i i uh we've been granted uh a waiver from the rco requirement from your up from the
from the office from our office that's correct we're not going to be going to an rco um i uh
at least that's the last i heard no my understanding is we're going to hold it for two weeks am i
correct counsel you are correct sir yeah we're going to hold this hold the vote in two weeks
okay okay in case yeah they decide if you if you get it you can't make well we're going to vote
understood that's fair enough thank you uh this is a three-family dwelling a long history of
multi-use commercial mixed residential use. The first floor was traditionally a very
well-regarded in the neighborhood 100 plus years carpet company that subsequently moved.
There really isn't a whole lot of commercial activity otherwise. So this property on the
first floor became a another living unit. And here we go here. This is unit one.
I know this says this is your entry door. I know this is dining room. It's more of a living room
sort of situation, maybe with a dinette set, kitchen, full bath, and a bedroom.
unit two
sort of the same sort of setup we've got a living room with a kitchenette a bedroom and a bath
and then the first floor we've got a bedroom living space and a full bath it's three bedrooms
in the entire building it's attached to a multi-family dwelling already
also with no commercial on the first floor
You have a photo of the outside.
I'm trying to figure out what this building looks like.
This is it's a it's in a weird corner.
So this is this great building is the building, and I've got plenty of outdoor shots.
there's an entrance there's a side yard each unit has its own containers
the property attached to it is a multi-family dwelling
I have additional shots as well.
I believe we sent over posting photos of the exterior.
As you can see, lots of water heaters, lots of electric meters.
All of that was done years ago.
103 individual households were mailed.
right behind it is a schoolyard uh not a whole lot of action as far as commercial is concerned
this is the multi-family dwelling right next to it on the right on the left
and there's proof of posting
we got moving into evidence 111 pages
we've got moving into evidence 111 pages we've got history that long documents
the commercial mixed use residential included
here is the listing as an apartment building
also potential uses that did not come to pass for obvious reasons as we all know the commercial
market in Philadelphia is not a good one.
Here's more of that.
He also pays the, of course, multifamily trash
fee. And
this is a mortgage that was recorded, but we did in fact
forward to the office the deed in question.
And you could take a look at the really unfortunate sort of shape of the building.
And it's shared, right?
Because there's a multifamily dwelling here.
And this now is a three-family dwelling here.
You've got your parking lot to your school here.
And most of this on Stanton Avenue is all residential now.
No commercial, really, except for the 125-year-old carpet place that was here.
They moved over here.
And that's about it.
And with that, I'd like to call my client to the stand.
He could raise his virtual hand.
James M. Graham will be joining as a panelist.
good afternoon sir could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
james ingram and is j-a-m-e-s-i-n-g-r-a-m right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth nothing but the truth yes please proceed counsel thank you mr ingram did you hear
my presentation to the board this afternoon yes the true and accurate to the best of your knowledge
yes you adopted as your own testimony yes i have nothing further mr chair questions from the board
yes can you explain the um commercial use that you intend to have in the commercial space
um we don't intend to use it as commercial it's it's residential
yeah no that i understood but i feel like there was an old permit that said it was a business
professional office in addition to the three units i just wanted to so confirming right now
this is only going to be three residential units it's my understanding that's what the plans say
Mr. Ingram, would you like to confirm that?
Yes, main purpose is held a multi-dwelling unit.
There is an additional office space there that we have used for storage and everything.
Thank you.
Storage for the resident, you're going to use that for storage for the residential?
Yeah, the units themselves are relatively small.
so because of the unique physical condition of the property so that's yeah but did he not amend
the refusal on january 22nd 2025 i did yes yes so i'm saying that the note from january 22nd
says that it is to add a business and professional office in addition to the
three dwelling units i'm just confirming what are we talking about today
no we're not using it's for storage only
okay and what floor is that on first floor
and there's the units on the first floor with that
i'll go back to the plan it is okay sure show us why don't you do that
i don't believe the storage oh yep well there's that's it right there is this it right here mr
Mr. Ingram, right here?
No, it should be within the basement below the first floor.
The basement will be used for the storage below the first floor.
So there's nothing on the first floor other than the unit?
The unit, there is a, the unit is on the first floor and then next to the unit, the, well, below the unit, the basement is where the storage is. And then there is, uh, office facility. There's nothing in it. There's no business in it or anything like that. We've just been using it for storage.
The unit, there is a, the unit is on the first floor and then next to the unit.
present. Is that in the basement?
You walk into where that office space was
and then you can get into the basement where the storage is. There's no
business or anything there though. It's just we've just been using
it for storage. And there's no
intent in the future to operate it as a business?
Not at the present time.
The only thing that we might do, it is an office space.
I might set up there to do like property management and stuff like that.
So, Mr. Ingram, the issue is that this property is in a district where you need approval for anything other than these three dwelling units.
And so I think we're just trying to confirm to make sure right now that your refusal is correct so that you can use it as you intend in the future.
even if you want to use it for your property management even if you want to use it for
yourself all you're getting approved for right now is three dwelling units and you have a
application that it said that you wanted an office and a business purpose so i think we're
just trying to confirm so we can make sure that we have everything right on our end i appreciate
that yeah mainly it's for the for the three residential units can you hear me
You can't say mainly.
Is it going to be three units or not three units?
Mr. Chair, I'm here to present for three-family dwelling in an existing structure, period.
Make sure he understands that.
Now, it's his building.
If he wants to set up a little desk for himself, that's his prerogative, but it can't be used open for the public or have a business.
He would have to have approval to do that in the basement.
We've done it on other units.
It's an accessory use to the dwelling.
We have to put it on the...
So for future...
We're here for a three-family dwelling, period.
Right.
If he wants to use any other space for his own personal use, he'll deal with L&I at that time.
Okay, so then what was going on with the refusal from January 22nd to outline that?
That's what I am trying to figure out.
We have a note that says there was a refusal.
I mean, there was an amended permit from January of this year
that tried to add this business use,
and then I thought you just said, Vern,
that you're the one that filed it.
Now you guys are saying that you don't.
We're not doing it.
No, we're not doing it.
So we're taking it out of consideration.
That's correct.
Got it.
Sorry for the confusion.
If it's approved.
But we're taking it out of...
And we're holding a vote on this, right, Vern?
Yes, we have to hold a vote, apparently.
That's what the attorney had advised me.
I have a couple of questions.
Well, I have one comment and one question.
Your plans here, and again, this is my issue, I think.
I have a problem with these layouts where you have to walk through, from the bedroom,
um you have to walk through the kitchen and the living room to get to the bathroom so at three
o'clock in the morning you're stumbling and bumbling around through the kitchen and the
living room to get to the bathroom on which i think which unit is that just the one you just
the one we were just doing okay see the bedroom there there's all right there's yeah i get up
living room here's the bathroom down here okay next floor um we have the same kind of issue
all right and i'm and i understand that you're dealing with you see this bedroom over here