ZBA Hearing - December 16, 2020

property for about 10 years and in the neighborhood for about 20 years. When we purchased the house

10 years ago, we only had one son and he's now grown, but we have two more, ages three and five,

and we need more space. So we have decided to add a third story to get us that space. So on

screen is the refusal there were two parts to that one was we wanted to see if we could get

a variance on the eight foot setback and the other one was to ask for an additional nine inches

And the other one was to ask for an additional nine inches for a third-story rear balcony.

So here's the application and the project information form details.

And this is the lease, the tax compliance for both myself and Brooke.

And this is the property.

um so oh here's the uh the paper showing that they voted uh eight to zero non-opposition and

there was a straw poll vote of three to zero uh and not opposition from the people that were

attending so this is a proposed plan uh for the third story uh we're planning on doing a very

conservative front we didn't want to do anything that would be out of character with our block

We think it's a very nice-looking block, so we want to keep it that way.

As of right now, we are in need of a three-story house.

If you're looking right now, you see the old plant, or the current plant, excuse me.

There's one rear bedroom and then one front bedroom.

In the middle, there's what the architect labeled as a nursery, but it's connected to this one bedroom, and it's not a usable space.

it's smaller than an old bedroom and it's far too small for my three-year-old to grow up in so we

have decided to add the third story and on the second story uh reconfigure this so there will

just be a bathroom and one bedroom for my daughter and one bedroom for my son so i will show

this is the current plan for the third story

might be a little hard to see

Okay.

So, again, this is the second floor.

There would just be the rear bedroom and the front bedroom, and what is essentially the

middle room right now that's a nursery would turn into a single bathroom, and the hallway

would be put back in place, and then the stairs going to the third floor would be right here.

On the third story, we have a master bedroom with a master bath, and then there is a multi-use

space.

I work for the federal judiciary, so I am, especially during this pandemic,

teleworking all the time and talking to judges and court staff,

and I really need a space that is apart from the children.

So the plan is to have a multi-use space that would be for work,

and then also to have a couch here so our grown son could visit and sleep on that.

Because right now there's not only not room for us, there's no room for visitors.

So the size of this rear multi-use space is essentially the same size as the setback.

So according to Architect, if we did have the setback, there would be no room for this multi-use office and place for my son to sleep when he visits.

The other part of the variance request is for a rear balcony.

This is a rendering of the third floor.

So it would be up here, there'd be a sliding glass door, and we felt that it was a little bit too short, so we wanted to extend it nine inches, so it would be a full three feet.

We felt that would be more usable space and also be safer space if the kids are out there sitting on a chair or something like that.

I did also want to mention that we are zoned RSA 5 right there, but we butt up against properties on Greenwich Street.

These two properties that our backyards touch are both three stories that go to the front.

1114 Greenwich is a three-story.

These three right here are all three stories that go to the front.

And there are five or six or seven on Carr Street over here that all go to the front and are three stories.

So we feel like there's some precedence for doing this.

So that's basically all I had.

Like I said, we're just trying to add space and make our house livable.

And we like where we live.

we've lived in labor for a long time and uh we just we want our house to grow with our family

thank you very much uh questions from the board no no anyone would like to testify in this case

if so please raise your hand and at this time mr chair thank you very much planning commission

i'm bednar city planning property is indicated for residential use on the city plan

And given the neighborhood site context, we have no objection to the granting of the merits.

Thank you, Ryan.

MI 2020-001334, 1121 Cross Street.

My vote is yes.

My vote is yes.

My vote is yes.

My vote is yes.

Thank you and good luck.

MI 2020-001373, 1605 South Street.

1605 South Street.

Thank you.

Mr. D. Boggs has been promoted to panel, sir.

Boggs or Ms. Boggs?

Yes, good afternoon.

How are you?

I'm sorry.

I said Mr.

I'm at mistake.

All right.

Please identify yourself

for the record? Stephanie Boggs, Claire Harrison, 1835 Market Street. Boggs is B-O-G-G-S, correct?

Correct. All right, you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

I do. Stephanie, do you agree to waive the reading of its refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?

It is a letter of referral for a special exception, but yes, I do.

Also, have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents, proof of ownership,

proof of tax compliance copy of the refusal or referral photos and plans five days prior to this

hearing yes i have also have you met with the rco and have a letter yes it's included within the

packet we submitted thank you please proceed sure if i can share my screen

while you're doing that there's also a letter of non-opposition from center city residents

Yes, that is correct.

Okay.

So this property is located at the corner of 16th Street and South Street.

It's specifically for Unit 100, which is on the ground floor that occupies the corner of that space.

It's an existing solar practitioner office for a dental practice.

And our client is seeking a special exception approval to be able to convert that use into a group medical practice so that he can expand his practice.

As was mentioned, we did have a chance to meet with the Center City Residence Association, and their letter of non-opposition is included within your packet.

They did note in our meeting with them that a more active, intensive use of this corner property would be more appropriate than the solo practitioner office that is there.

And for those reasons and the location of the practice in general, we do feel that we meet the qualifications for a special exception.

We have a local practice. Most of the patients will be coming to the site by walking within the neighborhood, so we don't anticipate any congestion in the public streets or otherwise detrimental impacts to our adjacent properties.

I do have the owner of the practice here on the call, Michael Alhiri, if I can bring him on and have him confirm my testimony.

And he's also available to answer any questions the board may have.

Michael, can you please raise your hand?

He's been a lot to talk, Ms. Boggs.

Good afternoon, or good evening, sir.

Please identify yourself with the records by your full name.

My name is Michael Alharir, A-L-H-A-R-I-R, address 100 North 22nd Street, Unit 120 for

the Delphi PA 19103.

And you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Yes, I do.

Thank you.

Ms. Boggs?

Yes.

Hi, Michael.

Have you heard my testimony this afternoon?

Yes.

Do you believe it to be true and correct?

yes I do if given the opportunity would you adopt it as your own yes thank you I did want to point

out for the board that the picture is on the screen right now or a picture of the property

that showed the location of the existing practice that does occupy the corner of 16th and south

thank you are there any questions questions from the board no anyone else would like to

testify in this case if so please raise your hand

there are no further hands at this time mr chair thank you planning commission

on bednar city planning this property is indicated for neighborhood commercial mixed use on the city

plan given the locational context and the site characteristics we have no objection to the

granting you the special exception. Thank you. MI 2020-001373-1605 South Street. My vote is yes.

My vote is yes. My vote is yes. My vote is yes. Thank you, Ms. Boggs, for that brief and concise

testimony. Thank you very much. Have a good afternoon. Thank you. MI 2020-001606-1851 South

Columbus Boulevard.

Bob Carless has been allowed to speak.

Jason, I promoted him.

He's the attorney for the case.

Mr. Carless, good evening.

Please identify yourself with the records by your last name.

Good evening, everyone.

Bob Carless, Cozen O'Connor, C-A-R-E-L-E-S-S, 1650 Market Street, Philadelphia,

on behalf of JPMorgan Chase Bank.

Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?

Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,

the whole truth, nothing but the truth?

I do.

I do.

Thank you.

Confessor.

Sir, you agree to waive the reading of his refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?

I do.

Also, have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents, proof of ownership,

proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal, photos and plans five days prior to this hearing?

I haven't.

Just so it's clear, it's a copy of the referral.

Great.

Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter?

we do thank you please proceed

thank you good evening everyone again i'm here on a referral as i mentioned for a proposed

freestanding drive up atm to be located within the columbus crossing shopping center in south

philadelphia i'm showing an aerial on the screen here of the site the site is located within the

CMX three, uh, zoning districts in the CMX three, the proposed drive up ATM

requires a special exception approval. Uh, there were no refusals, uh, chase.

My client has entered into a license agreement for approximately 600 square

feet of area. That's bubbled in my aerial here. Um, this rear section of the

parking lot was identified as the proposed drive through ATM, um, such not

interfere with patrons of the shopping center, walking around or taking up any

other kind of critical parking stalls within the center. This is a plan sheet which shows the

proposed ATM. The design provides room for three cars in terms of stacking. It's typically more

than adequate for a drive-up ATM. This ATM, as you know, is being constructed within an existing

commercial development, an existing commercial parking lot. We're not impacting any landscaping.

We are proposing a few new light poles for safety purposes, but we don't anticipate those having any adverse impacts.

We do have a site triangle for those patients who are exiting.

They come in here and they exit here.

So you can see we are demonstrating a safe site triangle for the vehicles that are traveling in the rear portion of the parking lot.

But we would expect, we do expect that the ATM would be a draw for pass-by traffic, meaning customers that are already within the shopping center.

We don't expect that this would generate any additional traffic in the center.

We did meet with the PennSport Civic, and we do have their support for the requested special exception.

I do have two witnesses that I guess to come off mute if they're out there.

Dana Polanski of Chase, could I ask you to raise your hand, please?

I don't know how to speak yet.

I am unmuted. Thank you.

Thank you.

Please identify yourself with a record.

My name is Dana Polanski.

I'm the market director of real estate for the Philadelphia region for JPMorgan Chase.

Please spell your last name, ma'am.

P-O-L-O-N-S-K-Y.

Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

I do.

Thank you.

Mr. Kirlis.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Ms. Polanski, did you hear my testimony to the board?

I did.

And was it true and correct to the best of your knowledge?

It is.

And would you adopt and affirm that testimony as your own?

I would.

Thank you.

Can I ask Mr. Martin Swaggart from Core States to please raise his hand to come off mute?

He's been allowed to speak, sir.

Good evening, sir.

Please identify yourself with the records by your full name.

Hello, my name is Martin Swaggart, M-A-R-T-I-N, last name S-W-A-G-G-A-R-D.

I am the Regional Director of Civil Engineering with Core States Group.

My address is 201 South Maple Avenue, Suite 300, Ambler, Pennsylvania, 19002.

Thank you, Swear Affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.

I do.

Thank you, Mr. Kalish.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.