form. A5, proof of ownership. A6, tax clearance. A7 are the site elevation and floor plans, which
we'll go through. A8 are photographs. A9 is the RCO letter of support from Northern Liberties.
A10, if submitted, would be the district council letter. I don't have a copy, but if it was
submitted obvious that that be marked as A-10. We searched for zoning history but none was found
and of course A-12 and A-13 are the zoning map and aerial photo respectively. So just moving down
the exhibits real quick. Obviously it's the application for appeal which was filled out by
the applicant. The notice of refusal again it indicated complete demolition whereas we are
seeking partial demolition of the structure to make way for the addition.
The property is owned RSA 5, so the use is permitted.
Again, the Eclipse application, it was new construction for an addition
resulting in gross floor area change, not a complete demolition.
The project information form, a copy of Fresh Fruits LLC's deed,
that is the holding company that mr bradley operates under
moving on tax clearance you can see there's a 20 dollar balance due for 2021 which
in effect aren't due yet they're not due till march with regard to the plans
again at the front of the structure we're proposing a fourth story edition and in the rear
there's currently a first floor addition that we want to build above to box out
to box out the entire building. So it's four stories front to rear.
the entire building so it's four stories front to rear
Again, the existing building is three stories at most of the front with a small one-story shed
kitchen addition at the rear. And again, there is an existing backyard that we will not encroach upon.
so again you'll see here the existing rear yard is nine feet ten and a half inches
we seek to build above that and maintain the existing rear yard the entire height of the building
here we have the demolition plan you can see there's some partial demolition of the existing
gabled roof part of the third floor and a second floor and the shed kitchen addition in order to
make way for the new addition to the structure again the gable roof the I would point out that
the existing front facade of the building will remain that will not change it'll be improved but
we're going to maintain that. And you've met with the RCO? Yes, the RCO letter is just a quick
picture of the structure itself. Again, the rear one-story shed kitchen addition that we want to
build over. This is the existing second and third floors. And then here is the RCO letter from
northern liberties indicating that they support the project i would also point out that they were
aware that it is not a complete edition but they're building on the existing footprint
and it would be four stories within 38 feet uh following that discussion uh they uh they
voted to approve the proposal are there any witnesses here to wish to testify i have julian
bradley on i asked him to raise his hand if he wants to get on just verify and adopt otherwise
we can stipulate to that and the board can move on okay hello council all right julian
sorry do you swear to affirm and or affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth
after you identify yourself yes my name is julian bradley and i swear to tell the truth and nothing
but the truth okay julian you've heard you've heard my representations to the board yes i have
thank you are they true and correct are they true and correct to the best of your knowledge
information and belief yes and would you adopt them as your own testimony yes correct
thank you very much that's all i had madam chair thank you planning commission
good afternoon david effecto f-e-c-t-e-a-u with the city planning commission
hi david do you swear or firm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes ma'am i certainly do okay proceed please thank you vice chair tenari and members of the board
the comprehensive plan recommends this property for single family residential use the proposal
is largely consistent with the comprehensive plan accordingly we do not object to granting this
variance okay just word of any questions no no calendar no calendar number one nine six three
anybody else in this matter we have one hand up chair thanks confessor okay
you may unmute yourself you're free to speak
NS Meal, you're free to speak, just unmute yourself.
I'm getting no response, Madam Chair.
Okay, so we're ready to vote.
calendar number one nine six three eleven twenty seven north hancock street my vote is yes
my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes
madam chair members of the board thank you very much and that concludes my business till the 3 30
list but i will be uh i will still be present thank you calendar number zero one one seven
1327 north fourth street
alan knockamson is the attorney uh yes okay do you uh can you put your name and address on the
record uh yes uh my name is alan knockamson a-l-a-n last name knockamson and it's a nancy
o-c-h-u-m as in mary s-o-n as in nancy and do you swear or from to tell the whole truth and
nothing but the truth for this session i do okay do you wave and step uh yes i do and have you
Okay, do you wave and stip?
Yes, I do.
And have you emailed the packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal referral, photos, plans of the property five days in advance of the hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Yes, I do, in all respects.
Okay, you may proceed.
I just need to be added, I believe, as a panelist, so I can share my screen.
You've already been promoted to panelist, sir.
Oh, there's nothing on my screen. I came and usually I would see myself and then I would have a shared screen, so I don't see anything.
How about now?
Yes, now. I'm good.
Hi, I'm going to share my screen.
and i'm here to present uh 1327 north 4th street which is owned uh by chrissy johnson uh miss
johnson has lived in a neighborhood uh for almost 15 years uh she currently lives in this house
and this is an rsa 5 property uh with you know as you'll see there's a table of contents i have
the deed to the property, certificate of tax clearance, knows the refusal, nearby multifamily
and commercial buildings of a similar ilk, an application for appeal, maps showing where
we are in the neighborhood, photographs of the property, architectural plan.
Can you make this larger?
The print is really small.
Is that better?
A little bit.
All right, I'll try to increase it a little bit more.
Can you maximize your screen?
You know what, I'm going to stop sharing and I'm going to share it a different way.
Uh, let's see.
Yeah, because that was unusually small.
All right, uh, full screen mode. Is that better?
Um, huh.
Confessor, maybe your eyes are better than mine. Can you see that or is that unusually small?
I can't see it. All right, well let's try to share it again a different way. Wait, hold on.
Let me hit stop share.
Not having computer issues in terms of sharing.
All right, let's try it one more time. Sorry about that.
All right, I'm going to make it. What about this? Is that good?
All right.
So we'll go through the exhibits one by one, as usual.
The first exhibit is just the deed to the property showing that Ms. Johnson owns the property at 1327 North 4th Street, which is a block and a half away from a commercial corridor, West Gerard Avenue.
We're in the South Kensington part of town.
After that, you'll see the certificate of tax clearance showing that Ms. Johnson is in good standing with the City of Philadelphia.
you will see a tax balance for 2021, but taxes are not due for 2021 until a few months from now.
After that, you will see the notice of refusal. And again, you'll see that we're an RSA-5 property.
We're proposing to put a two-family dwelling here and have a rear addition on the third floor.
We're not seeking any dimensional variances. The only variance we're seeking is a use variance.
You'll see that this is non-common in this part of town.
Again, we're a block and a half away from a commercial corridor,
so it's typical that you would see from a planning perspective
as much density to support that commercial corridor.
But you'll see from the highlighted portions that on North 4th Street alone, 1324,
North 4th Street is multifamily or multi-use in nature.
413 Master Street, which is around the corner because we're between Master
and West Thompson Street.
You'll see that 1328-36 North 4th Street is multifamily.
1314-22 North 4th Street is multifamily.
You'll see 1307 North Lawrence Street,
which we back up into, is also multifamily.
1309-11 North Lawrence Street as well,
and 1328 North Oriana Street.
And as an add-on, this board may remember,
when I presented 1221-25
but I presented 1221-25 North 4th Street which was a 29 unit apartment building.
North 4th Street
which was
Now that was RM1 but we did get a variance for use and this board granted that variance as well.
After that is our application for appeal that we filed with the zoning board of adjustment
and then after that is the you know notice of refusal as well as the project information form
And then after that are maps of the property or within the vicinity.
So as you see, we're in the middle of a block.
There's a playground next to us.
There's some IRMX that's around the corner.
And we're between Oriana.
We back up into Oriana and we're between Master and West Thompson Street.
Again, a block and a half away from West Girard.
And you'll see that a little better from this map.
After that, you'll see photographs of the front of the property.
This is a three-story structure.
That's 38 feet in height.
And you'll see properties to the right of the property.
As you can see, that this is not a purely residential block from a single-family perspective.
that it has some mixed zoning on there,
which shows that it's not uncommon
to have multifamily use within the vicinity.
To the right of the block,
you'll see, again, just it's a tree-lined street.
After that, you'll see the architectural plans and drawings.
So I just want to make sure I get everything.
So you'll see that this is,
If I can just make it a little smaller for presentation purposes.
So you'll see that this is a pretty large lot for RSA 5.
It's almost 1,150 square feet.
The building structure is over 2,000.
We're trying to just add a portion of it in the rear, which you'll see from this drawing.
This is the, again, we still have remaining existing yard, which is substantial.
Our new addition is only on the third floor because it's on the first and second floor.
It's already there of 197 square feet.
So 15 by, I think, 16-ish width.
Now I'll go through the floor plans.
so the unit number one is a bi-level on the first floor you enter in you have a bedroom a dining
room and a living room uh and then on the bottom level this is where mrs johnson will be living
is she has her master bedroom as well as a kitchenette area and then on the upper floors
The second and third floors is unit number two, open floor plan with some bedrooms up top.
And then on the third floor is also bedrooms as well.
Again, Ms. Johnson, who's been living there for some time, is looking to supplement her income so it would make it more affordable to remain in the neighborhood.
So she's planning to live in unit number one and then to rent out unit number two.
my client did meet with South Kensington Community Partners. Now if you'll see from the it is a
letter of non-support but or you will see that there's reference in the letter to neighbors
who were in support of her recognizing that she is a long-time resident. There is no vote count.
They did not take a vote for whatever reason. I don't know if that's their policy nowadays with
COVID. But they indicated that there was some push by some of the people online in terms of
the project. And ultimately, because of some of that opposition on the call, which we don't know
how many people there were, but enough that they did not support the project. So what Ms. Johnson
did was that I asked her to reach out to her neighbors, right? Because those are the people
are going to be most affected by the project. And as you can see, she received a decent amount of
support on her block. So, you know, we had, you know, people in the 1300 block of North 4th Street,
all of these, 400 block of West Thompson, which is across street, 400 block of Master Street,
which is across street, and then a few others sprinkling throughout the neighborhood. You know,
so she had almost 20 people who were in support of her project and in the project in name only.
She's not a developer. She's looking to live there and supplement her income to help her afford to remain in the neighborhood.
So that concludes my presentation. I do have Ms. Johnson on the call.
So that concludes my presentation.
I do have Ms. Johnson on the call, so if she can virtually raise her hand.
I have an Anthony that I've unmuted.
He has to unmute himself.
Yes, I'm here with Ms. Johnson. I'm the architect for the project, but she's here in my office
and she is here. She can speak. Ms. Johnson, can you put your name and address on the record please?
Yes, I'm Chrissy Johnson and the address is 1327 Northport Street for the Dr. PA 19122.
Okay, and do you swear and affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Okay, Alan.
Ms. Johnson, you heard everything I stated today.
And is it true and correct?