application and we would ask you to enter a proviso today that specifies that the use
enter a proviso today that specifies that the use pertains only to space B or suite B.
We did ask L&I to put that on the referral. They did not. But I think that kind of proviso would
just reduce confusion going forward. And this shows the location of the suite in the context
of the whole shopping center. That's the photo you've already seen of the storefront. Here's
what it looks like on the inside. So actually, I'll skip to the next one. This is the customer
ordering area. Nice big space, lots of natural light, no seating. So you basically place your
order. It's mostly soft pretzels with a couple other items like pretzel dogs and pretzel pizza.
And no customers are allowed beyond the counter. So this is a working kitchen. They actually bake
a lot of their pretzels here each day starting bright and early in the morning. So pretty simple
layout uh here are some photos showing our notice posters so we put one set in the window
which is shown here and then to make sure that we comply with the code which requires that these
signs be visible from the street we put a second set on a post in these hedges right on the city
have sidewalk um just want to address really quickly the fact that um as the chairman mentioned
we obtained a when i say we i should be clear um joe purchased this business from a prior tenant so
the we who obtained that special exception in 2019 was a different person with a different lawyer um
but same exact business it was a philly pretzel factory then as it still is
um and you can see here according to this file page on li.phila.gov
a uh it again says variance it should be special exception but a five-year temporary was granted
in 2019 to expire june 1st 2024 um and this um is a copy of um joe's uh food prep and serving
license. So when people that own, say, apartment buildings come before the board, if there's
already tenants in the building, they're supposed to have a rental license, as you know. So sort of
the equivalent of that, sort of, for this kind of food business is a food prep license. That's
the type of business license that L&I requires a business to have. And Joe has that license.
He got it right after purchasing the business. So you'll see his name there, Joseph Mater. And
there's a business name, Tear Enterprises, and here's where it says it's active. So just to say
from a business licensing standpoint and from a land use permitting standpoint, we have all of
our I's dotted and T's crossed, and we are here basically just to continue that forward since
one of these items happens to expire in June. I will quickly show this map that I made. I hope you
agree with me that I'm quite the artist. So the code actually requires a special exception
applicant for a takeout restaurant used to include this in their exhibits. It shows a couple things.
One is the blue box, again, is Joe's Space. That's the Philly Pretzel Factory and its kitchen.
This blue box highlights the parking area that's part of our property. So we are sort of committing
on this map as the code requires to keep both of those areas clean, basically our indoors and our
outdoors. The red dot indicates where the trash cans are that service this shopping center. They
line up in an alley between the two buildings, but they're not like dumpsters. I believe they're
plastic trash cans. And the one that's sort of the front most can is easily available to customers
to sort of walk by and throw something into.
So just to say that we have opportunities
for people to throw away little papers
or take out containers to assure you
that we're not sort of generating litter
for the neighborhood.
And we're also committing here on this map
to monitor even the rest of the shopping center
and the sidewalk,
which are not technically a part of our property.
Some of it's owned by the city,
some of it's owned by our landlords separately,
But the point is, we're calling that our off-premises cleanup area.
So we're assuring that we're going to participate in this entire little strip mall being kept clean.
I will not walk through it, but in the back pages of our application for our special exception,
by which we reserved this hearing, that's where I answered sort of all of the code questions
all of the code questions about, do we deserve a special exception under the law?
about do we deserve
And I'll just summarize by saying the gist of those questions is that one must prove that you
will not harm the public in a manner that goes beyond what would be expected from a takeout
restaurant. And that map is sort of one piece of illustration. We feel confidently that we will
cause no such harms. And that's more fully explained in our application. The last thing
I'll highlight is that I've included in our packet the lease from the landlord to the original tenant
and then Joe's business's formal assumption of that lease, which the landlord consented to.
If I scroll down, here's Joe's signature. Here is the original tenant's signature. Here's the
landlord's signature. This lease gives Joe with extension rights that are guaranteed the ability
to have a business here until 2037. So while we appreciate the RCO's concerns and had nothing but
sort of a friendly dialogue with them, you know, I would note that this is already the second time
this business has been through this process. It's very time consuming and expensive for a small
business operator. And we would certainly welcome the opportunity for this time, the special
exception to be permanent or at least longer than five years, given that this business under this
lease will be there longer than that, most likely. And it's Joe's intention to be the one operating
it himself. So why don't you bring your client on and go after your test? Okay. Joseph Mater or
Joe Mater should be in the audience. And please raise your hand, Joe. They've been about to speak.
Sir, could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Joseph Mater, J-O-S-E-P-H-M-A-T-T-A-I-R. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Please proceed, counsel. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Hey, Joe. So firstly, are you authorized to speak on behalf of Terra Enterprises, LLC?
I am. And that's your business, correct? It is. And that business operates the Philly
Pretzel Factory in Suite B of this property? It does. Okay. Did you hear the full extent of
my testimony in your zoning case this afternoon? I did. Was it true and accurate to the best of
your knowledge, information, and belief? It was. And would you therefore adopt it as if it had
been your own testimony? I would. Okay, thank you. Questions from the board? No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from our attorney? No, Mr. Chair. Questions or comments from the virtual
audience i don't see any further hands mr chair sure planning commission
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing cmx 2.5 commercial mixed use
at this location we feel the proposed will have no more impact than what can reasonably be expected
accordingly the planning commission recommends the board grant the special exemption
thank you MI 2024 000 261 50 22 to 24 city avenue I vote yes proviso use limited to space b
Thomas Holloman my vote is yes with proviso
James Snell, my vote is yes, with proviso.
Ishmael Shahid, my vote is yes, with proviso.
Thank you. Thank you, counsel.
Thank you very much.
All right. So, number 12, MI 2024, 000373, 1949 West Norris Street. Henry Clinton is the attorney.
um there was we do not an r file yet have an rco letter there was a meeting held on the 28th of
february mr clinton you've already been sworn just for the record could you state your name
sure henry clinton h-a-n-r-y clinton c-l-i-n-t-o-n and could you identify your client
and their relationship to this property?
Sure. My client is Curtis Coates, C-U-R-T-I-S, Coates, C-O-A-T-E-S.
He is the owner of the property, and he is on the call.
Our vice chair has just a few questions.
Good afternoon, Counselor.
Good afternoon, Counselor. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal or stipulate to attack for sir?
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal or stipulate to attack for sir?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibit that is needed to proceed with this case?
Except we got two letters of support, one earlier today and one a couple hours ago, which I've now put inside my booklet.
Okay, please send them over to our counsel as well.
Please proceed.
Mr. Clinton, do we have a tax compliance?
Yeah, we have proof that the real estate taxes are paid.
Okay. Thank you.
Hi. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the board.
I'm here concerning 1949 West Nara Street.
My client, Curtis Coates, is the owner of the property, and he is on the call.
The table of contents contains Exhibits A1 through A10, as well as some past zoning records indicating prior use as a candy store in two-family, ice cream store in two-family, and a food establishment.
Refusal.
The request is for a takeout restaurant in this CMX1 zoning district, so it's a use refusal.
And I'll show you that the past history has been a store restaurant with two apartments above.
So we have two letters of support.
One is from St. Elizabeth's Registered Community Organization, basically six to zero in support of the project.
And this letter from Heritage Community Development Corporation, which we just received, like I said, a couple hours ago, indicating that they certainly support Curtis for his diligent work.
And this location actually was abandoned for many years.
But prior, like in the 70s and 80s, it was used by Curtis's grandfather as a corner store where sandwiches and candy were sold.
So Curtis is going to duplicate this.
He's going to have basically a sandwich store selling cheesesteaks, hoagies, french fries, and drinks on a takeout basis.
Photographs of the corner property right here, 1949 West Norris Street.
It's almost 100% lot coverage.
It is 100% lot coverage.
This is what the building looks like now after Curtis renovated the exterior of the property.
We were before the board several years ago to get approval for this property as a vacant commercial on the first floor with two apartments above.
So Curtis moved forward and renovated the second and third floor and then hoping to get a variance for the first floor.
This is what it used to look like, obviously in very, very great disrepair.
Curtis, using a lot of his own sweat equity, fixed it up and this is what it looks like today.
view of the back, stucco in the rear, front entrance, side entrance, proof of zoning notices.
Here's the plans. So this is the front of the building, and I'll try to blow that up a little
bit. This is the front of the building that you would enter here, counter areas here. Everything
Everything is going to be brand new from ground up.
It's going to have air intake ductwork here going outside.
He has his wash areas, sink areas.
In the rear of the property, handicapped bath.
Also, here's the entrance to the apartments on the second and third floor.
There really will be no seating or minimal seating.
It's really a takeout area where you can come in, get your sandwich, and take it home, take it outside.
The rest of the plans are the kitchen hood detail.
I don't think the board is interested in that, but this is all required for Curtis to move forward with his dream of basically recreating a sandwich shop that his grandfather had there many moons ago.
This is our application for appeal.
the rest of the documents are the pro forma documents you would see in a presentation
like this here's the tax information indicating that zero real estate taxes are due again they're
not due until march 31st but we thought in the interest of uh being ahead of it we would pay
the taxes in advance and prove that to the board here's a receipt indicating that they were paid
on march 21st uh two thousand dollars and change
zoney map indicating a cmx1 you can see it's a rather large lot again i said it was almost 100
lot coverage this is the deed to the property and what's interesting you can see that since 1976
this property has been in the coats family uh so again it fell into disrepair
This property has been in the Coates family.
So again, it fell into disrepair.
And that's why the neighbors were pretty energetic about Curtis taking over.
They knew his grandparents.
They knew his parents.
And to come back to your neighborhood and recreate what was there many moons ago is a real feather in, I believe, Curtis's hat.
Certification of mailing, all the notices that went out to the neighbors.
And then I just want to go briefly over the zoning records from the past. This is a zoning record from 1967, indicating this is a two-family retail candy store zoning permit for food establishment, which has since gone inactive, obviously, because the building is vacant.
but that was in play in 1996. And as I said, in several years ago, in 2017, Curtis and I appeared
before the same board, and we asked for approval for a vacant commercial on the first floor
with the two family dwelling, one on the second and one on the third. And fortunately, that was
granted then. So in summary, we're asking to basically rekindle a use of a property
that was in Curtis's family since 1976.
He's going to have a sandwich shop here,
have about four or five employees.
His hours of operation on the weeknights
will be about 10 to 10.
On the weekends, a little bit later,
10 to beyond midnight.
And just hoping to recreate
what was there at one point.
He's in harmony with the prior uses.
The uses in harmony
with what went on there in the past.
The neighborhood is really excited about it.
He actually had a tour conducted for people in the neighborhood to come by, go through the property, and get a glimpse of it.
So with that, Mr. Coates, can you raise your hand and unmute yourself?
They have been out to speak.
Hi, Mr. Coates, could you state your name and spell for the court sonographer?
yes my name is curtis coates c-u-r-t-i-s c-o-a-t-e-s right do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes sir please proceed counsel uh mr coach
you were on the call this zoom call when i presented your project yes sir and i know this
project is a labor of love for you and if you had the opportunity to testify would you adopt
my testimony as your own and as true and correct yes sir thank you mr coach appreciate it
questions from the board no mr chairman no chair no chair questions or comments from our attorney
ryan mcsherry no mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
chair i have a hand raised by a ruth birchard i have allowed them to speak at this time
could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer
yes my name is ruth i burchett b-i-r-c-h-e-t-t right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do i we've we've your letter has been read to us
Ms. Burchette. Thank you. I'm very excited about this. And on behalf of our neighbors who
aren't in the virtual sphere, I really wanted to come on personally and just say
how very thrilled we are about this project and the diligence of this young man.
And being from a family that's been on that block for 73 years, who knew not only his grandfather, but also his mother, his uncles, his great grandfather as well.
We've known them to be just an upstanding, one of the best families in our community.