december 16th that was the date of this email does that sound correct that sounds yeah so all right
around that time is when it kicked off for us and you didn't have any communication with the
architect for the project before december 16th correct absolutely not and did you have any
communication with anybody else involved with the project before december 15th no okay
uh then then what happened after you learned about the project as far as in terms of submitting an
app and an appeal to the zoning board i mean it's it's there was you know
we we just tried to gather information at that point i mean
you know toner was a part of of that request for information we tried to figure out what happened
How did a block that was zoned consistently the entire time we've been here in this house, which is coming on two decades, provide for a use change that allowed them to bypass any neighborhood involvement?
It just seemed really kind of strange. So we just figured out, we had a lot of work to do in terms of trying to figure out what had happened.
you know so in addition to like not being signs at the property there was you know the zoning
changes that had you know taken place to allow this to to to here were non-transparent council
driven changes so it really did just completely bypass all those community channels the normal
community awareness channels in addition to not having signage so when we found this out what we
did was we went and started like digging up we started googling we started looking online we
started you know figuring out what what contacted our our local representatives in the city to try
and figure out like how did this even take place like what was you know in order to figure out like
what we might be able to do or not do about it we had to figure out how it happened and so that
that was where we we re after getting over a little bit of the shock that this was like
you know already kind of built in with none of us you know being able
you know, already kind of built in with none of us, you know, being able to have any meaningful
input into the project or its scope or impact. You know, it was, again, just trying to figure
out how it happened and then figure out what we, you know, the next step after that was going to
be figuring out what we could do about it. Okay. And so you didn't know about the zoning changes
for the remapping of this property until the meeting, the IMA meeting on 1215, correct?
Yeah, they were alluded to there. And then we've got paperwork to kind of back up and figure out the entire process. And that's when we started writing to Councilperson Bass's office, as well as this board. We wrote to L&I, we wrote to the city solicitor's office asking for information and asking for kind of a pause in proceedings to say, hey, let's let the neighborhood get up to speed here. This doesn't feel right.
okay and at some point how did you come to determine to file an appeal to the zoning board
well you didn't well to for you and christina or to you to assist christina in filing the appeal to
the zoning board we knew that like you know from our from our awareness that like the the the zone
you know from our efforts that the zoning permit was issued in i think it was september of 2025
25, that 30-day period to appeal had expired. We learned that in December, and we knew that
we had the only possibility for us to get any potential crack at revisiting some of these
decisions or having some input into the decisions impacting our neighborhood would be to get in
front of them within 30 days of our own learning of it. And that's what we did. Like I said,
there were no clear signals about this project and how it got to where it got to. But when we
first figured out that, you know, when those signals became clear to us, we acted. And I think
that that's clear from every single one of our correspondences, including with you and a number
of your peers, as we were trying to find representation to help us out with this
project. And did you, did you, did Christina prepare the appeal and the paperwork? Did you
prepare the paperwork did you work together to submit it to prepare it i think in fairness uh
it was a little bit lopsided we worked together but it was a little lopsided in this in the sense
that i i did the the preparations okay and you used did you you were you the one who came up
with the phrase nunc protunk like to utilize that legal term i just got chat gpt helped out with that
twice now oh gosh we won't even have to be here in a in another month or two just the day i take
over anyway so um all right and did you well do you did you fully understand what that term really
means when you utilized it with the appeal unfortunately i had eight years of latin and
grammar school and um yeah so i knew it now for them all right but you the reason you thought it
it was late was only because it was 30 days after the date of the zoning permit correct I mean that
would be the reference date I would I is what I thought okay you didn't you didn't realize that
it's 30 days from the date that it gets posted but you use the term constructive notice at this point
and that makes a little bit more sense in retrospect all right so and then you fight again
you filed the zoning board appeal within 30 days of your learning of the you and Christina filed
the appeal within 30 days of you learning of the issuance of the zoning permit at the Iman meeting
on 1215, correct? It's probably closer to two weeks, but within 30 days, yes. Okay. I have no
further questions. Alan, do you have any questions? Yes, I do. Mr. Is your mic on? Yeah, it is on.
Mr. Kramer, you earned a law degree from Temple University, correct? That is correct.
You practice law in Philadelphia as a real estate attorney.
Is that correct?
Pretty, for my own projects, yes.
And in 2011, you lost your law license after a felony conviction and served five years.
Objection.
Objection.
It goes to impeachment purposes as a felony.
So that from a rules of evidence perspective, the fact that he was in, he, it is actually
relevant uh goes to his bureaucracy so i i i think i i don't think i will allow it the reason i say
that is we're only here to see if there was a timely issue and and and i think i'm gonna walk
away from that no but from the rules i understand we could disagree all right you now operate lulu
limited a philadelphia-based design and construction company correct yep is that correct that is
correct yep on your company's website you describe you describe lulu as providing
quote-unquote concept design and build services from start to finish is that correct
design and build services from start to finish is that correct uh it it is in practice it's
a little different than that now you also hold your company out as delivering high level full
service construction and development work correct correct and that type of work necessarily involves
obtaining permits and working through the city's approval process is that correct i don't do any
of that uh in fact your company has performed extensive construction work in philadelphia
since approximately 2021 is that correct uh 2018 is probably more accurate all right so even longer
than i found uh and for those projects you have been you've you've repeatedly worked with the
city's permitting system right i again i use eclipse to schedule inspections i do not pull
permits it's been very clear it's an architectural process so navigating the philadelphia's permitting
and approval process is something your company does regularly as part of its core business correct
only when we work projects in philadelphia and you probably have a list of those two
i do let's go semi-regularly i i found just quick review i found seven projects in philadelphia
extensively which includes by the way the house that you currently live in correct that's correct
All right. Let's start with the first project. You worked on a project, actually, in my neighborhood, 1710-12 Fairmont Avenue. Is that correct?
That is correct.
And that involved commercial alterations, right?
Correct.
And then you also worked at 116 Westmead Street, correct?
Correct.
And that was a residential renovation project, right?
Correct.
And then you had a project at 209 East Evergreen Avenue. Is that correct?
That is also correct.
and that was also a residential renovation project correct all right let's go to 7 70 15
hardly uh street that's where you and your wife live correct that is correct and your wife you
and your wife purchased the property in march of 2021 correct that's incorrect oh i'm sorry so when
was that 2010 oh sorry i i saw a deed in 2021 maybe it was a corrective deed of some sort
and that property was acquired for development well eventually you did a renovation of that
property in 2021 right an addition an addition uh which required a zoning permit to be obtained
correct correct and then also a building permit correct that's correct and then other permits
related to the construction correct correct and that project moved forward through the city
permitting process without a variance correct it did okay and you did not need approval from the
zba for that project correct i did not and you did not need community approval to obtain permits
for that project correct did not and that's because the project complied with the zoning
and building uh codes as which which would allow this project as a matter of right correct
that is also correct and you understand in philadelphia that not every project requires
approval from the zba correct correct some projects are permitted by right under the
philadelphia zoning code correct correct and those projects do not require variants correct
correct and they do not require a hearing before the zba correct correct do you see the zoning
permit that you have there well i i would i'm sorry i didn't realize i'm staring sorry that you
You know, Mr. Orphanides cannot share his screen.
I didn't, I didn't, I was just looking at him.
I was just looking at him.
Walgrey, why don't you just.
No, I didn't mean to do that.
I was looking it up for myself.
Why don't you show me?
Please.
I forgot I was sharing.
Sorry, it wasn't intentional.
All right.
I'm checking.
And they do not require community approval, correct?
Correct.
And you've accounted this own distinction in your own work, including at 7015 Ardley Street, correct?
Correct.
And you're familiar with the city's public property tools, correct?
I'm not sure what you're referring to.
Atlas. You're familiar with atlas.phila.gov, correct?
Atlas is not something I use on a regular basis.
I did use it for this project to find out what was going on at 6930 for this.
I use Eclipse as a contractor to request inspections of properties.
And if you look at any of the filings, you'll find that others were the applicants.
But you're familiar with the Atlas site, correct?
I am at this point.
And that allows anyone to view zoning classifications and permit activity, right?
I now know that, yes.
Right.
So if you wanted, well, I mean, you advertised.
That's where I found this.
David, Mr. Toner is actually who responded to my email with the Atlas information.
atlas information but i don't use it outside of that you but you do sell your services currently
But I don't use it outside of that.
as a construction and development firm do you want to do like if you're asking me if i sell
my services that that website hasn't been updated since 2018 um i can tell you if you'd like the
exact way that i practice my craft but if you want to make assumptions you can i'm going to refute
them that's not how i operate this this website hasn't been um updated since 2018 but that's my
testimony but but the projects that we talked about are well after 2018 right and and i didn't
pull permits on any of them studio c and all the various architects did them probably like they
like toner did for this particular project all right and you just testified and so did your wife
that both of you knew about the project of 3930 Ardley in early November, correct?
I don't know where 3930 Ardley is.
I'm sorry, 6930 Ardley.
6930 is when we learned of that, yeah.
In early November, correct?
I think it was the 9th, which was the text.
And she signed a petition opposing that project at the time, correct?
I think that was her testimony, yes.
Okay. And you discussed the project with neighbors, correct, after that date?
After that date, we did not – you can see that our respective text threads move on.
We did not discuss this until we knew that the meeting was going to be coming up within the month.
So that's what we thought that that was reserved for.
And then you attended that community meeting, correct?
and then your wife testified that she relied on you regarding uh the permitting process regarding
6930 ardly street correct i don't know what you mean relied on me well i think if you go back to
the testimony uh or her testimony from last time she stated you know giving your experiences of
real well she didn't say this part but i'm saying it giving your experience as a real estate attorney
practicing real estate attorney and it sounds like a developer and sounds like a kind of
contractor not a developer not a real estate question before you can object
yes is it yes um she she relied on your expertise about you know permitting of this project correct
i don't recall her ever using those words she may have relied on me to help with the filing
but i don't recall her using my ex the words my expertise
and despite knowing about the project in early november no appeal was filed until december 29th
correct like i said when we had clear signals of what went down we acted and that's and that's more
than uh 30 days uh uh later correct from the first time actually it was within two weeks of us
learning of of of the actual um fact that a zoning permit existed
and and you're testifying today you had no knowledge that council member bass on september
25th introduced legislation attempting to change the zoning back from from rm1 back to rta1 you
knowledge of that no knowledge of that at all prior to after the 16th you have no knowledge
that my client met with the next door neighbor uh i believe starting in september through october
and november uh about this permit that he obtained you have no knowledge of that not until after the
16th you have no knowledge that my client met with the democratic ward leader about this multifamily
uh proposed multi-family developments i i only know that he didn't meet with the neighbors
sir sir let me finish your question i thought that was the question sorry
so you have no knowledge that he met with the uh democratic ward leader uh in i believe october or
early november um about the zoning permit he obtained i've i've still currently no knowledge
of any of your clients doings. And you have no knowledge that my client met with Council Member
Bass, I believe sometime in October or November of 2025 regarding this project. I learned after
the 16th that there was some sort of negotiation going down between those two, but it never came
to fruition. And you have no knowledge that after complaints by nearby neighbors regarding
uh work that was done on on the property that a violation notice was issued in early november
of 2025 no and you have no knowledge of any legislation that cindy council member bass
legislation that Cindy Councilmember Bass introduced on November 20th of 2025 giving her standing to
introduced on november
alleged standing to dispute the zoning permit that was issued which is the subject of this appeal
I learned that after the 16th and it didn't say alleged it did actually have counsel granting her
those powers i have no further questions mr reuter uh i have no no question and you have