Absolutely.
The city has first a section that's called intent.
That's good, thank you.
intent that says the open space and natural resources standards of this section are intended
to promote safe and compatible development throughout the city of Philadelphia that avoids
adverse impacts and degradation of the environment through, among other things, protection of steep
slopes. And to jump to the zoning code has a map that shows where the steep slopes are
in the city. And in this sub map number one, I highlighted in green approximately where
this property is and then of course the prohibition itself is in subsection b where it's where it says
in point one that you can impact steep slopes that are not of a steep grade but in subsection
point two it says on those portions of the lot where the slope of land is 25 percent or greater
no site clearing or earth moving activity is permitted so that's the prohibition at issue
and that's why the applicant is seeking the variance that it is here is a page from the
open maps of philadelphia which shows the very quickly i'm not going to object again i'm i'm
willing to stipulate as to all of this mr bonnie i'm presenting my case to do an opening paul paul
please let's hear Mr. Whalen. Mr. Bonney already had the opportunity to do an opening. I already
had the opportunity to present my whole case. This is already in the record. He can put all
of these documents in. The board can certainly look at them. I will stipulate to all public
records. This hearing was continued to today for only one hour solely for the basis for Mr. Bonney
to present his witnesses because that's where we were in the stage of the case and then for the
community at large planning commission and councilmen to put their positions on the record
so again i'm not objecting i'm just happy to move this along i understood okay could you
not stipulate paul what's the objection to stipulating well i don't want to present my case
by email i want to present my case by zoom i'm presenting my case i'm trying to persuade the
board. I'm walking them through the documents in the quickest way possible. And I'd like to
continue. This is our... Excuse me, Mr. Bonney. I think that what we were expecting as far as the
documents is that you would simply read a list identifying each document and the board would
recognize that they had been accepted into the record. Not any real level of detail going line
by line. Thank you. Well, I'm happy to meet you halfway and go as quickly as I can.
Well, I'm happy to meet you halfway and go as quickly as I can, but this is the presentation
of our case.
Do you know what?
We do have one hour.
I understand.
Did we not have this presentation in the past?
Are you providing us with any information today that we already have not seen?
Well, could you zero in on those issues that you have not yet presented?
I will.
So this is the city plan, the city plan, city comprehensive plan that has a section and I'll just, I won't read all of it, but I'll say that right here in the middle, that deforested development, this is all about land suitability and the protection of steep slopes.
And so the objective is to protect steep slopes from development. I'll continue.
This is the Lower Northwest District Plan, which is obviously irrelevant to this case.
And it, too, speaks of prohibiting earth moving where this slope exceeds 25%.
I am also showing you a map of the Lower Northwest District that shows in rust color, it's this dark orange rust color, all the areas in the Lower Northwest District that have steep slopes.
So as you can see, it's quite pervasive in this district.
And it's not something, you know, so I'll continue.
Just to be clear, Mr. Bonney, the 2035 plan was already presented in full and accepted by the board as an exhibit.
So you don't need to walk through anything that the board already has before it.
Thank you, Your Honor.
um i'd now like to go through um a document a new document from the um
from the city of philadelphia called the tree canopy assessment report and um this talks about
the benefits of trees i will keep going this talks about here on the upper right that a lot
the tree removal is the clearing of large patches for new construction. I won't read
everything I was going to read because I'm sure the board will read this when it reviews these
documents and of course the recommendation is to preserve the tree canopy and the analysis
of this particular zip code is that there's three percent loss a relative loss in tree
canopy over the past 10 years in this particular zip code. I would now like to call Ms. Kishenshand
as the witness, and I'm showing her resume on the screen, and I'm going to talk about her
qualifications, and then I'll give Mr. Whalen the opportunity to cross-examine on qualifications.
Excuse me, Mr. Bonney, the board has her qualifications in front of them in the resume.
could you just briefly describe what you are intending to have her what you expect her to
testify to okay uh well i expect her to testify the of the benefits of these forested steep slopes
that supports this urban forest and she's going to talk about the benefits um to nature the
benefits to human beings um and that's what she's going to talk about sort of the benefits of trees
to nature and human beings and wildlife and sort of generally speaking and also that the
um tree canopy in east falls has been decreasing east falls in particular has been decreasing over
the years that is what she's going to testify to she's not going to talk about you know e equals
mc squared or any sort of um high degree of scientific analysis she's talking about things
that she's learned and uh advocated for and taught other people about um over her over her 25 year
history of being involved with um preservation and um increasing the tree canopy in the city
of Philadelphia. She's participated on a city committee right here, the second bullet under
a civic position, I'm sorry, towards the bottom of the page. She's been on the steering committee
for a Philadelphia Parks and Rec effort. We're looking at that and we'll accept that.
uh effort but we're we're looking at that and we'll accept that um so if we can get
miss uh kishenhan i'm pronouncing that right i swear her in and begin with her testimony
so so chair if i may just very quickly obviously i'll just i think now's the appropriate time i'll
reassert my uh objection that the board already heard to miss kiss and chance i think you can
limit her testimony as you need uh simply again i'm willing to stipulate to uh whatever the the
tree canopy plan or show proposal that Mr. Bonnie just presented it appears to be a
civically created document or a city document that's fine I'm happy to stipulate that trees
have been lost or taken down throughout East Falls in the city along with additional development
but I don't see how any of that is relevant to this project and this particular property where
there's already been significant testimony that the only trees on the property are overgrowth
and that actually the trees at which the community is concerned is old growth trees that are actually
behind our property we do not we are not the entirety of that greenery that the board was
just shown in fact we're only the frontage along Merrick and Ridge which was previously completely
cleared by PHA, had three towers, and since being demolished by PHA has simply been left to go
fallow. So those are not old growth trees nor any specimen trees and we will be planting as
testified, I don't have the number in front of me, 15 to 20 street trees. So with that I'm happy to
stipulate to whatever it is Mr. Bonney wants us to agree to as to trees being important and necessary
and should be kept at all costs, we will be doing so.
And Ms. Kissinchen can testify to whatever harm she sees at this property,
but not generally in the city.
Mr. Chair, I'd ask you to instruct Mr. Whelan to cease interruptions.
Well, you have the right to object, don't you?
That was a little more than an objection, I think.
Well, a little, but you will admit that you at times go a little bit more
than your objections as well.
So let's get back on track.
Thank you.
Ms. Kusinchant, can you raise your hand please
and be recognized?
Just hit the raise hand button.
And will your witness be just testifying specific
to this project?
Because I think what we're looking at does talk about
her 25 years of experience.
Both, both, both, both, yes.
Both what?
Both what?
The value of trees and the value of trees, these particular trees.
Well, I think Mr. Whelan agreed that there is a value to trees.
Well, let's hear it.
Look, Mr. Chairman, this is an environmental case.
Mr. Whelan has belittled the environmental value of what is on the property.
We have an opportunity to describe it in our way.
he's he's he's belittled it the first time by himself he's not an expert I'm not sure I saw
his resume can we can we hear gets the witness yes Ms. Gishenshin do you have a I'm waiting for
her to be recognized I'm not sure is she here yet may she raise her hand Cynthia can you raise your
hand on the press the button uh ms sunkett can you help her tell her where it is yeah i said
she's available to speak she just had to unmute herself can you unmute yourself cynthia
i raised my hand okay can we okay now you're in please spell your full name and i'll swear you
in ma'am cynthia c-y-n-t-h-i-a kishin chand k-i-s-h-i-n-c-h-a-n-d do you swear or affirm to
tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do thank you mr bonnie okay miss kissin
chand if you want us to see her face you have to undo your video or turn on your video um it's up
to you but uh we'd like to hear her testimony she doesn't have video control so just audio
thank you it's not necessary miss okay okay please explain the value of these steep slopes
and the habitat they support and why they should be protected uh steep slopes are part of nature
They have been there for a few decades. The area has always been sloped, generally,
Generally, though I can't speak to any past specific alteration, they now support a wonderful ecosystem.
though I can't speak to any past specific alternatives.
I was there yesterday.
Of course, the slopes in the trees handle stormwater, and I think everyone can agree with that.
This is a beautiful natural forest.
It's not purposely planted or curated, but it is natural.
There is value in that.
It has been around for at least 20 years.
Their trees are quite large, and some of them are very tall.
I think some of them are more than 60 feet.
I walked it just yesterday, and I observed impressive elm, maple, hackberry, and katsura.
What was that last word, please?
Katsura. K-A-T-S-U-R-A.
And that's a type of tree?
Okay, and hackberry was the one before that?
H-A-C-K-B-E-R-R-Y?
Correct.
Okay, and of course we all know elm and maple. How do these forested steep slopes benefit the environment?
Well, I mentioned stormwater. There is also habitat. This forest is habitat for deer, groundhogs, squirrels, rabbits, and chipmunks.
It also is habitat for a wide variety of birds.
How many years have you lived in this neighborhood?
50 years.
I'm sorry, five zero?
Five zero.
Thank you. Continue.
And the trees also have a cooling effect on the environment.
That is important to combat climate change, something I think we are all aware of right now.
How do these forested steep slopes benefit humans?
Well again, first and foremost, they help clean the air. Clean air is vital for all of us.
This is especially important in an area like Ridge Avenue that has so much traffic, and that will have so much new traffic from all new development.
All those cars will be generating more pollution in the neighborhood.
Trees are also stress relievers.
Studies show that simply looking at trees can lower someone's blood pressure.
Finally, I want to mention the inherent value of nature.
It is something we should preserve.
It's just not me saying that. That's what the city of Philadelphia says, or Ben Franklin with his green country town goals.
And it's not just the tree canopy assessment report, but also it is in the zoning code as explained a few minutes ago.
Is the tree canopy in East Falls in particular increasing or decreasing?
As you mentioned in that report, over that 10-year period, by the way, the report was published in December 2019.
The relative decrease was 3% over the past 10 years.
And this is despite the efforts of East Falls tree tenders of planting hundreds of trees during that period.
So even with our planting trees, there has been a decrease in the tree canopy.
okay that that was going to be my last question that that the tree tenders you've been planting
numerous trees every year in east falls isn't that true yes we've done as of this year we've
done about 1400 trees on 47 streets plus at local schools but you're saying that even more trees are
lost and so that there's been a net negative right we're not able to keep up with the loss
i have no further questions for this witness i want to thank you
thank you ma'am miss uh mr whalen yes thank you board i will be extremely brief um miss
kiss and chant and i hope i'm saying that last name correctly you are uh thank you um do you
mind putting your address on the record please oh of course not it's 31 14 west coulter street
Right. And is that about a mile away from the property?
That's about right. Yes.
Okay. Thank you. Now, Ms. Kissen-Chand, are you aware that the steep slopes existing on the property were man-made by PHA?
I have heard that said. Yes.
Okay. But you don't have any personal knowledge about that?
No. May I ask you a question? And so what year did they have established them?
unfortunately that's not how this works but uh miss kiss and chander are you aware of any
stormwater management uh facilities currently on the property no okay um and miss kiss and chand
i believe you you mentioned four different types of trees and i will admit i didn't even know two
of those were names of trees on the property is that correct yes did you walk the property yes
Did you walk the property?
and how many of
And how many of these types of specimen trees did you identify?
I couldn't count them all because it would be rather treacherous if I had really walked over every area there that had trees.
So I'm unable to do that, but it was just crowded with trees and shrubs.
okay now uh miss kiss and chant have you reviewed the proposed project plans yes and uh did you
review the street trees that will be planted at the project yes and did you count how many street