Tom, when he comes back, can you do the follow-up, please?
Mr. Holloman.
No problem, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you.
All right, we're ready. Thank you. Sorry about that.
Mr. Holloman.
Good morning, Counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy?
Did you email all other exhibits and documents as required five days in advance to this hearing?
Yes. All the ones requested, I emailed them and yes.
Thank you. Please share your screen.
All right. I'm trying to figure out how to do that.
Here we go.
All right.
okay you see this no we do not see it sir no i'm sorry okay
you see the green button at the bottom yeah it's coming up all right
you see that uh do you see well you got to bring up the whatever okay right
it says i am screen sharing do you see i have but i'm saying you got you now got to bring up
The message, right? There's a series of messages.
What's that? Okay.
You got your email open. You have to double click on what you want to share.
If it's the exhibits that's up at the top, you have to open that up.
Okay. All right.
Well, Mr. Schmoker, while you're doing that, I'm going to move on to the next one.
i'll bring you back at the end and well okay then maybe you can figure how to open it okay okay well
i am i mean uh i i just can't figure out why it's not sharing okay i it says i am screen sharing um
yeah but you have each individual exhibit you got to tap on the exhibits and open it up yeah which
is here it is you see it now okay i'm seeing the exact same thing i was seeing a few minutes ago
sorry about that sure okay yeah i'm ready well go ahead go ahead okay so um
so this is an application for um a shed built in the backyard of 1615 north 10th street
um i'll just go down the exhibit list so well i think we have why don't you do this why don't
you go to the photos and show what you what you have okay because we have all the documents
okay so i'm gonna i'm gonna apologize the photos are a little bit grainy i thought they would come
out better than this but they're they're not great photos but i'll show you what i have so these are
the photos of the orange um posters and then this is a photo of the shed that was in existence since
In 1997. So my client, this house has been in the family. His mother purchased it back in 1978. He lived there and then his mother died in early 2000s and it was deeded to him by her estate in 2010.
1997. So my client, this house has been
So back in 1997, when he was living there, he built an old shed, which was this one.
It's in the back of his house. And this is another photo of the shed.
And then he rebuilt it in 2022, 2022, about two years ago.
He did that without permission and he's subsequently violated by L&I.
So that's why he's now trying to rectify all the violations.
Um, so essentially this is a shed that extends off the back of his property. It is with a garage door. It is, and I'm going to give you the dimensions.
Bear with me for a second.
the dimensions are they it is eight it's about 10 feet nine inches high um it's 11
and a half feet wide and it's about 16 feet long so 16 feet from front to back
10 feet or so from bottom to top and from side to side about 11 feet he stores in there his
motorcycles. He's a motorcyclist. So that's what he stores in there. And the old structure
was not holding up. The wood was rotting. So he built this new structure. And like I said,
he's subsequently been violated. And that's why he's here. Here's another picture of it.
So you see this backyard, it's kind of like a just a parking area for cars in the neighborhood. So
So the back lots of the houses on this street right here will face it.
And then the backs of the houses right here are facing this parking lot.
And there are other sheds and backyards of these houses, but this is the only one pictured.
So, Mr. Smoker, tell us what happened when you went to the RCO.
So we sent out all notifications as required.
We sent out well over 100 mailers notifying people of the RCO hearing.
Nobody showed up to oppose.
And the only people there, which was a few of the board members, supported.
And that's under exhibit I of what I said.
Why don't you bring your client on to adopt your testimony?
OK, right there he is.
Sir, could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Charles B. Cohen, C-H-A-R-L-E-S-D-C-O-H-E-N.
Right. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Please proceed, counsel.
Sure, Mr. Cohen. Did you hear what I just said?
Okay. Do you verify that everything I said is correct?
Okay. And do you adopt that as your own testimony?
Yes. Okay. Thank you. Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from our attorney Hillary Emberson?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Yes, Chair. Craig Melodosian will be allowed to speak.
Craig's out in West Philadelphia. Craig?
no that that's uh i don't have my hand raised that i can see
it was raised down now though okay craig you're not involved
i'm saying this sir i'm sorry thank you craig
anyone else in the roast audience no angie chair planning commission
sorry one second
Okay. Amy Boyd with the City Planning Commission. The comprehensive plan recommends no change to
the existing single-family residential zoning at this location. The appellants claimed hardship
is self-created as they built the shed without permits. The City Planning Commission recommends
that the board deny the requested variance for multiple principal uses. Thank you. MI 2023-007-100
1615 North 10th Street, I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Thank you. Thank you, counsel. You have your votes.
Thank you. Thank you, counsel. You have your votes.
Thank you. Are we excused?
Thank you. Are we excused?
You are. Thank you.
You are.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman Bergman. I appreciate your courage.
Sure. Thank you.
Thank you.
Number 12, MI 2023-007-205, 2200 to 38 Washington Avenue.
Justin Crick is the attorney.
There's a letter of support from the Point Breeze Community Development Coalition.
15 to 5 was the vote in favor.
justin crick has been promoted chair good morning good morning council good morning
members of the board could you state your name and spell for the court stenographer
yes justin j-u-s-t-i-n crick k-r-i-k do you have an uh do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth nothing but the truth i do would you identify your client in relationship to this
property? Yes, my client is OCF Rility and Mr.
Fybush, Ori Fybush is on the Zoom with us. They are the
applicant and proposed tenant in this space. Mr. Hallman has
just a few questions for you. Good morning,
counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate
to his accuracy? I do. Did you email
all exhibits and documents as required five days in advance
to this hearing yes with the exception of timely photos of the posting timestamps were sent uh
monday morning thank you please proceed and share your screen thank you
all right members of the board uh thank you uh for hosting this today we are here today for a
refusal regarding one of the units in the property located at 2200-38 Washington Avenue in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. This first exhibit is a list of exhibits, an outline of exhibits that I intend
to introduce today and that I would move into evidence at the conclusion. The application is
for an eating and drinking establishment, a prepared food shop in an existing structure
to leave all other existing uses in the structure as previously approved.
The applicant here is seeking to establish a coffee shop in a portion of this large building
and has received the refusal strictly for the refusal of this use.
Any basic commercial use is prohibited.
We are in an I-2 district, and so any commercial use,
including Eden establishments and food preparation shops are requiring a variance.
You'll note that there have been other uses that have been approved in the past,
one of which is for a retail store of sales of beverages, and I will demonstrate that there are
similarly situated uses that have been approved along this corridor recently.
The property is situated along Washington Avenue in an area that is highly zoned for industrial uses.
You'll see by this photo alone that there are certain restaurants located nearby and within this corridor and I can demonstrate additional.
But the current plan shows a large swath of industrial I-2 uses, medium industrial uses along the Washington Avenue corridor.
And it is our position that there is virtually no legal use available or viable within that limitation, which is also further limited by the West Washington Avenue overlay, which further restricts the industrial uses that would be allowed.
This is a photograph of the property from the corner of 23rd and Washington.
The building does start down, if you see my cursor, down at 22nd Avenue.
And the space being explored here for this purpose is the corner first and second floor of this building.
The intent is to develop this as a coffee shop, OCF coffee house.
And the applicant has already established three other locations within the city of Philadelphia
and has an excellent track record within those communities of being a vibrant coffee shop to
allow for increased pedestrian usage and which we believe this corridor certainly could use
and also just general development of commercial uses in this area. There is one of the coffee
houses that is nearby that in the long run if this project is approved and is permitted to open
in approximately six months that may be abandoned or switched over.
But generally speaking, this applicant has a good history
and shows that it is able to maintain the safety and the cleanliness of...
and shows that it is able to maintain the safety and the cleanliness of a neighborhood when it establishes a business in an area.
As you'll see from this, there would be entrance through Washington Avenue with a large area for obtaining service
and then a lot of seating area, hopefully to generate activity in ways of maybe people doing business or working or having meetings in these areas,
as small business meetings, or even as almost like you would see an Internet cafe.
The intended, let me step back and say the intended hours of operation are approximately
6 a.m. to 7 p.m., but it could also depend on neighborhood demand.
There would be approximately 10 to 15 employees staffing the establishment during operations.
the facility would maintain trash indoor until such time it is as it is picked up through
commercial pickup the space is pretty large overall and we are only talking about a portion
of this overall space but you can see that it is currently in a pretty raw state
and ready for some form of development
These photos indicate proof of concept of what the interior would look like similarly situated
based upon the applicant's Fairmount location that currently exists.
Historically, this has been an industrial setup, but that was at a time when railways and industrial
uses were very prevalent in this area and it was just more conducive to the transport of the
materials and industrial uses. The applicant is currently intends has a lease for the property
for the larger structure of the property and is only seeking this application for a portion of
the property at the moment for this use. This is a larger portion floor plan of the overall building
from 2200 through 2238, and the portion of the property we are seeking to develop is in this
corner along 23rd and Washington, both floors of this area. On the first and second floor, both?
Yes. Okay. Yes. Before I do proceed with the Point Breeze Association, I do want to point out
that this commercial corridor and this industrial corridor has already seen a lot of uses that are
set for commercial purpose. And in order to be potentially consistent with those uses
and recent approvals, the board has approved uses beyond industrial. So for instance,
along this corner at 22nd and Washington is the Dock Street Brewery, which allows for
sit down and food as a restaurant establishment. This entire block has been converted to a
residential multifamily and commercial mixed use a four-story structure and i do have some photos
of that along with commercial uses along the floor first floor ground level that do include
eating establishments this building itself also does have some restaurant and eating
establishments in it and i'm going to just jump to the end of the presentation and show you that
this is the opposite corner if you look up here our space is is in this section and the opposing
corner shows a deli in the first floor as well as the new development of residential units above
which leads to the need for additional facilities eating and drinking facilities along this area
again this photo is the larger structure that we're working with and our location is set on
the one side however if you look closer to 20th street um 22nd street i apologize you'll see that
in this building already is a a porcos which is another eating establishment and you can see here
the dock street brewery that has already been approved and given the fact that there have been
several developments in the area and overall larger development of this area to include
things greater than industrial uses and kind of change the nature of some of this area
to accommodate residential uses, there is a greater demand for additional eating and
drinking establishments.
The Point Breeze Community Development Coalition did meet and after voting on the matter,
there was a vote in support with 15 yeses and five noes.
Without reviewing each and every opposition or support,
in summary, many of the opponents have issues with either an...
Many of the opponents have issues with either an overcrowding in density of eating and drinking establishments or coffee house uses specifically were mentioned.
However, we have noted that not only are there not a ton of coffee shops in the area,
but bringing a local establishment that has many other establishments in the city allows people some variety in the area.
And also, this is different than your typical coffee shop that you would see with, say, a Dunkin' Donuts or even a Starbucks because this offers a significant amount more space for community gathering and community development.
Additionally, some of the opposition that we have, to be very fair, is more pointed