national you know historic register but it was basically within the spirit of the code around
accessory dwelling units but we're we're looking for a separate dwelling unit that would be able
to be voted on today okay i i think that we will still need to to hold this because
the going from two dwelling units to one dwelling unit plus an in-law suite i need to make sure
that we still don't need to change the refusal for that with L&I. So I know that if you were
seeking an accessory dwelling unit, that would need a separate review and absolutely an amended
refusal. But I need to have further conversations with them about the in-law suite and if that is
something we can do via proviso. Hillary, can we take a planning commission?
yes we can take the the planning commission's recommendation and we can we can have this
matter voted on next week that's that's not a problem i've already had some conversations
with ellen i about this around the adu but not about the in-law suite planning commission
thank you chair bergman ian hegarty for the philadelphia city planning commission members
of the board um the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing single family zoning on
this block. However, the proposed conversion is consistent with a specific recommendation
in the comprehensive plan to promote the use of existing accessory structures as additional
dwelling units on large lots such as this. Proposed use is also consistent with conversions
of carriage houses in the surrounding community and with the physical configuration of this
specific accessory structure. Therefore, the City Planning Commission recommends that the
board grant the variance thank you leon um hillary can we um can we close this other than what yes
yes we will we will close this for a week um i'll close sorry the the record is closed we will hold
this for a week because i need to consult with l and i to make sure there are no changes that need
to be made to the refusal um based on the revised plans that have been submitted and we'll vote
next week yes okay at 9 30 okay um yes um i i um i appreciate um miss emerson's thoroughness and
making sure everything is done correctly i i appreciate everything she does every day
thank you we appreciate it thank you is there anyone else in the audience from the morning
list whose case has not been called? I see no handshare. Everybody at two o'clock. Thank you.
All right.
And you can be no one to go with, Lakeisha. You can begin, Chair. Okay, thank you. Good afternoon.
My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this afternoon's EBA hearings. With me is Ismail
Shahid, our board secretary. He's getting on right now. Thomas Holliman, our board member.
And James Snell, our board member.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also here is our attorney, Hillary Emerson, and the ZBA hearing supervisor, Lakeisha Dandy.
Be advised that proceedings are being recorded by participating in your knowledge agreement
to be recorded.
A video will be available by contacting TanyaSunkett at phil.gov.
For the benefit of our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you are participating by phone, if you wish to testify, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.
To enter an appearance statement, call 267-270-5548.
Leave your email and the address of the property in question.
And finally, the question-answer box on the screen is not for comments or testimony.
Any comments should be directed to our Executive Director, Tanya Sump.
Let's look at continuances for this afternoon.
Number one, MI 2022, 005-336, 2000 North, 20th Street, that case is 18.
number four mi 2022 006892 2202 204 wesley high avenue that case is continued number nine
mi 2022 005 364 2537 north 32nd street that case is continued and number 11
and number 11. MI 2022-005-365-4001-03 Kensington Avenue. All four of those cases
and my 2022
are continued. Does anyone have any comments about those four cases?
I see no hands, Chair. Are there any additional requests for continuance?
chair we have sean ward okay good afternoon mr chair sean ward s-h-a-w-n-w-a-r-d
right thank you do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i most certainly do what case uh 2600 west montgomery avenue i don't know the n-line number
off the top of my head hold on a minute here i submitted an email request to continue that case
because the RCO has not met with a fit.
One minute.
Here it is here.
That was number five.
I actually called it, Sean.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I missed it.
Number five, 2022-001-797-2600 West Montgomery Avenue.
That case is continued.
Mark must be tried.
Thank you.
Is there any other requests for continuance?
I see no handshare.
Any requests for withdrawal?
no no hands at this time chair okay we're going to go to case number two
MI 2022 005 147 23 West Coulter Street Eileen Quigley is the attorney
um we have a uh we did have not received a letter from the coordinating RCO
and we have a letter of opposition from an affected RCO
Ms. Quigley is coming back in as a panelist.
Thank you.
Hi, how are you?
Yes, hello Chairman Bergman.
My name is Eileen Quigley.
I am here also with my colleague Matthew McClure, who will also be handling the appeal.
I got a little cut off when I was joining as a panelist, but I know that the coordinating
RCO did forward a letter to the ZBA? We do not. I do not have a letter as
of yet from the coordinating RCO. Am I right, Eileen, Hillary? Yes, that is correct. We do
not have a letter from the coordinating RCO. Eileen, just for the thing, let me swear you in
first. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter? Eileen Quigley, E-I-L-E-E-N,
Quigley, Q-U-I-G-L-E-Y.
Right. Do you swear to the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do. They also recognize Matt McClure as a
panelist. Sure, sure. Could he state his name for me, please?
Matthew McClure?
Matt, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please? He's coming back in as a
panelist. Okay.
Mr. McClure, please unmute yourself.
Thank you so much, Ms. Administrator.
Mr. Chairman, Matthew McClure, M-A-T-T-H-E-W-M-C-C-L-U-R-E
with the law firm of Ballard Spar with Ms. Quigley.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Ms. Quigley or Matt, either one, for the record, could you identify your client, your relationship to the property?
Our client is the Germantown Friends School, which is the owner of the property.
And we met with the community both on December 6th as well as January 9th.
And an email, which we received, was sent.
And are they in favor?
They were opposed.
All right. So our vice chair, Ms. Mel Shaheed, has a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
I will waive the reading of the refusal. However, we do have alternative grounds of relief.
We do not believe the variance relief is required because we believe we're a legal nonconforming use that existed well over 100 years.
so subject to me being able to put on that argument yes we'll go over that we'll go through
the case have you emailed all of the required exhibits and documents five days in advance to
this hearing all the documents were sent to the commission yes five days all right thank you
All right. Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
please proceed and share your screen sure and uh
Sure. And so I'll confirm our witnesses are here. I know, Eileen, if you can confirm while we're here.
Again, my name is Matt McClellan with the law firm of Ballard Spar.
The property is 23 West Coulter, as well as 5443 Green Street, which is located in the Penn Knox or Germantown section of Philadelphia.
The zoning district is a combination of RSA 1 and CMX 2.5.
The vast majority of the site is RSA 1.
The witnesses and representatives that we have here today are Jeff Goldstein of Dixal.
He's an architect, a project architect.
Fred Tavini, who is a traffic engineer.
He's with us here today, as well as David Feldman, who is the chair of the school's board.
And then last, who would not be testifying but is available, is Dana Weeks, who is the head of school for Germantown Friends.
A little bit about the project before I call witnesses.
The project is a three-story addition to the existing Loeb and Smith buildings to house a new cafeteria that is necessitated due to changes after COVID and all kinds of requirements for space spaces.
previously there was a cafeteria that was in the basement pre-COVID and for all kinds of
ventilation reasons it is not appropriate also the the building will give us space for other
academic functions of the school the requested relief is that we believe a variance is is not
necessary I'm going to go into length of that and have some testimony of that as well this is really
a modernization of a leaking non-conforming use the the Germantown meeting of friends as well as
school have existed on this property for well over 100 years well before a zoning code alternatively
we asked for a height variance of 44 is what is being proposed of 38 feet is the maximum allowable
and as well as a variance for multiple buildings on the lot however right now there are dozens of
buildings in the lot that's a condition that has existed for decades and additionally we are not
actually doing a new building we're doing an addition to an existing building so we don't not
believe that it isn't we're not adding to the variance because adding to the non-conformity
because it's not a new building it's an addition um however to the extent the board believes um
a variance is required we ask for that and then last but last but not least a parking variance
23 spaces are being provided uh that's a required because of the uh the size of the new addition
and uh i mean 31 required and we are proposing 23 and lastly a special exception for an expansion
of an existing uh existing school use uh as as mentioned to the chairman we met with the rcos
on december 6th and 9th we have a modified facade of the building which is identified on exhibit 20
that modified facade was put into evidence not five days in advance because it was a late
request of the community, but that's on Exhibit 20. I'm going to read our exhibits in a second
to the record. But notwithstanding our efforts, we have been unable to obtain the support of the
RCOs. That being said, we believe that we merit the relief that we requested, especially because
if you look at the classification of this property, RSA 1, which is a residential single
family classification. It totally ignores the fact that this property has been institutional
for a very long time, well before zoning. And we believe that that situation creates
requirements and conditions that are impossible to meet and makes dialogue sometimes with the
communities not as easy as if the property was remapped. For example, down the street is Green
Street Friends, which was recently remapped to CMX3. And that property, the new building is
same size as the the addition that we're showing today um the square block bounded by germantown
avenue coulter street green lane and schoolhouse lane have been used by the germantown quaker
community i said for well over 100 years and and this is gives you an example of how how old uh
the first germantown meeting was established on this site on long germantown avenue in 1690
Again, the site is a square block between Germantown, Schoolhouse, Green, and Coulter.
The first meeting was built in 1697, and the school itself started on the property in 1858 and has grown ever since.
And like it, I mean, I'm Catholic in my personal life, but think about a Catholic parish if you don't know about the Quaker community.
But this is all the uses of the community were there, the school, the, the, the, the.
All the uses of the community were there.
The school, the place of worship, the meeting house, all this stuff has been on the site for long and all integral to the Quaker community in Germantown.
Notwithstanding all that history, the property is zoned RSA 1.
Its zoning classification ignores well over 100 years of history.
The Planning Commission has recognized this and has recommended remapping of the property to the SPINS district.
See tab 14 of our exhibit, which is the Upper Northwest Plan that they recommended this property should be in the SPINS district, which is an academic or institutional district as opposed to a residential zoning district.
And we believe the Pennsylvania law does not really permit the city to kind of ignore this history.
that goes back well over 100 years and impose RSA-1 to the existing use without any sort of
relief being granted. Rather, the proposed addition we're also being presented is a
modernization of this legal non-conforming use. All the changes we believe are modest,
designed to complement the neighborhood, and are consistent with the modern school buildings
throughout the city and you'll hear about the setback from uh green lane um and alternatively
we again we request uh we request a variance for leaving but with that i would like to bring up
our first witness which is david feldman who is the chair of the board of the school and with that
i would ask the david could i could i can i make a recommendation could could you throw some photos
up or something so that when people are talking we can see what it looks like no problem mr chairman
i'll do that right away matt i'm on can you hear me yes mr feldman could you state your name spell
for the court reporter please certainly david feldman d-a-v-i-d last name feldman f-e-l-d-m-a-n
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes i do thank you okay i'm going to put up a picture of the school proper right now
And then if you go down on Exhibit 9, you will also get to the renderings of the proposed structure.
And this is the alternative facade that was requested by the neighbors showing red brick instead of white brick or gray brick.
Okay. All right. Fine. Please proceed.
Okay. Mr. Feldman, can you please state and spell your name for the record?
Sure. David Feldman, David, D-A-V-I-D, Feldman, F-E-L-D-M-A-N.
And you're here in your capacity as a chair of the board of the school?
That is correct.
What is the role of the chair, Mr. Feldman?
Well, the school is governed by the school committee, which is equivalent to the board of trustees.
I am the clerk of the school committee, or in essence, the chair of the board of those trustees.
My role is to run the meetings of the governing body and oversee the long-term growth and
health of the school.
How long have you been affiliated with the school?
Well, I started there in kindergarten in the early 60s.
So since then, my mother was actually a graduate of the school in 1948.
I graduated in 1976, and I have two children who graduated from the school in the 2000s.
And how active of a chair are you, in your opinion?
I would say very active.