I think, did I already swear you today?
No, this is my first time.
Oh, that was yesterday.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Spell your name for the court reporter, please.
Sure. My name is Zen Jin, Z-H-E-N, last name J-I-N, 1617 John F. Kennedy Boulevard,
Suite 1838, Philadelphia, PA 19103, here on behalf of the applicant.
here on behalf of the applicant thank you do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
Thank you. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and the whole truth?
and nothing but the truth i do could you identify your client in the relationship to this property
sure my client is 625 west cumberland llc uh mr joseph gitterman is here representing the llc
today uh they're the owner of the property okay and our vice chair has a few questions for you
Tom, want to pick that up?
Good afternoon, Counselor.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Did you email all of the exhibits and documents as required five days in advance to this hearing?
Yes, I have.
uh thank you please receive and share your screen thank you i will share with the board the exhibit
we have previously submitted um it is up on my screen can everyone see it yes great thank you
we have submitted copies of the refusal to support letter from 37th ward executive democratic
committee photos plans and related required documentation previously the property is a
CMX2 zone property that is on the corner of Cumberland and North Marshall Street. It's worth
noting that although it is zone CMX2, we are requesting the board to permit its use as
essentially a REM1 property of residential multifamily. Part of the reason this request
is being made is that this property has been a vacant corner property for some time. It is
actually surrounded primarily by REM1 uses. In fact, the district around this property is all
REM1 within a block or two. In addition, this property is actually on the corner of two rather
smaller-sized streets. These are not really commercial corridors. Even though corner
properties historically are used in commercial ways, the community also agrees with my client's
assessment that this particular corner would actually be better used as a pure residential
RM1 style property. As a result, we did get support from the RCO. I want to point out that
out of 13 attendees, everyone supported the application as presented. The site is again a
vacant lot on the corner. However, it is a standard size 16-foot white lot. It has been
vacant for some time. It was actually owned by an estate prior to ultimately being acquired by my
client. The plans proposed is to build a triplex setup, essentially converting the CMX2 portion of
the property to a REM1 use. The property would be a standard three-story structure. It would be
set up in a way to essentially have one unit on each floor. The basement would be attached
to the first floor unit. Because this is a corner property, we are able to manage trash in the rear
yard area. There is a rear yard. We are requesting a small variance with regard to the overall
coverage of the property in relation to the overall lot size. The idea here is to give
a nice amount of space within for the use of the individuals who would actually be using the
property once it is placed in place. It will be a new construction and will essentially be the
pointer piece that will hopefully help restart part of the rest of the block that does have some
additional vacant lots. Again, the community had no issue with the proposal with regard to the size
and design. We do submit that there would be some hardship here for any commercial use on that
particular corner, given the surrounding uses and the lack of commercial activity otherwise in the
area. I do want to reiterate, actually amend my testimony that there were actually 19 attendees
and 13 supported and six did oppose the the proposal so my client is here with us to verify
my testimony and i'm happy to show the board any part of the exhibit that you would like a closer
look at thank you what's the rest of the block look like uh so the rest of the block um i i can
put the let me let me try to get to the photo of the block i believe we do have that
so i'm going to go ahead and re-share that with the board
with the board so this is the okay look of the block um there are some there's a vacant lot next
so this is the
door there's some fillers and then the rest of the block are residential in use i do also want to
find multi-families here yes well the entire area is zoned the rm1 multifamily all right good fine
fine fine good thank you um if if there's no further questions i can have mr gitterman uh
please clarify my testimony uh joseph can you raise your hand to be identified
yes i did thank you hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
my name is joseph gitterman j-o-s-e-p-h and the last name is gitterman g-i-t-e-r-m-a-m
do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes i do to see counsel thank you uh mr gitterman did you see my uh presentation and hear my
testimony before the board? Yes, I did. Can you verify what I have represented is true and correct
and adopted as your own testimony? Yes, I do. Thank you. Questions from the board? No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no handshared. Planning Commissioner.
This is Ron Badnar, City Planning. This property is indicated for commercial mixed use on the city
plan and our adopted district plan recommends no change to the existing zoning at this location
the applicant's hardship is not supported with evidence of unique physical circumstances or
condition of the property that would prevent it from being used in conformity with the code
therefore we recommend the request for vanance must not be granted and by 2022 004 621 625
5 west commonland street i vote yes thomas hollivan my vote is yes james snell my vote is yes
thank you thank you have a good evening number nine mi 2022 004 648 7492 oxford avenue
lua's son is the uh owner
miss um use yourself
hi could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
Kwan Sun, please unmute yourself so you could be free to speak.
Is she in the audience?
yes this person has the last name son and their their hand was upstairs
lua sign
currently there's no other hands up in the audience nobody no no hands are up right
That's correct, Chair.
All right.
So MI 2022-004-648-7492 Oxford Avenue, this case is continued.
Is there anyone in the virtual audience whose 330 case has not been called?
Chair, now the person with the last name ending in son, the hand is up now.
I'll promote him to panelists.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Hello?
They're unmuted, Chair. I don't know what's going on.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
law son
all right all right so we're going to have to continue that maybe there's a language issue
that we don't know about so mi 2022 004 648 7492 oxford avenue this case is continued
this case is continued. Is there anyone in the virtual audience whose 3.30 case has not been
is there anyone in the virtual audience
called? I see no hands, Chair. Thank you, everyone. It was a longer night than I thought it would be,
and I appreciate everything everybody's done. Thank you. Thank you, Bill. All right, guys,
see you guys next week. Thank you, Chair. Take care. Bye, y'all.