and saying that, well, he knew, so that's on him.
And that was my next question, like the hardship,
because it seemed like if he knew that it was a duplex,
do you think it was a self-created hardship,
or does he have a different hardship in terms of just...
He assumed the risk, but the hardship exists physically
with the property that he'll have to either gut that himself.
But obviously he's assuming the risk.
And my...
honest about it. Unlike sometimes, you know, some folks on it. Thank you. And my last question is
your immediate next next door neighbor. Um, were they in support or opposition? The immediate
next door. There's only one person on the other side. Yeah. Mr. Farouk, have you had any
communication with the immediate next door neighbor? Yes, I had, um, her name is Melissa
and, um, and Tom and her mom. They it's a big, it's a, it's another duplex and the family lives
in there they're not opposing this okay thank you actually i do have one more question was the
garage already completely separated or was there just a kitchen or a kitchenette and a bathroom
in the garage similar to like a rec room or a basement what bar area could have
can you pull up the plan again just so we see what he's what you're talking about
was there a separate entrance right and had the utilities been separated like had it been
already subdivided from the home itself with there were only two utility boxes okay yeah
so to what work is left uh that your client would need to do to come turn this into a holy third
I THINK HE'S ALREADY, PARUK, COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHAT WORK IS EITHER LEFT OR WHAT WORK YOU COMPLETED UPON PURCHASE?
CAN YOU SHOW THE BASEMENT PLAN SO WE CAN SEE?
PARUK, DID YOU HEAR THE QUESTION?
HE WENT OFF, I THINK.
i believe there was he did do work in that basement but none that would require uh any
more additional it looks like everything that was done required permits that's sort of why i was
asking and would he be opposed to a co no he's not opposed to okay because anything that touches
any plumbing and anything that touches any electrical and any partition walls requires a
permit so um i don't know what work could have been done to convert it that wouldn't have required
well flooring permits other than flooring and painting right that's i believe that's what
pretty much they did but um so then it was already wholly separated right except for the electric it
was not separated yeah except for the utilities but you're saying like this was already subdivided
where it had no connection to the rest of the home it was already closed off yeah okay yeah
I thought your question was about separation of utilities.
Yeah, it was about closing off of the structure.
So who has access to the parking in the back? Is it just the unit on the basement, or do other units have access to the parking?
There's two-car parking in the rear, and right now it's two of the units would have access to that.
And under this scenario, will they still have access?
yes this is a shared driveway in the back here
right questions from our attorney um not so much a question i just wanted to
note um the so let me just okay this is rsa four so parking is not required
the so the parking spaces it seemed like would have previously been interior parking and so
there's no reference to moving these two service parking spaces so that may need to be done through
a separate permit application um and which could also generate a refusal for having parking if it's
in the required rear yard or because it's access from a shared driveway so that should not be a
problem right um but i just want to make a note of that for the record because i saw the spaces
but did not see any note on the um refusal about that so thank you questions or comments from the
virtual audience. Chair, we had a hand up from Matthew Burns. Okay, we're going to do the
council person's offices here. How else could you please state your name and spell for the
stenographer? Morning, Chairman, members of the board, Alice Udovich, A-L-I-C-E-U-D-O-V-I-C-H,
on behalf of Councilman Brian. You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth,
nothing but the truth? I do. Please proceed. I first want to say that I apologize if your
client felt in any way that this had anything to do with anything other than zoning i also want to
maintain that the property is listed as being owned by real estate empire llc i'm sure that
that's a somewhat sophisticated operation and they knew exactly what they were buying
this is a complete overuse of this property these this is a small row of five or six duplexes there
is no hardship existing here as to why this property can't be used as a duplex instead
of trying to take a utility and garage floor level and and make it into a tiny apartment
do you have any questions no thank you anyone else please the other person in the audience
yes we have a hand up from matthew burns and another hand from the virtual audience
persons with the initial GC.
Okay. First one, please.
Hello?
Hello?
Hi, GC.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
My name is Giovanni Carpino, G-I-O-V-A-N-N-I.
last names Carpino C-A-R-P-I-N-O do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the
whole truth nothing but the truth yes sir could you turn your video on and are
yes sir could you turn your video on and are you a neighbor i am
you a neighbor
all right please i don't know if it's going to let me let me uh start your testimony we're fine
let me yeah i have to pull over but um so i've owned since 2006 um there's probably more like
nine units there's a separation for a breezeway that are on that block um we welcome all owners
uh to that block actually there's a couple owners that are on this call as well
that owner occupy as well as myself um i have no objection to him continuing usage as a duplex
But when it comes to a triplex, that just messes with the infrastructure of our neighborhood, allowing more cars, trash, people, and it becomes very overcluttered.
I would love to know because everybody has been so welcoming.
We all help each other shovel during the wintertime.
We all are friends with each other on that block.
So I find it very hard to believe I'm not calling him a liar, but I find it hard to believe that somebody would object to him the way he's saying it's being objected.
So, Mr. Carpino, you're not in favor of this project, am I correct?
I'm not in favor of this project because of what he's trying to do.
He's been doing work in that building unpermitted for a while now.
he's taken down trees that he threw the trees down into the into the crick
I'm not great on the property okay the property alone I'm the I'm objective in
it of a triplex yes it's not any questions all right next hand please
and how many hands do we have up sure we have Matthew Burns and I hit our
lopez okay mr burns hi hi mr burns could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
uh matthew burns m-a-t-t-h-e-w-e-e-r-n-s all right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
told truth nothing but the truth i do are you a neighbor yes are you in favor of this project
or against against do you have any reasons you can present other than what's already been
explained yeah i mean i attended that meeting last week and the one prior to that uh that they
didn't even show up to um so i've i've never met um the client i've never seen him before
that's just me i don't know but i know giovanni i know you hire uh they're my next door neighbors
i live in this house we have all similar units there's i don't see how this could be a triplex
it would be fairly unlivable at the meeting itself when they passed around pictures
of the units all i saw was an unfinished basement with a slop sink in it okay
the units in the house that i have in the same house so i don't know where these pictures are
coming from or what they're showing us but it seems very disingenuous what they're doing
um i am also sorry uh like we rent to our upstairs neighbors we don't care about their background or
where they came from right i mean thank you very much we appreciate your comments
counselor do you have any questions i don't next hand please
hi good afternoon everyone hi could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
yes it's yahira lopez y-a-h-i-r-a l-o-p-e-z right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
told truth nothing but the truth i do are you a neighbor yes i am are you in favor of this
practice or against i am against this project and then please if there's anything that's different
than what's already been testified but other than that we will note that you're in favor okay
Again, I'm sure.
Pretty much, you know, we're all very neighborly here.
We're very welcoming.
We highly encourage owner occupancy, which is great because we tend to get along.
We all care for our properties.
Pretty much for the same reasons Giovanni and Matthew had stated there is a shortage in parking.
We all share the same common area in the back.
There is only one way in and one way out.
so there is uh it will increase uh daily traffic back there uh there will be an
so there will also be an overload of utilities by uh uh turning a duplex into a triplex with
more strain on the sewage water and electrical infrastructure unfortunately today the main
storm drain sits right behind my property so that also can impact my infrastructure as well
so that also can impact my infrastructure as well thank you thank you thank you very much i think
many things you've said we've all heard we appreciate it council do you have any questions
i have no questions just comment that uh the unit would be you know small enough that i don't think
any kind of impact on the water or sewage would be the material is there anyone else in the audience
no hands at this time chair any commission planning commission um michael gall with the
philadelphia city planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change to
the rsa4 residential single family attached zoning at this location the city last rezoned
this neighborhood in 1981 at that time the property had been zoned r7 at residential
which is today's rsa4 and had been zoned residential single family since the inception
of the zoning code in 1933. a previous owner did receive approval to legalize a second dwelling
unit however there is no unique physical condition or circumstance of this property
that would prevent it from being used in strict conformity with the zoning code there are other
two unit buildings on this block face but no legal three unit buildings city planning commission
therefore recommends the board grant the proposed use variance for residential use but with a
recommended proviso maximum of two units okay so um thank you very much we're going to have a
resumptive hearing on this on 7 29 2026 at 9 30 a.m uh we will close other than additional
information that we'll hear from council am i correct hillary and the rco and the rco actually
mr sure since we're doing a resumption hearing i would i would leave the record open because the
rco hasn't submitted a letter okay i know council had addition um had a video they wanted to submit
and they're also going to show proof of posting and that sort of thing okay so let's leave the
record open all right thank you very much thank you all right okay yeah okay
Number eight, MI-2025-005-738-2408, Nicholas Street.
Vern Anastasio is the attorney.
Mr. Anastasio, just for the record, state your name.
You've already been sworn.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.
Members of the board, Vern Anastasio, A-N-A-S-T-A-S-I-O.
On behalf of my client, Killian Gersing.
Okay. Let's see here what we have here. Slash Community Corporation. We have a letter from them. Non-opposition from Council Member Young. Our Vice Chair has a few additional questions.
Good afternoon. Have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing?
I did.
And do you waive the read and the refusal to assimilate to us accuracy?
All right. Thank you. Show your screen and proceed with your case.
2408 nicholas street our application is for visitor accommodation in an existing structure
that just went blank
MY COMPUTER JUST FROZE.
SECOND.
SORRY ABOUT THAT, MR. CHAIR.
IT SHOULD BE BETTER NOW.
IT'S A VISITOR ACCOMMODATION IN AN
existing structure and i have to stop sharing and reshare my apologies
i'm getting blank pages here right now so
I have to
I may have to reboot
Visitor accommodation in an existing structure and we have a refusal here.
This is a beautifully renovated apart home.
this is a beautifully renovated apart uh home
it's a duplex
i'm sorry there it is no it's not there it is
there's this for both units yes sir
it's a duplex as you can see here there's the layout
your first floor unit in red top unit in green
property has been completely redeveloped on the interior and exterior
we spoke to the immediate neighbor on this side here where my cursor is they are in complete support
This property had been used for limited lodging previously, zero incident.
They are using Deluxe Hospitality, Mr. Anthony Lolio, who has testified before this board several times about the management style, the vetting, the rules and regulations, no one under 25, no parties, very strict as Deluxe has always done.
Beautifully appointed. We met with the neighbors, the RCO, and as a result of those meetings, we move into evidence their letter of non-opposition, as well as Councilman Young's letter of support.
The block is still a challenging block. There is an immediate adjacent property that has been cleaned and sealed. There's no development going on as planned because my client has invested a lot into into this property and wants to make sure that it yields enough to maintain it. We do respectfully request the granting of this variance for the visitor accommodation. Thank you.
you want to bring your client on mr killian gersing if he's still here with us please raise
your virtual hand thank you i'm on hi could you please state your name sir and spell for the
stenographer uh this is killing gersing k-i-l-i-a-n last name gersing g-e-r-s-i-n-g
you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do could you turn your video on please yeah thank you
Council thank you Killian did you hear my presentation to the board today I did it's
true and accurate to the best of your knowledge it is and you adopt it as your own testimony
yes I do thank you I have nothing further questions from the board
what's going to be the trash plan is this going to be something that's completely
managed by the um I guess the company yep uh yep it'll be interior and that after every stay
the deluxe hospitality comes in and takes all that trash out and then do you know what when
you were doing this before what was your sort of average tenure of a visitor gillian what's the
average tenure right now it is about um one to two months but we're not doing any short-term
right now it's medium-term essentially and so the plan this would shift it so like this would
obviously allow you to have less than 30 day rental so okay other questions
um does your client have experience with oh yes yes so he's done these kind of things yes he
certainly has and again uh he's going to be using uh the platform platform management folks that do