do you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do thank you judah have you heard my testimony today in front of the board
Yes, I have.
is it true and correct and you adopt it as your own yes it is and i do adopt it as my own thank
Is it true and correct and you adopt it as your own?
Yes, it is and I do adopt it as your own.
you thank you uh does the board wish to see the plan no all right unless there's an objection
from the planning commission we will now move to the planning commission
i'm sorry about that somebody just broke a car's window out front so
This is Paula Brumblow-Burns, the property is indicated for medium industrial uses in
the North District Plan recommends that this property be included for industrial preservation
and lighter industrial transition area.
This site is the middle of an industrial complex and we feel that residential use could conflict
with existing industrial and future properties.
With the improvement of the I-95 Aramingo exit, we have seen an increase in interest
in industrial uses within the area.
Accordingly, we feel that this proposed use will have negative impacts on job-generating industries and request that the variants not be granted.
Can I?
Do we have a letter from the council person?
Is that Councilman, I'm not sure, Castor Avenue, it might be Heenan?
Yeah, I believe it's Heenan.
have any correspondence from the councilman's office no but there was full support from the
RCO so I understand I respect that but um uh excuse me chair we have some folks who has
who would like to speak okay so it's uh Sanchez okay sorry about that Mr. Folks you're still
under please identify yourself good afternoon chairman de chico zba board sloan folks office
of maria canyones sanchez room 508 city hall um the applicant has been with the coordinating rco
has received a letter of support from coordinating rco the councilwoman uh councilman's office uh
offers no opposition to this various requests. Thank you. Thank you. MI 2020-003-142-3804-14
Castor Avenue. My vote is yes with the proviso revised plan two pages adopted today.
yes with proviso yes with proviso yes with proviso yes with proviso thank you
thank you vice chair vice chair what every time you finish can you mute yourself
yeah i do and then i forget to turn it back on and i'm voting
with no no sound coming out because we're still getting feedback from you
calendar number three one seven three four six six three paul street
mr bertill has been promoted to panelists
good afternoon still on the roof good afternoon can you put your name and address on the record
please? Yes. B-E-R-T-I-L, 1835 Market Street, Suite 1400, Philadelphia PA, 1903.
Do you agree to waive and stip? Yes, I do. And have you emailed the exhibit packet in with proof
of ownership, tax compliance, refusal, referral, photos, plans, five days in advance of this hearing,
and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Yes to all of the above, except for the RCO, the applicant in this appeal is the RCO,
and so the community meetings were organized by the Councilwoman's Office to avoid conflict of interest.
Okay, you may proceed.
Thank you.
share my screen all right so by way of background um as i stated i'm here representing the frankfurt
community development corporation the owner and applicant for this application um by way of
background we're here for four 4663 paw street this proposal is part of a larger initiative
FROM THE CDC CALLED THE REIMAGINING MARGARET ORTHODOX INITIATIVE THAT'S DONE IN CONJUNCTION
WITH AN APPLICATION THAT WAS BEFORE THIS BOARD A FEW MONTHS AGO BEFORE 665 PAUL STREET.
few months ago for 4665 fall street as such we are proposing uh and requesting a variance approval
for the alteration and renovation of an existing structure into a commercial space on the first
floor and four residential affordable mixed-use housing units on the second and third floor
WE DON'T ANTICIPATE ANY CHANGE TO THE EXISTING BUILDING FOOTPRINT OR HEIGHT.
JUST TO GET A SENSE WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE, HERE'S THE AERIAL OF THE BLOCK BASE
THAT WE'RE EXCESSING.
AS I STATED, THIS STRUCTURE HERE, 4665, WE'VE ALREADY BEEN BEFORE YOU FOR APPROVAL FOR
THIS SAME PROJECT AND INITIATIVE, AND WE'RE HERE NOW WITH THIS STRUCTURE, 4663.
This is a better look at the front of the chair. The building is currently vacant, sandwiched in between our other project and the Frankfurt beverage distributor.
As I stated, the applicant is the Frankfort Community Development Corporation.
As such, we organized with the councilwoman's office so they can spearhead and organize
the meetings for this property.
We did have a community meeting where we did have support for the proposed project.
The refusals that we were here for is essentially we have one refusal we're here for the use
on the dimensions of the projects allow three units by right. We are requesting four units
on the second and third floor. We believe this requested dominions in nature. We're about
500 square feet away from being allowed four units by right. We believe that having this
additional unit will make the dimensions of the units more affordable and therefore fit
within our desire to provide affordable housing within these two structures.
I won't go through all the submissions because I believe that we have reported across the
board here.
But here's the zoning site plan of the current site and the proposed construction.
And here's just a rendering of what the vision is.
I'm not sure why that's going off, Senator, what the vision is for the street here.
And as such, as I stated, you can see here we have a letter of support from the Councilwoman
Keona Sanchez's office, also a letter of support from the Planning Commission.
I mean, they're heavily involved with this initiative and a letter of support from State
Representative Jason Dawkins for this project.
With me, I have the executive director of the Frankfurt CDC, Kim Washington, if you can raise your hand and be recognized, you can frame and adopt my testimony.
you've been unmuted please wait for the chair
good afternoon please identify yourself with the records by your first and last name
all right kimberly washington k-i-m-b-e-r-l-y washington w-a-s-h-i-n-g-t-o-n i'm the executive
director for the frankfurt community development corporation thank you you swear and affirm to
to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Thank you, Mr. Patel.
Mr. Patel.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Washington, have you heard the testimony
that I provided to the board this afternoon?
Do you confirm the truth of my testimony
and adopt it as your own?
Thank you very much.
Unless the board has any questions,
that concludes our presentation.
Thank you.
Any questions from the board?
Hello.
Anyone else would like to testify in this case, please raise your hand.
I see no hands, Chair.
Thank you.
Planning Commission?
Paula Brumbelow-Burns, Chairman and members of the Board, the applicant worked closely
with the Planning Commission to develop this project.
We feel that the creation of affordable units is a positive in that commercial first floor
is not necessary at this location.
Accordingly, we have no objection to the granting of the variance.
Thank you.
MI 2020-003173.
MI 2020-003173, 4663 Paul Street.
There aren't any revised plans, are there?
Okay, my vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
calendar number 0436 650 north 36th street meredith ferliger is the attorney
miss ferliger has been promoted to panelists
i name an address for the record please
good afternoon mr chairman members of the board meredith ferliger f-e-r-l-e-g-e-r
uh 1500 market street suite 3500 e philadelphia do you swear a firm to tell the whole truth and
nothing but the truth certainly do do you also agree to waive the reading of the refusal and
stipulate to its accuracy yes and have you emailed the exhibit packet with ownership tax compliance
refusal referral photos plans five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the rco
and do you have a letter yes to all of the above thank you you may proceed
okay good afternoon everybody uh the board first heard this case in october which requested a new
three-story structure for use as a three-family dwelling at 650 north 36th street in west
philadelphia after the board initially denied the request we filed for reconsideration which this
board graciously granted to permit applicant a rehearing which is what brings us back before you
today what i'll do to move through this as quickly as possible is to uh very briefly refresh your
memory from the presentation in october then i'll turn right into the additional information that we
submitted with the reconsideration request that should help further justify the board in granting
the requested variances today. Now if you recall the property is zoned RSA5
and having been rezoned from RM1 in 2017. The lot sits immediately across the street from high
density CMX3 development which I will touch on more in just a moment. Now as we presented back
Back in October, the property suffers from a hardship for a few reasons.
The main hardship lies in the predominantly multifamily character of the block.
The zoning map shows that the rezoning left the west side of this block of North 36th
Street with single-family zoning, despite the CMX3 zoning directly across the street
that accommodates 101 units.
This block is largely made up of vacant structures, a duplex at 638 North 36th Street, just a few
doors away, and a few remaining single-family homes. Now moving specifically to the grounds
for the reconsideration, the neighborhood context is one of the two main reasons we requested that
the board reconsider its decision. During the original hearing, we noted that the PHA development
across the street was multifamily. Board member Holloman questioned how these structures were set
up since the photographs, which I'll bring up, the photographs understandably and reasonably
would reflect they appear to be single-family type developments. They are not. The permitting
for this development was under several different addresses that we were only able to successfully
tracked down after significant effort after the hearing. If you first take a look at the
brochure here at Exhibit 13, you'll see confirmation that the development does in fact have 101 units.
Now more importantly, to answer Mr. Holloman's question, if you refer to tab 12,
I'll zoom in on this for you,
you'll see a screenshot of the permit language that confirms that these structures have two
three four even five units within each so you'll see the first screenshot is of uh 3501 Wallace
I believe I found this under and this shows 47 dwelling units in 20 structures and then the
other permit I found I believe it was under 35, 16 Fairmont Avenue and that reflects 45 dwelling
units in eight structures. As of today we've still been able to
As of today, we've still been able to locate the actual copies of these permits, but the
permit language is very clearly shown on the city's open map system.
Now in light of this additional information, the proposal for 650 North 36th Street is
well within the context of this neighborhood, especially this block, and further confirms
the predominantly multifamily character creating a hardship to new single-family development.
Now the second compelling reason that we're requesting this board reconsider its decision
and grant the requested variances is in light of the community interaction with this particular
small development. I believe that we either have Gwen or Sam from Mantua Civic on the line today
to weigh in just a bit more on that aspect. Now, during the October hearing, and forgive me, Paula,
I don't recall who was on back in October, but the Planning Commission rep at the time
noted that long-term vacancy is not grounds for hardship. This is simply not true generally,
and it is especially not true for this particular lot. This property has been vacant and blighted
for over 50 years in which time no single family use has been proposed for this property.
When my client purchased the lot he engaged with the local community to determine the best
and most suitable use for the lot. As a result of those discussions a triplex structure was proposed
to include a mix of unit types that would include one two-bedroom unit and one sorry
one two-bedroom unit and two one-bedroom units. With the three units, the community requested
that one of those three units be designated to a member of the local community, which my client
wholeheartedly agreed to. Of the three units, one unit would be offered for a reduced rent to
accommodate that particular community resident. And as somebody that has undertaken hundreds of
developments in this community, I believe Mantua would verify that this commitment is one that they
wholeheartedly believe will be met by this particular developer.
Accordingly, we are asking that the board grant the variance as we originally requested for the
three units, which is well in context with the multifamily uses on the block and would have been
density permitted under the former RM1 zoning. However, given the hardship facing this lot
that will prevent single-family development and risk leaving the lot vacant indefinitely,
my client would reduce to a duplex if necessary. As a practical note, the number of actual bedrooms
in the structure would be the same or more in the duplex, given that the duplex units would,
of course, be much larger. Now, before the board renders the decision, and because they were so
kind as to take the time out to be here today, I would ask for Gwen or Sam, whoever is on the Zoom
today from Mantua, to provide a little bit of additional clarity to the board on the community's
immense support for this proposal, especially as it relates to the originally requested three units.
So if you want to look for either Sam Samuels or Gwen, I don't, I see Gwen Morris. There she is.
Good afternoon, ma'am. Please identify yourself with the records, spell your first and last name, and provide us with your address.
Good afternoon. My name is Gwendolyn Morris, G-W-E-N-D-O-L-Y-N, last name Morris, M-O-R-R-I-S.
I live at 609 North 33rd Street.
Do you swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Thank you. Please proceed.
Okay, I remember this particular meeting because this meeting was held outside and the near
neighbors were really excited about the fact that I think it's most impactful if the residents can
see the actual parcel that you're considering. And we were a little surprised as the coordinating RCO