the Schuylkill Expressway, and Daring Street in the zoning district I-2.
You heard that, correct?
Yes, I did.
And are you familiar with the area?
Yes, I am.
And what is that area?
It is the former food distribution center.
Okay. And if we could go, you're there, so there's the map. You see the map up there. Can
you just give us the boundaries of that area? Yes. The former food distribution center was
bounded on the north by Packer Avenue, on the east side by I-95, which continues around, makes
have been there and becomes the southern boundary of the food distribution center.
And then the western boundary was mixed, 10th Street above Patterson Avenue
and Darien Street south of Patterson Avenue.
And the food distribution center, does that include the property address 300 Packer Avenue?
Yes, it certainly does.
And are you familiar with the prohibition of billboards?
Can we go to Exhibit 26, please?
Are you familiar with the prohibition of billboards in the Food Distribution Center?
Yes, I am.
Can you tell me briefly the history of how it originated?
When the Food Distribution Center was created in January of 1956, properties that were sold there all had a deed restriction on them, limiting the property owner to a single accessory sign.
Okay, and you see Exhibits 26 up on the screen there?
And can you tell the members what that represents?
I can't see that far away.
You can't see that far away.
But you presented this to us.
This is the covenants.
It says it reads the covenants and restrictions in the deep book.
And that was for the Food Distribution Center.
Is that correct?
Yes, that's correct.
And if you go down to number 11, number 11 right here.
No billboards or advertising signs.
All right.
And can you tell me when these covenants were scheduled to end?
Because the food center was begun in January of 1956,
they ran for 40 years.
And so they were to expire in January of 1996.
And then in 1993, do you tell us where the period is?
The produce terminal managers were desirous of having those deed covenants continue into the future.
And since they were about to expire as deed covenants, they asked that it be brought into zoning.
So a new zoning classification was created called Food Distribution Center.
And then can you tell us what happened in 2011?
In 2011, the Philadelphia Produce Terminal was relocated out of the Food Distribution Center to southwest Philadelphia on Essington Avenue.
And the district is now I-2, is that correct?
Yes, that is now I-2 as a result of the new zoning code that came into existence in 2013.
Are there currently billboards that exist within the former Food Distribution Center?
Yes, there certainly are.
In this I-2 district?
How many?
There are five immediately within the Food Distribution Center,
and there are three additional ones right on the edge of the Food Distribution Center,
the former Food Distribution Center.
And in your opinion, would a proposal such as art be consistent with the character of the I-2 district as it exists?
And in your opinion, would a proposal such as ours be consistent with the character of the I-2?
It would most certainly be consistent.
Is there another last question? Any residential use in the area?
No, none at all.
Thank you very much. I appreciate your testimony.
so so mr tefino i i i think it i i mean i know what you just did there but it might be worthwhile
to show some photos if you have somebody else on so we can at least yeah right yeah we're gonna
we're gonna get into that now i wish you would thank you yeah i'm gonna bring up mike to tell
it to testify um and uh yeah and he'll he'll show us right he'll show us he's gonna give you a total
tour of everything to show you exactly well i he don't need we need a total tour of the signs
that are there now and where you're going to put this one that's what you got okay so uh
mike do you want do you want his cv first would you like a cv or you know we could put a cv up
as exhibit 13 is mike going to testify yeah mike's going to testify could you do me a favor
could you state your name and spell for the stenographer yes sir um my name is michael
Tantella, T-A-N-T-A-L-A
licensed professional engineer with Tantella Associates
Alright, do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes sir, I do. Please proceed.
Alright, Mike, can you just tell us
briefly where you're licensed? I'm a professional
engineer licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I'm currently licensed
in 10 states. I practice in Philadelphia with my firm, Tantella Associates. I'm a principal.
Our firms practice continuously in Philadelphia for almost 60 years, and I've been with Tantella
over 20 years. And you have basically, you have your resume up there and your CV up there on the
screen correct yes sir and uh i think we should move on to the pictures right now and if you
if they need more qualifications we'll get to them later because uh let's move on to uh the
site plan that you had up already yes sir all right and if you could just zoom in on that and
explain where exactly the sign will go the dimensions of the sign and how far it is from
the nearest residents. I think they heard that already. Yes, sir. Exhibit three shows a site
plan, a zoning site plan, which I developed here. It's for 300 Packer Avenue. This is the lot. It's
bounded and has frontage on Packer Avenue to the north and third street to the east and Galloway,
South Galloway Street to the west. In blue here is the proposed non-accessory digital double-faced
sign shown in plan. It's set back to comply with easements 10 feet from Packer Avenue and 17 feet
from Galloway. So it's at the northwest corner of the parcel. It's on a single stanchion or pole
or column that's set in this first parking space here. This is an elevation view of that sign.
It's proposed to be 50 feet overall height with a 36-foot haggle or height above grade line to the
bottom of face from Packer Avenue. It's two faces, each proposed to be digital. The faces will have
an overall height of 14 feet each and 48 feet wide, each with a sign face area of 672 square feet.
This plan includes some zoning notes relative to the parcel. It's currently zoned I-2,
and we show in here this is that parcel I2 this is the existing sign it's in the I2 district
which is medium industrial use and then we show some zoning controls relative to that
it's directly south of Packer Ave which is south of the Walt Whitman Bridge approach and the Walt
Whitman Bridge DRPA facility that's in and along here we also note relative to
zoning controls distance to nearest residential which the nearest is an RSA
5 approximately 1,898 feet from the nearest point of sign at South Randolph
and Bigler as part of our zoning plan
bigler um as part of our zoning plan we we tabulate the different zoning controls and zoning
overlays of what's required and what's allowed and what's proposed mike can you go to exhibit 15
please yes sir all right exhibit 15 uh shows photos of the lot so here's a view looking south
across Packer Avenue in the upper left-hand corner. The billboard non-accessory sign would
be located approximately here at that first parking spot. This in the upper right is a view
looking east across South Galloway. So that sign would be located in this first parking space here
and flag over. In the lower left, you have a view from the back of the parking lot
towards Packer Avenue along Galloway here.
So that pole would be located in this first spot here.
And then in the lower right, this is looking across South 3rd Street.
Again, this is the parcel.
The sign would be on the far side of the parcel on Galloway Street opposite.
But this just shows you the four corners of the property.
Can you go to Exhibit 17 now?
17. Yes, sir. Exhibit 17 shows views looking west on the top here, looking west along Packer
Avenue. The subject property is to the left, and that sign would be located in this first spot
here. The lower portion of Exhibit 17 shows driving east along Packer, and again, that first spot is
where this sign would be located here. This is Galloway, Packer, and then along here.
Okay. And can we go to Exhibit 16 now?
Yes, sir.
All right. And if you can blow that up a little bit.
So Exhibit 16 shows a number of things here.
identified at that first spot is the parcel 300 Packer Avenue. At this first spot here is where
the proposed sign is to be located. As I said, it's on the south side of Packer Avenue. It advertises
to Packer Avenue, both east and westbound. As I mentioned previously, to the north is the
Schuylkill 76 and Walt Moon Bridge approach to the north of it and the DRPA facility and
building also to the north. This exhibit also shows other existing signage, billboards in and
around the vicinity of this area. So what are the numbers? The numbers one, two, three along the
sides here? What do they represent? These represent photographs taken that I can show in later
exhibits that are as you egress from I-95, you have a long approach along I-95 where you slow
down from the speed limit, 65 miles an hour to 25 miles an hour. And along that long approach
is where you egress to Packer Avenue, and that approach from the gore of the ramp
all the way to the exit onto Packer is approximately 3,200 feet or six-tenths of a mile that you travel.
And when you're talking about exiting from I-95, you're talking about the front street exit,
and that's in the southbound lanes, is that correct?
You're headed northbound on, or I'm sorry, south, northbound on I-95, you egress here, and I have photos on later exhibits that will show each stage here, but as you egress.
Actually, Mike, I think it's south, you're coming southbound on I-95 and you're exiting onto the wall women there.
So it's a southbound, we can show it.
Why don't you go to position one and we can show that.
I think that's exhibit, is that 18 or is that 16?
Exhibit 18. And so this is that first point of egress from I-95. You're traveling on I-95 north, and you egress on exit 19, where you start to slow down to that 25-mile-per-hour ramp.
and as we travel along those points here again posted speed limit on the ramp is 25 miles an
hour as you travel a little further along the ramp you see
As you travel a little further along the ramp, you see existing larger non-accessory signs and billboards on either side.
You're traveling along that.
The one I'm looking at in number three on the left, is that what you're trying to put up?
All of these, yes.
So, no, this is an existing sign.
No, left, left.
I'm saying the one on the left, the sign on the left, is that the type you want to put up?
Oh, it's smaller than that, sir.
And we have renderings of what's proposed.
Yep, okay.
So what you see here on this ramp, the sign on the left to which you're referring, is a 20 by 60 billboard.
On the left.
On the left, yes.
That's a flag.
Oops, sorry about that.
That's a, let me go back here.
On the left, that's a smaller size. Yes, sir. That's a 14 by 48. That's consistent
with the size of the sign that's proposed. I believe that's a little bit, that is higher
than our sign, which is proposed. So Exhibit 18 takes you through the ramp. At some point,
you go over Front Street. And at some point, you start to approach point five on my map,
which here is Packer Avenue and you're going over front street and you're
coming down along. And if I may,
attorney Dufino,
you have a rendering what it looks like, what you're going to put up.
Yes, sir.
Why don't you show us the rendering of what you're going to put up at third
and Packer.
Yes, sir. This is a exhibit 23 a,
this is a view looking West on Packer Avenue.
You'd be traveling in these lanes,
It's three lanes in the west. This is the rendering of the proposed sign. It's a flag structure, 14 by 48 sign face digital. And you can see this justifies why we're asking for the height that we're asking for, which is 50 feet and 36 feet to the top, 50 feet to the top, 36 feet to the bottom of face.
it just clears the existing facility that's there so that it was positioned to just minimally
and let me ask you a question what is that facility that is a true leave it's a marijuana
place right sir yes sir okay and then the casino in the background yes sir that's the live casino
much further higher structure and then the opposite if uh if i may exhibit uh 23b um shows
the opposite direction with the sign rendered in and uh here again justifies the height to
be above um the the tree that's there um and clear fences because as you're traveling along
the fence appears much higher to you than the structure at a distance
All right.
Mr. Tufana?
Yeah, I mean, I have some follow-up questions.
There was a concern.
Is that okay or not?