um time constraints if he needs to speak now that is case number 10 busson avenue
we have one other case nine too he has case nine too nine nine is withdrawn was withdrawn okay good
okay you're right i'm sorry all right kate that's fine mi 2022 002 161 9800 bustleton avenue parcel
c sean ward is the uh perney letter opposition from council member brian o'neill no no rco letter
at this point. Mr. Ward will be coming back in as a panel, sir. Thank you.
Good afternoon, Chairman Bergen, Sean Ward on behalf of the applicant. Hi, could you spell
your name for the court reporter, please? Certainly. Sean, S-H-A-W-N, his name Ward,
His name Ward, W-A-R-D, 331 East Street Road, Trevos, P-A-19-053.
W-A-R-D 331 East Street Road, Trevos, PA.
Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Could you identify your client and the relationship to the property?
I represent both the owner of this property for this proceeding, as well as the applicant who is a tenant of space A.
Could you identify them?
Oh, sure.
Uh, let me pull that up. Uh, the owner of the property is all capital letters. G is in Jordan.
F is in Frank. M is in Mary. Biz, B-I-Z-L-L-C is the owner. And Rafat, R-A-F-A-T. Abulaban,
A-B-U-L-A-B-A-N, doing business as Legacy Furniture as the tenant.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Hi, Mr. Ward. Do you agree to wait the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, I do.
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal, referral,
photos, and or plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing?
And have you met with the RCO? And do you have a letter?
Yes, to the above.
Thank you. You may proceed and share your screen.
Thank you, Madam Vice Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Ward. Welcome back.
Yeah. Free flight cancellations, but I made it back.
It was crazy. Tropical storm.
Mr. Chairman and members of the board, I submit to you my typical exhibit packet, which has been submitted to the board electronically.
The property is 9800 Bustle Avenue, counter number MI 2022-002161.
This was an application.
A1 is the Notice of Refusal, application for a permit for a retail furniture store in part of an existing building.
The retail sale of consumer goods is not permitted in the district.
Accordingly, the applicant seeks a variance today.
A-2 is the ZBA application of appeal. A-3 is the project information form. A-4 is proof of ownership. A-5 is proof of tax compliance. A-6 is the site location map, complements of Google. A-7 is the zoning site plan.
A-8 is the Tenant Space A plan.
A-9 are the photographs.
A-10 was originally a letter of support from Greater Busselton.
However, upon a recount, it switched from 10 in favor, 9 opposed, to 8 in support, 9 opposed.
I'll explain that.
A-11 is Councilman Brian O'Neill's letter.
I believe he's on the call.
I just did contact his office to discuss this, but I believe he is on the call.
A-12 is the relevant zoning history.
The pertinent is that in February of 2022, there was a permit pulled for wholesale distribution and storage in the warehouse.
But in March of 2021, there was a relocation of lot lines to create two lots from one.
Ergo, the lot C, it was originally parcel A and then subdivided into parcel B and C.
And we are here today dealing with parcel C. A13 is the zoning map. A14 is the aerial photograph.
Very quickly, I'll take you through the exhibits. This is the notice of refusal.
Again, proposed sale of retail, retail sale of consumer goods is not permitted in the I-2 zoning district.
So we filed our application for appeal.
That included the project information form, my transmittal letter to the board, a copy of the applicant's, the owner's deed.
Moving right along.
This is the deed of subdivision.
uh creating uh you know the various parcels as you can see parcel b and c were created
parcel b have now having an address at 1719 fulmer street and parcel c being 9800 plus avenue
freezing through these documents i want to waste the board's time i know you had a long afternoon
here is the Google aerial parcel map or location map. As you can see, this property is bounded by
Busselton Avenue. It is diagonally across the street from the 7th District Police Station and
Firehouse at Bowler. And then there is another entrance.
at Bowler, and then there is another entrance or exit at Lott Avenue.
With regard to the subject parcel, as you can see, it is a large industrial warehouse type facility.
Space A is approximately 12,300 square feet located at the very front facing Busselton Avenue.
It is the former office space for the prior owner.
Here is an aerial photograph. Again, you can see the 7th District Police Station here on
the corner of Busselton and Balwer. And this is outlined in red is the subject portion of the
property, which we're seeking a variance for for the retail use. The remainder of the property
will remain consistent with I2 zoning and the warehouse distribution use. We have our poster
on the fence out front. Another aerial shot from Google showing the subject portion of the property.
This would be a Google street view showing the front of the parcel.
Directly across the street is two commercial strip centers. You got the smaller one to the left in
the photo and the larger one to the right of the photo. Over here towards the left, as you can see,
this two-story building that is where the police station is coincidentally that's where councilman
o'neill's office is along with the fire department and the survey district
this is just a view of bustleton avenue facing north again the seventh district police building
facing south again you'll see the you know the commercial uses to the left
These are the aforementioned zoning permits for the relocation of the lot lines.
And then again, the wholesale distribution and storage warehouse for GFMBIZ LLC,
which is owned by Letty Greenfield. Here is the zoning map. I thought this was
important for the board's view because obviously, even though there's a zone I-2 industrial,
it is surrounded pretty much by CA1 or CMX commercial. So it's relatively a commercial
corridor, not an industrial corridor. So again, we have the aerial photograph showing the pictures.
So just for the board's edification, this building was separated from this lot here.
So this is the new Parcel B, which, again, has a Fulmer Street address, which is located right here by my my hand cursor.
And then Parcel C is the existing 98 at 9800 Busselton Avenue industrial site.
OK, so with regard to the application itself, go back up to my comments.
here with me okay all right so again uh the applicant is legacy furniture uh they currently
operate at 432 west algania avenue um i've handled their zoning for that site and they've been there
for quite a few years now operating a quality retail furniture store and then again the gfm
Bizz, LLC, is the owner since August 8th of 2021.
Again, it's located at Busselton Avenue across from the 7th District in the firehouse.
It is, in fact, zoned I-2.
However, it is adjacent to CMX-2 and CA-1 commercial.
Space A is the subject.
We're looking at this vacant tenant space, 12,300 square feet for the retail sale of
furniture.
Space B is Lenny Greenfield's company, Greenfield Manufacturing.
They're a manufacturer of pipe hangers and plumbing specialties, I believe, for over 70 years.
And again, as you can see, the vast majority of the site, 600,000 square feet, is used by Greenfield Manufacturing.
There is one other vacant tenant space at 28,000 square feet, plus or minus, that I'm referring to as Space C.
Again, their other location is 432 West Allegheny Avenue in Philadelphia.
The days and hours will be Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Pursuant to the lease agreement, there are 20 off-street parking spaces assigned for the space, which if need be, I can take you back to the aerial photo.
It shows the parking right out front.
And obviously, as always, we would provide commercial trash and recycling, and it would be stored in an enclosed area.
And it would be stored in an enclosed area with regard to this is the councilman's letter, which was submitted or dated June 6th, opposing the grant of the variance.
With regard to...
And then the Busselton Civic Summary. I know the chair said you didn't have it, but I do have a copy.
I believe it was submitted to the board, but I can make sure that Hillary gets a copy of it for the board's file, as well as RCOZBA at phila.gov.
Originally, it was 10 in support, 9 opposed.
And then, you know, somebody requested a revote.
I did speak to Jack O'Hara, who's a good man.
Spoke to him at length the other evening.
And upon recount, they discovered that I believe the realtor or broker may have voted in favor of it, as did Lenny Greenfield, who was the owner of the property.
And according to their bylaws, they don't allow people with conflicts of interest, their votes to be counted.
So it was a very close vote either way, 10 to 9 originally, 8 to 9 upon recount.
So, again, I would just submit that given the location of the property on Busselton Avenue,
let me go back to the bottom here, given the location of the property on Busselton Avenue,
it is, and I'm sure most of the board is aware, it is a viable commercial corridor,
uh despite the fact that this building is owned i2 industrial and uh with that uh if the board
wishes i could have uh rafat uh raise his hand be sworn in he can verify and adopt my representations
why don't you do that showing okay rafat if you can raise your hand if you're uh if you're hearing
If not, Mr. Chairman, as an officer, I would ask the board to stipulate that.
That's fine.
Questions from the board.
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Counselor, can you show a site plan of access and egress on the site?
Yeah, Tom.
On Busselton Avenue.
Yep, I got it.
All right, Tom.
So here you have, I'll blow it up.
So on Busselton Avenue, Tom, you have a lighted intersection at Boulder by the police station.
And there's an entry right here.
And then here, again, is the 20 spaces, including the two handicaps, which should be located right in front of the store.
And then there is another entry exit at the Lot Avenue.
I believe that may be signalized as well.
I'm not sure off the top of my head, but I know for a fact that Bowler Street is definitely a signalized intersection.
So the idea would be, you know, they would come in, turn left, park in front of the store,
and they can either exit through lot avenue or the boulder uh the boulder street uh curb cuts
and you and you say bustling avenue is a commercial corridor uh i've been living in
northeast philly just about all my life until i moved uh you know after i got married and i'm
well familiar with bustling avenue uh over to the right if i go back to this photo
you have shopping centers across the street you have another shopping center
um to the right over here um and and you know it and then here's another shopping center here so
it's it's basically a commercial retail corridor uh with limited industrial although you know this
this is in fact zone industrial so i i i concede that i don't know what the plans are uh with the
subdivided lot that be it's you know it's quite frankly yes size of a lot with
access from Fulmer Street I don't see any plans for that on Atlas in the system
yet but I do not represent that property I am only here today with
regard to 9800 puzzle so in your opinion the furniture store fits in with buses
than having the commercials card that that is my opinion and that's what i submit thank you
thank you any other questions from the board no mr chair questions or comments
questions or comments from the virtual audience
sir mr brian o'neill had his hand raised i have allowed him
Sir, Mr. Brian O'Neill had his hand raised.
I have allowed him to speak.
Councilman, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Yes, Councilman Brian O'Neill, O-apostrophe-N-E-I-L-L, representing the 10th District, which includes this property.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
Okay. I both agree with and support the opposition of the local RCO, the Greater Busselton Civic Association.
This property is, it is unique. It is a low slung building. It's attractive.
uh it it it is quiet uh operating there for a long time uh recently changed hands in the last
few years to the current owner mr greenfield uh i understand he's trying to maximize but he has
an office attached to the to the uh manufacturing distribution part of the building uh there's a
huge, very large shopping center just north. The strip centers across the street are smaller
storefronts in those strip centers. They've been there probably almost as long as this
industrial building. They're often in that large shopping center and many other shopping centers
that are true shopping centers on Busselton Avenue,
Grand Avenue, which is, this is just north of Grand Avenue.
Would another office use be okay in there?
Would a doctor's office or professional offices?
You know, that may very well be because of the business.
The one thing I'm sure of,
And I don't know how long Mr. Ward lived in Northeast Philadelphia, but I still do.
And I've represented this area for 43 years.
This is out of character with the area and with this property.
And if Mr. Greenfield, the owner, wants to find something compatible,
I'm sure the the the Civic Association and myself would be very willing to sit down and listen to them.
But but we don't need another furniture store where we have to take out an office for it.
And there are often, you know, the 12000 square feet here, there's often vacancies that come up all over the area.
And my district's very large. This kind of is in the center of it. And I have tons of shopping centers. And again, that's what they're there for, not to have an industrial property be converted in this way to a retail.
If it were something that was quieter, it didn't have as much traffic, didn't become a big store in front of a warehouse.
Yes, maybe that would be maybe that would be OK.
But this certainly is not. And I ask the board to deny the application.
Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, if I may respond briefly.
How about if I get the RCO one first?
See if I get the RCOs there,
then you can respond to both at the same time.
Is that okay?
Yeah, I don't think they're here, but.
Is there anyone for the RCO here?
Mr. Chair, I see