Thank you.
The attendees are coming in.
I'm waiting to see a phone number for Mr. Holloman, okay?
Thank you.
Take your time.
and will he also be on the uh computer so he can um see
i think this is him let me see
you want him logged in also as uh on a computer with his name
yes so he can um see the presentations perfect mr holliman
please unmute yourself yes yes good morning can you hear me we can Tom good morning you can hear
me Bill absolutely yes okay thank you I'm using my my phone and the computer perfect thank you
sir okay Mr. Holliman if you're able to okay I see you now perfect we ready to proceed as you
is chair okay thank you good morning my name is bill bergman and i will be chairing this morning's
eba hearings with me is our vice chair ishmael shaheed president mr chairman our board member
thomas holliman president mr chairman and our alternate board member emily persico from
Development Services.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also present is
Hilary Emerson, our attorney.
Here's our virtual format.
Be advised the proceedings are being recorded.
The video will be available by
contacting TanyaSunkett
at phil .gov.
For the benefit of our court stenographer,
we ask attorneys and witnesses
to identify themselves before testifying.
If you're participating
by phone and you wish to testify,
press star 9 to raise your hand
and star six to unmute. If you want an appearance statement, call 267 -270 -5548. Leave your email
and the address of the property in question. And finally, the question and answer box on the screen
is not for comments or testimony. All comments should be directed to our executive director,
time or something. Let's look at today's schedule. Number two, MI 2022 -005 -501 -2316 Memphis Street.
That case is continued. Number three, MI 2022 -005 -434 -5953 Master Street. That case is continued.
Number five, I -2022 -005 -088 -4913 Lawrence Street.
That case is continued.
Number six, MI -2022 -005 -082 -5600 Sydenham Street.
That case is continued.
And number 11, MI -2022 -005 -082 -5600 Sydenham Street.
M .I. 2021 -005 -236 -776 Martin Street is the owner applicant present for this.
James Hellings is the listed owner.
Good morning, Chair. This is Jebette Benton. I'll be your co -host for today.
We have someone with their hand up by the name of Jessica Rogers.
Mr. Chair, that's the co -owner on the lease.
Okay, thank you.
I mean, sorry, on the deed to the property.
They have been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Good morning.
Could you state your name, please?
It's spelled for the court stenographer.
Hi, my name is Jessica Rogers.
It's J -E -S -S -I -C -A and R -O -D -G -E -R -S.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
um so this is your fourth listing and you need another continuance correct so so this case is
going to be continued but it's mark must be tried the next time we just can't go on a fifth time
okay so this is the fourth listing the fifth will be the last okay thank you very much thank you
So this is the fourth listing. The fifth will be the last, okay?
Thank you very much.
Thank you. So MI 2021 -005 -236 -776 Martin Street. Cases continued. Mark must be tried.
Is there anyone else who needs a continuance or is requesting a continuance?
chair I see not just a moment Mr. Orphanides just put his hand up
okay they have been unmuted and allowed to speak Mr. Orphanides could you please state your name
sure uh David Orphanides right spell for the court reporter please certainly O -R -P -H -A -N -I -D -E -S
you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth I do
Mr. Orphanidis, do you want to speak about the Adolin case?
Oh, I'm sorry.
Yes, I guess that would be, I forget where we're on the list.
No, no, no, no, it's okay.
We can do it now.
We can do it now.
Yeah, so it's 332 Delancey, MI 2022.
I have it.
And I'm still working with the Council for the Neighbors and Council for Society of
Civic Association to try to come up with a settlement here.
All right.
So MI -2022 -001 -058 -332 Delancey Street.
This case is continued to Wednesday, August 30th at 9 .30 a .m.
Thank you.
Are there any other requests for continuances?
Chair, I see no hands at this time.
Number seven, MI -2022 -005 -589 -1320 South Capitol Street.
Ladden Carr is the listed owner, and it's also Bundy LLC.
There are no exhibits.
The coordinating, the RCO is requesting to continue it.
It's Mr. Carr here, or Ladden Carr here.
if you're in the virtual audience please raise your hand
Mr. Chair this is Hillary I just wanted to clarify that the
the RCO requested a continuance at the last hearing
oh I'm sorry I'm sorry my phone no request yeah it's okay we've received no
requests for continuance from any party for this hearing
Chair I see no hands at this time okay so
MI 2022 005 -589 -1320
East South Capitol Street. This case is continued. Mark must be tried.
Okay, we're going to go to our regular list.
Number 14, MI 2023 -001 -116 -100 -02 -West Ainsley. It's a pro se case. Christopher Francisco,
Hillary Emerson has recused herself.
Ryan McSherry is the attorney who will be filling in for the zoning board.
Chair, Chris Francisco is coming back in as a panelist now.
There's a letter of support from the 42nd War with Proviso.
good morning sir could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
good morning my name is chris francisco uh c -h -r -i -s last name is f -r -a -n -c -i -s -c -o
right do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
Yes, I do.
This application is for personal services, a barbershop, at first floor with single -family household living above.
No sign on the application.
Proposed use of personal services is prohibited in the RSA 5 zoning district,
and the proposed use of multiple principal uses on a lot is prohibited in the RSA 5 zoning district.
Our vice chair has just a few questions for you, sir.
Good morning, sir.
So have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that are needed to proceed with this case all days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, it would have been sent from Cheryl.
Cheryl Paulos, she had a she's the architecture that's on the job or assisting with the job.
And she had a family emergency and had a travel to Maine this morning.
But if possible, I'd like to proceed.
But she did.
Are you are you the owner of the property?
yes i am okay um please proceed and share your screen
We see your photo, if you're up.
Oh, okay. Awesome. This is the application that was submitted. We also have
the letters that were sent to the neighborhood
the letter that was posted on the property
the property deed
Christopher, my name
We have the RCO letter of support with some provisals.
And I would like to begin if you don't have any more questions.
My name is Chris Francisco.
I currently live at 102 West Ashdale Street since 2019.
However, I moved to Philadelphia in 1996 at the age of six.
have been an only resident ever since. I went to grade school, middle school, and high school
within a few blocks from my house. Also went to college, also went to Temple for college.
So I've been a Philly native basically my whole life. In 2019, I purchased 102 West Ashdale Street
with the intent of living next door to my business. However, unbeknownst to me at the time,
at some point before me purchasing this property, it was changed from mixed -use zoning
to an RSA5. As you can see on the Google Maps, the property is structured and has always been
a business throughout time. This is 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014. There's a sign that was like a
restaurant. Same thing. This is right after purchasing the property. And this is as of March
2023. In 2019, I learned that in order to open any business in this property, I need to obtain
a variance, which I went through the process. The variance was partially granted with a few
provisals. However, the provisals that were imposed did not make it a viable business for
me to open. Basically, I wanted to open a corner store with hot food, and what was granted was a
corner store no hot food um the hot food was the the big was a big portion of the revenue i expected
to come from i attempted to rent it but could not find a tenant uh the property has been vacant for
a few years now which brings me here where i am trying to open a barbershop i obtained 30 signatures
of support from my neighbors and a letter of support from the principal of alany high school
i'll share that now
This is the letter of support from the principal.
And here are the signatures from 30 residents, 30 of my neighbors.
we had a uh some we had i had a great conversation with the principal and we talked about plans of
offering a CTE program for the high school students that want to pursue a trade instead
of college. I received the RCO support, however, with two provisals. The two provisals are I can
only open six days a week and I can only stay open until 7 p .m. While I'm very grateful and
appreciate the RCO support, the provisals that were suggested puts me at a huge disadvantage
among the other barbershops in the area.
I'm asking the board members on the call
to consider allowing me to stay open
seven days a week and until 9 p .m.
In a few minutes, I'll show you a data analysis
completed by Anthony Hill,
who is a subject matter expert in data analytics.
However, before showing you the report,
I wanted to mention that by closing at 7 p .m.,
my last haircut appointment will have to be 5 .30.
Most haircuts take about 30 to 45 minutes, which would put me at around 6 .15 p .m.
which would put me at around 6 .15 p .m., and I would need the remaining 30 to 45 minutes
And I would need the remaining.
to clean up the shop. If I was allowed to stay open until 9 p .m., I could take appointments
until 7 .30. This will allow people to get home from work and get a haircut. I'll show you the
PowerPoint now. Anthony Hill is a subject matter expert in data analytics and you may see he does
work for the Philadelphia Police Department. So where you kind of see where murders are occurring
in certain zip codes, he's the one who kind of put that information together and does work such
as that. We wanted to show all the bar or a good amount of barbershops in the 19120 zip code.
However, also wanted to see barbershops in other areas to see what time are they closing.
What I'm about to show you is 40 barbershops that we took, the majority being about 30 being
in the 19120 or surrounding areas and roughly about 10 in other zip codes.
Here are the breakdown of the data.
As you can see, 40 barbershops, and it lists the zip codes, and we also looked at what
times they're closing.
So this is the map of the barbershops, of all the barbershops we took.
As you see here, you'll see a few of them are out in the outskirts, and that's just
to see different times and different days of closing.
barbershops closing between 7 and 8 p .m. in my immediate region is or out of the 40
barbershops that we took into consideration is only four between eight and nine is
it's around 14 15 between 9 to 9 30 is about another 10 between 10 and 11 is about another
nine um you'll see here the different times so between 7 p .m here are the two barbershops 7 30
another two uh eight and nine is where you see the bulk of the barbershops and what times they
close. That's the average of the majority of the times they close. After analyzing 40 barbershops
in eight different zip codes, our findings show that 82 % of barbershops were in Philadelphia
zip code 19120. Again, this is because we're trying to focus in on the area where the property
is located. In addition, the analysis concluded that over 65 % of the barbershops were open seven
days a week. In addition, only 21 % of the barbershops were open six days a week. The remaining
percentage opens less. Next, we analyzed the times each barbershop close in time, and the
analysis resulted, displayed that out of the 40 barbershops, only 5 % of them closed at 7 p .m.
Additionally, our analysis showed that over 60 % of the barbershops closed between 8 and 9.
I'm proposing to open seven days a week and closing at 9 p .m. This will allow me to accept
appointments up to 7 .45 and allow 30 to 45 minutes for sanitizing and cleaning.
um my last remarks are that you please consider everything i had to say today and everything i
showed you i'm not asking for no special exceptions other than those that all barbershops
have in my area please allow me to compete and operate at the same playing field as others are
in this industry also other businesses in the area within one and a half to two blocks radius
close at 9 p .m. or later, such as Seven Brothers Supermarket, Bally's Pizzeria,
Adali's Corner Store, Golden Gate Chinese Restaurant, Brothers Pizzeria,
Roosevelt Mini Market, and only two businesses I found that close at 7 or before. And those were,
one was an animal clinic that's on Riseson Avenue and Hoagie State Breakfast Spa,
which closes before. Thank you for your time, and if you have any questions.
Thank you. Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman. No, Chair. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands at this time, Chair. Planning Commission.
I see no hands at this time, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, sir.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Board Members.
David Effecto, F -E -C -T -E -A -U with the City Planning Commission.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir, I do.
Proceed.
Thank you, sir.
Mr. Chairman and Board Members, the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the residential single -family zoning at this location.
this property has a documented history of use as ground floor commercial with residential
dating to at least 1960. The proposed use variance is the minimum necessary to afford
relief to the appellant, and the City Planning Commission recommends the board grant the
proposed use variances for personal services and multiple principal uses on the lot.
Thank you.
MI 2023, 001 -116 -100 -02 -West Ashdale, I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you, sir.
Number one, MI 2023 -00969 -1522 South 9th Street.
Raymond Derizio is the attorney.
Letter of opposition from Passion Square Civic Association.
And letter of opposition from Council Member Squill.
applicant does have a petition
from 73
neighbors. Mr.
DeRizio. Chair Raymond, DeRizio
is coming back in as a panelist now.
Sorry, Chair.
Am I able to exit?
Mr. Francisco, could you
exit? Yes.
Thank you.
could you state your name please and spell it for the court reporter yes good morning Mr. Chairman
Raymond Dorizio r -a -y -m -o -n -d -d -o -r -i -z -i -o all right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Yes. Could you identify your client and
relationship to the property? Yes. My client is Joseph Stefano and Billy Motto. They're the
owners of the property. I'm your attorney for the applicants. Okay. Our vice chair has just a few
questions for you, sir. Thank you. Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the
refusal and stipulate to its accuracy yes thank you and you know then all the required documents
and exhibits that are needed and required to proceed with this case five days in advance of
this hearing i believe so yes thank you please proceed and share your screen okay thank you
Okay, so this is 1522 South 9th Street. It's between Tasker and Dickinson, and it's also
between two little streets, which are Cross and Greenwich. My clients recently purposed the
property from an estate. The house, the property has been vacant for years now. It's a three -story
property and they have the refusal to commercial space. There's two apartments, one on the third,
one on the second. He's seeking to have the first floor, a variance for use to have an apartment on
the first floor and not a commercial space there. Here's our appeal petition.
We have the deed, recently purchased deed back in December of 2022. Here are the plans. Now the
initial plans, I know there's a letter of opposition, but I'll get to that because I
think we can parse that out. We kind of did have at least an understanding somewhat with the
with the community but my client's initial proposal was to have two bedrooms on the first
floor as you could see first floor bedroom a or I'm sorry bedroom one and bedroom two bedroom one
was in the front of the property and then after our RCO meeting which there weren't any residents
that attended that and I believe there were maybe about four or so board members but what they asked
for us to do is, and I have some emails that I'll show later, is we would agree to your proposal if
we would agree to your proposal if you would do one bedroom on the first floor and put trash
you would do one bedroom on the first floor and put trash.
compactors on the second and third floor. So my client did agree with that. And we did submit
a day later, a proposal with bedroom one changed to an office. My client took the closet out.
Now, I think one of the sticking points, which for whatever reason just wasn't made clear to us
is that they didn't want that wall there for the first bedroom and believe that my client was
doing a second bedroom which he wasn't he wants to he will um listen to the community do one
bedroom put the trash compactors and he's fully compliant with that well he would be fully
compliant with that so most of the community you have rsa5 there's some mixed use we're a couple
blocks away from from pats and genos basically this is the photo of the posters in the window
for notice of the hearing the house he took it down to the studs some of these pictures are a
little lopsided, so I apologize, but he's doing a whole new construction on it. And the house is
about one corner in from Cross Street. There's utilities. The basement would have utilities in
there, washer, dryer, heating, air conditioner, et cetera. So this is a photo of the property.
Now, you're looking to the left of that, I believe, is a single family. There's no commercial
there but to the right is a multi -unit apartment building and it takes up from where my client is
all the way to Greenwich Street so I'm sorry that this is upside down but that's a picture of that
large property next to my clients and then you have no other commercial space really on the block
but for on the northeast corner is Grumpy's Tavern now this photo is looking south down
again it's it's turned the other way but if you look at the two properties the the southwest and
southeast corner they're multi -family units they're not commercial and that's really what
the character is of this street it's all really multi -family uh here's a there's a picture looking
north and again right directly across the street from my client's property multi -family units
first floor, second floor, third floor. This is the one commercial spot on Cross Street. It's
Grumpy's. It's a bar. I believe it has apartments. This is across the street from Grumpy's, a little
larger picture of the southeast corner, multifamily residential. And this is, again, the southwest
corner. I believe that's multifamily as well. And this is my clients looking from the vantage point
of grumpy's tavern this is the side view of grumpy's across street so we did get that letter
of opposition and we had a meeting again there weren't any members of the community there and
you know what we talked about was look they didn't want two bedrooms and my client
was willing to agree to that i have emails um showing here after the meeting the committee's
in support of the first floor that's reduced to one bedroom um and the second floor units have a
trash compactor. My client's fine with that. I think where the stumbling block hit was we sent
in new plans. There was a wall there, take the closet out, make it an office. And that really
wasn't made clear to us, but fine. And then we got a letter saying, well, now we don't like anything
you're doing and we're just going to send in an opposition. But my client canvassed the
neighborhood. And again, we notified the residents by registered mail, per the rules.
and over 70 residents are okay with this and these are residents on 9th street cross street
greenwich greenwich street so all around um are in support and it was my client's understanding
that nobody really wants commercial there it's all residential and that's what basically he's
seeking here's my client's tax clearance um but essentially you know he he does own other
properties in the area. He's originally from the area, although he doesn't live in the neighborhood
anymore. But, you know, my clients are responsible landlords. They haven't had any problem. And
again, I don't necessarily think that was the issue. Sorry, that was the issue of why there
was some opposition there. So, you know, we're looking to ask for the variance. The commercial
unit would provide a distressed value there. It's not a corner property. And my client just
seeking to have the one bedroom on the first floor second and third floor as proposed as it's been
and as it's basically as he is right for and uh my client i believe is here on the zoom and i
believe he would adopt my testimony mr stefano joseph de stefano
mr de stefano
do we see him in the audience yes they haven't been allowed to talk
Okay, thank you.
Okay, thank you.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell?
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Joseph DiStefano, D -E -S -T -E -F -A -N -O.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Thank you.
Mr. DiStefano, you heard my testimony here today, and you saw the exhibits that we presented to the board?
And are those true and correct statements and representations that were made?
And would you adopt that testimony and those representations as your own?
Okay, I have nothing further, Mr. Chairman.
Questions from the board?
No, Chair.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, sir.
Good morning.
David Vecto with the City Planning Commission Chair and Board Members.
The comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning at its location from commercial mixed use to residential single family.
The property has a prior documented history of use as a private club, which predates the adoption of the zoning code in 1933.
We would argue that the property is unsuitable for the broad array of activity contemplated in the commercial mixed use zoning district.
so the zoning presents a clear hardship to the property's reuse the city planning commission
recommends the board grant the proposed use variants from the commercial ground floor
requirements in the zoning code thank you mi 2023 000 969 1522 south 9th street i vote yes
proviso trash compactor second floor trash compactor third floor
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes with provisos.
Ishmael Shaheen, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you. Have a good day.
Number four, MI 2023 -001 -119 -1441 West Tioga Street.
Dawn Tancredi is the attorney.
letter of support from
Nicetown Tioga Improvement Team.
Chair, we have a person
by the name of Clementa Amazane.
Oh, sure. Yep. Yep.
Okay. They have been promoted to
panelists.
Good morning, Council.
good morning council good morning chairman members of the board
could you state your name please to spell for the court stenographer of course clementa amazon
That's spelled C -L -E -M -E -N -T -A.
Last name is A -M -A -Z -A -N.
And I'm an attorney at Zara Wimbaum
and I'll be presenting this project.
Thank you.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client,
the relationship to the property?
My client is the owner of the property
Kluber Holdings LLC.
And I have Yosef Abraham as the representative
for the LLC who will be adopting my testimony.
All right.
our vice chair has just a few questions of course good morning counselor do you agree to waive the
reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy yes i do have you emailed in all the
required documents and exhibits that are needed and required to proceed with this case five days
in advance of this hearing yes i have thank you please proceed and share your screen thank you
Can everyone see my screen?
Okay, as I mentioned, I will be presenting 1441 West Tioga Street.
This is a very straightforward project in that we are requesting the legalization of a third unit.
During my presentation, I will go through the refusal.
We do have a letter of support from the RCO that we met with on April 18th.
It is a unanimous letter of support.
I'll also go through the floor plans, photos of the property, as well as photos of the posting and interior.
The surrounding area, the notice that we sent of the community meeting, which was held on April 18th, our certificates of nailing, the application for appeal, deed, as well as a certificate of tax clearance.
And here we have the refusal. Again, this is a residential property, Zone RSA 5.
However, it is a non -conforming use in that it was previously Zone CMX 5 with two residential units and one commercial unit, dating back to 2006.
When my client purchased the property, the prior owner had converted that commercial use to a residential use.
As my client tried to obtain the rental license, we realized that there were issues with the zoning.
rental license we realized that there were issues with the zoning and so now we are looking to
And so now we are looking to legalize.
legalize that third unit and this is a corner property with multiple entrances as well as
egresses as you will see in the photos as i mentioned we did meet with the community on april
18th and we do have a unanimous letter of support as you can see there are five yeses and one
abstention and here we have the floor plans of the property i'll just zoom out a little bit here
The first floor is a two -bedroom, one -bath. That's about 706 square feet. The second floor
unit is also a two -bedroom, one -bath at about 628 square feet. And the third floor is a one -bedroom,
one -bath at 486 square feet. We do not have any basement living. As you can see, it is a three -story
property with multiple means of egress and ingress. There's an entrance here along West
Tioga Street as well as along North 15th Street on the corner. And here we have a photo of the
posting of the property with the ZVA information for today's hearing. Interior photos of two
different angles of the bedrooms. This was recently renovated as well as photos of the kitchen and
we have views to the left of this property on Tioga Street as views to the right of the property
along tayoga street as well again we are a corner property and we are on the corner as you see here
west tayoga and north 15th street and we did provide notice of the community meeting
and this is letter indicating that the meeting would be held on april 18th as you saw we did
receive a letter of support we also included information for today's cba hearing for those
who would like to participate a copy of the refusal as well as a pamphlet that the rca
requests that we include within our material packets. A list of the properties that were
notified of that April 18th meeting. And we do have a certificate of mailing for each property
that was notified of the meeting. I'll go through a few. However, all in all, we have well over 100.
So they were submitted within our presentation packet. I'm just going to jump down to our
application for appeal here so here we have the application of appeal again this property has a
history as it was previously zoned as cms5 for commercial use as well as a duplex above we're
simply seeking to convert that commercial legalize the use of the commercial space as a residential
unit here we have our project information form as well as the deed showing that my client clover
Holdings LLC does in fact own the property, and we have our Certificate of Tax Clearance
as well.
So with that, if I could have my client adopt my testimony, it should be Yusef Avram or
Abraham, excuse me.
Yosef has been allowed to speak.
Good morning. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Good morning. My name is Yosef Avraham. Yosef is Y -O -S -E -F. Avraham is A -V -R -A -H -A -N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Thank you. Yosef, did you hear my presentation today?
And was it your own correct?
And would you adopt it as your own testimony?
Yes. Thank you.
Thank you. Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Yes, Chair. We have Charles Richardson. They've been allowed to speak.
Sure. Good morning, Mr. Richardson. Just state your name and spell, please, for the court stenographer.
Good morning, Mr. Chair. Charles Richardson, R -I -C -H -A -R -D -S -O -N, Office of Councilwoman Cindy Bass, room 508 City Hall.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Proceed, sir.
Councilwoman has no opposition to granting the variance.
Thank you for taking the time to cause. Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, sir, and good morning.
David Vecto with the City Planning Commission.
Mr. Chairman and members of the board, the comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning
at this location from residential single -family to residential multifamily.
The recommended zoning would allow two dwelling units.
The recommended zoning would allow two dwelling units.
However, the property has a documented history of use of two dwelling units with a salon dating back to 2006.
However, the property has a document.
The appellant seeks to legalize the conversion of the former commercial space into a dwelling unit.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant the use variance for three dwelling units.
Thank you. MI 2023 -001 -119 -1441 West Ioga Street, I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you.
We're going to hear number eight and number 10 at the same time.
MI 2023 -001 -324 -1621 Webster Street.
Jennifer Brazdillo is the attorney.
And number 10, MI 2023 -001 -087 -1623, Webster Street.
Jennifer Rizzillo is also the attorney there.
And we have a letter of support from the South of South Neighborhood Association for both properties.
Counsel, we're going to hear both together.
Could you identify your, well, first of all, state your name and spell for the court stenographer.
Sure, Jennifer Bezidlo, my last name is spelled B -A -Z -Y -D -L -O.
Right, do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client in relationship to this property?
Sure, my client is Oksana Chomenko, and she is the property owner for both properties.
Okay. Our vice chair has just a few questions.
Good morning, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed them all the required documents and exhibits that are needed and required to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
Okay. I'm going to share my screen.
um we just get to the right packet hold on one second all right so um like i said jennifer i'm
here on behalf of the property owner oxana chamanco um these are i'm just going to briefly
go through our exhibit packet and we'll revisit most of these as i present but um here you have
the refusal um it's a refusal for not having a third floor setback it's the same for both
properties. Basically, all of this is the same for both properties, which is why I'm presenting
them together. Here's the deeds showing that Oksana owns both properties. There's one.
There's the second one. We also have the proof that the property taxes have been paid.
That's one. That's the other.
Here are our letters of support from SOSNA.
It was unanimous support for both.
We did do some redesigns to meet their recommendations, and then we got their approval.
And here is our postings on both properties.
There's one. There's the other.
And these are the buildings we're talking about. The gray one and then the building to the right.
The brick one here is 1621 and the gray one is 1623 Webster. We'll come back to these photos later.
But this is the surrounding street. As you can see, there's diversity of height here. Sorry,
don't know what happened. These are the houses behind those houses on Catherine Street. I'm
sorry, I'm having some technical difficulty with my computer. This is the aerial view.
We're going to come back to this next map because this shows the current heights
and stories and of the surrounding parcels, the zoning map, and here are our, this is our rendering
of what the third story would look like, and as well as the floor plans. So we're going to come
back to this. Let's go to the photo. So 1621 and 1623 Webster Street, as you can see, these are both
existing two -story single -family homes. 21 is a two -bedroom, one -bath, and is currently about
900 square feet in the interior. 1623 is a little bit bigger. It's a little over 1100.
1623 is a little bit bigger. It's a little over 1 ,100 square feet, and that's a three -bedroom,
one -bath. So we have two smaller row homes, not the smallest in the city, but they're not the
largest either. And our proposal is to add that third story with a mansard roof and then also a
roof deck. So the third story will be used as a suite for the, for the owner and owner suite
with a bedroom and another full bath, and then a little work from home space as well.
And why we're looking to do this, as you know, life has radically changed for most people home
life since these homes were built a hundred years ago. And we work from home. We have larger,
We have, you know, kids need space to do schoolwork and things like that.
So this addition will add, and also everyone wants a second bathroom.
So this will add another bathroom and provide that kind of live workspace for the owner to accommodate more modern living while maintaining the existing structure and character of, you know, the two -story brick home.
We are maintaining not only the cornice line, but our proposal is to maintain the original cornice.
That was one of the things that SOSNA has requested, and we were perfectly happy to accommodate that.
The additions on each, so 1621, the third floor adds about a little over 380 square feet of livable space,
and 1623, it's going to add about 480 square feet of livable space.
I also wanted to note that at the top, you're only at a little under 32 feet, so we're not even going up to the full 38 feet allowed.
We're well under the height. Let me just see. Hold on one second.
Go back to this rendering. So you can see it's nice.
You're maintaining that cornice. You're maintaining kind of a historical feel with the Manzard roof.
um let me see so each property only uh got one refusal and that was for not having the required
eight foot setback um for that third story uh since the buildings on either side were only
two story however um you know as we know that regulation is in place to try to maintain the
cornice line on intact two -story blocks as well as provide some sort of you know light and air
for neighbors across the street who may also only be in two -story homes. And while I think those
were really, that's, those are really good goals, right? The resulting projects from that, when you
have that eight -foot setback, especially on a small, smaller house like this, you run into two
problems. One, it doesn't actually look nice with the big blob on top. You still see it. And the
second is that uh these buildings are pretty short uh 1621 is only 33 feet long 1623 is 37
feet long um we're only proposing um right now the full three story adds you know 380 and 480
square feet if we did the full eight foot setback we're losing another 130 square feet or more off
of that. So it's really kind of impractical to add that full, to add that space with a full
eight -foot setback. And we think we're meeting the goals of that eight -foot setback with this
Manzer roof of maintaining the cornice line and giving that sight line back with the gentle slope
of giving that space of light and air. So I just wanted to go into a little bit about
the existing conditions on the block and how this proposal fits in. So if we go here, I've made a
little map of where, what, how many stories exist, what buildings are already three stories, what
can be by right, and what we're left with. So there are 22 properties right here that face Webster
Street. This is Webster going down. It kind of dead ends at the end on this block. Of those 22
properties, six are already full three stories with no setback. The property directly across
the street right here from 1621 is also owned by my client and a third story is going to be
edit by right uh since there's only there is a third story but three -story building adjacent to
it so we're going to have a seventh full three -story building on this block and then eight
more of the 22 so we have seven already who are full three stories eight more can be a full
three stories with no setback no mansard roof by right and that includes both of the
three stories with no setback, no mansard roof, buy right. And that includes both of the properties
practice.
adjacent to our properties. So these are the red X's are our properties. As you can see,
the pink B's are buy right third stories. So you have a block that's kind of already
a mix. Let's go to the photos that show this is Webster Street going up and down.
taken from these are my client's properties right here so you can see especially this one in the
upper right hand corner you can see that it's not a solid block of two -story homes it goes up and
down and I think what we're proposing is fits well within the character of this block and adds a nice
historical feel with the mansard roof giving them modern living spaces but preserving kind of those
charming two -story brick houses. So it's kind of a win -win. And I believe Sassna agreed with us.
So we went to Sassna, did the full meeting, notified a bunch of people, and they voted to
support. Specifically, they, you know, they liked that the mansard roof was added for the third
floor. And their only proviso was that there are security gates on some of the windows and they
will be removed during construction. And we were absolutely fine with that. So in summary,
we're looking to add a third story to existing properties with a mansard roof and maintain the
cornice line and the original cornice. And we do not believe this to be out of character with the
existing block, which is a mix of two and three stories already. And oh, what I didn't touch on
is that also on Catherine Street behind all of those houses to the rear are three stories or
could be by right. So I think that this fits in with the neighborhood provides a way to maintain
these older homes, but update them in a way to accommodate modern families.
Counsel, I understand the security bars are only on one of the properties?
I believe so. It's only on the brick one. All right. Thank you. You want to bring your client
on? I'm not sure if she's
here. She told me this morning she had a family
emergency, but if she is, her name is
Oksana. All right. You're an officer
of the court. We will gladly accept your
testimony. Thank you. I appreciate it. Questions
from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual
audience?
Kara, I see no hands at this time.
Planting Commission?
Thank you, Chairman, and good morning, Dave.
with the city planning commission mr chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends
no change to the residential single -family zoning at this location the appellant requests relief from
the third floor setback requirement in the zoning code the proposed third floor without a front
setback matches the character of the block which has a healthy mix of two -story and three -story row
homes and the appellant has shown that the small size of each lot would prevent each property's
continued economic use if the dimensional variance was not granted. The City Planning Commission
recommends the board grant relief from the third floor setback requirement in the zoning code for
both 1621 and 1623 Webster Street. Thank you. I'm going to vote these one at a time.
MI, number eight, MI 2023 -001 -234 -1621 Webster Street, I vote yes, Proviso.
Revised plans, two pages, stamped by ZBA on August 16, 2023.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Ismail Shahid, my vote is yes with Proviso.
And number 10, MI 2023, 001 -087 -1623, Webster Street.
I vote yes, with proviso.
Revised plans, two pages, stamped by ZBA, August 16, 2023, and exterior security bars on first floor front to be removed.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes, with proviso.
Thank you. Counsel, please stay here.
Number nine, MI 2023, 001 -088, Chatham Street, Jennifer Bazzillo is the attorney.
Let's see here.
We have a letter of support from Southport Richmond Civic Association based on the vote of all attendants at the meeting with provisos.
Counsel, you've already been sworn. Just state your name for the record.
Counsel, you've already been sworn. Just state your name for the record.
Sure. Jennifer Bazidlo, B -A -Z -Y -D -L -O.
You identify your client relationship to this property.
Sure. I'm so sorry. I'm trying to get this to be bigger.
My clients are Trendy Hall.
The owners and operators are Michelle Sharp and Jadelyn Kanakee, and they are a tenant in Space 1A.
Vice Chair has just a few questions.
Good morning again, counsel. Do you agree to weigh the reading of the refusal and stipulate to exact mercy?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that are needed and required to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
I have.
Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
Sure. All right. We got it up and I got it bigger again, so we're in good shape to begin.
So again, I'm going to just kind of go through all of our documents, and then we'll revisit
ones that are more relevant to the conversation. So this is our refusal. The only refusal is for
the use project information form. This is a copy of our lease. Before we go any further,
we are just asking for a three -year temporary variance that coincides with the end of this
lease date, which is January 31st, 2026, which is actually less than, it's like two and a half years.
Let's see here. Sorry. And this is our tax clearance for Trendy LLC, which is the tenants LLC.
This is the RCO letter, which we'll also be coming back to, but as you can see, the vote was in
support 26 to 15. We also did go out and this was the notification that went out. I will say I
initially scheduled it incorrectly. I went there that date that was incorrect. I handed out a new
flyer and spoke to all the people that showed up and a new flyer with the correct date was mailed
out with several weeks notice with proof of mailing just in case that comes up. Just wanted
to be clear. And so, um, because after the meeting, we did reach out to other community members
and we got 29 additional letters of support from neighbors within one to two blocks of the
property. Um, I'll come back and highlight some of them specifically, but this is one of the direct
neighbors across the street. Um, and so let's just skip through all these, but there are 29 here.
There are documents of previous zoning variances, which I'll get into in this building.
I'm sorry, I'm having technical problems today, scrolling through here.
Let's see here.
This is the zoning map.
We're not seeing anything.
You're not seeing anything?
We're still at the board meeting.
All right, let me stop here and try again.
I apologize.
screen shared that's i see there's a could you go back to the to the
to the letter from the uh rco sure
is there anything else on that letter that's it yeah so there there is um and i was going to touch
on this. I wanted you to do that. Okay. So, so the me, so they brought up an issue with a raffle
for coming to vote. And this is, this is the, this is the raffle. So let me just get to my
notes about this. My clients have, this is their third time going before Southport Richmond. They
are currently operating another event space in the building in space 1b that had a temporary
variance granted in 2019 and then that was renewed again for five years in 2022. They are from the
neighborhood. They have lots of friends and family who have been avid supporters of their business
and this was not meant to go out in a public fashion. This was for their friends and family
that were already coming in a way to kind of um an appreciation of their support um
what happened uh was they put it on their personal Facebook page not on any sort of
commercial Facebook page or any other commercial social media it wasn't posted on the building or
anything like that um and one of their friends shared it but he shared it publicly um and so I
guess one of the neighbors saw that and brought it to the attention of the community. And I can
have Michelle come on and talk more about it. But no one who came to the meeting who was not
someone who was already their friends and family spoke to them about the raffle. And
already their friends and family spoke to them about the raffle and the 29 letters of support
that came from the neighborhood. They were not, no raffle was mentioned, nothing like that. Those
were just people, again, who from the community were in support of the variants. I also want to
say that previously we had gone to Southport, Richmond twice before. There was no raffle,
appreciation wrap will then uh last meeting for space b we had 46 people in support uh and the
meeting before that there was 20 25 people in support uh so really we have a very similar
outcome uh which kind of backs up that this was um really for the people that were already coming
to support uh the friends and family in the neighborhood um if you would like my client to
get on she can she can verify everything well your client will have a chance to get on right
okay yes all right continue with your presentation sure um so we were at the
uh that was the zoning map uh just when these are just the dumpster the ramps
some certificates the dumpster permit uh these are our posting photographs it is a three -sided
building so there was three sides this is the interior of the hall space
with a proposed hall space and uh this is this is the building here which we'll come back to
and then these are this is cedar street
This is that's Cedar Street. This is Cambria and then this is the still Cambria and then that's
Chatham Street. So and our space is going to be on the the existing one is on Cedar Street and
the new proposed one is on Cambria. So oh and I just wanted to show you the floor plan.
And here's the floor plan. This is on Cedar Street. The 1B is the existing event space that was granted in 2019 and also 2022. And 1A is the smaller space that we're now proposing.
um and then just in context of the whole building this is just a floor plan of the first floor
so as you can see we're talking about a very small space um in relevance to the larger building this
is about a right around a thousand square feet um so let's go to the aerial view when i start
talking here. So 2848 Chatham Street is a very large I -2 zoned, industrial zoned, former ammunition
factory that runs street to street from Cedar to Chatham and then borders Cambria Street here.
And right over here is Cohox Playground, just so people are oriented. And this is Somerset Street
and this is Aramingo. So it is a large industrial zoned building on the block immediately north of
Somerset Street and the Conrail lines. We are proposing about to add another thousand square
foot event space which would be entered the primary entrance would be on Cambria Street.
um so let's just go here one second
so um as i mentioned there is uh trendy hall is currently operating out of 1b which is along
cedar street and that is a space for up to 100 people with a typical event size of about 50
um and this is a smaller space the maximum number of people would be 60
uh with a typical event being around 40 um these it's it's a community oriented event space uh and
most of the people who attend events here are from the community uh and it provides a space for them
to celebrate with their friends and family and a little bit larger space than your typical port
richmond grow home um you know there's birthday parties there are engagement parties baby showers
wedding showers, that sort of thing. But again, it's mostly to service the local community and
to celebrate these sort of milestone events. The hours of operation would be Friday and Saturday.
All events would end by 11, cleaned up by midnight. And then on Sunday, any event would end by 8pm
and cleaned up by 9pm. And usually on Sunday, they find that most events are happening earlier
in the day. Those are your baby showers type things. So they happen in the afternoon. For the
For the most part, there are no events held during the week.
most part, there are no events held during the week. On Wednesdays, they
On Wednesdays, they would be showing potential clients the space, but there would be no events.
The only thing that they've experienced that would be a weekday event would kind of be a reception for a funeral to have like a luncheon or something like that.
But it's mostly just Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Michelle and Jalen are experienced operators and have been in the community operating similar spaces for quite a long time.
for this particular space like i said there are limited hours of operation um we have the dumpster
that's outside that's licensed and permitted where all the trash gets stored and taken out by a
commercial trash holder uh hauler excuse me uh and michelle and jadeline are also on site for all
events uh making sure that things run smoothly and people leave on time uh there was a concern
of the community about people not leaving promptly afterwards. And we have agreed to
take additional steps to make sure that when people leave, they are leaving. So like I said,
they have been running event spaces for over a decade. They had at first a smaller event space
on Richmond Street in Port Richmond. And they hosted private events. They also hosted some
community events like Kids Crafts Nights and things like that. And in 2016, they actually
moved to this building in the 1B space. And this 1A space had been a party store that they were
also operating. However, due to issues with the building, all businesses in the building were
closed down in 2017. And in 2019, they reapplied for a variance in the 1B space and were granted
a three -year temporary variance. There needed to be some additional work for a CO. COVID happened
by 2022 when their three -year variance was up. They hadn't reopened. We went back to the community
and in December of last year in 2022, they were granted a five -year temporary variance for the
space, for the B1B space, which is the larger space, and haven't been operating there since
February. And they are now looking to open this second space. They are not connected. It couldn't
be one large event. They are two separate spaces for up to 60 people, again with a three -year
temporary to coincide with their lease. So let's go to the zoning map because I want to talk about
the zoning of this building. So this building is zoned I2, this purple here, and that is a zoning
district for manufacturing, production of large equipments, auto repair, etc. The main use category
is general industrial use, which by code, by the city code, is an industrial uses that because of
their scale or method of operation regularly produce odors, dust, noise, vibration, truck
traffic, or other external impacts that are detectable beyond the property lines of the
subject property. What we are proposing here as a 60 -person max event space that's only operating
primarily on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday is a much lower intensity use than is allowed by Wright.
We are not producing odors, dust, vibrations, or constant loud noises, and there will be no truck
traffic and far less parking and traffic demand than a large factory would be in this space.
Furthermore, I do tend to think that this building still being zoned I -2, as if it was still an ammunition factory, is an inappropriate zoning for this property.
If we look here, you have other, this is the Conrail line. And as you can see, the adjacent industrial properties tend to either be ICMX or IMRX, whereas we are still zoned industrial.
um icmx i think is a very appropriate zoning if we were looking to rezone this area as that is
a zoning that instead of being for you know this kind of general impactful um industrial use
instead is a zoning that serves as a buffer between industrial districts commercial and
residential districts so this would be you know the heavy industrial area you have a little buffer
here uh and then you have the surrounding residential areas um and in icmx this would
be a by right use and we wouldn't be here um so uh that was that was uh you know it's i think that
would be a more appropriate zoning uh but in the zoning we have now we're looking for a use that
is much less intense much less impactful um than having some sort of large -scale production uh
manufacturing in this facility, which also, you know, this building sat vacant for a long time,
um which also uh you know this building sat vacant for a long time not being used uh because
not being used.
it wasn't um being finding a new industrial um so in any case uh we did meet with with
southport richmond as we talked about before um let's just go back to here uh and the vote was
in favor uh 26 to 15 um with it was one to six with the near addresses which is why we then
reached out to additional community members who had not been at this meeting uh specifically on
the surrounding blocks of chatham cedar cambria somerset and which is the next street up gall the
next street over and aramingo the next street over the other way and that's where we got these 29
letters of support from either um residents uh and a couple of business owners um lots of people
know cas tires cas has has supported this project as well as some of his residential neighbors
um so i just wanted to get to the letters because there's a couple i wanted to show
so this is uh christy hopkins 2826 which is which is across the street from
um um are proposed and says we live across street this place has never had any issues
that they're talking about our 1b spot um and then i also wanted to show um
sorry there was also support from business owners uh and also uh neighbors who had attended events
in 1b um and found it to be uh you know a wonderful place in the community to celebrate
with their friends and family. We have, I'm sorry, I'm looking for one of the comments that
said that. But if you look through here, here we go. You know, had an event there. It was perfect,
kind people, no trouble, great for the community. You know, and there were several people that were
at the community meeting. They were not there for our project. They were there to talk to,
you know, the police chief and all that sort of stuff. And they're like, yeah, we were there. It
It was wonderful. We support this. There were two issues that were brought up at the community
meeting that I want to talk a little bit more about besides the raffle issue. The main concerns
were parking and also noise generated by guests when they were leaving. So for the parking,
I just wanted to say that, you know, they do their best to encourage public transit, Uber use,
carpooling that sort of thing uh we are located next to the playground which uh if if it is an
evening event um you know there's not as many people at the playground so we do have less
parking demand than you would normally in a tight residential neighborhood i'm not saying it's easy
because no parking in the city is easy uh but i did want to also say that you know we didn't receive
variance, a needed variance for parking. And also, again, by right, an industrial use here
would be allowed to affect parking traffic and that sort of thing. Similar with noise issues.
However, you know, in I2, you are allowed to create noise that permeates off of your property.
But after speaking with neighbors, the owners and operators here have agreed to take additional
measures that when an event would end to make sure that guests are leaving and not gathering.
I do think there has been some confusion about what's going on at this property
versus just issues that are happening from the park and general neighborhood issues. I know
there's a concern about broken bottles. My clients are only there Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
They clean up every time. They come back on Wednesday to show the property. There's garbage,
there's broken needles, there's broken bottles, there's needles. They clean it up. They clean up
any garbage that's left, garbage bags left on the street. They put it in their dumps. They pay to
take it away. So I know that, you know, there's legitimate concerns here from neighbors. They are
being addressed, but not everything is in my client's control just by the location of where
this building is. There was also, when speaking to some of the neighbors, they made it very clear
that what they would like to see there is nothing, which is not really a viable solution
to an old industrial building.
And if it was converted to residential use, we were dealing with far more people, far
more parking issues, far more congestion than this business operating out of a small
corner on Cambria.
I did also want to say that where we're located on Cambria is across the street from the
from the playground, and there is no homes directly across the street. So,
across the street. So let's see. So I think just in summary here, again, we're looking for a small
event space that's a much less intensive use than what is a buy right here with less impact
to the community. And time and time again, we have seen support from the community, including
these letters, not only the votes at the meeting, but these letters from the individual community
members located within a block or two. Okay, do you want to bring your client on, please? Sure.
Michelle, are you in the audience? Michelle, if you're in the audience, there she is. Chair Michelle
Sharp has been unmuted and allowed. Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the
court stenographer yes my name is michelle sharp that's m -i -c -h -e -l -l -e -s -h -a -r -p you swear a firm
to tell the truth told you nothing but the truth yes i do proceed counsel all right michelle did
you hear my testimony here today and believe it to be truthful and accurate yes and would you adopt
it as your own? Yes. Thank you. Questions on the board? No, Mr. Chairman. Questions or comments
from the virtual audience? Chair, I see no hands at this time. Planning Commission. Thank you,
Chair, and good morning. David Fecto with the City Planning Commission Chair and Board members.
the comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning at this location from medium industrial
to industrial commercial mixed use. The recommended zoning would allow assembly and entertainment by
right. The city planning commission recommends the board grant the proposed use variance for
assembly and entertainment. Thank you. Counsel, I'm going to hold a vote on this
for conversations with the board members in the executive session, also Hillary, our attorney.
OK. All right. And we will look to have this back next Wednesday at 930 a .m.
Would you like me to be present to answer any additional questions?
I think we have all the questions we need. OK. Sure. OK. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Are you closing the record? Record is records closed. All right. Thank you.
Number 12, MI 2022, 005 -723 -755 South 15th Street.
Zen Jin is the attorney.
There's a letter of support from South of South Neighborhood Association.
There, Zen Jin is coming back in as a panelist now.
Good morning, counsel. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Yes. 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.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, the relationship to this property?
Yes, my client is Mr. Kent Linn.
He's the owner of the property.
And our vice chair has just a few questions, counsel.
Good morning, counsel.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that are needed and required to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Thank you.
Please proceed and share the screen.
Thank you.
I'm going to share with the board the documentation we previously submitted.
Can the board see my shared documentation?
We can, sir. Yes.
Thank you.
So we submitted a copy of the refusal, the support letter from SOSNA, photos, plans, and related documentation.
This application is for a multifamily use in a RM1 zoning district.
I want to point out that the buy -write requirement, although it's not clear on the application itself on the refusal, should be 1440 square feet.
We have area lot of 1411 square feet, a de minimis difference that would otherwise allow us to have the four units buy -write.
In addition, the four units themselves were in existence at the time my client purchased the property, although for some time it was used as an Airbnb, he has since stopped that use and converted it back to multifamily, and actually that is what we're here for before the board today, is to make sure we legalize the four units for multifamily use.
We met with Sosna and the neighbors are aware that this.
We met with Salsna, and the neighbors are aware that this property, when it was purchased at one time, was a rooming house, and that was legal.
That was a pre -existing legal condition.
It was converted to four units and then used as Airbnb.
We simply want to convert the four units to use as multifamily at this point and stop any Airbnb use.
And the neighbors, particularly the near neighbors, had no real concerns as long as we do not rent it as Airbnb in the future.
With that, the property itself is an existing property in a heavily multifamily zoning district, and therefore it's surrounded by similar uses.
Its use would not cause a negative impact to the neighborhood as it is consistent to other uses in the area.
The layout of the property, essentially, the basement is for storage, and then the units are one on the first floor, front and back on the second, and the final unit on the third floor.
So with the support of the neighbors and the RCO, we would ask the board to grant the variance.
Again, we would point out that this variance is, again, it's a de minimis variance based on lot size.
So it's a dimensional variance with only about a 39 square foot difference, triggering the variance for the use that we're asking before the board.
I'm happy to answer any additional questions or redirect to any portion of my exhibits.
And my client is here to verify my testimony.
Why don't we have your client come on, counsel?
Mr. Lin, can you raise your hand virtually to be identified?
Chair, I see no hands at this time.
Okay, counsel, you are an officer of the court.
We will accept your testimony.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
chair i see no hands at this time planning commission thank you sir and good morning
david effecto with the city planning commission chairman and board members the comprehensive plan
recommends no change to the residential multifamily zoning at this location the proposed
dimensional variance is minimal and does not conflict with the purpose and spirit of the zoning
code the city planning commission recommends the board grant the dimensional variance for lot
area. Thank you. MI 2022, 005 -723 -755 South 15th Street, I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, I vote yes. Ishmael Shaheen, my vote is yes. Thank you, counsel. Thank you.
number 13 mi 2023 001 117 2644 east ontario joseph de felice is the attorney um
we have a letter of non -opposition from council member squala and a letter of support
support from pro pack port richmond on control and civic
okay chair joseph de felice is coming back in as a panelist okay
good morning counsel could you state your name please and spell for the court stenographer
yes chairman joseph de felice d -e capital f -e -l -i -c -e right do you swear or firm to tell
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes could you identify your clients in
the relationship to the property yes uh bozina and stanislav walski um and their daughter uh eve
roskowitz okay our vice chair has just a few questions sir
good morning counselor do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its
accuracy yes have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that are needed and
required to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing yes thank you please
proceed and show your screen right um let me share the screen here um okay
all right um well thank you uh board my name is joe de felice as i said previously i represent
Stanislas and Wozina Walski at 2644 East Ontario. This is for a variance today. The family would
like to do a six -foot fence, fully opaque, zoning only allowed for a four -foot fence,
50 % opaque. Many reasons for this, and I can walk through the document.
50 % opaque. Many reasons for this, and I can walk through the documents with you. As you can see
on my screen, we have the certificate of tax clearance followed by the letter of support from
the Port Richmond on Patrol and Civic Association, 34 attendees, 34 to 0 in support. In addition to
that, you can see the application for appeal. And you can see the refusal notice.
You can see the application for zoning and the use registration form.
There's our project information form. The deed.
uh the proof of mailing uh for the hearing all the addresses to which it was mailed to
and the photographs of the property and um and the announcement of the meeting uh here today
This property is looking for a zoning variance to go with a six -foot privacy fence for several reasons, one of which is, of course, privacy.
The other one is safety and security.
This area is...
Mr. DeFleach, could you say that again, you're looking for a six -foot?
Six -foot fence, correct.
Hillary, do we have that? I see we have five.
Yeah, the refusal says five, and I believe the plan said five, and the opacity was no more than 50%.
Plan should say six, and I think I highlighted that in my appeal as well.
Yeah, if you look at the appeal specifically, we talked about going from a four -foot fence to a six -foot fence.
how do we look on our side with that and you can even and even from the
original application it says six foot privacy fence surrounding side yard
hold on a moment mr defense let's just take a look and see what we do with this
Thank you.
Hilary. Oh, sorry, I know you're waiting on me. Yeah, I mean, the plans, the plans on the screen say no more than five feet high and not more than 50 % of cake.
So if the applicant is requesting something different, then we're going to need an amended refusal and a revised plan submitted to L &I, because what is what L &I believes is being asked for is only a variance for one foot from what's permitted in the code.
Hillary, can we can we fast track this?
um i mean yeah i mean we have to work with the staff on on scheduling but i mean just to clarify
for mr for mr de police your clients want a six -foot fence that's 100 opaque is that what
they're asking for yes my clients are are on and i mean okay i mean we're yeah i mean if this is
if this is what was presented to ellen i we're gonna you're gonna have to ask for leave to
amend the refusal um and present revised plans to and i because this is not
this does not match what you're testifying to. Correct. So, so he'll, he'll get an amended
refusal, come back to the staff and we'll see if we can get this on as quick as possible.
Yes. Can I ask a question? Yes. We had presented and, and I apologize, we had presented to the
Civic Association as a six foot fence. The letters that went out were for six foot fence. So there'd
be no reason to meet with the community again, correct? That's correct. We just asked that you
would share the amended refusal and revised plans so that they're that they're aware but yes
okay um mr defelice we'll get this back as soon as possible all right we understand the problem
and uh we appreciate you working with us thank you very much thank you is there anyone in the
Thank you. Is there anyone in the virtual audience who, um, whose case has not been called?
virtual audience who
I see no handshare. Okay. See everyone at 2 PM. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Good afternoon, my name is Bill Bergman.
I'm sorry, Chair, I'm sorry.
I wanted to make sure the attendees was in, but I did, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
we're good okay yeah all right good afternoon my name is bill bergman and i will be chairing
this afternoon zba hearings with me is our vice chair ismail shaheed present mr chairman our
board member thomas holliman he's there we just had him yes he's unmuted
he's still here though. Okay, good. And our alternate board member, LeBaron Leonard Palmer
from Development Services. Also, here is our attorney, Hillary Emerson. Here's our virtual
format. Be advised the proceedings are being recorded. The video will be available by contacting
tonyasunkett at philip .gov. For the benefit of our court stenographer, we asked attorneys and
witnesses to identify themselves before testifying. If you are participating by phone and you wish to
testify, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute. To enter an appearance statement,
call 267 -270 -5548. Leave your email and the address of the property in question.
And finally, the question and answer box on the screen is not for comments or testimony.
All comments should be directed to our executive director, Tanya Sunke.
Let's look at our schedule this afternoon.
Number one.
Hold on one minute.
Be right with you.
Number one, MI 2023 -001 -892 -1115 -27, Frankfurt Avenue. This case has been continued. And number seven, MI 2023 -001 -965 -5335 Catherine Street. That case has been continued.
Are there any comments or requests for additional contingencies?
Good afternoon, Chair. This is Yvette Benton. I'll be your co -host this afternoon. I see no hands at this time.
Thank you very much. Number three, MI 2023 -001 -837 -1953, Locust Street, Apartment 3. We have no exhibits. This is the first listing.
Critty Segal is the owner applicant. It's a pro se.
Chair, I see the heads at this time.
Okay, thank you. So MI -2023 -001 -837 -1953, Locust Street, Apartment 3.
Cases continued. Mark must be tried. We're going to go to our add -ons.
Number one, MI 2022 -007371.
MI -2022 -007 -371 -406 -West Somerville.
Ish, you have to certify on this case, please, the vote.
You went out.
You went out, Chair.
Can you hear me?
So the first case on the add -on list, 406 West Somerville, could you certify you saw the hearing?
Thank you.
Ishmael Shaheed, I did certify that I watched the hearing that took place last week on this address.
All right, 406, so MI 2022 -007 -371 -406 West Somerville, I vote yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thomas?
Mr. Holloman, you're unmuted.
Are you able to hear me?
We might need him to go back out and come in.
Why don't we tell him?
now let's hold we'll hold on on this mr halliman if you're able to hear me please go back out and
come back in please i'll call him in the meantime okay thank you
we need him for all the add -ons
Mr. Chair we have a hand up from Ronald Patterson um would you like to speak with him while we
sure thank you
good afternoon Mr. Patterson could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
Mr. Patterson?
Mr. Chairman, are you hearing me now?
Yeah, I can't.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Ronald Patterson, P -A -T -T -E -R -S -O -N.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
What case?
Sorry if it was heard.
I was having trouble logging on.
1115 Frankfurt Avenue.
um so i believe hold on one minute here i had a request for continence we continue that case
i just wanted to confirm thank you so much okay thank you sir for calling in we appreciate it
Mr. Thomas, are you able to unmute yourself?
no chair he just um appeared and then he he dropped back out
Okay. I just got off the phone with Mr. Holloman. He tried twice. The problem is he can hear us
crystal clear, but we can't hear him. So he's going to come back in again and try it again.
he's on the phone right
lakish
yes chair he's on the phone he's logging in
Yes, Chair. He's on the phone. He's logging in through the phone.
through the phone
As soon as I see his number appear, I'll let you know.
Okay, his number is here.
Mr. Holliman, if you're able to hear me, please unmute yourself.
You have the ability to speak as you wish.
Can you hear me, Mr. Chairman?
We can, Tom.
So, Tom, it's case one, MI 2022, 007371, 406 West Somerville.
I have voted yes.
Ishmael has voted yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Tom.
Number two, MI 2023, 002342, 1716 to 18 Addison.
Appeal denied.
Thomas Holloman, appeal denied.
Yes, Ishmael Shaheed, appeal denied.
Thank you.
Number three, MI2023, 00910905 Diamond Street.
I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
MI2023, this is number four.
MI 2023, 001 -598 -1500 North A Street.
I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
We're going to go to our regular list, and we're going to start with number two.
MI 2023, 001 -861.
on 1123 Jefferson Street. Joseph Consul is the attorney. There is a letter of opposition from
Yorktown Community Development Corporation. Mr. Consul, could you please state your name?
Yes. Joseph Consul. It's J -O -S -E -P -H -C -O -N -S -O -L -E.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes. Could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Yeah, my client is Jem's personal care and the representative on today's call is Moshri Childs, C -H -I -L -E -S.
Okay. Our vice chair has just a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that are needed and required to proceed with this case, five days in advance of this hearing?
Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
Did that work, my packet?
It's up.
Good afternoon, Board. Joseph Consul here for 1123 Jefferson Street.
uh 1123 jefferson street is zoned rsa5 we have a referral for a special exception to use the
property as a personal care home for senior citizens not a refusal we have a referral here
my clients gems personal care this is not a nursing home this is a uh they describe themselves
and I will call Ms. Childs to better explain their business in a second, but they describe
themselves as a place for seniors looking to stay independent while enjoying services and care of
staff members. This home is 1 ,800 square feet. It's a four -bedroom home. It would have a maximum
of five residents uh on the property at any given time again it's not a nursing home
um it is a personal care home for seniors which is a special exception in rsa
It is a personal care home for seniors, which is a special exception in RSA five, because we have a letter of opposition from the RCO, which I'll mention now and again.
And then again, the vote was four to three in opposition.
So we weren't like overwhelmingly it was not against us at this RCO.
But because we have that letter of opposition,
I'm just going to run through the criteria quickly
for a special exception
if this video becomes necessary in the future.
So the zoning board must approve
or approve with conditions
the application for a special exception
if it determines that certain conditions are met
and the conditions of the objectors
don't outweigh the conditions that are met.
The conditions we have to meet
For the approval of a special exception, first, congestion in the public streets or transportation system cannot be detrimental.
We don't believe that this property housing a maximum of five people in a 1 ,800 -square -foot, four -bedroom house will congest the public streets or transportation systems.
The same thing, we don't believe it will overcrowd the land.
The third criteria, impair the inadequate supply of light and air.
There's no new construction happening, so the property is not going to change shape.
Four, burden the water, sewer, school, or park system.
Again, this is what I would call a normal or small -ish sized family that will, you know, amount of people that will be living there.
So we don't expect that this will have any burden on any of those systems.
Five, impair or permanently enjoin the use of adjacent conforming properties. This is likely to be a very quiet use. The RCO themselves were lamenting that this property was previously student housing and how loud that was.
Well, we don't believe that four to five seniors will cause any kind of noise disturbances, at least none that will be any more than would be a family of a similar size.
And certainly we would expect less than were it a bunch of students.
Next, endanger the public health and safety.
I don't believe that that is an issue.
And then finally, inconsistency with the comprehensive plan of the city.
The city, by making this a special exception in RSA 5, we believe is encouraging for these kinds of applications to be presented. And so we don't believe that using it as this senior living is against the comprehensive plan of the city.
um so i'll move on from there to addressing the rco letter specifically as i mentioned
it was four in opposition and three and three and non -opposition
uh they present a list of issues that they believe uh that um a personal care home for
seniors will generally have on their neighborhood. However, there's nothing about these objections
that are specific to this property. And the special exception code in the Philadelphia
zoning code reads that the objectors have a duty to present objective evidence that the proposed
use will be detrimental more so than another similar version of the proposed use. So you can't
just say all, the objectors can't say that all personal care senior living homes are objectionable
because the zoning code is saying those are allowed unless you can prove that this specific
use will be detrimental. And we don't believe that by listing these general issues that they have
with the idea of a personal care home that they're presenting anything that should weigh
the zoning board to deny our special exception. Next, I'll just run through the photos and the
plans. And, you know, there are a couple of specific issues, but they really just relate
to the old use of the property. Like I said, it was student housing. The landlord himself,
who had showed up to the RCO meeting, lamented the fact that it had been student housing for
a while because that was detrimental, but we believe this new use will be much better for
the neighborhood. Quotas and plans. Interiors of the property, you can see it's in good condition.
And then we have all the other documents attached after that. At this time, I'd like to call
At this time, I'd like to call Masheri Childs to adopt my testimony and provide some testimony of her own.
Machery Childs to
Masheri Childs, if you're in the virtual audience, please unmute yourself.
Chair, I'm not seeing any hands at this time.
Ms. Childs, if you're on here, you have to raise your virtual hand.
Okay, hold on a moment.
I believe the hand is up.
Maesheri Childs, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Maesheri Childs, M -A -C -H -E -R -E, last name C -H -I -L -E as in Edward, S as in Sam.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Thank you.
First off, Ms. Childs, did you hear my testimony just now, and do you adopt it as your own?
Thank you.
Would you just briefly describe your business to the board and the need for your business in Philadelphia?
And you don't have to overspeak.
Just give them a brief description.
So, GEM Personal Care Home LLC is led by myself.
I'm a licensed nursing home administrator.
Jennifer Hampton, board certified nurse practitioner, and Sharika Davis, a licensed master in social
Those licensures are specific to what we're offering to the community.
Together, we boast over 15 years of collective healthcare experience.
Our unique approach is to prioritize addressing the distinct health, social, and mental needs of each customer, catering to specific demographics in need of a safe, affordable housing and daily life skill support.
We stand out our personalized model. At a time when Philadelphia right now is facing a daunting two -year waiting list for affordable senior housing, our single house can make a profound impact on an individual's life, ultimately enhancing their quality of life.
We do acknowledge and understand that the community is concerned in regards to safety and overall traffic.
We do affirm that we will hold 24 -7 surveillance, maintain a presence of trained staff, and carry out a thorough background check for both staff and potential customers.
We will have a visitation guideline to ensure safety and comfort for our customers and their families.
The overall, you know, objective is to revolve around enhancing the community as a valuable addition.
Our focus lies in seamlessly integrating our customers into the neighborhood and enabling them to thrive as responsible and individual involved residents.
Thank you. I have nothing further.
Questions from the board?
No, Chair.
Mr. Hallamann, you're free to speak, you're unmuted.
Barron?
Hi, I'm here, Chair.
Do you have any questions?
No, I have no questions.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Mary Jones.
They have been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Good afternoon, Mary.
Please state your name and spell for the court stenographer.
Good afternoon.
um it's mary jones m -a -r -y j -o -n -e -s um yes oh well from council president daryl clark's office
okay right do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do please proceed um yes well first of all there should have been a letter of opposition
on record from the council president i sent it in a couple of weeks ago um at any rate um so
i'm here on his behalf to speak for the community uh well not for the community but speak on
their behalf i believe that some of them have called in as well but i just wanted to get on
their behalf. I believe that some of them have called in as well, but I just wanted to get on
the record that there was a letter. Just to sort of quickly address some points, however,
the record
as the attorney and the applicant have testified, this use is very much different from a normal
single -family home. It includes all adults, plus the staff, plus visitors. And so all the
concerns that were put forth in the community's letter should be, you know, taken seriously.
And so the council president opposes the granting of this special exception.
Thank you. Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
here are the other hands at this time okay planning commission
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission
you swear affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do chair please proceed the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing rsa 5
single -family zoning at this location. We feel that the applicant has shown that this facility
will have no more significant impact on the surrounding neighborhood than a large family.
We do have concerns about the age restriction may not be permanent and may allow a personal
care home serving other populations. Accordingly, the Planning Commission recommends the Board
grant the special exemption. MI 2023 -001 -861 -1123 Jefferson Street, I vote no.
Thomas Solomon, my vote is no. Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is no.
Thank you, Mr. Counsel. Thank you.
We're moving to number nine.
MI 2023 -001 -975 -612 -South Banbury Street.
David and Jacqueline Nemikic are the owner of applicants.
It's a pro se.
Letter of support from South of South Neighborhood Association.
Chair, I see no hands at this time.
Just a moment, Chair, our hand just went up.
Thank you.
They are coming back in as a panelist now, Chair.
Thank you.
Hi, sir. How are you? Could you please unmute yourself?
Yeah. Hi. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Hi, good afternoon, Chair. My name is David Nemec, D -A -V -I -D -N -I -E -M -I -E -C.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Okay. Let me just read here for a minute.
This application is for the erection of a rear addition and the erection of an addition, including roof deck with roof access.
structure above an existing attached structure size and location as shown in plans for single
household living. If abutting lots on both sides of attached building contain only two stories of
enclosed area the stories above the second story of the attached house shall be set back an
additional eight feet from the minimum distance between the front facades and the front lot line
whereas no additional setback is provided at the proposed third story level property is zoned rsa
five our vice chair has just a few questions for you sir sure yes good afternoon sir have you
emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that are needed and required to proceed with this
case bobby is in advance of this hearing yes we have thank you please proceed and share your screen
again this is a we're fine sir we see it yep okay great we are um here again
We are here again speaking about a project for 612 South Banbury Street, which again is RSA 5.
speaking about a project for 612 south banbury
We are pursuing a third floor addition and attempting to forego the eight foot setback for that third floor, which is a by right zoning requirement.
I can run through the exhibit binder here, but we've met with the SOSNA Architectural Committee and picked up some of their notes and comments, and we met with the RCO, and as Chairman suggested, we received a letter of support for the project.
I'll roll through the exhibit binder here.
We have our notice of refusal.
application for appeal, our PIF form,
copy of our deed,
a notarized letter of authorization.
My wife is also on the deed.
We have the zoning drawings that were submitted to L &I
prompting the variance process.
We have some floor plans here
that show the proposed renovations.
Again, the largest intent is to get a new full depth
third floor.
We have exterior elevations that were presented
to SASNA at our RCO meeting.
Have our posted zoning flyer images.
Our RCO mailing information, the letter sent to nearby neighbors, in this case it was 317
nearby neighbors.
And our letter of support from SOSNA along with a tax cert to round out the exhibit package.
could you go back what what was the vote tally
uh 12 to 0 okay thank you very much
okay have anything else to present sir that's all i have chairman good questions from the board
no chair
thomas
lebaron
no questions mr chair okay questions or comments from the virtual audience
Chair, we have a Bill Hartman.
They have been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Sir, could you state your name, please, and spell it for the court stenographer?
Yes, sir.
My name is William Hartman, or Bill Hartman, and the last name is Hartman, H -A -R -T -M -A -N,
first name Bill.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I swear to tell the truth.
Proceed, sir.
Are you a neighbor?
I'm not sure if we're on the same case.
I'm here about Haggard Street.
No, no, no.
We're at 612 South Bambry Street.
I'm sorry, sir.
Right.
Okay, thank you.
Is there anyone in the virtual audience for 612 South Bambry Street?
I see no hands at this time, Chair.
Planning Commission.
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing rsa 5 single family zoning at this
location we have no objection to the proposal of the addition at this location accordingly
the planning commission has no objection to the board granting the variance
mi 2023 001 975 612 south bambury street i vote yes
Ishmael Shahid, my vote is yes.
LeBaron?
LeBaron Leonard Palmer, my vote is yes.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, sir.
You have your votes.
Thank you, Chairman.
Number four, MI 2023, 001 -771 -1813 East Hagrid Street.
1813 East Haggard Street. Jared Kline is the attorney.
Jared Klein is the attorney.
Letter of support from East Kensington Neighborhood Association, letter of support from New Kensington
CDC, and a letter of support from Council Member Squad. Good afternoon, Mr. Kline. Could you state
your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer? Certainly. Good afternoon, Mr.
chair members of the board. It's Jared, J -A -R -E -D. Last name is Klein, K -L -E -I -N, from Blank Rome,
130 North 18th Street in Philadelphia. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. Could you identify your client,
the relationship to the property? Certainly. We're representing the owners of this address,
Johanna Berrigan and Mary Beth Apple. Okay. And our vice chair has just a few questions, sir.
certainly good afternoon counsel do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate
to its accuracy yes i do have you emailed all the required documents and exhibits that are
needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing yes i have thank you
please proceed to share your screen thank you can can the board see my screen we can sir yes excellent
So we are here, as we said, for 1813 East Haggard Street.
And I'll give the board some context and some history so that we understand what this application is about.
This is a legalization application for an existing free health care clinic that is designed to provide medical care for the underserved,
the underinsured, the uninsured in the Kensington area. Area of the city, I'm sure, as the board
well knows, where free medical care is desperately needed. And they have been providing medical care
from this address for decades. Unaware that they needed specific zoning for this use,
they received a violation from L &I and immediately commenced this process to
legalize this use. And that's why we're here with you today. We're not inserting anything new into
the community. We're trying to continue the good works of this organization that has been there for
decades. The two owners of the building are a physician assistant and a nurse practitioner.
And they operate this Catholic worker free clinic as part of the House of Grace Catholic
worker in Philadelphia, and part of the larger international Catholic worker movement.
Their clinic that is inside this row house has been there for over 30 years. They service anybody
who comes to their door. There's no appointment needed. It's a complete walk -in clinic.
And they offer a variety of services that this neighborhood desperately needs, including basic
health care, wound care, showers, and basic hygiene. They have a small lending library.
They assist people who need to navigate the complicated health care system.
And they serve people who don't have insurance. Many don't have an ID.
Many have mental health or substance abuse issues. And they treat everybody who comes to their door
and have been an integral part of this community for decades. The refusal that we have, it's calling
it a group practitioner, but that's not really what's happening here. I think the most specific
explanation is here, it's the legalization of a community -based free medical clinic.
And that's what is there now, and that's what we're seeking to legalize. Just to orient the
board, this is the area here. We're located down the street from the St. Francis Inn in the
Kensington area. Zoning map show this is our lot here. It is zoned RM1. There are, as the board can
see, other commercial uses immediately around us, including IRMX and CMX 2 .5 on the same block
where we're located. So the residential portion of this block is certainly not the entire block.
This is the existing building here. These are your zoning notices that are posted in the window.
and the exterior looks like a traditional row home, except inside they offer these free
medical services. This is the backyard, and then these are examples of what the interior of the
building looks like. As you can see, it's just basically set up. They have a couple of small
medical offices and sort of a common area where people can sit and wait. These are photos of the
block just to orient the board. This is obviously the L here, and our property is located down there.
The basic layout of the building, you can see here, there is a basement that just has utility
and storage. On the first floor, there is that waiting room, which is immediately off the street
On the first floor, there is that waiting room, which is immediately off the street with a supply closet, a shower area and a dental facility in the rear.
with a supply.
And on the second floor, three exam rooms and an office that is used by by the facilities.
All of this is also being submitted to the city because there is the violation that we got was a lack of a zoning permit and lack of a CO.
So that CO obviously comes after if the board is willing to grant this variance, we'll be getting a CO based on this existing layout and these plans.
Within the packet of material that was submitted to the board, I heard the chair reference letters of non -opposition from the councilman and the community association.
Pages 18 to 93 of our exhibit packet, which I will not go through each one of them in
consideration of the board's time, but 18 to 93 are letters of support from various individuals
and entities around Philadelphia, attesting to the good work that Mary Beth and Joanna do,
and really emphasizing, and I'll point this out here, that they provide urgent and essential
services. This is from pathways to housing. So all of these letters that I will just flip through
so the board can see are letters of support for both what the clinic is already doing and that
they should be permitted to continue doing these good works. This is from North Square neighborhood.
There's individuals who wrote in. And again, I won't take the board's time to go through all
of these, but there are both immediate near neighbors who have written letters and civic
and medical and housing assistance organizations that have all written to support the work that
they're doing here. There was also a petition that was circulated within the community.
There are over 300 signatures on that. That is also included in the packet that we sent to the
board. This is the petition. And again, I won't take the board's time to go through all these
names. But as you can see, there are people from all over who have received medical care,
support the work this free clinic is doing, and have signed the petition with some commentary
that's also included in the packet. This is page 105. Each person who signed the petition had an
opportunity to write some thoughts, and that's what needs are here. We did have a meeting
with the RCO. I'm going to bring that letter up on the screen for the board. It was the East
Kensington Neighbors Association. There was a vote. There were 51 in favor and only two in
opposition, so the community was very strongly in support of what the clinic has been doing,
and their belief that they should be able to keep doing it.
The only real concern we heard was that there was some concern
about neighborhood sort of vandalism or property damage
that was attributed to our clientele.
You know, the St. Francis Inn is right on this block
and Kensington is Kensington.
We do the best job we can
and really are providing medical care to the really underserved.
And so we don't think that there is a real concern there.
But the letter of support came from East Kensington Neighbors and also the New Kensington Development Corporation also submitted a letter of their support for this project.
With that, I would like to ask either Mary Beth or Joanna or if you're both together to raise your virtual hands.
Chair, we have Joanna Berrigan. She's been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Good afternoon, Chair. My name is Johanna Berrigan, J -O -H -A -N -N -A -B -E -R -R -I -G -A -N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, Counsel.
Thank you, Chair. Ms. Berrigan, did you have a chance to listen to my presentation this
afternoon? Yes, I did. And do you adopt my statements as true and correct in your own
testimony if you had the chance to speak for a little bit longer? Yes, I do. And you want me
to provide a testimony? If you have less than a minute to share with the board about this
this business and what you're doing, that would be valuable.
Joanna, are you there?
Honestly, I think you portrayed the information perfectly.
I really don't have much more to add.
i really don't have much more to add okay then then we have nothing further mr chair
Okay, then we have nothing further, Mr. Chair.
okay thank you questions from the board
no chair
lebaron
no questions mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
Chair, we have Amy Zuccarino. She's been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Ms. Zuccarino, please unmute yourself.
Yes, hi. I just want to offer my support for you.
Hold on, Amy. Hold on one minute. Could you state your name and spell, please, for the court stenographer?
Sure. My name is Amy Zuccarino, Z -U -C -C -A -R -I -N -O.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you. Proceed.
I just want to offer support for the Catholic workers.
I think what they do for the community is fantastic.
They offer people that are less privileged than most people in that community.
And I just think that they're doing a wonderful job.
Thank you for taking the time to cause and we'll take your words on their advisement.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Chair, we have someone with the last name, H -U -Y -N -H.
Caller, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Good afternoon.
My name is Katie Nguyen, H -U -Y -N -H is my last name, first name, K -A -T -I -E.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Please proceed.
I have been volunteering at the Catholic Worker Free Clinic since 2002, and I can testify that this is a clinic that is saving lives.
As you know, we are in an opioid epidemic, and we witness more than 1 ,200 people a year dying in our city of opioid overdose or related to opioids.
And this is a clinic that is on the ground, really engaging folks in care.
When you hear the words free clinic, you might think of a business or an organization, but there's no transactions done at this place.
There's no money taken. There's no IDs taken.
consider this a drop -in center, consider this a safe place where people that don't feel safe
in our healthcare system can find a connection and really start to make a move towards health
and whatever that might mean for them. I'm a physician assistant. I also have worked in
several federally qualified health centers in Philadelphia and just testified that this is
different. This is a place that is unique and that is offering services to people on the margins in
many different ways. Thank you very much for calling in. We appreciate it. Is there anyone
else in the virtual audience? Chair, we have the Reverend Kristen Ostendorf. They have been
muted and about the screen. Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court
personographer. Sure. My name is the Reverend Kristen Ostendorf. First name is spelled K -R -I -R -T -E -N.
Last name is Ostendorf. It's O -S -P -E -N -D -O -R -F. Okay. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Please proceed. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I also
I'm speaking in support of the Catholic Worker Clinic. I am a partner of the clinics. I am a
deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, which includes the city of Philadelphia. And as
has already been testified to, this clinic is saving lives. It's part of a multi -organizational
approach to working with some of the systemic issues in the city of Philadelphia. In my case,
I work with the mendicant outreach project called Clare Project, and we walk the streets to try to
identify people who might benefit from the clinic services and also offer creature comforts and
pastoral care. And I would say that the ongoing work of the Catholic Worker Clinic, which has
been there for decades, allows for real health care and compassion to continue in part of a city
that desperately needs it. I also would like to make the point that these are systemic issues
that we are working against, and we're not going to be able to zone our way out of them.
Keeping the clinic open will continue to save lives while the city can deal with some of
the issues of opioid addiction and intense poverty that we see in that area.
Thank you for allowing me to speak.
Thank you for allowing me to speak.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
We will take your words under advisement.
We will take your words under advice.
Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
Chair, we have someone under the name Tracy's iPhone.
Caller, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Mr. Chair, if I might, very, very briefly, I know that there are a lot of people here
to offer words of encouragement and support to the clinic.
In respect of the board's time, if you're here and just want to offer a quick statement
to support. I think the board understands. I don't want to take the board's time with a lot
of repetitive support. I think we have a strong picture where the community is with this.
Trying to be respectful of your time, Mr. Chair. So is there anyone who has any comments that are
different than what we've heard? How's that sound? Chair, I still have the caller under Tracy's iPhone.
Bring them on. Caller, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Caller, under Tracy's iPhone, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
All right.
Thank you.
Is there anyone else?
Chair, we have Naomi Wildflower.
They've been unmuted and allowed to speak.
could you state your name please and spell for the court stenographer hi my name is naomi wildflower
n -a -o -m -i last name w -i -l -d -f -l -o -w -e -r um do you hold it hold it hold it do you swear for him
tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do are you in favor of this project i am
okay um we've had a lot of testimony about it we appreciate your call and we will take note that
you're in favor of it thank you very much is there anyone else here i see no other hands at
this time thank you very much planning commission please excuse me chair i'm sorry okay the hand
went back down i'm sorry planning commission good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning
commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing rm1 multifamily zoning
at this location. However, the property has a long history of being used as a medical office
that expanded into a full medical clinic to serve the community at need. Accordingly,
we recommend the requested variance be granted. Thank you. MI 2023 -001 -771 -1813 East Haggard
Street, I vote yes. Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes. Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes. Thank you,
Mr. Klein, you have your votes. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair,
members of the board. Number five, MI 2022 -004 -231 -4501 Woodhaven Road. Augusta O 'Neill
is the attorney. Letter of non -opposition from Councilman O 'Neill. Letter of support from
Millbrook Civic Association. Here, Ms. O 'Neill is coming back in as a painless now.
Good afternoon. Hi, Ms. O 'Neill. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the
court stenographer? Sure. Augusta O 'Neill. It's spelled A -U -G -U -S -T -A. The last name is O -apostrophe
N -E -I -L -L. Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth? I do. Could you identify your client, the relationship to this property? Sure. My client is
4501 Whitty Haven Holdings, LLC. They are the owner of the property. And our vice chair has just
a few questions for you. Sure. Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to read the reading of
refusal and speculate towards accuracy? I do. I've emailed them all the required documents and
exhibits that are needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing.
The only document that was missing is the tax clearance certificate. My client did have an
issue with the city and so an agreement was signed by him today to clear up that issue and
the city solicitor's office has just got to countersign it. So because our project architect
and engineer, and my client are all available today. I was hoping to be able to go forward
because this was last minute. Unfortunately, we couldn't get in touch with the solicitor's office
to get that all executed to provide to your board solicitor. Understood. So we'll hear the case out
and we may have to hold it until we receive the cert, but we can move forward with the case.
Thank you so much. I appreciate the accommodation. No problem. Please proceed and share your screen.
Thank you.
Good afternoon, members of the board.
I'm here this afternoon representing 4501 Woodhaven Holdings LLC.
I'm here this afternoon representing 4501 Woodhaven Holdings, LLC.
They are the owners of the property at 4501 Woodhaven Road.
This is an application to construct a new four -story Marriott -branded hotel in the parking lot of the Philadelphia Mills Shopping Center, which is located in Northeast Philadelphia.
Just to orient the board to the site, I provided an aerial overview of the property at page 47 of your exhibit package.
The hotel is going to be located in this parking lot right off of Liberty Bell and Franklin Mills Boulevard.
It's just south of the Burger King that's next to the shopping center.
Pictures of the existing property are located beginning at page 49 of your exhibit package.
Sorry.
Again, as you can see, this is where the hotel is going to be located. It's currently just empty
parking spaces in a large shopping center. The hotel is going to be approximately 84 ,000 square
feet with over 1500 parking spaces and 100 guest rooms. The parking space number of 1500 might sound
large um that actually considers all the parking spaces that are in the entire shopping center
the hotel itself is going to have 138 parking spaces including four ada spaces and one ada van
space just for the board's reference i've included some pictures of renderings of the to be built
Hotel. This is just a view of the hotel looking north. If you're on Liberty Bell Boulevard
looking east, this is another image of the rendering of the hotel. This property is zoned
CA1. The refusals that were issued appear at page three of my exhibit package. There were two
refusals that were issued. One was for the use, and the other is because the height is about 14
feet over what is permitted in this location. I would submit to the board that this use is
appropriate for this shopping center location. This is a fairly underutilized shopping center
already. The uses that are permitted in the CA1 district would primarily be retail uses like a
CVS or Home Depot or PetSmart. There's already a CVS in the shopping center, and the property
hasn't otherwise attracted a lot of retail tenants. So we feel that this is an appropriate
use of the site, as does the community that's affected by our application. We would also submit
to you that there's going to be much less traffic generated here than would otherwise be permitted by
one of the permitted CA1 uses. Due to the size of this project, because the building is going to be
over 84 ,000 square feet, we went through the civic design review process. We met with the
Planning Commission on August 1st. We were able to get through CDR in just one meeting and a copy
of our completion letter starts at page 10. I'm sorry. 10 of your exhibit package. We also met
with the affected RCO for the property, the Millbrook Civic Association, and they are in
support of the use so long as it is a Marriott branded hotel. Their acknowledgement of support
does appear at page 7 of your exhibit package. Councilman Brian O 'Neill is likewise in support
of the project. And again, his stipulation, just like the community, was that he wanted to see it
remain a Marriott branded hotel. His letter of support appears at page 5 of my exhibit package.
With me this afternoon is our project engineer, Tyler Dolgos, and Mark Musacchio, our project
architect. Should the board have any design questions for either of them? But with that
being said, I would ask that my client, Ravi Chawla, identify himself to be called forward.
And I know he was traveling, so if there's any issue pulling him forward,
I'd be happy to adopt his testimony as an officer of the court.
I'm sorry.
Do you see his hand raised?
There are no hands up at this time, Chair.
Counsel, we will take your officer of the court and we'll accept your testimony.
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Tom.
No, Chair.
Thank you.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Mr. Chair, this is Hillary.
Sorry, I just have two quick questions for Mr. O 'Neill.
First, you mentioned that there was a refusal for the visitor accommodation view, but I don't see that on the copy of the refusal that I received.
Do you believe that's a missed refusal?
Oh, you know what? I think that Chelly actually did submit a corrected version.
I had this one saved when I pulled together my exhibit package, so I will update with a corrected.
This one's saved when I pulled together my exhibit package, so I will update with a corrected version, so I apologize for that.
Okay. Thank you. And then you mentioned there was a tax agreement. Was that related to real estate taxes?
I believe it was related to real estate, and there might have also been BIRT taxes, but I'd be happy to send you a copy of the stipulation as long as my client has no issue with it once this is over.
Sure, sure. So, yeah, we will need the correct refusal because we would need to add that as a proviso if this is granted, as well as the tax information in order to vote it.
We're probably not going to vote. We're not going to vote on this today, right, Hillary?
No, because we'll need the tax information, but we also need to make sure that we have the correct refusal on the record.
Sure. Thank you. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Alice Udovich. They have been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Hey, good afternoon, Alice. Could you spell your name, please, for the court stenographer?
Sure. Good afternoon, Chairman, members of the board. Alice Udovich, U -D -O -V -I -C -H, on behalf of Councilman Brian O 'Neill.
You swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
just wanted to uh repeat what miss o 'neill said that the councilman does support this however
it is a conditional support based on the tenant being a marriott and if not a marriott that they
come before the community again thank you all right thank you um anyone else in the virtual
audience chair i see the other hands at this time planning commission good afternoon chair
peter bernard for the planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the ca1
commercial auto related zoning at this location this proposal has completed the civic design
review process earlier this year we feel a hotel at this location will serve the nearby interstate
in the franklin mills area and is compatible with surrounding uses accordingly the planning
commission recommends the board grant the variance thank you um council we will we will be back once
we receive the other issues and we'll vote this as soon as we can. Okay. Thank you. I appreciate
your time. Thank you again for hearing it. Okay. And Mr. Chair, this is Hillary. The record is
closed except for receiving the corrected refusal and the tax information. Thank you. Thank you
again. Number six, MI -2023 -001 -939 -6031 Tarsdale Avenue. Stephen Pollack is the attorney.
Letter of non -opposition from Wushan Oming Civic Association. There was no meeting held,
but the letter mailed to near neighbors at RCO contact information listed on the zoning poster.
Stephen Pollack is rejoining us as a
panelist. Okay.
Good afternoon,
Mr. Pollack. Could you state your name, please,
and spell for the court stenographer?
Good afternoon, Chairman Bergman and members of the board.
Stephen with the P -H -S -T -E -P -H -E -N, Pollack,
P -O -L -L -O -C -K.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth? I do, Mr.
Chair. Could you identify your client
in relationship to this property?
My client is
an entity known as 6031 Tarsdale LLC.
The members are John and Robin Katagnus,
and they are with me today.
Our vice chair has just a few questions for you, sir.
Good afternoon, counsel.
Do you agree to weigh the reading of the refusal
and stipulate to its accuracy?
I do, Mr. Shahid.
Have you emailed all the required documents
and exhibits that are needed to proceed with this case
five days in advance of this hearing?
I believe we have.
Thank you so much.
Please proceed and share your screen.
Mr. Chairman, as I like to do, if you could promote my associate, Nico Realbuto, to have
the ability to share the screen, I would appreciate it.
Is he being promoted?
Let me see Nico's hand.
Nico says his hand is up.
Okay, we'll get him.
I'm sorry, Jerry.
We'll get him.
It froze on me for a second.
I kept clicking, but you couldn't hear me.
I was talking.
All right.
Thank you.
That's fine.
Rope him in.
Rope him in.
He's been allowed to speak. Did you want to just put the screen up and there we go. So Mr. Chairman, members of the board, as I said, this is the owner is 60.
Mr. Chairman, members of the board, as I said, this is the owner is 6031 Tarsdale L .C., but John and Robin Contagnes, our husband and wife team that have owned this since 2015.
how this is on we're on the left -hand side building right where Nico has the little hand
to the we are an existing boarding facility that was given a variance back in 2002 21 years ago by
the zoning board to allow out eight housekeeping rooms with 12 persons and what we are asking for
today, since we are in a CMX2 district, which doesn't allow this kind of use without a need
for a variance. However, as I said, this is a pre -existing variance that's been in use
continuously for 21 years at this point. What we're asking to do is convert the eight rooms
into 12 rooms on interior alterations with an addition of a laundry room and a second means of
egress that will allow 12 rooms for 12 people. So we're not asking to increase the number of
people, just asking to give each individual the dignity of their own room. What John and Robin
can testify to and affirm is that in the 21 years, they took over in 2015. They have one tenant
who's been there since 2015 other people come for like two to three years these are people who
some people were in the Wissanoming section of the city we have people that will rent who are
working at Dietz and Watson's or a nearby pizza restaurant or other commercial that affords them
an opportunity to be near where they're working but they don't want to have the
uh problems and associated with home ownership or even an apartment kind of ownership um what we
so mr paul can i mr paul can i mr paul mr paul so i understand this a little bit better
um and hillary could jump in in 2002 zba approved variants for eight nine housing units maximum of
12 people in a subsequent subsequent case board of building standards recommend that the number
of documents be reduced to eight. That's why we supplied the board with our exhibit A13 as a
supplement, Mr. Chairman. And I will, Nico, if you can go to that. This is, go ahead, this is the city
certification statement, go up, that was supplied at settlement. Go show the actual city cert.
So this city cert is dated 1 -12 -15, which is 2015, not 2002, where that note is coming from.
And the representation made by the city of Philadelphia through L &I through the city certification statement was that, as you can see, Mr. Chair, it says eight non -housekeeping rooming units for a maximum of 12 persons,
window air conditioners, and no persons from any court system via zoning board proviso.
So I can have the antagonists testify that at the time they bought this, it was represented
to them and certified by the city L &I department that it was eight rooming houses and 12 persons.
So I understand what that note seems to indicate, but I also say that here is a
a certification statement that comes 13 years later on 2015.
If we go back to the deed,
the Katagnus is bought on January 26th of 2015.
So this, as you can see, the date was January 26th of 2015.
So you can see that the city certification statement matches up with what
was going on.
What you intend to do today, you want a variance to go to 12 rooms.
We just want to go and we can go to site plans 27, 28, and 29, Mr. Chair, to show you that what we're doing is this is the existing plan right now that shows four rooms on the second floor and go down just a little bit and four rooms on the first floor, go down.
And then what we were going to do is split bigger rooms into 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, and have six on one floor and then six on the second, first floor.
So go down.
We were also providing a laundry.
If you look at near room six, we're going to have a laundry little area for a washer dryer that will add the ability for.
A little area for washer dryer that will add the ability for the residents to laundry their clothes. And we're also going to have a second means of egress, which I know that Mr. Hallamann will be happy to see that because I think that's what makes this comply with the building code and would really address any occupancy issue with regard to 8 versus 12.
So that's where we're headed right now. We also have. So that's why I understand.
Thank you, Mr. Apollo. Thank you. So, Mr. Chairman, members of the board at A -12 and Nico, if you can go to it, we have rules of the House and the rules of the House are very clear that no weapons of any kind, no drugs.
And they are supplied with furnishings of a TV, a bed, a dresser, a night table, and they have longstanding residents who stay here who need the service.
So they run it as a clean well lighted place that has hardwire smoke detectors. It has a central fire alarm that rings and is monitored. And so that attention is paid to the safety of the residents.
We are attached next door to a nightclub that has been existing for a number of years in the neighborhood. And as we say, this has existed in the neighborhood for 21 years.
We sent out over 108 letters to near neighbors with Sonoming has an interesting twist.
They only hold a RCO official RCO meeting if they get any complaints.
John Nolan, who I think signed the letter that we have a 10 from them saying there's no opposition.
There were never never any complaints. And I, I realized that if over the years of since it's been in operation.
and having a number of residents vary from 8 to 12 over the years.
If there were complaints, we probably would have heard from the near neighbors.
So we believe that this is a natural expansion of the existing property.
It was granted a variance to allow this use in the first place,
and that we're not really increasing what was originally granted with 12 members
that the interior the alterations are interior so we're not blocking any light and air it's the
least minimum variance to afford relief because we're not really trying to add anything or
increase the number of of residents and what i will definitely have the contagnuses attest to is
that they have found over the years it's very it's extremely difficult to find either a couple
or two people that want to live in the same room together.
And therefore, we're just trying to give people to modernize and accommodate the change in the type of living space
and the dignity we want to supply to people and afford to people.
So we believe that we're not detrimental to the health, safety and welfare,
especially given that this property has existed with this use as a variance for more than 21 years.
uh and um if you want to we can go through the pictures very quickly nico just to show the board
so this is the stairway here's a bathroom keep going into one of the rooms the hall one of the
hallways the the fire and the smoke detectors the heart the the alert one which is the central panel
for fire security cameras are in use in the property that's a hallway leading a an alleyway
leading out to Tarsdale Avenue. Keep going. The building on the left is our existing property.
You can see the zoning posters in the front. Keep going. These are another shot in the front
along Tarsdale Avenue. That's across the street. Keep going. Another, some more views across
Tarsdale Avenue. This is the, on the right -hand side is the appliance store that's warehouse,
a big warehouse that's right next to us keep going uh again these are this is us again go back up
it's us with the we're the building on the left and that won't change at all so there'll be no
physical changes for the neighborhood keep going same similar kind of view left hand side is our
is that warehouse and as appliance store and then our twin building keep going and that's the
corner grocery store right at the intersection. Keep going. There's a view of as we go up the
property headed south on Tarsdale Avenue towards us. Keep going and keep going.
south on Tarsdale Avenue towards us. Keep going and keep going. That's nothing. These are other
homes or other commercial spaces to the south of us on the same side of Tarsdale Avenue. Keep going
and go, keep going. And that's on the same side of Tarsdale Avenue across the way
from us and keep going. More Tarsdale Avenue. There's our zoning posters. And the interesting
thing, Mr. Chair, was if you look at the double poster on the right -hand side, we had to put up
a little notice that told neighbors there will be no RCO meeting. Please contact John Nolan
at his email address. So we did all that. So with that, and also the notice letters and everything
of that nature, we have exhibits A1 through A12. I'll ask that they all be deemed admitted into
the record and i would like to call at this time mr chair uh i think robin katagnus wants to be the
spokesperson if robin we could promote robin excuse me mr pollack this is hillary i just had
a quick question um so the entire property is is this residential use right there's no commercial
oh no right okay okay because i noticed there was no refusal because this is a cmx2
for a lack of commercial space on the ground floor so you know what well because the variant
you know the variance was granted that allowed allowed allowed the entire building to be used
for this residential use so i think what happened with writing the refusal they respected the fact
that um there was a variance already granted and in essence we're coming back because we feel
there's like sort of a change as i said we'll let the robin testify to it but a change in the whole
way of uh treating people and giving them respect and at least giving them their own
own room that's dictating trying to give single rooms within the exact same space with the same
exact same number of people that were previously allowed back in 2002
too. That's fine. Does that answer your question? Yeah, I think we're okay. It's just if there was
a missed refusal, we would just want to note that for the record so that there weren't any issues
later as you're going to have to go get building permits and that sort of thing that if you were
guaranteed relief that all of the relief you needed was granted. I mean, I think incorporated
in their refusal that says for the use of you know that it's not allowed I would think that
what's covered in it is is the fact that they're using we're asking for the whole building it's
pretty clear we're asking for the whole building so right right no I'm just saying I think there
should have been an additional refusal just clear that you were you you were seeking a variance one
additional variance that's that's all I would say but yeah I think you're fine all right thank you
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Robin Katagnus has been allowed to speak. Could you please state your
name as spelled for the court stenographer? Robin Katagnus, R -O -B -Y -N -C -A -T -A -G -N -U -S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes. Proceed. Hi, Robin. You are one of the principals in the ownership group known as
6031 Tarsdale LLC correct yes okay and you along with your husband John have been operating the
boarding facility since 2015 at this location and at the time that you took over the property
there were eight eight rooms with 12 people in it and that was how it was represented and that's
the city certification that we handed up that's what you received when you bought the property
Is that correct? Okay. Now, I've made a big thing about that the marketplace has sort of changed,
the modernized to try and keep up with what people want that you are finding in your experience
that to give the people the dignity and the space they want, that you want to switch to allow,
have 12 people have their own single room without having the share. Can you, is that correct? Is
that what you're finding, you and John finding? Yes, that's correct. Typically working
people and people who want to be independent and are taking care of themselves want their own
private space. We've seen that more and more the last few years, especially as our spaces become
nicer and, you know, the community has gotten to know it a little bit. People who come in really
want their own room. Okay. And you've heard what I've, the other things that I stated on the record,
are they true and correct to your best of your knowledge and belief? Yes. And all the other
things that I said on the record with regard to how you've been operating and what we're
discussing about the building, do you adopt that as your testimony today as if you had
The building, do you adopt that as your testimony today as if you had spoken those words yourself?
spoken those words?
With that, Mr. Chair, I would rest and move for all our exhibits to be accepted.
Yes, sir.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Chair.
Thank you.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
i see no hands here planning commission
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing cmx2 commercial mixed use
at this location we feel that 12 single room occupancy units is excessive for the property
previous approvals allowed for a maximum of eight units we also feel that
Sorry, that line is not
valid anymore. Accordingly, the Planning Commission recommends the
Board deny the variance. Okay, thank you. Mr. Powell, do you have anything to comment before we
vote? Again, Mr. Chair, I would
say that given the testimony that
it's been in use that way, the original variance was granted
as as a eight units, 12 people, the city certification statement, you know, a lot of
times people will say what city certification statement, you know, but they did get a city
certification statement that was 13 years later and it was certified and it's coming from L &I
and L &I didn't say, hey, this property really is only eight and eight. It was eight and 12.
and I could have, bring Robin back to that.
No, no, no, okay, all right.
And I think the biggest thing is
it's been operating that way for 21 years
and all we're doing is just doing some interior alterations
that'll allow 12 people to still be there.
Okay, MI 2023, 001 -939 -6031, Tarsdale Avenue, I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Mr. Pollock.
You have your votes.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Members of the board may be excused.
It's at the end of my vote.
Yes, you can.
Yes, you can.
Take care.
Number 8, MI 2023, 001 -844, 7300 Frankfurt Avenue.
Daniel Reisman is the attorney.
We have a recommendation of non -opposition from Mayfair Civic Association, and we also
of a letter of non -opposition from Council Member Driscoll, and also there's a letter
of support from the Community Behavioral Health part of Philadelphia's Department of Behavioral
Health.
Here, Mr. Reisman is coming back in as a panelist now.
Yep, thank you.
Mr. Reisman, could you state your name, please, and spell it for the court stenographer?
Daniel Reisman, R -E -I -S -M -A -N.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client in relationship to this property?
My client is Jeff's Human Services, which is a tenant at the property.
Okay. Our vice chair has just a few questions for you, sir.
Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that are needed
and required to proceed with this case in advance of this hearing?
And share your screen.
Okay, can you see it?
We can, sir.
Okay, thank you.
My name, again, is Daniel Reisman. I represent JEVS Human Services. I'm here with the president and CEO of my client, Cynthia Figueroa.
I've submitted to the board exhibits one through 11, which you can see on the left of your screen.
These include photos, maps, floor plans, and as the chair mentioned, letters of non -opposition from the RCO Mayfair Civic Association, Councilman Driscoll, and Community Behavioral Health Services, which is a part of the City of Philadelphia's Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disabilities.
The vote at the RCO meeting, there was no opposition in that vote, and that's shown in the letter of non -opposition.
The proposal is for use of suites 4 and 5 at the property located at 7300 Frankfurt Avenue.
at the property located at 7300 Frankfurt Avenue as group medical offices and specifically behavioral health services through a contract with the city's Community Behavioral Health Services.
As I mentioned, my client is JEVS Human Services. I've included as Exhibit 10 some information regarding JEVS.
And just briefly, JEVS, originally it was formed out of World War II to resettle refugees from the war. Since then, it's grown into really one of the preeminent nonprofits in the city.
Here's some key information here. You can see the various programs, which are very comprehensive at this point. 16 ,000 Philadelphians are served annually. Total budgeted revenue of $116 million.
I'm going to show you some aerial photos and a zoning map of the property first.
So this is the property, and you'll see it's bounded by four streets.
On the south, it's Frankfurt Avenue, on the west is Cotman, on the north is Leon, and on the east is Ryan Avenue.
Here is a zoning map, and the zoning shows that at CMX 2 .5, that actually permits medical offices as of right,
but the variance was issued because the northeast zoning overlay does not permit medical office use.
What you'll also notice from the zoning plan is that the property has a very unusual shape.
It's a triangular shape, unlike all the other blocks, and as is typical, rectangular blocks.
And in fact, there have been difficulties at this property with leasing spaces in the property over the years.
Here's a key plan for the property.
And again, my client would be is leasing and is seeking approval to provide the services in suites four and suite five of the property.
I'm going to run through some photos of the property and the premises, the suites.
Okay, so here is the property front on and you'll see at the tip of the entire property
at the tip of what I'll say the triangle shape, the unusual triangular shape is Republic Bank.
The leased premises, the two suites are to the left.
Now swing it around on Cotman Avenue, the two leased spaces again.
Here are the leased spaces and immediately adjacent to the leased spaces are Spectrum Community Health Center.
These are actually medical offices themselves.
They also require the variance and the board granted a variance for that in 2020.
And here are the two suites head on.
The suite on the right is a suite four.
That was last used in 2020 as a sports bar.
The suite to the left was last used in 2016 as retail.
So one of the suites has been vacant for the last three years.
The other has been vacant for over seven years.
The two suites total approximately 5 ,600 square feet.
now swinging around i'm just going to swing around to the back of the property
the community did make one request and that was to if you look at the back rear of the property
there's no frontage there in terms of stores it's all the rear and they requested that my client
install lighting on the rear of its premises which are in this portion. My client has agreed to do
that and we went to the landlord and the landlord has improved approved the installation of the
of the lighting. Now I'd like to show you a few photos of the surrounding blocks
and significantly what we will see is that and we've done a map
In a two -block radius, there are actually eight medical offices in this area, so these are all currently existing use.
in this area. So, these are all currently existing uses, the proposed uses right here.
So, the use that we're proposing is very consistent with the uses of the neighborhood,
very commercial, and in fact, plenty of medical offices. Here are the Spectrum offices,
And you'll see here what they provide, medical services, behavioral health, dental services.
So very similar to what my client is proposing in the adjacent space.
And as I mentioned, this was already approved by the zoning board in 2020.
So to summarize, the community supports the use.
They would like to eliminate the dead space in the property.
As I mentioned, there have been difficulty with leasing the spaces.
And here you'll see, again, what the community would like to get rid of and to activate these spaces.
They support the use.
The property has this unusual shape that's created leasing challenges.
We have the support of Community Behavioral Health Services, which is a part of the City of Philadelphia.
And the ZBA has previously approved a variance in the same property in the immediate adjacent space for a very similar use.
And that's the end of my presentation, Mr. Chair.
You want to bring your client on and adopt your testimony?
Yes, I would. Cynthia Figueroa, if you could please raise your hand.
Cynthia Figueroa has been unmuted and allowed to speak, Chair.
Hi. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Certainly. Cynthia Figueroa, C -Y -N -T -H -I -A, last name F -I -G -U -E -R -O -A.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Good afternoon, Ms. Figueroa.
did you did you hear my statements today i did and are they true and correct to the best of your
knowledge information and belief they are and you adopt them as your own i do thank you thank you
questions from the board no mr chairman no chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
Mr. Chair, this is Hillary. I have a quick question for Mr. Reesman. I noticed on the variance that was approved for back in 2020, there was also as part of that a proviso for the key plans to specify the locations.
and I didn't know if your client would like the same thing done here to specify.
I noticed that this refusal mentions this is on part of the first floor,
although I think it might be helpful to specify either through the key plan
or the units that you mentioned what part of the building this is actually in.
Right. So the key plan, and let me just pull that up again.
The key plan, Ms. Emerson, it was submitted to L &I, so it should be on record.
But certainly by all means, that would be terrific if the ZBA decision could specify
that as well.
We can stamp that as a provisor to the decision, should the Board grant.
I would appreciate that.
Thank you.
All right.
Questions. Any more questions from the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Philip Michael. They have been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Hi, sir. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Philip Michael, P -H -I -L -I -P, and Michael, M -I -C -H -A -E -L.
Right. Do you swear or affirm, tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Please proceed.
All right. Am I just introducing my project?
Pardon me?
Are you in the right case, sir?
7300 Frankfurt Avenue?
No, that's not me.
Oh, okay, thank you.
Well, let us finish this case first, okay?
Is there anyone else from the virtual audience
for 7300 Frankfurt Avenue?
There, I see no hands at this side.
Aye, Planning Commission.
Good afternoon, Chair.
Peter Bernard for the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing CMX 2 .5 commercial use at
this location.
This application will provide much needed services to the community.
this application will provide much needed services to the community accordingly the
accordingly the planning commission work.
planning commission recommends the board grant the variance what do you want for a proviso hillary
um you could say um use approved as um per key plan stamped by cba august 16 2023.
Okay, thank you. MI 2023 -001 -844 -7300 Frankfort Avenue. I vote yes with proviso. Use approved per key plan, August 16th, 2023.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes with provisos.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the board.
Thank you. Is there anyone in the virtual audience who the 2 p .m. case has not been called?
I see no hands, Chair.
No, we're going to take a five -minute break,
and then we'll be back and we'll finish up the 3 .30 list. Okay. Thanks, everyone.
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Mr. Kelly, are you back?
Yes, Mr. Chair.
how are we looking we're looking good chair we're ready to proceed as you wish i'm ready
excuse me this is hillary do we have mr holliman on the phone i just saw him
you know i don't see him anymore just a minute
Thank you.
I just called him and text him, so hopefully he's trying to log in now.
Thank you.
We have LeBaron, right?
Yes, Mr. Chair.
Hillary, I think we can move forward.
Hays, are you here?
Here, Chair.
Okay, we're ready to go.
Good afternoon. Are we ready? Are we recording?
Good afternoon.
Are we ready?
Are we recording?
We're recording, Chair.
We're recording, Chair.
Okay, thank you.
Good afternoon. My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this afternoon's EBA hearing.
With me is our Vice Chair, Ismail Shahid.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
I believe Thomas Holliman, our board member, should be getting on very soon.
And we also have LeBaron Leonard Palmer, who is an alternate board member from Development Services.
Also present is Hillary Emerson, our attorney.
Here's our virtual format.
Be advised, the proceedings are being recorded.
The video will be available by contacting TanyaSunkett at phil .gov.
For the benefit of our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you are participating by phone, you wish to testify, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.
To enter an appearance statement, call 267 -270 -5548. Leave your email and the address of the property in question.
And finally, the question and answer box on the screen is not for comments or testimony.
Any comments should be directed to our Executive Director, Tanya Sunken.
Let's look at this afternoon's list. Here's our continuances. Number three, MI 2022 -001 -797 -2600
West Montgomery Avenue. That case has been continued. Number four, MI 2023 -001 -120 -520
South Street. That case has been continued. And number six, MI 2023 -003 -765 -1625 North 18th
Street. That case is continued due to the unavailability of a witness, which was unexpected.
Is there anyone has comments relative to these three cases?
I see someone just put their hand up here. We have a Larry Griffin.
He's been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Hi, Mr. Griffin. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the course stenographer?
Mr. Griffin, please unmute yourself.
Can you hear me now?
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
My name is Larry Griffin, L -A -R -R -Y -G -R -I -F -F -I -N.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth?
The whole truth is nothing but the truth.
What case are you calling about, sir?
but eight, I'm sorry, 1621 North 18th Street.
So Mr. Griffin, that case has been continued.
The lead witness, one of the lead witnesses
had an unexpected occurrence
and is not available to testify.
Okay, and we will be notified, I guess.
Yes, sir, you will absolutely be notified.
Okay, I just wanted to confirm.
Thank you for getting on the call
and bringing that up to us.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you. Is there anyone else who is requesting a continuance?
Chair, we have Sean Ward.
They have been unmuted and allowed to speak, Chair.
Mr. Ward. Yeah, Mr. Chair.
I just received a text from Hillary that Redline Road is not listed,
so I may have raised my hand prematurely.
okay i i have one with you today too on james street right yeah james street is ready to go
uh 2600 west montgomery is a continuance and i thought i had i took care of the continuance
i'll be with you in one minute give me okay five minutes i'll be with you all right thank you
Number two, MI -2022, 005 -336 -2000 North 20th Street, the case has been withdrawn.
We're going to start with number five, MI -2023, 001 -259 -5352 James Street,
Sean Ward is the attorney.
There's a letter of support from the Bridesburg Community Action Alliance.
Also, the applicant has a petition of support signed by approximately...
Also, the applicant has a petition of support signed by approximately 63 neighbors.
Mr. Ward.
Mr. Chair, this is Hillary. I don't believe you swore him in previously.
I know. I didn't. I'm waiting for him to get in.
Okay. All right. Thank you.
Mr. Ward.
sorry mr chair that took a little longer than normal to uh okay okay good hi could you state
your name please and spell for the court scenario thank you mr chair my name is sean s -h -a -w -n
last name ward w -a -r -d attorney for applicant and property owner at 5352 james street present with
me today on the call is Lisa Mezzico, N -E -Z -Z -I -C -O. Right. Do you swear for him to tell the
truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I certainly do. Our vice chair has just a few
questions for you, sir. Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal
and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, I do.
Have you emailed in all the required documents
and exhibits that are needed
and required to proceed on this case
five days in advance of this hearing?
With one correction,
pursuant to agreement with counsel
and my somewhat troubling ongoing medical issues,
I was unable to get it in by Friday,
but I did get it in over the weekend.
So Hillary has accepted my packet
and we're ready to proceed.
Thanks, Mr. Ward.
Please proceed and share your screen.
Thank you very much, Mr. Vice -Chair.
Mr. Chair, I've submitted my typical exhibit packet,
which includes A1 as the notice of refusal.
This is simply an application for the permit for the erection
of an accessory detached structure, which is a shed,
you know as part and parcel of an RSA 5 single family dwelling located in Bridesburg and as
it is not permitted in the RSA 5 district we need a variance. A2 is the application of appeal.
A3 is the project information form. A4 is our deed and A5 is our proof of tax clearance.
At A6, you will see a site and elevation plan, which I will walk you through,
in addition to a site location map. A8 are photographs. Separate from the packet,
let me just show you real quick, are the photographs of the posting. We did not have
orange paper, but my client did have fluorescent green paper, which I would submit that it draws
significant attention to the posting, and therefore would comply with the requirements
of the code. A -9 is a petition of support consisting of three pages. A -10 is the RCO
letter of support. Actually, attached to the packet is the RCO summary of the meeting.
Separate from the packet, which was not submitted to me prior to the making of the packet,
is BCAA's letter in support of the application, which has been provided to Hillary.
And in fact, she provided me a copy of that letter, while my summary of the meeting provided
by Bridesburg shows that clearly, if not nine, 11 people supported the application with nobody
opposed. If the district council person, Mike Driscoll, I believe that's his district, has
submitted a letter, I would ask that be marked A11. A12 is the relevant zoning history. A13 is
the zoning map. And A14 is a narrow photograph. Very quickly, existing conditions. This is a
residential dwelling. It's located off, it's not Fridge Street, that's Bridge Street. I apologize
for the typo. If anybody ever gets off at the Bridge Street exit, you will see the Cannonball
Tavern. This property is located directly next door to the Cannonball Tavern. I've spoken to
the owners of the Cannonball Tavern, and they have no objection to this application as well,
in addition to all those in the surrounding area.
The refusal is generated due to the fact that the shed should not exceed 130 square feet.
Um, you know, I am sure that the board and, uh, the members of the board are familiar with
I am sure that the board and the members...
Bridesburg. Um, you know, these are smaller homes and, uh, storage can be a, uh, you know,
a problem, uh, for those that reside in that area. And, um, they, you know, they do have a
larger backyard on this property as compared to the others. So they, uh, uh, were of the mind to
create a larger shed than what would normally be related to that area.
But we do have the deed.
Lisa's been an owner of this property since May of 1999.
As you can see, she's currently current on all of her property taxes.
We have a copy of the actual poster.
with regard to the actual structure itself, the front of her property fronts on facing I -95 and
the Bridge Street exit. At the rear of the property is where the shed is located. I would
point out to the board, there are no curb cuts. This is not for commercial use. It's strictly for
uh you know personal residential use uh and while there is a you know a garage type door
uh facing the side street uh there is no curb cut and it is fully enclosed by a you know a fence
so it is certainly not for any kind of commercial use uh again this would be the uh google map
showing the cannonball tavern which is you know if you're getting off i -95 here you would actually
go around a block to get to the Cannonball Tavern. This is a Google Earth photo of the
subject shed. Again, it's not for commercial purposes. It's strictly for personal use.
Here is another photo from Google Earth showing the Cannonball Tavern. My client's property is
located directly across the street from the Cannonball Tavern. And you can see towards the
back is the subject shed. She did personally circulate a petition of support consisting of
three pages signed by numerous neighbors in or about April. We did mail out the notice of the
meeting with the BCAA, which is Bridesburg Community Action
Alliance, it went to 98 individual addresses as provided
by the Planning Commission, advertising our meeting for
August 16th at 3 .30pm, which was held via zoom. The, you know,
the only available zoning history, you know, signifies a
single family home with a storage shed. Back at that time, there was a smaller shed located on
the back of the property. Given that, yeah, this is not a commercial use. We're not expanding any
kind of a non -permitted use other than personal storage. And we would ask that the board grant
the requested relief. Lisa Mezzico is on the call, Mr. Chair, I believe via cell phone.
I don't know if she'll be successful in doing the star or whatever, but as an officer of the court, I submit that yesterday, in detail, I went through this exhibit packet with Lisa.
She has agreed that it is true and correct to the best of her knowledge, information, and belief.
And if she was called to testify today, she would acknowledge that she would adopt it as her own testimony.
mr ward how long has the shed been there uh she she built the shed uh actually during covid
uh you know you know during that time period yeah it was impossible to get uh you know permits
filed okay yeah yeah i got it okay thank you thank you questions from the board
and by the way we do take your testimony as an officer of the court
no mr chairman no mr chairman all right questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands at this time chair planning commission uh this is ron bednar city planning
first name ron r -o -n last name bednar b -e -d -n -a -r do you swear or firm to tell the truth the whole
truth nothing but the truth i do please proceed uh this property is indicated for residentially
Please proceed.
This property is indicated for residential use on the city plan.
use on the city plan
We recommend that the height variance be granted, provided that the surface area variance be reduced closer to conformance with the code requirement.
Thank you.
MI 2023 -001 -259 -5352 James Street, I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed. My vote is yes. Thank you, counsel. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Have a great
evening. Okay. Number one is the case number one we have MI 2023 -003 -767 -1023 -27 West
Susquehanna Avenue. Brandon Saverin is the attorney. I have recused myself in this case.
Ishmael Shaheed will handle the case.
All right. The testimony and evidence from this April 19, 2023 hearing and this matter is incorporated into the record for the hearing.
Mr. Savering.
Hello, Mr. Vice Chairman.
You state your name and state it for the record.
Yes, my name is Brandon Saverin of Pritzker Law Group.
You just want to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Can you please state your client and your relations to your client?
Yes, my client is the property owner. It's called Temple 2 LLC.
see. Philip Michael is the principal of that entity, and he is actually here to testify a bit
today. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy? Yes, I do.
Have you emailed them all the required documents and exhibits that are needed and required to
proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing? Yes. Thank you. Please proceed and
share your screen. Okay. Thank you very much. I'll keep my comments brief today, given that
we do already have a record open and established, and I'll ask you to bring on my client after I
conclude. So just to take a couple minutes here, this again is our notice of refusal.
Let me say before I even jump into this, that we're very grateful to have a chance to speak
to you again today, Mr. Vice Chairman and members of the board. Philip was not able to attend
the last hearing. His development director in -house came in his place, but I think it's
going to be very important for him and for you to sort of, you know, for him to speak and you to
have a chance to ask questions of him. He's a young Black developer who has a really unique
platform, in my opinion, that allows others to invest at a very sort of low entry point in his
projects. And that's not just sort of theory. It's something he's practiced in developments
in Philadelphia and elsewhere already. So he's going to talk about that. I will also mention,
we have a letter of support from the coordinating RCO from the 37th Ward Executive Committee.
That hasn't changed since last time.
We also have a letter of support from Senator Sharif Street, and we had his support before
the last hearing.
I did not have a letter, which I was able to obtain, and I'll show you that in a minute
for the purpose of this hearing.
So here's the refusal.
The project is to develop a 20 -unit building with some ground floor commercial space on
Susquehanna Avenue on what is a long -standing vacant former industrial parcel that is still
zoned industrially, but there is no industry in the immediate vicinity. That's one of our refusals
though. The zoning calls for another industrial use. It also calls for 10 parking spaces given
the number of units we'd like to develop, but we don't feel given the triangular shape of the
parcel that that's practical without going underground, which we're not willing to do
because of the history of the property and for economic reasons. So I'll just show you an aerial
photograph really quickly. This is the property with the red arrows. So it's adjacent to the
um this is the property with the red arrows so it's adjacent to the septa railroad tracks which
receptor
are elevated here um it's across the street from the temple uh football practice facility
my client actually developed um which i'll show you in one minute a building on this side of 11th
street uh which has been received very well um and also um is almost finished developing some
buy right sort of row home properties here. So there's only one other on this sort of funny
block, residential homeowner. And we've been in contact with her, actually helped her get an L &I
violation removed from her property and sort of assisted her with some repairs on her home.
Just to say that, you know, we don't feel that this project, given sort of the strange location,
is interrupting anybody's lifestyle, so to speak, and is going to enhance what's already there.
This is the letter from Senator Street that I mentioned. And this is a letter, I think we heard
opposition at the last hearing from two parties. One was a non -resident property owner from nearby
who actually didn't oppose the project, aside from the lack of parking. We also heard from
the planning commission who wanted another residential use on the property, or so they
said in that hearing. And what we had done is we contacted a commercial real estate brokerage firm
and asked them, essentially, would you market this property for non -residential use,
for commercial or industrial use.
So it was really in their interest to say yes to that
because if they let us sell it, they'd get a commission.
And basically instead they said no.
And we ended up with this letter from them
declining to market the property
for anything but residential use.
And speaking to how given the shape
and the railroad track next door,
It's just, it is not possible to build a ground up new construction industrial property that would be marketable. That's sort of the gist of this letter. And he encouraged us to allow him to sell it for residential purposes, but we don't want to do that because Philip is a residential developer.
So, you know, we're going to do this ourselves and we're excited to. And then here, just to wrap up, this is one image on the right here. This is what we're here proposing today. This is the building. That's the ground floor commercial space.
The football complex would be directly across the street.
And Philip is currently constructing this sort of series of row home buildings that I mentioned.
So if we're able to get the approval today, there would actually be a really nice courtyard between the two properties, which he gave the moniker Philicon Square.
And then finally, just to show you a finished product, this is the 11th Street, sort of much more modest project that I mentioned, but a guy stopped me on the street, I kid you not, telling me that he was so thrilled with how this came out as a neighbor and how clean the site was kept after construction.
So anyway, that's it for me. I would ask that if it's possible, Philip Michael, the made -up
panelist, because he has a couple additional slides he'd like to present.
Sure, sure. Let's get that on. Can we raise his hand so we can get him in, please?
Philip, can you use the raise hand feature on Zoom?
You said, Mr. Severin, he has slides he's going to present?
Yes. And I can put them up. Otherwise, it'd be a little easier if he can present them, though.
Okay. He's been promoted to paid list.
Thank you.
Phillip? Okay. Hello, Phillip.
Hello, Brandon. Thank you for the nice intro. Thank you, everyone, for the time.
Good afternoon, sir. Please state your name and spell it for the record.
Yes, Philip Michael, P -H -I -L -I -P, Michael, M -I -C -H -A -E -L.
You swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Yes, I do.
Proceed, can I ask you?
Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair.
So, Philip, just as a preliminary matter, what I've said so far, was that true and accurate to the best of your knowledge, information, and belief?
Absolutely.
And would you adopt it as if it were your own testimony?
Yes. And you are the principal of the property owning company and can speak for the property
owning company. Is that correct? Yes, I am. Yes, I am. Okay. Go ahead. I know you wanted to make
Yes, I am.
Okay, go ahead.
I know you wanted to make a couple remarks.
a couple of remarks.
Okay, yes.
Number one, I want to thank you guys once again for considering this.
And one of the things that I would like to show you all is, in addition to building and
developing, it is not just in the self -interest of the economic self -interest of what we
The reason what we've done, as Brandon alluded to, is that we've created a project that has
a long -term vision to, we labeled it sort of informally, hashtag reverse gentrification.
So of course, it's a traditional and historically African -American neighborhood.
Then there's the very esteemed Temple University, which is growing and has people coming in.
And these things happen.
People develop, they add value to the neighborhood, and often people get pushed out.
What we've wanted to do and what we've pledged to do, and I would love for the honor and
the privilege to show you this in a few slides, is to give people access to ownership so they can
partake in the value appreciation. That's number one. Two, being able to improve the aesthetics
and the cleanliness and everything of the neighborhood. And this is something that we
take pride in with the first phase that we built. We hire external people to come and keep it clean.
And it's a thing that we're very big on. So if it is okay with everyone to share my slides.
go ahead philip yep that's fine so let me do this here so i'm gonna go through this quickly
and i'm happy to take any questions so this was when we started uh everything that we're doing
back in in 2020 this is an interview that i gave for forbes and this is our stated mission myself
and we started as a small shop we don't have big venture capital money hedge funds family offices
behind us this is all self -funded to show other people that they could do the same thing that
we're doing. And we're doing a number of things in addition to building, in addition to giving
access that I'm going to get to in a second, to help the community and, again, elevate the value
and bring more wealth to people that haven't had access to it before. So this is, again,
the number one driver behind the wealth gap. Let's say, for instance, right now,
homeownership in minority communities is lower now than it was 50 years ago when discrimination
was legal. And there are a number of factors that caused this. But one of the things that
I'd like to focus on is a solution. How can we actually reverse that? So when we had our
groundbreaking ceremony for phase two, this is, as Brandon alluded to, we had a letter of support
from Senator Street. He came out on his birthday, as a matter of fact, three days before mine,
and helped us break ground. And these are some of the community members that co -owned the project
and also some of the team members. Here's the project in and of itself. The idea, the reason
we call it Silicon Square is similar to Silicon Valley, sort of underscored and highlighted a
renaissance, a resurgence of creativity, entrepreneurship, ownership. I can't quite
call it a valley. I don't own that much. So we call it a square to Silicon Square to sort of
bring that energy where people can create jobs, bring jobs back to the community, ownership and
showing people. They don't teach this in school. So this is one of the things that we do. So here's
where we built an app where people can own a piece of each property with as little as $100.
And just for the first one, people invested at a price at about half of what it appraised at, doubling their money.
It's currently trading, so people can actually own a piece of that with $1.
So this is one of the solutions that we like to bring.
This is what we've done.
Of course, as mentioned, it was a family shop.
It was myself, my father, and my nephew.
This is my nephew who is actually in a different life and a different dimension as a soccer star.
And this is a partner of mine and other projects.
So we've got a lot of attention and traction and we've helped to date over 10 ,000 people of color become first time real estate owners, which is one of the things I'm more proud of, more so than returns and all this other stuff for myself, that is.
So this space here, I would like to mention one of the things that we've done in terms of community support is we hosted a financial literacy conference out of our own pocket at Temple University where Senator Street and Senator Hughes came out and hosted it with us.
And this space right here, which is in the property that we have in mind, we have a nonprofit that will give access to financial literacy tools, support, help people start investing.
I don't really care if people invest with us just as long as they start going on that financial journey.
I believe it's a net positive to the community, to society, if more people have.
so and it's one of the most of people's issues can be traced out traced back in some form of fashion
to not having enough so and i believe i believe in the sanctity and the integrity of human beings
i believe if more people have i grew up as a as a child in denmark where no one is really poor and
it had and there's the lowest rate of corruption and lowest rate of crime because i believe human
beings if if you're not hungry you don't need you can you'll you'll have you'll have better
things. So this is from the, we call it WealthCon. This is Senator Street and Senator Hughes. And
these are some of the courses that we have where people can learn about how to invest in the stock
market. Our community manager managed over 10 ,000 retirement portfolios for the government before
managed over 10 ,000 retirement portfolios for the government before she retired.
she retired. She's a black lady.
She's a Black lady. Most of it is Black -owned, although I wish it just so happened to be that
way. And that's what we really want to bring down to the community, build a better community,
allow people to take part in the value out of the community, and also giving the pathway to
the tool so they can do the same thing. And that's essentially what it is that we do,
just bringing empowerment, community empowerment, and resources back to where it is instead of
coming in, invading the neighborhood, building it, extracting wealth, and just running away.
So that is why we do it, just as much as the practical logistics of residential, I feel, and we truly believe would fit better in that area, but also what it represents.
And we've seen so many, heard so many stories about people that even if they own with $1, $100, you go from consumer to investor to owner.
It shifts your mindset completely, and it has a net positive effect.
And we see this day in and day out inside our community.
So I hope this wasn't too long -winded, but this is the why, why we're doing it.
in addition to wanting to create a better aesthetic building for the neighborhood,
but also something people can be proud of and wanting to continue.
And we hope to continue and build more affordable housing if, you know,
that's something we've discussed and I would very much like to do.
And this is a lifetime mission.
This is not just In -N -Out.
It's something I've devoted my life to for the past three and a half years.
So that's it for me, Brandon.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Phil.
Um, members of the board, um, sorry, Mr. Vice Chair, would you say on the board?
No, no, no, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
All right.
Can you hear me, Mr. Vice Chair?
Yes, I can hear you, Tom.
Okay, I have no questions.
Any questions from the virtual audience?
Yes, we have Robert.
They have been allowed to speak.
Thank you.
Good afternoon.
Hi, my name is Rob Cashin.
I'm a neighbor on Susquehanna.
Can you state your name and spell it
for the court reporter, please?
Yes, it's Robert Cashin, C -A -S -H -I -O -N.
uh you swear to tell the truth and the whole truth or nothing but i do
please proceed okay uh i live on susquehanna i bought a house around five years ago
on a street that had less homes on it so that it'd be more chance for parking and quiet but i also
know that there are properties that are going to be developed and i do support them being developed
and this one certainly looks like a nice one my concern is that the consideration for not having
any parking or even a loading dock the identical property at the other end of this block triangle
has one old building and is getting a new building so the same size lot and they came to this meeting
and asked to go from 10 to zero.
They got denied and decided to go 10 to five.
So they're putting in five parking spaces.
So it seems like it would be possible
to put in parking spaces.
That's basically my concern.
I understand.
And do you support the project?
If it comes with parking, yes.
Okay, it's duly noted.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Thank you, sir.
i see no hands planning commission this uh ron bednar city planning the city planning commission
um has no change to its original recommendation
thanks ron uh so we're going to take this and table this with the rest of the commissioners
um and we'll vote on this next week um what time will we do this hillary we'll vote on this um
next week at 2 p .m so uh the record is closed on on this case um no additional comments but we
will vote on it next week at 2 p .m thank you mr vice chairman thank you thank you ish is there
anyone in the virtual audience who's three has the case on the 330 list their case has not been
I see no hands
Thank you
Thank you everyone
Good week
Thank you Mr. Kiesha
Thank you, Mr. Kiesha.
Thank you Mr. Chairman
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you
Hold on one minute.
Wait one minute, everybody.
We should all wish Hillary a happy vacation.
Because she's going on vacation.
Well, I'm going to wish Kiesha a happy birthday
because it's her birthday today.
Oh, my goodness gracious.
Happy birthday.
Happy birthday.
Happy birthday.
Oh, here you go.
Thank you, everyone.
And I'd love to see where you are
on your birthday working here, Kiesha.
Thank you.
and hillary enjoy the vacation thank you thank you and we won't call you
more than twice a day so long all right all right good night everyone good night
patina yeah you could just uh it's one actually to stop it and okay