No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
no mr chairman questions from the virtual audience
no hands at this time planning commission thank you chair bergman ian hegarty for the
philadelphia city planning commission members of the board in 2015 this property was remapped
from cmx1 to rsa5 in accord with recommendations from the comprehensive plan however the proposed
use is consistent with prior documented uses and with the physical configuration of this building
city planning commission therefore recommends that the board grant the variance
thank you mi 2021 chairman thomas homiland i'm back on yes oh very good thank you thomas
mi 2021 004631 1431 east montgomery avenue i vote yes carol tenere my vote is yes
thomas holland my vote is yes jane snell my vote is yes ishmael shaheed my vote is yes
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you all.
thank you all thank you
Thank you.
Mr. Anastasio, stay on, please.
Yes, sir.
MI 2021-003486-929-North 40th Street.
Vern Anastasio is the attorney.
Letter of support from the Central Parkside Community Development.
If this is a yes, there's two pages of provisos.
Mr. Anastasia, do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate its accuracy?
Based on the notes I'm reading, you've submitted everything required?
I have.
You may proceed.
Thank you.
This is an application for the erection of a three-story structure on vacant land.
For the use of commercial space on the first floor with a five family dwelling above and in the rear size and location on the plan.
It is zone CMX one. However, because it's RSA five adjacent, we are here today seeking a variance.
I'm going to bring you down to. This is our corner right here, CMX one.
All the other corners in proximity are all RM1.
And here is the proposed property.
As you can see, it's in excess of about 80 feet deep.
It's on its corner property.
As you can see here, there's a mural above it.
which I'm going to get to in a moment.
Let me show you the plans.
The plans are for the commercial space on the first floor.
My client is opening a barbershop.
So that's what I guess my theme today is hair.
So we're going to have a barbershop on the first floor with a 600 square foot
bi-level apartment in the rear.
and it's a two-bedroom 600 square feet and then on the second and third floor we have two units
per floor just under 500 square feet a piece all open sort of layout with a nice size kitchen
ample bathroom and bedroom and some nice living space this property would be completely compliant
it with height. And let me take it down to this neighborhood is in desperate need of some
population. It has been grossly depopulated over the last 30 years. Here's our property on the
corner. On the block itself, we have three lots that are empty. These two properties to the left
the 941, 943, completely boarded up and vacant. We have 14 vacant lots, separate lots directly
across the street on Penns Grove. This is a transit-oriented development as we have 40th
Street and the trolley just at the front door. So to have this number of units is not unusual
given the fact that there's so much depopulation
and it's right along mass transit.
We met with the community
and this is what we're proposing.
The front of the property would be the commercial space
for the barber shop.
The rear would be the bi-level two-bedroom
and then two units per floor
both one bedroom apiece on the second and third floor as you can see what we also are planning
to do what we've already started doing is communicating with the mural arts program
to somehow incorporate a new mural on this property which the immediate neighbors were very
fond of the idea so this is what we're planning to do with the exterior of the property as well
we do have the designer here if there's any sort of design questions that you might have
the architects are present from jko architecture
otherwise here's the letter that went to the to the neighbors dated 17th november
I'm inviting them both to the public meeting and to the zoning hearing, which was supposed to be heard January 12th.
inviting them both to the public meeting and to the zoning hearing
I believe we were at the end of your list and the board adjourned unknowingly.
So that's why the staff was kind enough to put us on this morning.
Here's the letter dated January 3rd Centennial Parkside CDC in support of the applicant's
variance for the above reference case.
This property historically has been a three or four family dwelling throughout history.
There has been also times when the three or four family dwelling shared the first floor
with the church, shared it with other commercial space.
Given the history of a multifamily dwelling and mixed use, given the significant depopulation of the immediate area, and given the fact that we've worked closely with not only the RCO, but the mural arts program to bring a project that everyone can really get behind and support, thus the RCO letter, we respectfully request the granting of this variance.
And with that, I'd like Mr. William Taylor to raise his hand and be recognized.
Mr. Taylor, you can unmute yourself.
Morning, everyone.
Please state your name and spell for the court reporter.
William Taylor, W-I-L-L-I-A-M-T-A-Y-L-O-R.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
yes proceed thank you mr chairman mr taylor did you hear my presentation to the board this morning
yes and is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge yes and would you adopt it as
your own testimony yes thank you very much i have nothing further questions from the board
questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman no mr chairman comments from the virtual
audience no handshare planning commission mr chair i just wanted to just offer the opportunity for
the architect to uh be given the opportunity to speak on the design if uh if if the board would
just indulge just they may not have anything to add but just the opportunity i think your
your description of the property was was appropriate we understand it thank you but
thank you for the offer. Yes, sir. Planning Commission. Thank you, Chair Bergman, Ian Hegarty
for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. Members of the board, in 2017, the zoning map was
amended from CMX2 to CMX1 here in accord with recommendations from the comprehensive plan.
A little background on that. The intent of the recommendation was to consolidate commercial
activity and development closer to the intersection of 40th and Girard. The applicant's hardship claim
here we don't feel is supported with evidence of any unique physical circumstances since this is a
vacant cleared corner lot the zoning is intentional here to be a cmx1 and so the city planning
commission recommends that the board deny the variance mi 2020 mi 2021 003486 929 north 40
Street. I vote yes. Carol Tenere, my vote is yes. Excuse me, Chair, I believe this is with
proviso. With proviso. Two pages of proviso. Thank you. Carol Tenere, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes with proviso. James Snell, yes with proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, yes with proviso. Thank you all and I've already supplied
attorney Soletta with those revised plans and the proviso sheet. So thank you.
Thank you. One, two, three, four, five. Okay. Now our number six, MI 2021-004741-2700
Caster Avenue, Sean Ward. No RCO letter from ProPAC at this point.
and he's coming in down as a panelist here.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the board, Sean Ward, on behalf of the applicant.
Sean, spell your name for the court reporter, please.
S-H-A-W-N, last name Ward, W-A-R-D, address 331 East Street Road, Trevos, PA-19053.
Thank you. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Yes, I do.
Vice Chair Tenere has a few questions for you.
Good morning, Mr. Ward. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, I do.
Have you submitted all of the required documents?
Yes, and my exhibit packet did include a copy of ProPax's letter, and I will share that at the time I share my screen.
Thank you. You may proceed.
Mr. Chair, just for the board's knowledge, it's a unanimous set in support pro fax letter.
So thank you share my screen.
I submitted my exhibit packet. It's my typical exhibit packet.
The owner of the property is 2730 Caster Avenue LLC.
Is that Caster Avenue that we're looking at or Key West?
Oh, that's my screen shaper.
Let me try that again.
Where'd it go?
Got it now?
There we go.
I represent 2730 Caster Avenue, LLC. They are the owners of 2700 Caster Avenue.
In my exhibit packet, A1 is the notice of refusal. This is an application for a permit for vehicle repair and maintenance, including auto body and a paint finishing shop.
It spaces 101, 102, and 103 of the subject property.
There is one other space, number 104, which is not the subject of this application, and
that has another use registered for it.
The referral to the board is for vehicle repair that requires a special exception approval,
and there's one refusal for the paint finishing shop, which is not permitted in the ICMX district.
Accordingly, we seek both the special exception approval today as well as a use variance.
A-2 is our application of appeal. A-3, the project information form. A-4, proof of ownership. A-5, proof of tax clearance. A-6 is the site and floor plan, which I'll walk the board through. A-7 are photographs of a subject property, some aerial views and some street views. A-8 is the RCO, letter of support. I apologize for the typo. This is not Councilman Squill's district. It's Councilman Heenan's district.
Councilman Heenan generally only sends letters of opposition when such is the case.
And to my knowledge, there is no opposition from his office in this matter.
As far as relevant zoning history goes, in 2021, there was for Space 104, a wholesale sales and distribution and storage use was registered.
That's an auto parts distributor.
uh this building in and of itself from pre-1946 up through 2020 i would give or take it was a
machine shop known as crystal metal products a11 is the zoning map 812 is the aerial photograph
so just very quickly here's our notice of refusal application of appeal
PIF, my transmittal letter to the board, the deed.
Proof of tax clearance. Taxes are due for 2022, but they're not due until March.
This is the floor plan. The upper portion is not the subject of this application.
That's another property owned by the client. But let me load this up. Basically, what we're
looking for is to have wholly within the building a auto body and paint finishing business.
The plan does call for a paint booth. All work would be done inside the building. There's
access to the property from Edgemont Street where vehicles would be brought in. They'd be
repaired and then painted. There's a prep deck over here, office space. There's several bathrooms
in the facility for the employees and customers. There is an adjacent parking lot which can hold
20 vehicle parking spaces. So all vehicles would be stored within the property line on the site,
not on the street. And all work again would be conducted within the building.
Real quick, we have some photographs. This is the front of the building. As you can see,
Crystal Metal Products. This is the side entrance from the parking lot. Again, this would be the
Edgemont Street side of the property. Here's an aerial photograph. We're talking about this
building right here. This building has been separated from this property. And this is the
And this is the Space 104. As you can see, it's an auto value, auto parts store.
Space 104. As you can see, it's an auto value, auto parts store.
Again, just another aerial shot of the property.
You can see the bay doors that bring you into the building here on the Edsman Street side.
Again, some aerials.
Here is Propac's letter of support, as you can see.
By a vote of 21 to nothing, they voted in support of the application following our meeting with them.
last month or back, I'm sorry, yeah, December. So, and then we have the zoning permit history.
I don't think we need to dwell on those too much, but they basically are as summarized in my
exhibit list. And then again, we have the zoning map. So I believe I have in the virtual audience,
It's at least George Groves.
George, if you could raise your hand, I would appreciate that.
There he is.
Mr. Groves, you can unmute yourself.
Good morning.
Would you please state your name and spell for the court reporter, sir?
George Groves, G-R-O-V-E-S.
I'm sorry, go ahead.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Okay, proceed.
Hey, George, you're here on behalf of the property owner today, is that correct?
And have you heard my representations to the board?
Are they true and correct, to the best of your knowledge?
Yes, sir.
And would you adopt them as your own testimony?
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
Go ahead.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chair.
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
question or comments from the virtual audience