bi-level units, three bedrooms, three baths, to encourage families to remain in the neighborhood
and, you know, to provide those three bedrooms. Then there are two two-bedrooms and two one-bedrooms.
So to provide for people who want to either downsize or move into the neighborhood,
where the ones and the twos, and people who want to move up in terms of, you know, bedroom count
because they're having families, or they don't want to take, you know, care of a single-family house.
uh here our meeting notice again we met last night at 6 p.m uh we'd send notices 78 addresses
these are the addresses that we sent it to proof of mailing for those addresses our application
for appeal to the zoning board of adjustment along with the notice of refusal and our project
information form our deed to the property and showing that we're good with our taxes we just
made our, you know, our, all of our tax payments, including this current upcoming year, uh, just
now. So with that being said, I'm going to unshare my screen. Um, Ghazi Ada-Seven, the
owner's representative is in the audience. So Mr. Alvis Ada-Seven, if you can virtually
raise your hands. Mr. Ada-Seven, please unmute yourself and wait for the show. Good afternoon,
please state your name and spell it for the court reporter sir uh yes my name is gazi g-a-z-i
last name is r7-a-t-a-s-e-v-e-n do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing
but the truth yes i do mr chain proceed uh mr r7 you heard everything i stated today
yeah i have heard and is it true and correct yes and do you adopt it as your own testimony
yes I do thank you thank you questions from the board no mr. chairman no mr.
chairman questions from their virtual audience
chair we have greg mckinley okay
yes my name is greg mckinley g-r-e-g-m-c-k-i-n-l-e-y
you swear to tell the truth do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth yes proceed sir i was at the meeting last night i objected to the project
he just uh testified that it was a unanimous vote from the audience last night
also the property of 5732 is not a multi-family dwelling it is a youth home
As a youth detention home or a pre-adjudicated youth property.
I object to the size of the property in terms of the multiple dwelling.
It was a single-family home originally, and it's just adding too many more people living in the property, converting a single-family three-floor building to a six-family unit of four stories.
Also, there were some other issues about trash that weren't exactly explained and
there's an artistic rendering that shows the yard, but the same yard is now three parking spaces.
along with the not accurate detail about the trash,
three sparking spaces and trash in the back.
Leaves no rear yard.
Leaves no rear yard.
There's also a mention by the architect.
There's also a mention by the architect of trash potentially being stored in the front.
Dumpster pickups and dumpster in the front.
We don't want dumpsters on the front, on the sidewalk.
We don't want dumpsters in parking spaces.
So I don't think this project is fully been vetted by the community.
They had one meeting, I think was virtually virtual, and this was the first public meeting, and it wasn't even adjacent to the project.
And I would have to say that's due to no outreach to find a location near the project, probably by the RCO, using the location they've used previously.
obviously. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Mr. McKinley. Yeah, Mr. Chair, I just would like to respond. I was at that meeting, so I know the question was asked of the audience. I heard from my own ears. I actually spoke to Mr. Harrell within the hour because his letter just got to us. He stated that he was going to try to be on the virtual hearing, so I don't know if Mr. Harrell is in the virtual audience,
But I heard with my two ears that Mr. McKinley, while he had many objections during the meeting when the vote was taken, he stated he had no opposition.
So I apologize, you know, but I did hear that in terms of the amount of meetings and where the meetings were taken.
This was the second full certified RCO meeting.
They were both in person.
the reason why we reduced the amount of units to six was because during the first
in-person meeting that was asked of us and we were appearing merely at the second meeting to
just show our plans uh in terms of the whether we have parking spaces um that's in our site plan
that's what our refusal is based on and that's what we're providing so we are providing parking
um i do you know concede to mr mckinley that the rendering is not completely accurate in terms of
showing the outdoor space but our site plan requires us to have three parking spaces the
rendering was more so just focusing on the the building structure and what it would look like
in terms of materials but the site plan does call for three parking spaces and that's what we're
required to build and that's what the refusal is based upon uh in terms of garbage pickup we stated
during the meeting we stated here that the garbage would be located in the rear uh we can have a
proviso to that in that respect to make sure that it's clear that garbage should be stored at the
rear of the property um i don't know what else but like i mean basically we did meet with the
community on two separate occasions in person. And, you know, that's the vote that was taken
by the coordinating RCO. Thank you, Mr. Nox. Any other, any other issues relative to the virtual
audience? Chair, we have Nico Pruitt. Please unmute yourself and wait for the chat.
Hi, my name is Niko, N as in Nancy, I-C-H-O, last name Pruitt, P-R-U-E-T-T.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Thank you.
I wanted to know what square footage is of the units that are being built.
uh yes um mr chair may i answer that question uh yeah so the one bedrooms are 675 square feet
the two bedrooms are 950 square feet one of the two bet one of the three bedrooms is uh 1350
square feet the other one is 1900 square feet the other three bedroom is 1900 square feet
okay thank you okay any other questions from the audience
i see no hands chair planning commission good afternoon chairman uh burryman and members of
the board my name is greg walden planning commission staff this property is indicated
for single family residential in the comprehensive plan and the rest of the block was remapped to
residential single family in 2019 given however given the size of the law and reduced number of
units uh in this proposal the city planning commission uh recommends that the board grant
the variances with the proviso that no more than six units are provided thank you mi 2021 001903
5728 thomas avenue i vote yes with proviso confessor plaza yes
I vote yes with Proviso.
Confessor Plaza, yes with Proviso.
James Snell, yes with Proviso.
Thomas Holloman, yes with Proviso.
Thank you.
Thank you, everyone.
Recess to 3.30.
Thank you, Chair.
We're recording.
Okay. Good afternoon. My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this afternoon's meetings.
With me is Confessor Plaza, our Secretary of the Board.
Present.
Thomas Holliman, a board member.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
James Snell, one of our board members.
Present.
Also, our board administrator, Tanya Sunkit, our board attorney, Sharon Saleta.
before we begin here's our virtual format first be advised this proceeding is being recorded by
participating you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded the video of the hearing will
be available if you contact tanya sunkett at phila.gov second for the benefit of our cart
stenographer we ask attorneys and witnesses to id id themselves prior to speaking or testifying
Third, if you participate by phone, if you wish to testify, raise your hand by hitting star nine, then star six to unmute.
To enter an appearance statement, call 267-270-5548 and leave your email address and the address of the property in question.
And lastly, the question and answer box that you see on the screen is not for testimony.
Should you have any comments, please direct them to our Board Administrator, Tanya Sump.
Here are continuances for the afternoon.
I have number seven on our list.
MI 2020-000175-5965 Chester Avenue.
Does anybody in the audience have concerns about that continuance?
I see no hands, Chair.
Are there any other continuance or withdrawals for this afternoon?
No, Chair. I see no hands.
Okay. Okay. Here we're going to start.
MI 2021, 002921, 1305 South 5th Street.
Councilman Squill sends a letter of non-opposition, and the RCO sends a letter of non-opposition.
Henry Clinton is the attorney.
Mr. Clinton is coming in and is a panelist.
Mr. Clinton, could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
Morning, Mr. Chairman, Henry Clinton here for the applicant.
Spell your last name for the court reporter, sir.
C-L-I-N-T-O-N.
Do you affirm or swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Proceed, sir.
I'm sorry.
Confessor, could you ask a few questions, please?
Mr. Klan, you agree to waive the reading of its refusal and stipulate to attackers?
Have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents, proof of ownership, proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal or referral of photos and plans five days prior to this hearing?
Yes, I have.
Have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
Yes, I do.
Thank you. Please proceed.
Thank you, Mr. Plaget. Mr. Chairman, can you see my presentation?
Yes, I can.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Henry Clinton for the applicant, David Trinh, T-R-I-N-H, who is also on the call.
These are my package of exhibits, AA through A-10, which I'll ask to be admitted into evidence as we proceed.
And I'll walk through these.
Appearance statement, refusal.
Refusal is concerning a rear parking space in this property at 4th and Earp Street.
We have a letter of support from the RCO.
which the Chair has, as well as a petition of support from about 15 near neighbors.
from about 15 near neighbors uh here's the property here just to give the board an idea
Here's the property here.
of what's going on this is uh fifth street and this is erp street uh the property mr clinton
i can't it's not moving we're we're still here it is we're good okay sorry about that so this
is an aerial photograph of the property at 1305 south fifth street this is fifth street here this
is Earp Street. The request is that a parking space be permitted in the rear of the property
here. As you can see from the aerial photograph, there's no parking on this side of the street,
which would be the south side of Earp Street. So to have a curb cut here in a parking space
is not affecting anyone's parking on that block. In fact, we're taking a spot off the street.
There are also other rear parking spaces on Earp Street. You can see a car here. There's also a
couple spaces further on the east side. Again, just another perspective. This is the side you
are of my client's property. He doesn't want to park here. He wants to proceed on Earp Street
and park in the rear of this open space here. Again, just more perspective photographs to show
you Earp Street and the fact that there are other garages, even on the side where there's
cars parked, but on our side, where my client wants to put a parking spot in the rear of his
property, there is no parking whatsoever. This is a perspective looking on Earp Street.
Here's my client's property. This is looking west. Again, parking on the north side, no parking on
the south side. So we'll have no impact on parking in the neighborhood. This is just a side on 5th
Street. We do have streets approval for the curb cut and the turning radius. This is a plan showing
the turning radius off of Herb Street, come out Fifth Street, take a right on the Herb, and here's
where the parking space would be in the rear. So it's kind of a short presentation. There's not
much of an issue before the board. These are the tax certifications and all the pro forma documents
that are required when I appear before the board.
So in summary, this parking space
will not really alter the essential character
of the neighborhood.
It's not detrimental to the public welfare.
It doesn't impair the air or light
or visibility of any surrounding property.
There's no parking on that side of the street.
It's in harmony with the code
and it's in harmony with the wishes
of the local community group.
And with that, I would rest
and ask if the board or the chairman has any questions and I can also have my client adopt
my testimony. Have your client adopt your testimony. Mr. Trent, can you raise your hand virtually?
Mr. Trent, you're able to speak. Please unmute yourself.
uh yes i'm here mr trent state your name and spell it for the court reporter please
it's uh david trend it's spelled as d-a-v-i-d last name is trend t-r-i-n-h
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do proceed okay through mr trent have you heard my testimony today before the board
If you had the opportunity to testify, would you adopt my testimony as your own and as true and correct?
Correct. Yes.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions from the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
Planning Commission?
and this is uh ron bednar that's r-o-n first name last name bednar b-e-d-n-a-r you swear
or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do okay proceed this
property is indicated for residential use on the city plan given the surrounding context
we recommend the request of variance be granted. MI 2021-002-921-1305 South 5th Street. I vote yes.
Professor Plaza, my vote is yes. James Snell, my vote is yes. Thomas Harloman, my vote is yes.
Thank you, counsel. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Okay. MI 2020, 001579, 201 West Johnson Street. RCO has a letter of support. Counsel Bass has a letter in opposition to the plan. William Kerr.
William Kerr.