recommend that the requested variants not be granted. Thank you. MI 2021 003711, 1600
Point Breeze Avenue, I vote yes. Professor Plaza, my vote is yes. James Snell, my vote
is yes. Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes. Excuse me, this is Sharon Wheat. Chair, I'm afraid
you'll have to re-vote that with the revised plans two pages we will we will thank you all
right vote again my vote is yes with revised plan uh yes with proviso yes with proviso
thank you just a reminder board this is tanya um administrator if you could just state your name
prior to voting i would appreciate that thank you my apologies tony confessor plaza yes with proviso
thomas holliman yes with proviso
that works thank you all kindly
I think we might have not filled again on the chat.
Yeah, I think you might have fell out again.
Mr. Plaza, are you prepared to go forward as the chair?
yes what case uh what case we're in okay this should be number i lost five
number five that's what i have let me pick that up right now bear with me one second
agreement we're on case number five
Mr. Plaus, would you like me to read the case into the record, the MI number?
Mr. Plaus would you like me to read the
I got it. MI 2021-0037092049 West Oxford Street.
good afternoon sir do you swear uh can you please identify yourself for the record
yes good afternoon secretary plaza my name is brandon saverin i'm the applicant's attorney
the name is b-r-a-n-d-o-n s as in sam a v as in victor r-a-n i'm from prinsker law group at 1521
Locust Street, Suite 605, Philadelphia, PA, 19102.
And can you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, or nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
And do you agree to waive the reading of its refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, I do.
And have you emailed that exhibit packet with the required documents, proof of ownership,
proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal, or referral photos and plans five days prior
to this hearing?
Yes, to all of the above.
Thank you. And have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
Yes, to both.
Thank you. Please proceed.
Thank you. I will share my screen to start here.
So this matter concerns a, I'll actually start with the refusal here. Bear with me.
Um, this matter concerns the legalization of a duplex. Um, and, um, I will get into the details
in one moment, but I did want to begin by saying that, uh, we do have support for, uh, the
legalization of this structure, um, via, uh, a variance from the, um, RCO who was the, uh,
brewery town shardswood community civic association um we can we can come back to um this in a second
but the the vote both in terms of the general public vote and the actual rco's uh own committee
was um very much in support as you can see in the voting summary there my client and i attended that
meeting on zoom uh the and i i guess this is really a question for the board or maybe for
miss saletta um in the letter the rco did propose to limit mr saverin before you even ask it um
a variance cannot be contingent on ownership okay thank you um so i'll leave it to the board to
you know deal with that as it chooses but um basically uh my client oh here's the property
This is 2049 West Oxford.
I'm sorry, Mr. Saverin.
This is Tanya, the administrator.
I just want to pause you for one second.
Bill from IT, if you could resend the invite to the chair.
He got locked up.
Yes, I did.
Thank you so much.
I'm sorry, Mr. Saverin, you can continue.
No problem, Ms. Sunkit.
So where my little digital hand is, that's the subject property.
It's a row home property on the 2000 block of West Oxford Street, sort of like a half block away from Ridge Avenue commercial corridor here in Shardswood.
And this is a this is an area of, you know, the block itself is residential.
It is partially RSA five, partially RM one and partially CMX three.
So it is a, I think you would say mostly single family homes, but does have a handful of multi or duplex use units. I highlighted those in my appeal. These are properties on the subject block itself that have permits for legal use as two, three, or four family homes.
in the broader area here in this paragraph. I highlighted half a dozen other properties
within a block or two that have multifamily permits. To go back to the refusal for a second,
the backstory here is that my client is the principal of a building company that is based
in Queens, New York. This was actually his very first project in Philadelphia. And he acquired
the property in January of 2020. I think began the work, if I'm not mistaken, in March of 2020.
did not know, and I know this is not the best excuse, but, you know, did not know that
Did not know, and I know this is not the best excuse, but
the property did not allow for duplex use by right, did not know that he had to pull a zoning
permit before changing the use. He did sort of explain himself to the RCO, who I think
understood the story, liked the fact that Mr. Singh is going to occupy one of the two units,
basically use the other one to assist with the carrying costs of the renovation by renting out
that other unit. And he has already completed this renovation. So this is just a few pictures
on Zillow of the house at before the time of his purchase a year and a half ago. Here are briefly
some photos of what it looks like today. So this was a guy who knows how to do this work,
and I think did a nice job of it. I think you're looking at the upstairs unit here, kitchen,
bathroom, baths. Let's see if I have some bedrooms. This is in the exhibit packet,
which is not my intent to walk the board through the entire exhibit packet. But that's really
the story here. In a nutshell, this was a mistake of not understanding the order of operations,
that the zoning permit is the first kind of permit that one needs to obtain prior to
a change of use in Philadelphia. And we're here seeking a variance in order for Mr. Singh to
obtain a zoning permit and finish the permitting process on the work he's already done. And the RCO
is in support of allowing the configuration of the building to stand as it currently is,
with the caveat that they did want the variance to sort of disappear should Mr. Singh sell the
building and I guess I've heard from Ms. Saleta that that may not be a proviso that's enforceable
but otherwise I believe they were in support of the project as their letter reflects. Happy to
take any questions. Thank you counsel. Is the chairman available or? You can continue Secretary
Thank you.
Does the board have any questions?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you.
Anyone else would like to speak in this matter?
I see no other hands.
Thank you.
Planning Commission.
Good afternoon, Chairman Plaza and members of the board.
This is Greg Weldon, Planning Commission staff. This property is zoned residential single-family
in the comprehensive plan. While there is no unique condition of the lot that would
present hardship, a two-unit property at this location would not alter the essential character
of the block that has multiple two- and three-unit buildings. Accordingly, we recommend
that the requested variants be granted. Thank you. Calendar number MI 2021-003709 2049 West
Oxford Street. My vote is yes. Thomas Holloman. James Snell, my vote is yes. Thomas Holloman,
My vote is yes.
Thank you.
Number seven, right, Sharon?
Calendar number MI 2021-001682, 4520 through 40 Wirth Street.
That is correct, confessor.
I didn't unmute myself quickly enough, sorry.
No problem.
Thank you.
Mr. Mulvihill is coming back in as a panel.
Thank you.
Here we go.
Good afternoon.
Good afternoon, Mr. Mulvihill.
Can you please identify yourself?
And you're still on the roof, okay?
Leo Mulvihill, Ed as in Michael, UL, V as in Victor, I-H-I-L-L, address 315 Green Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19123.
Mr. Mulvihill, you agree to waive the reading of its refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
And have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents, approval of ownership, approval of tax compliance, copy of the refusal or referral, photos and planes five days prior to this hearing?
copy of the refusal over for photos and planes five days prior to this hearing i have and have
you met with the rco and have a letter yes thank you please proceed certainly well good afternoon
members of the board my client is unfortunately unable to be here today because he has his kids
in disney world um he tried to said he was going to try to call in but i don't think that's going
to work out so well from where he is in any case i'm here today on behalf of carrie tattoo
The principal of that is Troy Souders, S-O-U-D as in Delta, E-R-S, for this application for a tattoo studio in the Globe Dye Works building, 4520 to 44th Street.
You're seeing the table of contents for my presentation packet.
We have the refusal, appeal, and project information form at page 1.
Area zoning maps at 8.
Letter of authorization from the landlord at 9.
Lease at 10.
Commercial activity license at 24.
Tax clearance at 25.
My zoning notification letter and proof of mailing at 26.
RCO letter at 29.
Photos of property at 30.
And floor plans for the property at 63.
three. So members of the board, this is a small one person by appointment only tattoo studio
that's going to be run by the principal of the company, Troy Souders. Mr. Souders has had an
extensive career in Philadelphia as a tattoo artist. He has a younger son that has some health
issues. So earlier this year, he decided to branch out and open his own studio so he could make his
own hours and take care of his family as necessary. While he has done some interior work in the
building with the permission of the landlord he's only been doing art and drawing in there since
there has been no tattooing occurring we were waiting until this hearing date to do so
we received the refusal only because we're located within 500 feet of the nearest residential
property i understand this may have been amended at this point it may no longer be a refusal
irrespective at page eight of my presentation packet we can see the overhead view of the
parcel in question oh one moment please we're located in this little blue square here that's
actually the entire building uh that runs uh from tourist dale through to worth it doesn't
yes sorry to interrupt do you have any uh anything you could share with us
is it not is the page not sharing pardon me sharing right now no no don't try that again
my apology i thought that was already sharing previously all right can everyone see that now
yes okay so for purposes of the presentation again that was my cover page with all the necessary
materials here's the refusal dated 326-21
now at page 8 of my presentation packet the area zoning map showing that this is a mixed
use area. The building itself is indicated in this light pink color in between Torres Stale
and Worth Street. The entrance is on Worth. There is a parking lot that's attendant to the property
so that tenants and or visitors of the tenants are able to park off street in that parking lot
itself. And here's the overhead shot so you're able to see a little bit more about what's going
on with that property. Page nine, this is the letter of approval from the landlord allowing
my client to seek this variance. This is the beginning of the lease. It's rather long,
so I'm just going to skip through that, but it is a duly signed lease. My client is currently
occupying the property. This is my client's commercial activity license. That's page 24.
25 is my tax clearance for my client 27 this is our community meeting notice and at 29 is a proof
of mailing showing that 79 pieces of mail went out to affected neighbors we have a letter dated
december 1 2021 from frankfurt n as in nancy a c indicating that they have no issues with the
above applicant and are granting our request for an approval beginning at page 31 i have
photographs of the property including the postings. This is looking down Worth Street and we'll
rotate quickly towards the building where you can see my signs posted. Down the opposite end
of the street and directly across the street are residential twin homes for the most part with some
rows as well. This is the second posting because the case had been continued so I just duplicated
the shots. And there again, you can see them posted on the property. At page 55, this is the
interior prior to any sort of renovations being done. It's essentially a blank box. There are two
entrances to get in, one from the main entrance and one from a side hallway. So egress is not
going to be any issue whatsoever. So you can see there off to the right at page 56 is one door.
there in the middle of this photo, page 57 is the second door. This is the property as it looks
This is the property as it looks right now. As I stated earlier, my client's not doing any tattooing at the moment, was waiting this zoning approval to do so, but was doing some artwork in this space.
right now. As I stated earlier, my client's not doing any tattooing.
There's only one table and one person. My client will be working at any given time.
Another shot of the interior.
And while my client had no formal floor plans done up, he did do his best to approximate the measurements of the interior of the property.
this was the blank box showing all the interior measurements this is the labeled area showing
lighting work area waiting area the drawing table bookshelves and sink all as indicated
and seen in the drawings pardon me in the photographs that i showed to this board
that's the last page i'm happy to take any questions that the board may have at this time
Is your client there?
No, he was unable to make it today due to a pre-scheduled family vacation.
We'll take your testimony.
Thank you, Chair.
Four questions from the board.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions from the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Sloan folks.