someone desired commercial space but mostly were near neighbors within a block or two
and i'm sure some of them are on this call um did not want the property to be commercial they
wanted residential use but what they were concerned about was the garages um so let's
just go to talk a little bit more about the garages so you can understand that the garages
are already there and permitted. One second, we'll just get to the right notes here. So
if we look here in our zoning archive, this is a permit from 1949.
in our zoning archive this is a permit from 1949
which is for an addition for this building that's already divided one family plus a store
and when you scroll down to the plans you can see this garage is already in existence
in 1949 right um you then have in 1980 the confirmation of the continued existence of that
1949 permit uh if we then go to my clients building plans that they submitted in 2018 and
2019 these are the permits for the renovation that were pulled there was extensive work done
l and i was out there a bunch inspecting everything you can see in these plans
that the garages there's an existing two-car garage that was approved along with the building
plants in 2019 so so these garages have been there they've been in continuous use
there hasn't been there's they're permitted they're there and they're not a subject of this
application this application is just for the conversion of the commercial ground floor unit
to a residential unit um i'm just going to talk a little bit about like non-conformities just to
get it on the record because i'm sure the neighbors are going to talk about it so um
we can see here that these are the existing garages you can see there is a slope down where
the garages are it doesn't hit the pavement uh if you look back in the images which i can't pull up
at the moment um but there was extensive road work done on this road a few years ago so uh you can
tell that that curb cut is there and it's still been there since 1949 and it looks way different
than what it looks like across the street where you actually have an illegal parking space with
no curb cut across the street from here this is not a permanent parking although it's used for
parking um and as you know uh non-conformities once they are established uh remain unless they're
discontinued um so there's been no removal of the garages there's been no modification to
this property that would prevent the use of those garages um i wonder what happened here
why my screen split um sorry about that um so you know there's been nothing that's changed
there uh there's been no there's no permits that have last uh the taxes have been paid and most
notably um the code requires if there's going to be a discontinuation of use at 14 305 5 net 0.3
quote a that the city must document in the zoning archive that it was a discontinued use
here we have no documentation of that discontinued use so we have a barrage that's still active and
being used and has been there permitted reconfirmed several times most recently in 2019
of its right to exist so and yet again it's not a refusal we're not talking about the
garage is talking about the conversion of the ground floor unit to residential use. Also,
I would note that the two garages are taking up one parking space, but getting two cars
off the street. So I just want to kind of summarize hardship and my argument here.
We have a property that is in an RM1 area that's not really suitable for commercial use,
as evidenced by the fact that it's been marketed now for several years.
It hasn't been able to be rented or sold, whereas the residential unit was rented quite quickly.
We are looking for the least modification possible,
but we're actually looking for a use that is well-blown the intensity and density allowed by Wright,
both in this zoning district and the adjacent RM1 zoning districts.
it's well serviced by public transit there's a bus stop right in front of the property
with lines into center city and why the neighbors voted to oppose it their opposition was not to
the conversion of the commercial space it was to the existence of the garages and actually wanted
this to be a residential space I'm sure some of the neighbors are here to more fully talk about
that um but with that i would just i would just end my case in chief is your client here i don't
think he is okay all right so we'll take your accept your testimony as an officer of the court
questions from the board no mr chairman no chair
questions or comments from the virtual uh from our attorney hillary emerson
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Good afternoon, Chair and members of the Board.
This is Greg Waldron from Planning Commission staff.
The comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning at this location from commercial mixed use to single-family residential.
This property has a documented history as an entirely residential use.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant the proposed variance for not including commercial use on the ground floor.
Thank you.
MI 2023-003-927-1815 South 20th Street, I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shahid, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Counsel.
Thank you so much. I'd appreciate your accommodation.
Oh, absolutely. Thank you.
So we're going to move to number four and number 13 together.
MI 2023-004-079-2556 Frankfurt Avenue.
Number 13 is MI 2023-004-078-2554 Frankfurt Avenue.
Michael Matione is the attorney.
Um, there is a, um, recommendation of, um, of non-opposition from the East Kensington neighbors.
There is also a recommendation from Councilman Squilla, um, where he recommends this, this decision up to the board.
He does give us a letter stating some of his concerns.
Mr. Mattione, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenography?
Sure. Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Michael Mattione, M-A-T-T-I-O-N-I.
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 the property?
Certainly. It's 2554-56 Frankfurt Avenue, LLC, and they are the owner of the property,
and I have the managing member of the LLC, Roman Guzbaugh, on with us today.
Okay, and our vice chair has just a few questions for you, sir.
Good morning, counsel.
Do you agree to leave the reading of the refusal or stipulate to his accuracy?
Good morning, and yes, I do.
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that is needed
to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, we did.
Thank you, sir.
Please proceed and share your screen.
Thank you.
Okay. Again, good morning, Mr. Chairman and Michael Mattione. We're seeking two variances
to permit residential use. And these are neighboring properties, 2554, 2556. They're
similar, but not exactly the same, pretty much mirror images of each other. And we're seeking
two variances to permit residential use of the unit
on the first floor and basement that was originally developed as professional
offices. The refusals are due to the lot size not being large
enough to support
three residential units because you need 480 square feet
per residential unit and at 2554 we have
1226 square feet and at
2556 we have 1110 square feet and the second refusal is in the cmx two district we would
like to have residential use at street level we have submitted our exhibits in advance including
the tax clearance the refusals a letter of non-opposition from the east kensington neighbors
Neighborhood Association, the Coordinating RCO, our zoning site plans, floor plans, a use registration permit that was obtained when we were trying to lease this out as professional offices, and photographs.
The properties were purchased in 2021 by my client, and they were vacant lots at that time.
So just give a little context on the Google Earth.
These are the two vacant lots right there where Amber Street runs into Frankfurt Avenue.
The last two addresses on Frankfurt Avenue, the remainder of that block are on Amber Street.
So our client obtained construction permits and built this and fit it out as professional office space of permitted use in the CMX2 zoning district with two residential units above.
zoning district with two residential units above. This is the ground floor and basement. And then
there are two residential units, one on the second floor and one on the third floor.
The property complies with the height and other dimensional requirements for the CMX2
zoning district. Our client then retained Jonathan Beaulieu of JVMP Group to list the
properties. They've listed the properties for rent for 20 months. They've had zero showings
as professional offices in either property. The rent started at $2,300 a month. They reduced it
to $1,600 a month. They have now reduced the rent to $850 a month. They still have yet to have
anybody even come through to look at this, to use this property as a professional office.
And there's a bunch of different factors. And I just want to run down. This is the floor plan
the first floor, you have the living area, kitchen, bedroom, and then just some additional
living space in the cellar. And that's 2554, 2556, very similar. They're both about 715 square feet
on the first floor and slightly less on the lower floor. And again, these are the permits that we
to allow the office use on the first floor and in the basement.
And then these are just photos showing the properties.
The problems we've run into is trying to lease it as an office is it's bi-level space,
about 700 feet on the first floor.
So we've been told it's not large enough.
We've been told the location doesn't work.
There's not enough foot traffic.
and foot traffic's not good there and any kind of business relying on foot traffic we've been
told by the real estate agent is not successful when you look at this we have a lack of market
ability and that's recognized as an unnecessary hardship to justify the granting of the variances
there's approximately 19 properties on this side of frankfurt avenue and amber street
and only about four have active commercial uses the remainder are either vacant closed down or
being used as residential uses as you can see the property over here on Amber Street is clearly a
residential property we've spoken to other business owners failed business owners Justin
Mink of Bell Salon at 2560 Frankfurt Avenue this is 2558 I'll get to that in a minute but this is
2560 Bell Salon they were in business from May 20 of 2021 to June of 2023 and he said there were
several reasons he closed down the main reason being not enough foot traffic to bring the amount
of business necessary to to pay all the bills and where we are located it doesn't have it's not a
viable place for businesses and that's the owner of this failed business the Bell Salon so you know
Now, with that and our 20-month effort to try and lease our space, it's been a problem.
So we've been unable to find anybody to come in.
Now, this is 2558, directly adjacent to 2556.
As you can see, this was set up as a commercial establishment.
They've been unable to get anybody to lease it.
It's been problematic for the neighbors.
You can see there's been vandalism on the building and everything else.
And this is directly next door to us.
And this is the condition that's there today.
And we don't want to become another vacant commercial space.
And, you know, this is, again, from the Bell Salon where they were closed.
And this just shows some of the surrounding properties.
As you can see, this is not an active commercial area.
That's on Frankfurt Avenue.
That's across the street.
There is a large commercial space, and that appears to work.
but this is just some additional again this is amber street which runs right into our properties
as you can see all of the storefronts have been converted or being used as residential uses so
um and this is our property and some interior shots just showing um and now the back on arcadia
Street, just to get the context of the property. Again, we designed it as a professional office.
The windows and doors were appropriate for a professional office.
We talked to the real estate agent before, and he said professional office may very well work
there, a lawyer, an insurance agent, maybe an architect, some other professional.
um but over the 20 months we've tried to lease this space you know it's turned out that you know
we can't find anybody and we've reduced the rent twice down to uh you know 33 percent of what it
33% of what it was originally. So we believe that this effort is clearly indicative of the
was originally so um we
inability to use this property as zoned. It just doesn't seem to work and we don't want to end up
like 2558 in a blighted, dilapidated condition. As you can see, we did have a fairly strong support
at the RCO meeting with 11 neighbors in support. We believe that the physical conditions, both the
size of each property and the location of the property justify the granting of the requested
variance along with our inability to find anybody to use it as it's zoned we believe that the
requested variance is the minimum variance necessary to allow this property to be used
the grant of the variance will not adversely impact public facilities it's a low impact
residential use it won't adversely impact the surrounding properties and it you know if you
look at 2558 that does adversely impact surrounding properties but we will benefit them by removing
vacant commercial space and adding eyes and ears to the street and hopefully it would not become
a problem like 2558 and we won't cause any environmental problems by having this property
utilized. With that, I would like to call on Roman Guzva.
We see his hand. No, but I do see him. Wait a minute here. There he is.
Okay, good. Sorry about that chair. Sure. Good morning, sir.
Please unmute, sir, and you're free to speak.
Good morning, sir.
Roman Guzva, please unmute yourself.
He's free to speak, but I don't know if he's having trouble unmuting.
So, Mr. Mattione, you're an officer of the court.
We'll gladly accept your testimony.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Chair.
No, Chair.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?