Yes, Chair.
We have someone by the last name of Garcia.
Please unmute yourself.
Good morning. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Yes, sir. Hello, my name is Eastman Garcia, I-S-M-A-N-I-E-L. Garcia is my last name. I am
currently a resident on... Hold up, hold up, hold up one minute, sir. Do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes, sir. Are you a neighbor?
yes all right please proceed uh i am a neighbor on the property block and i have been very
upset recently because due to break-ins due to not having a neighbor occupying that space
okay all right so you're in favor of the project you're saying yes i am in favor of
the project i think it will help out a lot with the the community the block just the residential
mr garcia thank you for calling in we appreciate your input is there anyone else in the virtual
audience i see no hands chair planning commission excuse me chair um they're bringing up their hands
spontaneously at the last minute.
We have someone,
Kevin, last name, ending with a B.
Sir, could you state your name
and spell for the court
stenographer?
Kevin, which is K-V-A-N
B as a boy, A-S-Z
C-Z-E-W-S-K-I.
Right. Do you swear
for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I'll do it.
Are you a neighbor?
can't hear it are you a neighbor i am a neighbor okay please proceed with your testimony
so um similar to what the neighbor said i've i've witnessed people breaking in and
it it ends up me spending way too much out uh time on the street getting the cops coordinated
traveling around the block trying to catch the criminals it's ridiculous i don't have time for
it i think it's mostly because it's just not no one's in it and they know it's and they keep
and they know it's and they keep coming back and it's uh it's it's it's not good so i really like
coming back and
to see this place get occupied and it would have to be residential for that to happen at this point
thank you very much for taking the time to call us we appreciate your input is there
anyone else in the virtual audience i see no hands chair planning commission
good morning chair members of the board this is greg waldwin from planning commission staff
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to existing commercial mixed use at this location.
The applicant's proposal for three dwelling units could be achieved by right by providing one affordable unit at the moderate income level through the Mixed Income Housing Bonus Program,
a program that helps the city achieve its affordable housing goals while allowing developers to build at greater densities with a by-right permit.
There is no hardship. Furthermore, there is no hardship for not providing the required ground floor commercial use on Frankfurt Avenue, a commercial corridor with active storefronts up to Huntington Avenue. The City Planning Commission recommends that the Zoning Board deny the variances.
Thank you. I'm going to put these both together when we vote. MI 2023-004-079-2556 Frankfurt Avenue.
Hold on, I'm sorry.
And MI 2023, 004-078-2554, Frankfurt Avenue.
I vote yes to both.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes to both.
James Snell, my vote is yes
to both
Ishmael Shahid, my vote is yes to both
Thank you, Ken
Thank you
Number 5, MI 2023
004-008
1607-09
McKean Street
Michael Gumbel is the attorney
There's a recommendation of support
from the East Point Breeze
Neighbors Association
10 in support, zero in opposition.
Mr. Gumbel is coming back in as a panelist.
Thank you.
Good morning, Mr. Gumbel.
Could you please state your name?
It's spelled for the court stenographer.
Good morning, Mr. Chair and Board.
Michael Gumbel, G-U-M-B-E-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 in relationship
to the property yes uh alan kwan dr alan kwan and breen neff and they are the owners of the property
okay and our vice chair has just a few questions sir good morning counselor do you agree to waive
the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy 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 we have thank you please proceed and share your screen
where's the share screen at it'll be on the bottom the green button
oh there we go
okay can you see that it's coming up now you're up yes sir
Okay, thank you. So again, my name is Michael Gumbel. I represent Dr. Alan Kwan and Bree Neff. And Ms. Neff is the owner of, they're the owners of property as a residential unit, but Ms. Neff is also the owner of Equilibrium Pilates, which is a physical therapy and Pilates studio that she's owned for approximately 20 years in the city in various different locations in Queen Village and Bella Vista.
So they purchased this property about a year ago, and it has a unique zoning in that it zoned both RM1 and CMX2.
And essentially what that means is if more than 10% of the property is being used as residential, then they consider it RM1, whereas the inverse of that, it would be considered CMX2.
And so this use would be by right if we were using the property exclusively as a CMX 2.
However, as you'll see, a majority of the property is being used as their personal residence,
and we're just seeking to use a small portion of it for her Pilates studio.
So you have the refusal there.
You have the application that was filed, the project information form, the deed.
The project information form, the deed, tax clearance, photos of posting, and then we have the property here.
So the property is located at 16th and McKean in the kind of lower east Point Breeze section of the city.
And what you'll see on this property is it's a massive kind of double wide, almost triple wide property on McKean Street.
in between 16th and 17th Street. And what's unique about it is that if you look around,
you'll see that essentially every other property on this block is a commercial property. So you've
got a garage next door. There's actually a brewery, second district brewery, two doors down from them.
There's several garages across the street, a daycare center. And if you go across,
or I'm sorry, around the block on a Bancroft Street, again, it's filled with garages and
commercial properties. On the other corner, you've got several little grocery stores as well as
another bar situated there. So effectively, what we're trying to do is on the second story of the
property, that's primarily the residential area. On the first floor, they have parking garages where
they can fit four vehicles. And then the first floor was also used by the prior owner. They had
a construction company and that was their office. So when you come into the property, you go straight
back through this hallway and this first room here is about 17 by 17 and that would be kind of like
a sitting area for the studio. And then in the back room, you have a room that's 13 by 30 and
this would be where the Pilates machines and so on would be kept. Again, Ms. Neff has been a Pilates
instructor for over 25 years. She's got excellent credentials and certifications. She's been on the
best affiliate list. So she's very well known in the industry and throughout the city. And she's
really just trying to move her studio into her living space to make things easier on herself
and make things easier financially for them. It's not a huge impact on the neighborhood. She only
meets with one client at a time. So it's not as though there's going to be several people coming
in and working with her. It's not going to impact traffic. Again, they do have parking
garages there, as well as a space in front of the building that they could use.
Here is the RCO notice that went out, as well as the proof of mailing.
And then again, we met with the East Point Breeze Neighbors Association, and they were
strongly in favor of it as it's bringing a well-known business to help lift up the neighborhood
and it's not going to have any significant impact on the surrounding neighbors and businesses
themselves. Ms. Neff is here today and she is happy to testify and adopt the testimony as well.
Why don't you bring her one to adopt your testimony, sir?
Brie Neff
Brie Neff
Excuse me, I've allowed you to speak
Please unmute yourself
Good morning, could you state your name and spell it for the court stenographer
My name is Brie Neff
Last name N as in Nancy
E double F as in Frank
right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do please proceed counsel thank you miss neff have you heard my testimony today
i have uh is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge it is and if asked to testify
would you adopt it as your own absolutely thank you 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?
I see no hands, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Planning Commission.
I'm sorry.
It's all right, Greg.
Good morning, Chair and members of the Board.
This is Greg Walden, Planning Commission staff.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing zoning at this location,
which is split between commercial and mixed use and residential multifamily.
When a property is split zoned, the more restrictive zoning
designation regulates the property if that zoning district encompasses greater than 20% of the lot area.
The proposed variance is minimal and does not conflict with the purpose and spirit of the zoning code.
The proposed variance is minimal and does not conflict with the purpose and spirit of the zoning code.
The City Planning Commission...
The City Planning Commission recommends that the Zoning Board grant the variance.
Thank you. MI 2023-004-008-1607-209-McKean 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.
Okay. We're now going to hear three cases together. Number six, number 12, and number 15. So number six is MI 2023-003-952-2553 East William. Number 12 is MI 2023-003-948-2049 East Williams.
And number 15, MI 2023-003-947-2151, East Williams.
We have our counsel is Rachel Pritzker or Brandon Sovereign.
Recommendation of support from the Somerset Neighbors for Better Living.
A letter of non-opposition from Council Member Squill.
Good morning, counsel. Good morning. Could you state your name, please,
to spell for the court stenographer? Sure. It's Rachel, R-A-C-H-A-E-L, Pritzker, P-R-I-T-Z-K-E-R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and not think about the truth?
Yes. Could you identify a client, a relationship to the property?
Yes. The client is Finch LLC. They are the owner of the property, or Finch Development LLC. They
are the owner okay and our vice chair has just a few questions good morning counsel do you agree
to waive the reading of the refuse or stipulate to his accuracy yes 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 thank you please proceed to share your screen thank you okay
can you see my screen we can okay so this is the refusal um the properties are all essentially the
same that's why we're hearing them together um just to give an aerial view for the board
um we have 49 51 and 53 um and as you can see it's sort of a pretty blighted and
vacant block. The refusal is the same for all the properties where we're proposing
two units on each of these vacant sites. The properties have been vacant since at least
1996. And there's only been one time of new construction on that block, which was at 2048
East William Street. The construction of a single family home, which is what is only permitted on
these properties given the RSA 5 zoning designation, is clearly not viable. You can see the state of
this block and the lack of construction. And so we're proposing two units on each, which we
believe is the minimum adjustment from the code, just adding one additional unit so that the
property, these properties can be constructed and be viable and sort of add to the surrounding
area. As you can see, there's a need for development and especially residential development.
There's 33 lots on this block between East William Street, Coral Street, and Amber Street,
and only four have residential structures and one is a garage. The other 28 lots on this block are
vacant. Again, so the zoning classification provides a bit of a hardship here given single
family home designation doesn't allow for any other sort of viable uses. Again, just seeking
to do one additional unit per property. We met with the Somerset neighbors for a better living
as mentioned i'm going to get to their letter of support this is the deed and all the zoning
posters have to come up as you can see again ariel of the site zoning posters on the property
mailings we did and here we have the letter of support um from the somerset neighbors for a
And I believe the board has the letter of non-opposition from Councilman Swilla.
I do want to bring on our architect, David MacArthur, just to go through the plans.
They're similar for each property.
Some are slightly turned around, but essentially the same.
essentially the same and we do have a proviso plan form as we added um some trash enclosures so
And we do have a proviso plan form as we added some trash and clothes.
there are proviso plan forms should the board choose to grant the variance
just want to see if our architect can can jump on and uh yeah do we have copies of the plans
in the uh exhibit here or do you need me to okay hold on hold on sir could you state your name
please and spell for the course sonographer oh sure my name is david mcarthur i'm the project