adopt and affirm why don't why don't we bring your client on adopt your testimony
thank you mo rusty would you kindly raise your virtual hand to be recognized by chairman bergman
there he is
the attendee is allowed. Sure. Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, sir. Could you please
state your name and spell for the court stenographer? My name is Muhammad Rushdie,
M-O-H-A-M-E-D. Last name is Rushdie, R-U-S-H-D-Y. Do you swear or affirm that tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Please proceed, counsel.
Good morning, Mr. Rushdie. Have you been present during the entirety of this
hybrid presentation before the Zoning Board of Adjustment? Yes, I have. And would you adopt
and affirm the testimony that I've offered as your own? Yes, it is. Thank you, Mr. Rushdie.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson? Not at this time, Mr. Chair. Questions
or comments from the virtual audience? No hands raised at this time, Chair. Planning Commission.
It's Ron Bednar, City Planning. That property is indicated for multifamily residential on the city plan. Given the site's constrained physical conditions, we recommend the request of parents be granted.
MI 2024-007-091-2501, Amber Street, I vote yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
he's here somewhere hold on
he's here somewhere, hold on
can we see him up there?
I don't see anybody at this time, Sheriff
hold on a minute
over there is
as we need your vote
Mr. Chairman and members of the board, if I may, I believe the next case on your agenda
is for the same client, a similar turn the key.
Why don't we start that and then we'll vote them both.
Is that okay, Hillary?
Start that case and we'll find him and we'll vote both at the same time.
We need to make sure we have him in order to hear.
So we have a quorum.
Hold on.
no we don't have any hands up at this time chair he's saying he's having difficulty on um unmuting
well how do we get in the corn if we can yeah um mr shaheed can you go can you leave and come
back in again shoot thank you
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Tim, you did say this was the easiest case you've ever had, right?
He's trying to come back in, Mr. Chair, to see if he has better technical success.
Yeah, yeah, okay.
Thank you.
Sorry, Adam, we'll be trying to clear.
No, no, it's quite all right.
while we're waiting for a moment if i may hey can you hear me now chair here he is we can we can
okay vote on the first case sure i'm sorry bad i'm in the area of bad service it's no shaheed
my vote is yes okay now we're going to hear the second case all right so mi2024 007 264 25 2250
East William Street, TC19419. Adam Laver is the attorney. Adam, just for the record,
state your name. You've already been sworn. Adam Laver, L-A-V as in Victor, E-R, on behalf of BMK
Properties, LLC, the owner of the subject property. Can you identify your client,
the relationship with this property? Is that the same group? Yes, BMK Properties, LLC,
and its managing partner, Mo Rushdie, who is here today, own the subject property.
All right. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and do you agree with its accuracy?
Yes, Mr. Chairman, I do.
And I notice you have support from Southport, Richmond, and non-opposition from Councilmember
Squillow. Again, please proceed, sir.
That's correct. Thank you. And with us is the same architect, Jason Zohr of Marshall
Sabatini architecture. The proposal at the vacant parcel, which you can see here outlined in red at
the corner of William Street and Weichel Street, previously had actually been two separate parcels,
each of which would have accommodated a single-family dwelling. However, the city of
Philadelphia, as I'll show you shortly, condemned a portion of the property off of Weichel Street.
Originally, we had two 16-foot wide lots facing Williams Street with a 30-foot right-of-way
on Weichel. The city expanded Weichel right-of-way to 40 feet, resulting in a smaller
lot on this vacant lot. So two lots were consolidated into one lot at 22 feet wide,
and that actually leads to the variance before you today, which I'll get to momentarily.
Here is the subject property where my cursor is, and we are looking at it head-on.
again another image of the subject property it's that corner right there
Weichel Street has been widened making our property smaller actually we are on the left
in this streetscape photo and on the right in this photo the subject property is zoned RSA 5
and here you can see what I mentioned at the outset in the upper left-hand corner there
were originally two lots after the taking those two lots were combined into one smaller lot to
allow Weichel to be larger wider if you will the proposal before the board on this now combined lot
in RSA 5, is to erect a two-family household. And due to it being within the RSA 5 zoning district,
that led to one single-use refusal. The proposed height of the two-family home
is 32 feet 8 inches. No issues there. Again, the only issue is due to that seeking to have
two residences on the one lot. Once again, we are proud to bring another turn-the-key
property to the city, increasing affordability options for all. And you can see here,
starting at the right and moving to the left, each of the homes provides for three bedrooms.
There are two bedrooms on the lower level with egress into a backyard with full access out to the right of way.
The first floor has the additional bedroom and main living spaces.
and main living spaces moving to the second unit on floors two through three you can see a similar
Moving to the second.
layout on the lower level of that residence being the second floor living and dining spaces
laundry bedroom and then on the third floor the additional bedrooms and roof deck it's really
once again, nice, ample living spaces that everyone deserves. We met with the Southport
Richmond Civic Association, the coordinating RCO, which has indicated its position of support.
I'd like to note in the right-hand column that all impacted, affected, PCPC-notified neighbors
were in support of the project. And Council Member Squilla recognized the letter of support
and offered his non-opposition for this project. The authorization of variance relief will not
alter the character of the neighborhood or district or be detrimental to the public welfare.
The photos reflect the proposal fitting in within the neighborhood. The refusal itself
is due to a public good in widening the street for the good of all, making the subject property
a little bit smaller. However, the architects have done a fantastic job in making great,
generous living spaces for two families, allowing two more families in the city of Philadelphia
to benefit from affordability to return the key. The support of the impacted neighbors who live
in close proximity speaks to the granting of variance relief being of benefit to the public
and within the spirit of the zoning code. The proposed variance would represent the minimum
variance to afford relief. Had this not occurred, we wouldn't even be before you because two
residences previously would have been permitted at this site. The grant of variance relief will
not substantially increase congestion in the public streets, danger of fire, or otherwise
endanger the public health, safety, or welfare. There are no light or air issues. This will not
adversely affect transportation or unduly burdened water, sewer, school park, or other public
facilities. There are no environmental issues. Again, the architect is here, and Mr. Rushdie
is already a panelist and prepared to adopt and affirm when the chairman wishes.
Why don't we bring Mr. Rushdie on right now? Rushdie on now right now.
Mr. Rushdie, please unmute. Thank you.
Okay, Mr. Chairman, please on mute.
Yep, you've already been sworn.
Just for the record, state your name, please.
My name is Mohamed Rushdie, spelled M-O-H-A-M-E-D, last name Rushdie, R-U-S-H-D-Y.
Right.
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you.
Mr. Rushdie, I see that you've been present during the entirety of this hybrid hearing
before the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment.
would you adopt and affirm the testimony that I've offered as your own?
Yes, I do. Thank you. Thank you. Questions from the board.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson? Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience? There are no hands at this time, Chair.
Planning Commission. This is Ron Bednar, City Planning. The property is currently indicated
for residential on the city plan
given the site's limited physical
circumstances, its priority
land bank redevelopment
with fully enforced affordability
requirements, we recommend that
the correspondence be granted. Thank you.
So MI 2024
007264
2250 East Williams Street
TC 19419
I vote yes.
Cheryl Gaston
my vote is yes.
I own my vote is yes.
my vote is yes thank you council thank you mr chairman and members of the board thank you
we appreciate it and council you would know that that was iran bednar's last official
he retires right now so i was just about i was just about to say that uh it has been such a
pleasure to work with mr bednar and i join in the chairman's um remarks at the outset in wishing
Mr. Bednar, Only Good Things in Retirement.
We'll miss you very much.
Thank you.
Yes, we will, Ron.
We'll miss you, Ron.
Is there anyone left in the virtual audience whose case has not been called?
I see no hands at this time, Chair.
Thanks, everyone.
See everyone at 2 p.m.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this meeting
of the Philadelphia Zoning Board. With me is our board member, Cheryl L. Gaston.
Present, Mr. Chairman. Our board member, Tanetta Graham.
Present, Mr. Chairman. Our board member, Michael Johns.
Present, Mr. Chairman. And our board member, Taya Wynn.
Present, Mr. Chairman. Also present is our attorney, Matthew Webster.
Present, Mr. Chairman. And our zoning board, Executive Director, Ian Haggerty.
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you let's look at our schedule for today
Are there any quests for continuance?
Good afternoon, Chair.
This is Jasmine, and I will be your co-host this afternoon.
I see no hands at this time.
Okay. Number 12, MI-2025-003-07-883 North Preston Street. That case is continued.
Chair, I think-
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. That case is withdrawn.
Yes, thank you.
Thank you.
Are we going to go to our add-on list?
Number one, MI 2024-005-752-4028 Westminster Avenue.
I vote yes.
I'm not on this one.