Lekisha are most people in they're still coming in chair okay
okay chair we can begin as you wish morning my name is bill bergman and i will be chairing this
morning zba hearings with me is ishmael shaheed our board our vice chair of the board
president mr chairman and thomas hallman our board member president mr chairman also here is
our board attorney hillary emerson and the zba hearing supervisor lakeisha dandy
Before we start, here's our virtual format. The proceedings are being recorded by participating
your knowledge, your agreement to be recorded. The video will be available by contacting
tanyasunkett at phila .gov. For the benefit of our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses
to identify themselves before testifying. If you're participating by phone,
If you wish to testify, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.
To enter an appearance statement, call 267 -270 -5548.
Leave your email and the address of the property in question.
And lastly, the question answer box on the screen is not for comments or testimony.
All comments should be directed to our executive director, Tanya Sumter.
So let's look at the continuances we have for today, this morning.
Number 9, MI 2022, 004 -778 -635 North 22nd Street.
This case is continued.
Number 12, MI 2022, 004 -789 -1821 North Natrona Street.
This case is continued.
Number 14, MI 2022 -004 -686 -2300 -06 Tasker Street. This case is continued. Attorney moving party.
And number 16, MI 2022 -004 -751 -6243 Ogons Avenue. This case is continued. Are there any comments
relative to the four cases I just called for continuance?
Good morning, Chair. This is Yvette Benton. I see no hands up at this time.
thank you uh are there any requests for additional continuances
i see no hands just a moment chair we have uh craig meladozian with his hand up
sure it's the meladozian can you please unmute yourself and wait for the chair
Mr. Melodosian?
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Craig, C -R -A -I -G, last name Melodosian, M -E -L -I -D -O -S -I -A -N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
What case, sir?
7256 Saybrook Avenue, the coordinating RCO.
we have so you you want that case continued well i yes the uh applicant uh did not understand that
she was an llc and needed to be represented by council okay fine thank you so mi2022
00467 excuse me mr chair can we can we make sure i believe the owner of the llc was supposed to be
appearing and requesting a continuance this morning we made sure they're not here as well
before we do anything or see if they're here first.
The owner here.
Chair, we have someone up, someone with a hand up.
It just says Zoom user.
It has no name.
Okay, that's fine.
Bring her in.
Bring her in.
The person under the name Zoom User,
The person.
could you please unmute yourself and wait for the chair?
Good morning.
Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Zoom User?
Zoom User?
chair they're not responding okay so we're going to all right so number six MI 2022 004
677 7256 Saybrook Avenue that case is continued are there any other requests for continuances
chair we have someone by the name of Noel Garcia
Miss Garcia please unmute yourself and wait for the chair
mr garcia could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
my name is noel garcia n -o -e -l -g -a -r -c -i -a right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the
whole truth and nothing but the truth yes you want to continue your case sir yes okay um mi
July 2022 -004 -780 -4712 Ella Street. That case is continued.
Thank you for calling in, Mr. Garcia. Thank you. Any other requests for continuance?
Chair, we have a Nicole Galliard. Ms. Galliard, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Okay, I believe I am unmuted. Hi, could you state your name and spell please for the court reporter?
Sure. My name is Nicole Galliard, N -I -C -O -L -E.
Last name is G -A -I -L -L -I -A -R -D.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
What case are you calling about?
536 -Brenton.
What number is that, Hillary?
That's number 15, Mr. Chair.
We did not receive any exhibits.
All right.
So that case, we do not have any exhibits.
It's your first listing, okay?
We have the listed owner as Lisa Terry.
Yes, that is correct.
Lisa Terry is on the line as well.
All right.
All right.
And she's requesting it.
All right.
She's requesting a continuance.
Yes, that is correct.
because we the RCO was not able to accommodate the public meeting okay so MI 2022 004 excuse me
Mr. Chair can we have um Miss Terry come on the line I'm not clear what um Nicole's relationship
to the okay sure you put Miss Terry on the line please Lisa are you there because they're asking
for you to join the line I am here hi could you state your name please and spell for the court
reporter
could you do it again please
all right do you have two do you have two devices on you're breaking up
miss terry are you requesting a continuance
okay all right so mi 2022 004 784 536 britain street at cases continue
are there any other cases for continuance
chair i see no hands at this time okay so i have a few cases that we have no exhibits
uh number six let's see what we have here the six ten
case number 10 mi 2022 004 799 1711 spruce street kawana curry is the listed applicant
we have no exhibits first i see no hands up at this time so number 10 mi 2022 004 799 1711
spruce street that case is continued and number 11 mi 2022 004 678 6252 lime kiln pike
Lamont Haley is the owner.
Lamont Haley is the owner.
Mr. Haley.
Mr. Haley, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Hi, Mr. Haley, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Sure, Lamont Haley, L -A -M -O -N -T, Haley, H -A -I -L -E -Y.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Mr. Haley, we do not have any exhibits for your case.
Why is that?
Pardon me?
I said, why is that, sir?
I gave all the exhibits to the RCOs and Mr. Charles L. Richardson of Miss Sidney Bass.
Well, you have to send it to the zoning board.
Oh, wow.
okay so so here here's what i want you to do this is your first listing
call the office they will tell you what you need to send down there okay
and then we'll get you straight for the next hearing okay when would that be well you'll
the staff will let you know when that's going to be rescheduled to okay okay and i 2022 004
678 -6252, Lime Kiln Pike. This case is continued.
Okay, we're going to move now to our add -on list.
Number one, MI 2022 -003 -270 -2201 East Tioga Street.
This case is being moved and will be voted on at the 2 p .m. list.
Number two, MI 2022, 6013 Vine Street.
I vote yes with proviso.
Approved use is equipment and material storage yards and buildings.
No parking is approved on this penalty.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Thank you. Number three, MI 2022 -001 -065 -131 West Walnut Lane, I vote yes with Proviso.
Revised plan, one page, stamped by ZBA on January 25th, 2023.
Thomas Holliman, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Thank you.
We're going to go to our regular list.
Number one, MI 2022 -004 -796 -815 Forrest Avenue. Brittany Ann Culver is the tenant applicant. This is pro se. There's a letter of opposition from the 50th Ward Democratic Executive RCO.
Ms. Culver, can you please raise your hand?
Sherry, Ms. Culver is coming back in as a panelist now.
Thank you.
Good morning.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Hello.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Brittany Ann Culver.
B -R -I -T -T -N -E -Y -A -N -N -C -O -V -E -R.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Hillary, do we need a camera on her?
Yes, if she can turn on her video, that would be great.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
This application is for use as a visitor accommodation in the second floor dwelling unit of an existing attached to family dwelling.
The proposed use visitor accommodation is prohibited in the RSA 5 Zoning District.
Our Vice Chair has a few questions for you.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Have you emailed all the exhibits and required documents five days in advance to proceed with this case?
Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
I must share my screen yes with all of the documents yes okay
with all of the documents yes okay the green button is the bottom yes i sent them several emails
um hold on a second
are you all seeing my screens um we're seeing emails yes i am so so here's what we need to
see we need to see a picture of the location yes i have all of that here could you send
show me some photos please yes i will well okay sorry i wasn't expecting
that i thought so this is the pictures posting yeah
okay and then
i'll just go into my phone to make it easier but i did send all of this in an attachment i thought
that they would present it can you um stop sharing your screen and then uh start sharing it once
you're once you get your documents up please okay no problem
why don't we do this why don't why don't we do this why don't you figure out how get all
your documents together oh i do have all of my documents together but in a format that you could
present it and what we'll do is we'll come back to you in about an hour is that okay i have it
here now ready. We'll bring it up then, please. Okay. It's all right here.
Just one more second.
Okay, here we go. I'm going to start sharing my screen.
Sorry. Okay, here we go.
are you ready yes okay
You have the letter from the RCO?
Yes, I do.
Can I see the letter from the RCO?
I'm going to stop the sharing so I can just grab that.
I have that right here.
One more second and I'll begin to share my screen.
Okay, I'm going to start sharing my screen now.
what was the vote of the rco um they did not most of them did not approve it
i have it up here but the reason i believe that a lot of the people on the rco board wasn't um
familiar with the Airbnb platform they they really had no idea what it entailed but this
is the letter. Could you just enlarge that a little bit? So it's okay so it's 12.
so it's okay so it's 12 12 to 2 against right
correct and what's the reason they gave in a letter
they basically just said that they weren't in agreeance to it um all of the okay the members
all right all right questions from the board
okay let me stop my screen share yes questions from the board no no no mr chairman questions
or comments from the virtual audience chair we have dylan mahoney with his hand raised
okay mr mahoney please unmute yourself and wait for the chair all right good morning good morning
Mr. Mahoney could you state your name please for the court reporter morning Mr. Chair uh Dylan
Mahoney d -i -l -l -o -n last name m -a -h -o -n -e -y right um do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the
whole truth nothing but the truth yes sir proceed uh thank you Mr. Chair members of the board uh
again Dylan Mahoney um the director of zoning and land use from the office of council member Anthony
Phillips. We've received the letter of opposition from the 50th Ward Democrat RCO, and the councilman
is also opposed to the granting of the variance. Thank you. Thank you. Is there anyone else in the
virtual audience? Chair, I see no other hands at this time. Planning Commission. Good morning,
Chair Bergman, Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. Last name is spelled
H -E -G -A -R -T -Y. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir. Proceed. Thank you. Good morning, board members. The comprehensive plan recommends no
change to the existing RSA 5 single -family zoning at this location. As we've talked about before,
for use variances, we're looking for evidence that the variance is necessary to enable viable
economic use of the property or some unusual physical conditions that prevent and allowed
use such as a dwelling unit we don't believe that the appellant has shown either in this
case and so the city planning commission recommends that the zoning board deny the variance
mi2022 -004 -796 -815 forest avenue i vote no thomas hollivan my vote is no
my vote is yes okay um what we're going to do is for this case uh we needed three right hillary
that is correct mr chair so what we will do is we will let the other member for our board
look at the record and then we will get back to you thank you all right thank you
MI 2020, number two. MI 2022. Excuse me, Mr. Chair. Yeah. Can we please move to the cases that require interpreters? That's number three. Oh, I'm sorry. Followed by number five. Yep. Okay. The interpreters are here and ready.
So number three, MI 2022 -004 -797 -4741 North Front Street. Wilder, Eli, Aldana, Yeruta is the tenant, the interpreter we have.
Interpreter, please come on.
Chair, we have someone by the name of Salo Ventura.
that's the interpreter you could have promote her they'll be coming back in as a panelist okay
um and if you're the owner for this property please raise your hand
chair i see no other hands up at this time
just the interpreter yes now the now it looks like their their head is up okay good thank you
hi interpreter could you identify yourself state your name and spell for the court reporter
good morning is the owner on
El dueño de la propiedad se encuentra disponible.
Okay. Interpreter first.
Okay, so my name is Saulo Ventura, and spelled S as in Sam, A -U -L -O, V as in Victor, E -N -T -U -R -A.
Okay, so my name is Saulo Ventura and spelled S as in C.
Right.
Do you swear if I'm to tell the truth, told truth, nothing but the truth?
The owner of the property, please.
El dueño de la propiedad, por favor.
It's actually the tenant who is the applicant in this case.
I do see them on here, and they did raise their hand before.
um it's like three um people under their name so we would need them to raise their their hand
right uh the name wilder aldana or a tia
interpreter if you could interpret um the tenant or property owner for this address can they please
raise their hand que por favor el que esté vaya hasta hablando que por favor levante la mano para
Hello, hello, can you hear me?
Yes, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
¿Me puede dar, por favor, su nombre y deletrearlo para la corte?
¿Nos puede escuchar, dama?
hi hi could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter no
Puedes dar por favor su nombre y deletrearlo para la corte.
Ok, mi nombre es Wilder Aldana Urrutia, es W I L D E R, el apellido es A L D A N A,
the other is u r r u t e a right so that would be wilder ardana urrutia spelled w i l d as in
E -R -A -L -D -A -N -A -U -R -R -U -T -I -A.
So, two last names.
So, could you please interpret this for him?
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Jura y afirma decir la verdad, toda la verdad y solo la verdad?
Okay. This application is for a sit -down restaurant and take -out restaurant on the first floor with an existing single -family household living above an existing structure. Could you do that?
Esta aplicación es para un restaurante para sentarse y comer y poder tomar a la mano y llevar en un primer piso con una familia viviendo en el piso que va encima.
The proposed use of a takeout restaurant requires special exception approval in the CMX 2 zoning district.
and for a point of information we have a letter of support from the 42nd ward rco
and a letter of non -opposition from councilmember lazada
oh my god my internet
correcto
our vice chair has just a few questions
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal
and stipulate to its accuracy?
This is the interpreter.
This interpreter, I wasn't able to hear the question
from the vice chair.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal
and stipulate to his ex?
I have a problem.
It is.
We don't need that.
Yeah, we don't.
It's a special exception.
Oh, okay.
He's biased.
Okay, I thought it was an attorney.
Have you emailed all the required documents
five days in advance to the case?
Okay, ha enviado todos los documentos pertinentes con cinco días de antelación para poder hacer su caso.
Sí, los mandé por correr.
Thank you.
Yes, thank you.
Please proceed to the screen.
Okay, por favor, proceda entonces a compartir su pantalla.
Excuse me.
Dear person, you have to give me a minute.
I had technical difficulties.
The computer went down.
i need to get into here i got it already
no yes yes oh one second he's opening back up
do you allow for adisa cadillo to be able to share the information
it's coming up okay she'll be able to share the screen but he will have to do the presentation
we see that keep moving go through it
keep going
Thank you. Keep going.
Very good. Keep going.
Oh, hold it. Let's see the property.
okay keep going
proceed
okay okay okay questions for the board excuse me um two things mr chair um one
can we have i believe in mr dio can you please meet your device there's feedback because there's
multiple devices and can we can we have the applicant just describe what he would like
to do with the property?
Entonces, dos cosas, si la persona puede apagar el micrófono porque hay dos dispositivos
y hay eco. Entonces, segundo, si el caballero entonces nos puede describir qué es lo que
desea hacer con la propiedad.
and he has music he muted he's got to unmute himself
all right just just have him explain what he's doing there
Ok, explíquenos, ¿qué es lo que va a estar haciendo ahí?
Lo que lo trae a este sonificar el Sony del 4741 North Front Street,
el piso de Philadelphia, el código postal 19120,
El adjunto encontrará la aplicación, reforzar aplicación, protección, información, forma del contrato de renta prior para la comunidad,
Carta de apoyo de organización registrada del piso después del MIREN, al punto que propiedad no debe taxis, fotos de propiedad todavía sin remodelación,
certificación de flyer enviada por correo planos constructivos para para poner y usar
para bakery y restaurante para llevar y para sentarse cámaras luces y alarmas conectadas
al departamento de policía, colección de basura comercial, horario de 6 a .m. a 7 p .m., lunes a viernes.
So, this is for the property at the 4741 North Front Street in Philadelphia in the air code 1912 -0.
And this will have been a bakery that will be for sit down and take out.
it will have lights alarms that will be connected to police stations
it will have collection of garbage it will be opening from it would be opening from 6 a .m
until 7 p .m from monday to friday
a residence on the second floor ask him is there a residence on the second floor
care but i have nothing to do with that okay thank you questions from the board no mr chairman
no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience chair we have slow folks with
his hand up mr folks please unmute yourself and wait for the chair good morning mr folks
please state your name and spell for the court reporter good morning commissioner bergman gba
Board. My name is Sloan Fuchs, S -L -O -A -N -E -F -S -L -O -L -K -S, Office of Council Member Ketzi Lozada,
7th District, Room 316 City Hall. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? I do so, sir. Thank you. Proceed.
The applicant, having met with the coordinating RCO and receiving another support, the council
member, offers no opposition to this
request. Thank you.
Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
Chair, I see no other hands at this time.
Planning Commission. Thank you,
Chair Bergman. Good morning. Ian Hegarty
for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
proposed use will not cause detrimental
impacts to the neighborhood beyond what might
normally be expected, and so
the City Planning Commission recommends that the board
grant the special exception.
Thank you. MI -2022 -004 -797 -4741 North Front Street. I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Interpreter?
Interpreter, could you tell him that, please?
yes of course entonces viendo que hay los documentos bien presentados hay una carta
de no oposición no pues igual no se presenta ninguna oposición viendo las excepciones se
se vota así por las tres personas
junta.
Thank you so much.
Interpreter, are you
taking the next case too?
I am not. I have only this.
Thank you.
So MI 2022
004798
North 7th
Street.
We need the
interpreter and the owner applicant is Ramona Hernandez. This is the interpreter speaking I am
on the line. Hi could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter. Stephen Aubain
s -t -e -v -e -n -a -u -b -a -i -n. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing
but the truth? I do. Ramona Hernandez please. Ramona Hernandez for favor.
Ms. Hernandez, if you're in the virtual audience, please raise your hand.
Señora Hernández, si está en la audiencia virtual, por favor, levante la mano.
chair we have someone with their hand up but it's the person they have the same name from the last
case wilder aldano this is hillary i i think um miss hernandez and um the applicant from the
prior case we're in the same location um with miss cadillo yeah all right bring her up please
miss jernandez please unmute yourself we'll wait for the chair
Hello? Hi, Ms. Hernandez, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
My name is Ramona Hernandez, R -A -M -O -N -A, my name is R -A -M -O -N -A, my name is Ramona Hernandez, R -A -M -O -N -A, H -E -R -N -A -N -D -E -Z.
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
the interpreter will repeat
Usted jura o afirma de decir la verdad, toda la verdad, y nada más que la verdad?
This application is for use as a sit -down restaurant and a take -out restaurant on the first floor
with two -family household living above.
Refusals.
Proposed use sit -down restaurant is prohibited in the CMX1 zoning district.
The proposed use takeout restaurant is prohibited in the CMX1 zoning district.
And the proposed use two -family household living is prohibited in the CMX1 zoning district, abutting the RS5 residential zoning district.
Our vice chair has just a few questions.
Así que en esta aplicación es para un restaurante de sentarse y también de comida de llevar y con un cuarto de familia arriba o dos cuartos de familia arriba.
They don't prohibit that due to the CMX of Zone 1 and also the CMX 1 due to the R .S. 5 of the district.
Good morning, have you emailed all the exhibits that were required to hear this case five days
in advance of this hearing?
Buenos, buenos días, usted ya envió por correo electrónico toda la documentación
que se necesitaba cinco días de antemano antes de esta audiencia?
All right.
Please proceed and see your screen.
Did you see it?
We're fine.
Si, estamos bien.
Empieza.
Start going through your documents.
Así que empieza a repasar sus documentos.
Okay, empieza aquí, Aplicación, Apelación, Proyecto de Información, Flyers para el RCO de la Comunidad, Título de Propiedad, Taxes al Día, Fotos, Cartas de Vecinos en Support, Pedidos por...
A little slower, a little slower, go back, go back.
And this is the application, the appeal, the project information, the RCO, the title, the tax, photos, and testimony from neighbors.
Is there a letter from the RCO there?
Y hay una carta del FCO ahí.
No, no, not that we did it.
No, we never received it.
Okay, keep going.
Can you ask her what she intends to do with the property?
¿Y qué es lo que usted quiera hacer con la propiedad?
¿Qué es lo que quiere hacer?
¿Un restaurante?
A restaurant.
Para take out y sit down.
For take out and sit down.
Right.
Con dos unidades arriba.
With two units on top.
Right.
And there are the building plans.
And this is the third time me coming to this.
questions from the board
no mr chair
questions or comments from the virtual audience
Thank you, Chair Bergman, members of the board, Ian Hegarty with the Philadelphia
City Planning Commission.
Board members, in 2018, the zoning map was amended from RM1 to CMX1 at this location.
This was done in accord with recommendations from the comprehensive plan.
The proposed restaurant uses are, we feel, consistent with the existing physical configuration of the property.
However, the appellant has not shown evidence of unique physical circumstances or conditions to support the request for two dwelling units.
Our recommendation to the board is that the board grant the variances for sit down and take out restaurant use, but deny the variance for two dwelling units.
We don't have an RCO letter. Should we wait a week to see if we can get one?
We we can. Yes, Mr. Chair, we can hold for a week to see if we can get a letter.
So, so we don't have a copy of the RCO letter. We will hold the vote for one week. We will vote next Wednesday at 930. Right. And if there's no letter, then we'll take the appropriate action. Thank you.
Si hemos recibido la carta y si no la hemos recibido, vamos a proceder apropiadamente.
Thank you. Mr. Chair, I believe the applicant has a question.
Y veo que el aplicante tiene una pregunta.
Yes, it's not a question. We went to the RCO and Esperanza did not.
No, no, no. We're not taking your testimony.
Así que nosotros no vamos a tomar su testimonio. Ella lo tiene que hacer.
La asociación registrada de la Comunidad Esperanza con la señora Cuexy Lozada fue a nuestra y no está seguro que pudieron mandar la carta de su por a tiempo. Pero sí estuvimos y sí lo aprobaron.
So, in the community of Esperanza, Klesi Rosada is not sure if they sent in the letter of support on time, but they did approve it.
Okay, so what we're going to do is we're going to wait one week to see what we hear, okay?
If we don't get a letter, we'll take the appropriate action.
Así que lo que vamos a hacer es que vamos a esperar una semana para ver si escuchamos de ello.
Si todavía no hemos recibido una carta, tomaremos las acciones apropiadas.
Thank you. Thank you. Number two. MI 2022 004 -685 -1240 Allegheny Avenue. Joseph Consul is the attorney. Letter of support from 12th and Cambria Advisory RCO.
So, Chair, Mr. Consul is coming back in as a panelist now.
Thank you.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Could you state your name, please, and spell it for the court reporter?
Yes, Joseph Consul.
That's J -O -S -E -P -H, last name C -O -N -S -O -L -E.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, sir.
Could you identify your client in relationship to the property?
Yes, my client is YGB LLC.
It is an LLC owned solely by Ms. Brenda Jennings.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Good morning, counsel.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed all the required documents into our offices five days in advance to this hearing?
yes sir thank you please proceed and share your screen all right is my my packing up it is okay
hey everyone joe console 12 40 west allegheny avenue
Hey everyone, Joe Consul, 1240 West Allegheny Avenue. It's on the corner of 13th and Allegheny.
It's this property here, second from the right on the screen with these yellow shaded out windows
here. We are here today because while this whole block is zoned RM1, we are seeking four units.
This property has 1 ,424 square feet available. 1 ,440 square feet is what's required for that
fourth dwelling unit so we're short uh 16 square feet which we are hopeful is a uh de minimis
request that's um gonna be something the board is interested in granting uh my client uh bought the
property in april of 2022 the property is in need of repair she had plans drawn up for a four unit
and submitted which i'll get to in a second and uh this is the final step that we're requiring
the approval here as mentioned earlier we went in front of the 12th and cambridge advisory board
we got an approval uh from their vote nine support to opposition and the board and the rco approved it
Here's our mailings. Here's some photos and plans.
And I'll enlarge this to get to the layout in a second.
Here's the layout. We've got two two -bedroom units and two one -bedroom units.
Again, these are the plans that were submitted for the construction.
and they're going to do rehab and improve the property as soon as we can get through this.
And we have the other documents that were included and sent over, tax clearance certificate,
the proof of ownership, and all that. We believe this is a diminished request,
and we believe the board should grant it because the board has approved on this same side of this
block five units at 12, and these are all properties that are the same size, which I can
show you here. 1242, which is right next door, is five units. 1234 was approved for five units.
1230 was approved for four units. 1228 was approved for five units. 1226 was approved for four units.
1224 was approved for four units so we believe this is directly in line with what has been
approved and what uh the board is is uh okay with seeing on this block any property that has not had
those approvals appear to just have not tried and are sort of sitting waiting to be rehabbed
similar to the one that we're presenting you with today um and with that i will call miss brenda
Jennings to adopt my testimony.
Ms. Jennings, please unmute yourself and raise your hand.
Ms. Jennings, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Chair, I see, there she is, she just put her hand up.
Ms. Jennings, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Good morning.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Hi, I'm Brenda Jennings, B -R -E -N -D -A -J -E -N -N -I -N -G -S.
Do you swear or affirm the tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Good morning, Ms. Jennings.
Did you hear my testimony just now regarding 1240 Allegheny Avenue?
I did.
Do you agree with it, and do you adopt it as your own?
Yes, I do.
I have nothing further.
Questions from the board?
no miss no mr chairman
questions from the virtual audience no mr chair
i see no hands at this time chair by planning commission thank you chair bergman
ian hegarty for the philadelphia city planning commission board members the conference plan
recommends no change to the existing rm1 multi -family zoning on this block the proposed
variance is minimal and does not conflict with the purpose and spirit of the zoning code city
planning commission recommends that the board grant the variance thank you MI 2022 004 -685 -1240
West Allegheny Avenue I vote yes Thomas Holloman my vote is yes Ishmael Shaheed my vote is yes
Thank you. Thank you. Have a good day. All right. Thank you. Number four, MI 2022 -004 -795 -705
thank you thank you have a good day all right thank you number four
South 2nd Street, Parcel A. Henry Clinton is the attorney. Letter of support from Queen Village
Neighbors Association and letter of non -opposition from Council Member Squillett.
Chair, Mr. Clinton is coming back now as a panelist.
Good morning, Mr. Clinton. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
He'll be back any shortly. He's here. Sure.
Morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the board, Henry Clinton.
Mr. Clinton, could you spell your name just for the record?
Sure. Henry, H -E -N -R -Y, Clinton, C -L -I -N -T -O -N.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client and relationship to the property?
Sure. I have two clients, Kirby Smith, S -M -I -T -H, and Suriana Norton, S -U -R -I -A -N -A, Norton, N -O -R -D -I -N.
They're the homeowners, and both are on the call today.
thank you our vice chair has just a few questions good morning council do you agree to waive the
reading of the refusal and stipulate to exact receipt i do thank you have you emailed all
the required documents into our offices five days in advance to this hearing i have thank
you please proceed and share your screen thank you mr shee
is that visible mr chairman it is we're up yep again good morning mr chairman members of the
board i'm here on behalf of mr smith and miss norton concerning their property at 705 south
2nd street this is a request for a de minimis dimensional variance and i'll go through the
plans and explain what's happening. This is my table of contents containing exhibits AA through
A11, which I ask you to admit it into the record. It is. This is the refusal. We have a de minimis
dimensional variance of a little bit more than 5 % for a very small addition, 12 feet by 5 feet
in a breezeway between their two properties.
By way of background, 705 and 707 Lombard Street were consolidated some years ago.
And what we're asking is that the breezeway or alleyway in between the two properties,
which are already connected, we're asking that the breezeway be connected
so that the kitchen can be enlarged for Ms. Norton, who is wheelchair bound
and need to have more areas to circulate
within that kitchen area.
Mr. Clinton, did you say Lombard Street?
705 Second, I said Bainbridge, right?
Oh, I thought you called 705 Lombard Street.
My apologies.
No, 705 South Second Street.
Yes, you know what?
You're right.
Yes, yes.
No, no.
Okay, that's fine.
Yes, here it is.
705 South Second.
I have another project with Lombard Street later.
So that's fine.
That's fine.
So anyway, 705 and 707 South 2nd have already been combined as one property.
And we're asking for a small addition in the breezeway between the two properties to now be included as being connected.
We do have an RCO letter of support from Queen Village Neighbors Association.
And these are the photographs.
So 705 and 707 South 2nd Street, an aerial view to give the board some perspective.
A closer shot of 705 and 707.
This is the area that will be closed in so that the homes, which are already joined, can be further joined.
Some street views of 2nd Street.
So basically, the area at the edge of the stucco here over to the brick wall is going to be enclosed just at the first floor level, and the Baker's Alley or passageway from the front to the rear of the property is also going to be extinguished so that the homes will be fully connected on the first floor.
Again, just another perspective to show you the depth of the rear yard.
Again, just another perspective to show you the depth of the rear yard.
We have no issues.
We have no issues with the depth of the rear yard, just the open space issue.
With this area right here, I'm showing you on my cursor between the two properties is going to be closed off, added to the kitchen, only up to the first floor.
Just some more photographs of the front of the building.
The two lots have already been consolidated.
But I think the best way to look at what we're trying to do here is to show you the first floor plan.
This is the only floor plan that is going to be adjusted.
So basically, the homes are connected in the living and dining area.
This is the kitchen, and the proposal is to have an addition 5 feet by 12 feet added so that you can have nice circulation in the kitchen for Ms. Norton.
Again, here's the site plan showing you the addition so that the homes will be fully connected
on the first floor.
And this would be, again, the first floor.
We're not touching the basement, the second floor, or the third floor.
This is a cross -section view, looking at it from the side. Again, first story, 12 feet high by 5 feet.
Mr. Chairman, this is a de minimis dimensional variance request. We're not affecting anyone else's lighter air. It's in harmony with the code. We're not impairing the development of any adjacent property.
We're basically adding some additional square footage
for the use of the residents of this property
to make it more habitable for them
and more convenient for Ms. Norton.
With that, I'd like to close my presentation
and have my client adopt the testimony.
Ms. Norton, can you unmute yourself?
Could you state your name, please,
and spell it for the court reporter?
here i see no hands up at this time okay um miss norton uh you're on the call can you
unmute yourself raise your hand chair we have someone with the name kirby smith who just put
their hand up that's fine
hi could you say your name please unmute yourself and wait for the chair
hello hi state your name and spell for the court reporter please uh kirby smith k -i -r -b -y
s -m -i -t -h do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes proceed counsel mr smith did you just hear my presentation concerning 705 south second street
yes and you are one of the homeowners of this property yes and if you had the opportunity to
testify would you adopt my testimony as your own and as true and correct yes thank you mr smith
questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman no mr chairman questions or comments
from the virtual audience chair i see no hands at the sign planning commission thank you chair
bergman ian hegarty for the philadelphia city planning commission board members the comprehensive
plan recommends no change to the existing rsa 5 single -family zoning at this location
the proposed variance we agree is minimal and does not conflict with the purpose and spirit
of the zoning code the planning commission recommends that the board grant the variance
thank you mi2022 -004 -795 -705 south second i vote yes thomas halloween my vote is yes
ishmael shaheed my vote is yes thank you counsel thank you mr chairman
number seven mi 2022 004 783 554 east penn street alan knockamson is the attorney
council woman bass takes a position of non -opposition
Chair, Mr. Nackamson is coming back in as a panelist now.
Letter of Faith Community Development Corporation indicating support from the majority of the near neighbors, but opposition from other participating RCOs.
The applicant also provided a petition of support from 13 neighbors in the 500 block of East Penn Street with two form letters of support from neighbors.
with two form letters of support from neighbors.
Thank you.
Mr. Nockamson, can you please state your name or spell for a court?
I'm Nockamson of Nockamson, P -C -A -L -A -N, last name Nockamson, N -O -C -H -U -M -S -O -N.
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?
Oh, yeah. My client is DAG Investment and Development LLC, and then the virtual audience is Deanna Miller. It's representative.
Okay. Our vice chair has just a few questions.
Good morning, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy?
Have you emailed all the required documents to our offices within five days in advance of this hearing?
Thank you, Ms. Nakamson. Please proceed and share your screen.
All right. Thank you.
All right. So I'm here to present 554 East Penn Street. During my presentation,
we'll review the notice of refusal, the correspondence from the Faden Community
Development Corporation, the petition that we circulated to nearby neighbors, as well as
a few letters of support from nearby neighbors, a permit showing another property nearby that
is multifamily in nature, showing that it's not out of character to have multifamily use in this
part of town, maps of the area, photographs of the property, interior photographs of similar
renovations that my client has completed in Philadelphia, just to give the board an idea
of the quality of workmanship and craftsmanship that would be expected of this renovation project.
Our architectural plans and drawings, our RCO meeting notice, we met twice with the community.
One where we did the formal mailing, and unfortunately no one showed up.
We were asked to have a supplemental meeting, but simply flyer in the neighborhood, which we did.
And that's the basis of our vote.
Our applications for appeal that we've filed with the Zoning Board of Adjustment,
or deed to the property, showing that debt, investment, and development LLC is the owner
of the property. A certificate of tax clearance showing that we're in good standing from a tax
perspective with the City of Philadelphia. And again, in the virtual audience is Deanna Miller,
the representative of the owner. So our notice of refusal. So my client purchased this property
recently. It was configured as a two -family dwelling. Given the amount of renovations they
wanted to do in the property, they were asking for three units. They met with the community
and there was some hesitation to add that additional unit, as you saw in the letter
that was issued by the coordinating RCO, the Faith Community Development Corporation.
So based on that commentary and our willingness to work with the neighborhood,
we would ask for a proviso maximum of two units as part of that.
But again, this was a two -family dwelling when we purchased it.
And, you know, that's why we're asking for this multifamily use variance.
So here's the letter or the email that we received from the faith CDC.
In it, they recognize that the nearby neighbors, a majority of them, support this project.
My understanding is that there may have been some issues with the vote town originally. It was unanimous support. And then after time, it diminished to majority support. I think there may be one of the neighbors in the virtual audience who's nearby who actually voted for this, who may give some light and shed some light to that.
But most importantly, this was a multifamily structure when we purchased it.
The neighbors next door to us confirmed that that has been a multistructure for some time.
And because of that, they're in support of it.
There was also a discussion during the community meeting about fire safety and prevention and suppression.
Um, my client, uh, uh, these are affordable houses, um, or they, they, they specialize
in affordable housing.
So they have other governmental requirements or restrictions other than L and I, they have
PHA that regularly inspects these properties.
Um, so from a fire suppression and protection point of view, um, we're, you know, we're
going to be in compliance with L &I, but also PHA. But there was a discussion of having Jacob's
Ladders or Jacob Ladder on the third floor on the outside of the property. And
Jacob Ladder on the third floor in the outside of the property. And again, from a proviso standpoint, I don't know if it's an enforceable proviso, but we would have no problem and no issue having a proviso installation of a Jacob Ladder on the third floor for fire protection and suppression.
So that's basically the community meeting in a nutshell.
What we did was we reached out to the nearby neighbors.
And this map shows the addresses that are on the petition.
There's an additional address of a nearby neighbor that signed our form letter of support.
But as you can see, we're number one here.
There are 11 other addresses here.
The person to the left and right of us are in support of this project, and many individuals on this block are in support of this project.
So, again, between the community vote as well as this petition, which has 11 addresses, plus two additional addresses of nearby neighbors with our form letter of support, we believe that there is overwhelming support for this affordable housing project.
and then again just to show it's not out of character we did review this the city's records
uh and at 5 30 east penn street which is down the street from us it is a multi -family structure
and then maps of the area we again we're at the end of a cul -de -sac um and uh just showing where
we are in the neighborhood uh and behind us is actually a nursing facility which i guess you
say it's multifamily in nature as well and then this is a google map perspective and photographs
of the property uh first of all i want to show that we probably posted the property uh but this
is the front of the property it's a three -story structure we're not changing the structure in any
respect we were hoping to increase the occupancy to three units uh but we understand what the
neighborhood's saying in terms of density um and so we're just going to keep the the floor plan
that's that currently exists but obviously do significant renovations in the process and then
this is east pen to the right of the property and again this is in the nurse's facility that's down
the street from us and then east pen to the left of the property and then just to show you the
quality of craftsmanship and workmanship just i try to get my clients i ask my clients to provide
us pictures of living rooms kitchens bathrooms just to show you what you would expect from them
on this project. So again, here's a kitchen, here's a living room, a lot of light in there.
What they do is they take older properties and restore them to its previous significance.
And then just our plans and drawings. These plans are actually for the three -unit dwelling,
but again, what we plan to do is only have two units with the current configuration that
currently exists. And then our RCO meeting notice. So this is the second meeting notice that we
actually hand -delivered at the request of the community group because the first meeting was
poorly attended. They wanted to have a supplemental meeting. And then here's an affidavit from Deanna
Miller, who will be testifying today, acknowledging that she had it hand -delivered to all the
affected properties. And then here's our first meeting notice, which we did the way pursuant to
the code, where we had a meeting on January 10th at 6 p .m. We were asked in the envelope or the
address notice portion to highlight the fact that this was an important zoning meeting and that you
should open up the envelope. 106 addresses were notified of this meeting. These are the addresses
that were notified. Proof of mailing to those addresses. Our application for appeal that
my client filed with the ZBA, including the notice of refusal and the project information form,
RD to the property showing that DAG Investment and Development LLC is the owner of the property,
And then finally, our certificate of tax claims. There is a balance of $1 ,536 .98, but that's for the 2023 tax year, which those taxes are not yet due. So we are in compliance otherwise. With that being said, I would ask that Ms. Miller virtually raise her hand. She can be sworn in, and then I can ask her a few questions.
chair we have someone with the phone number ending in 3888 is that your client mr knockamson
um i'm not 100 sure um but i know she's in the virtual audience okay bring that personal
person with the phone number ending in 3888 please unmute
Person with the phone number ending in 3888, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
teachers.
Ms. Miller?
Ms. Miller?
Caller with the phone number ending in 3888.
i see that okay i see a person keeps muting and unmuting themselves
miss miller
counsel you're an officer of the court we will take your test money questions from the board
no mr chairman
no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
I see no hands, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chair Bergman.
Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
Board members, the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing RSA 5 single -family zoning at this location.
However, the proposed use, as revised, is consistent with the existing physical configuration of the building.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant the variance with proviso no more than two dwelling units.
MI 2022 -004 -783 -554 -East Penn Street, I vote yes with proviso. Maximum two dwelling units.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes with proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you.
Thank you, counsel.
I agree with that.
Let's see here.
some here so number
number 13 mi 2022
004 -793 -3701 mellon street meredith ferlegger is the attorney
RECOMMENDATION OF SUPPORT FROM MANSWA CIVIC ASSOCIATION
CHAIR, MS. FERLINGER IS COMING BACK IN AS A PANELIST NOW
GOOD MORNING, MR. CHAIRMAN GOOD MORNING.
COULD YOU STATE YOUR NAME, PLEASE, AND SPELL IT FOR THE COURT REPORTER?
We're Meredith Ferliger, F -E -R -L -E -G -E -R with Dolworth Paxson, 1500 Market Street, Suite 3500E.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client in a relationship to the property?
Certainly. My client is 3405 Wallace LLC, the owner of the property, and that LLC is represented here today by Rami Shreem.
our vice chair has a few questions for you good morning council do you agree with the reading of
the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy i certainly do have you emailed all the required
documents five days in advance to this hearing i did yes thank you please proceed and share your
screen. Thank you. I believe that you should now see my exhibit packet. The request before
the board today concerns two adjoining properties in Mantua located at 3701 through 03 Mellon
Street, which are proposed to be consolidated. This proposal did receive overwhelming support
from Mantua Civic Association, and that letter of support is in your packet and up on the screen
at tab 16. Allow me to first orient you to the property itself. As you can see here in the
aerials, which are at exhibit 10, this property sits between North 37th Street and North 38th
Street in Mantua West Philadelphia. These aerials are slightly outdated, thank you Google, but you
can see that this block has recently undergone a fairly complete redevelopment with only about
about three older structures even still remaining on this particular block.
3701 -03 Mellon sits right at the corner of this block with the intersection of North 37th Street.
If I turn to the photographs at Exhibit 17, you will see that the two vacant lots at the corner here make up 3701 -03 Mellon.
make up 3701 -03 Mellon. Now in the next photograph, you'll start to see some of the newer structures that have been erected on this block.
As I move a little bit further, you'll see the community center that was actually developed on this block as well, which is below a multifamily dwelling above.
And again, you can see that a little bit more closely here in a view from the other side of the street.
So this is actually where the Manchua Civic Association holds all of their community meetings for projects in their community.
As I turn to the zoning map at Exhibit 9, you will see that these properties are now zoned RSA 5, having been one of the many blocks that was previously zoned multifamily prior to the 2017 Mantua rezoning initiative that was done in conjunction with the community.
Now, the proposal before the board today, which is shown on the zoning planet exhibit six includes a new three story structure to carefully blend with the newer two and three story structures that have been built on this block.
The building will contain for dwelling units.
I now have renderings which are included in your packet at exhibit eight to give you a sense of what is proposed for this lot.
The large units will vary between two bedroom, two bathroom and three bedroom, three bathroom, and all of these units are proposed to have over 1000 square feet of living space garbage will be stored in the rear, which was designed to be larger than the code would require to accommodate both living.
outdoor living space for residents, as well as trash storage.
Now, regarding the refusal, this proposal only received one refusal for the proposed multifamily use.
No dimensional variances are requested, and this structure does comply in full with the provisions of the zoning code.
In fact, this structure is smaller than the code would permit for this lot, further to the developer's goal of remaining consistent with the varied newer structures that have been built on this block.
Now we do submit to a hardship here in in erecting a compliant single family home on these lots, given both the history of these properties, as well as the transformed character of this neighborhood and block specifically.
specifically. Now, historically speaking, 3701 Mellon Street, just half of this proposed lot,
was used as a three -family dwelling, which you can see up on your screen and in the packet at
tab 13. It's unclear whether the lot at 3703 Mellon ever contained any structure at all,
as it's been vacant for many decades and has not contained a single -family use in any recent
history. Now, aside from the historical multifamily use of the property, erecting a new single -family
home on these lots would also represent a significant deviation from the predominantly
multifamily dwellings that currently exist and have been recently constructed on this block.
I'll bring up the exhibit because it shows a little bit more clearly than the permits themselves,
But I do have copies of all of the permits referenced here at Exhibit 14.
So you can see that this block specifically contains a variety of two family dwellings at 3729, 3730, 3734, and 3738 Mellon Street, all on this block.
There are also some higher density structures at 3717 Mellon, which includes three dwelling units, and 3615 Mellon, which has four.
If we look at the adjacent properties along North 37th Street, which is that intersecting street, there are a mix of multifamily dwellings, including two, four, and even a 10 -unit dwelling.
Further evidence that the board might consider in establishing the hardship in developing new single -family homes on this lot, and I'll bring up a photo just so you can see, is that any of the newer single -family homes that were developed on this block were only made possible by significant state subsidies and favorable tax credit and other financing structures.
So the developments that you see here are a mix of single family and multifamily, depending on the tax credit structure that that developer took advantage of.
So in addition to the mixed residential character of the block, which is not consistent with.
So, in addition to the mixed residential character of the block, which is not consistent with the RSA -5 zoning, the opposing end of the block also includes a large community center, which I referenced earlier.
That is also not permitted in the RSA -5 single -family zoning district.
So the proposed four units on these two lots will represent a natural blend of the predominantly multifamily and community -based uses on this block, and is further consistent with the historical multifamily use that existed on this lot.
We submit that the proposed number of units is the least minimum. Now, for comparison's sake, if the property were still zoned RM1, the RM1 zoning would have permitted the four proposed units today.
As mentioned previously, just half of this lot historically contained three units.
The density proposed is consistent with the density of surrounding structures, which vary from two all the way up to 10 units.
The structure itself is smaller than the code would allow, and the proposed units are all well over 1 ,000 square feet each.
We submit the proposal will not increase congestion, harm neighbors' properties, or impair any light and air.
This development will complete the last piece of revitalization of this block, which is the new core of the Mantua community, with the community center right at the other end of this block.
As described in detail, the structure was designed to align with the varied character of the other
structures on this block, and further analysis, as always, is included in my memo of law submitted
to the board at tab 11, and I'd be happy to touch on any point in more detail. With respect to the
community, we did meet with Mantua earlier this month, and that discussion resulted in an
overwhelming vote of support that's in your packet at tab 16. If at this time the administrator can
look for Rami Shrine to have him unmuted. Counsel, while we're waiting for him to come on, could you
show me the map one more time where these properties are compared to where Mantua Civic
Association meets? Sure. So again, this Google aerial is probably a few years out of date
because the structures are now complete you have the other one the zoning one with the color
showing the rsa5 area or whatever it is there's another yeah the community center is sure so if
you see you see where 3701 is identified if you look a little bit west this sort of larger block
here that's right where the center is so it's match what meets there in these two properties
at the other end of the street exactly yeah so let me see if i can get you so if you if you can
see here in this photo where the fence is all the way to the right you can see this the community
center just on the other side of those structures okay thank you mr shrine please unmute yourself
and wait for the chair hi could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
Hi, Rami Schraim, R -A -M -Y -S -H -R -A -I -M.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Thank you.
And before I have him adopt my testimony, just for another point of clarification,
above the community center itself is also a multifamily dwelling, just in case that was not made clear.
Okay, thank you.
Rami, have you heard all of my testimony given before the board today?
And would you agree that testimony was true and accurate? And would you adopt it as if it were your own? Yes. Questions from the board? No, Mr. Chairman. No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands at this time, Chair.
My planning commission.
Thank you, Chair Bergman. Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
board members in 2017 the zoning map was amended in this area from rm1 to rsa5 in accord with
recommendations from the comprehensive plan and with the support of the manchewa civic association
while we reject the claim of hardship based on cost of redevelopment or based on the use of
prior structures on this lot that have since been demolished we agree that the proposed use is
consistent with adjacent non -conforming uses so the city planning commission has no objection to
grants you have the variance. Thank you. MI 2022 004 -793 -3701 Mellon Street, I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes. Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you very much. Thank you. Is there anyone in the virtual audience whose case has not been called?
Chair, we have one hand.
Chair, we have one.
Ms. Wayman, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Okay, can you hear me?
Yes, state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter.
Dana Wayman, D -A -N -A -W -A -Y -M -A -N.
Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
What case, sir?
Well, I've been sitting here all this time, and I'm waiting to hear on a case involved in 2832 Belmont Avenue, 19131.
Let me see here.
Hillary, do we have that?
I believe that's on the, give me one second, please.
i believe i was told that on the 2 p .m that's on the 2 p .m list well they told us 9 30 i got a
letter here says 9 30 no that that case is on the 2 p .m list there all right well i never got that
information okay so all right i'll try to get back at 2 2 p .m appreciate it thank you is there anyone
else no chair there are no more hands at this time thanks everyone see everyone at two o 'clock
Thank you.
Thank you.
lakish is everyone's in yes chair okay
good afternoon my name is bill bergman and i will be chairing this afternoon zba hearings
With me is Ishmael Shahid, our Board Vice Chair.
Present, Mr. Chair.
Thomas Holliman, our Board Member.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
And James Snell, our Board Member.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also here is Hillary Emerson, our Board Attorney, and our ZBA Hearing Supervisor, LaKeisha Dandy.
Before we begin, here's our virtual format.
be advised the proceedings are being recorded. By participating, you acknowledge your agreement
to be recorded. The video will be available by contacting tonyasunkett at phil .gov. For the
benefit of our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before
testifying. If you're participating by phone, if you wish to testify, press star nine to raise your
hand and star six to unmute. To an appearance statement, call 267 -270 -5548. Leave your email
address and the address of the property in question. And finally, the question answer box on
the screen is not for comments or testimony. All comments should be sent to our executive director,
time is sunken. So let's look at our continuances for this afternoon. Number four, MI 2022 -004 -822 -5304
North Broad Street. That case is continued. Number five, MI 2022 -006 -535 -118 Hillcrest
avenue that case is continued is there any comments relative to those two cases
That case is continued.
Is there any comments relative to those two cases being continued?
Chair, we have someone by the name of Rebecca Cole.
Ms. Cole, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Good afternoon.
Could you state your name, please, and spell it for the court reporter?
Good afternoon, Chair. Rebecca Cole, R -E -B -E -C -C -A -C -O -L -E.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
What case?
118 Hillcrest, the continuance just announced.
I'm with Vintage Line for Sean Whalen on behalf of the property owner.
I'm wondering if you have a date for that continuance.
um hillary did we give that a date nope but notices will uh go out so we'll make sure
notices come out okay thank you all right thank you are there any other requests for continuance
i see no other hands at this time chair i have a few cases without exhibits number two
MI 2022 -004 -886 -617 East Durham Street. This is the first listing. Demetrius Parrish is the attorney. No exhibits.
I see no hands, Chair.
So MI 2022 -004 -886 -617 East Durham Street. That case is continued.
Case number seven, MI -2022 -004 -808 -2832 Belmont. 2832 Breale Limited is the listed owner.
We have no exhibits. This is the first listing.
Chair, we have someone with the hand up by the name of Carolyn Kamau.
Okay. She just put her hand down. Now we have a Stephen Magnum with his hand up.
Okay, sure.
Mr. Magnum, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Hi, Mr. Magnum, could you state your name, please, and spell it for the court reporter?
Stephen Magnum, spelled S -T -P -H -E -N, last name Mangum, M -A -N -G -U -M, like a man chewing gum.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
So we don't have exhibits for this case.
It's the first list.
So it's going to have to be continued.
Mr. Chair, is this the gentleman that spoke up in the 930 list and he was here for this case?
Mr. Magnum, are you the property owner or the tenant in this case?
Because we have. Oh, OK. No, we need to speak. Are you an interested party like a neighbor?
Yes. OK. OK. We need to speak to the property to the property owner, if possible.
We only have any other hands listed. OK. Is there any other hands up chair?
We have some. We have someone by the name of Dana Wayman. OK, sure.
I believe that's the person from earlier. OK, now the hand has disappeared again, chair.
Do we have no other hands up?
28 -32 Belmont.
The hand is back up again, Chair.
Please raise your hand if you are the owner or applicant for this case.
Ms. Wayman, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
yes uh my name is dana wayman i called earlier you did meeting i'm not i'm not the owner of
the property i wanted the um i wanted the um residents that's that's my only reason for being
here and to make my vote what i'm trying to do is find the owner of the property i understand
okay okay chair we have a carolyn camara with her hand up okay miss camara please unmute yourself
and wait for the chair i you know i'm sorry because uh i am also i'm carolyn camara c -a -r -o -l -y -n
last name is k -a -m -a -r -a right i'm just ready wait one minute do you swear to affirm to tell
truth the whole truth is nothing but the truth yes i'm only a homeowner okay
Yes. I'm only a homeowner.
Okay. All right. So I'm still looking for the owner. Okay. All right.
Last call. 2832 Belmont. Is the listed owner applicant available?
Chair, I see no hands.
Okay. So MI 2022 -004 -808 -2832 Belmont. This is the first listing. This case will be continued.
Are there any other requests for continuances?
We're going to go to our add -on list.
I see the handshare.
Okay, so our add -on list, MI 2022 -003 -699 -1709 Marshall Street.
I vote no to reconsideration and rehearing.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is no to request for reconsideration.
James Snell, my vote is no to reconsideration and rehearing.
Mr. Mayor Shaheed, my vote is no to reconsideration and rehearing.
Number two, thank you. Number two, 2022, 404 -618 -850 -East -Madison Street.
I vote yes
Thomas Holloman
my vote is yes
James Snell
my vote is yes
Vishal
my vote is yes
number three
MI 2022
004 683
North American Street
I vote yes
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Number four, the result of hearing for MI 2022, 002 -378 -3107 Clifford Street has been rescheduled to Wednesday, February 1st at 9 .30 a .m.
Case number five, MI 2021, 005 -318 -649 -North 11th Street.
John Monlach from Planning will be voting on this case.
I vote yes.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair.
I just wanted to note that Ishmael Shahid is recusing himself from this case.
Thank you.
That's why we have an alternate.
right is my vote is yes john monlock my vote is yes okay jim snell james snell my vote is yes
thank you number six mi 2021 005 319 610 north 11th street ishmael will be recusing himself again
john munlock will be voting i vote yes john munlock my vote is yes
james snow my vote my vote is yes thank you number seven mi2022 -003 -270 -2201 east tayoga
Street. I vote yes. Revised plans, two pages, stamped by ZBA, January 25th, 2023. Ishmael and
James Snell also vote on this. James Snell, my vote is yes. Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
thank you excuse me are those votes with provisos uh mr snell and mr shaheed i said revised plans
two pages stamp by zba january 25th 2023 okay i apologize that is yes with proviso
vote is yes with proviso thank you we're going to our regular list mi 2022 004 831
on 3816 to 40 Market Street.
Meredith Trego is the attorney.
We have two letters from RCOs in support.
And I believe the council person is in support.
Am I right, Hillary?
Yes, that's correct, Mr. Chair.
We have a letter of support from the West House
and Saunders Park RCO, which was the coordinating RCO,
as well as a letter of support from Spruce Hill Community Association and the council member.
as well as a letter of support from spruce hill community association
and the council member is also in support thank you thank you very much
chair we have a matthew mcclure coming back in sure sure okay good afternoon mr chairman matt
mcclure with meredith trego okay could you uh uh say your name please and spell for the court
reporter? Sure. It's Matthew, M -A -T -T -H -E -W, McClure, M -C -C -L -U -R -E. I'm with the law firm
of Ballard Spar, 1735 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19103. I'm also here with Meredith
Trego, T -R -E -G -O, of the same address. Meredith, could you state your name too,
please, and spell for the court reporter?
Is she there?
She's probably elevating herself right now, Mr. Chairman.
Okay, thank you.
I only anticipate that I will be speaking today, though.
Okay, that's fine.
And I swore you already, right?
You do not, but I'm ready.
You're going to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Absolutely.
Okay, could you identify your client in relationship to the property?
Sure. Mr. Chairman, our client today is University City Science Center, as well as Wexford Science and Technology.
The Science Center is the owner of the property and co -developer, and Wexford Science and Technology is also the co -developer.
This is a series of projects that has been done in the Ute City area.
And with me today, I have four witnesses, if I may start.
Okay. Our vice chair just has a few questions for you.
sure good afternoon council do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its
accuracy mr vice chair i do thank you have you emailed all the required documents that are for
this for this case five days in advance to this hearing mr vice chair yes thank you mr mcclure
please share your screen and proceed
I'm about to share the screen in a second.
I'm trying to find the share screen button on the...
Green button at the bottom?
There it is. I'm sorry. I apologize.
Too much technology. Can you see that?
There you go.
Okay, Mr. Chairman, again, Matt McClure on behalf of Wexford and the Science Center.
With me today is Rod Voss, AIA.
He's with Ballinger. He's a principal. He's our architect.
Mr. James Gleaton, professional engineer. He's with David Mason Associates. He's our civil
engineer for the project. We have Michael Davidson, professional engineer. He's with
drive engineering. He's our transportation, traffic, and pedestrian engineer. Then Mr.
Pete Kramer with Wexford, as well as Mr. John Grady with Wexford. A little bit about the project
before I start. Mr. Chairman, it's a 910 ,000 square foot project, 17 stories, mixed -use
development that's going to be constructed in two phases. In the property that's along
Market Street to the north, south 38th to east, south 39th to the west, then Ludlow to the south.
It's going to have 513 ,000 square feet of R &D and office space, 31 ,000 square feet of ground floor
retail, 8 ,000 square feet of public rooms, a 1 ,000 square feet community room, and 780
above -grade structured parking spaces. This project will be really the southwest capstone
of the larger Wexford Science Center U -City Life Sciences Innovation District, which you will hear
Mr. Voss discuss today. It will be developed in two phases. Each one is going to be a separate
condominium unit under a land condominium and if you look at exhibits 7b and exhibit 12 of our
packet you will see that there is a lot consolidation permit this is now one lot
and then we have an amended referral and we will refer later on to the amended plans the only
change in the plans has been we previously were pursuing a unity use arrangement we have we've
abandoned that we have consolidated the two lots and then we're imposing a condominium regime so
is treated exactly the same for zoning purposes.
The request of relief is a special exception
for non -necessary parking garage.
The property is buy -write from a use
and dimensional perspective under the zoning code.
Regarding RCO outreach,
we were happy to hear that you heard
that the lead RCO, according to RCO,
the lead RCO, according to RCO, as well as the council persons in support.
as well as the council person is in support.
We've had a series of meetings going back really since last February.
And if you look at exhibit 17 of our packet, you will see that we've had these meetings starting back in last February of 2022.
Our official RCO meeting was on October 6, 2022.
And then obviously the non -opposition letter that came in, as well as I've pointed out to earlier non -opposition emails, which we received in Exhibits 18A and 18B of our packet.
We completed CDR successfully in one meeting on November 1st, 2022, and that was confirmed by a letter November 3 from the Planning Commission.
I have a list of exhibits, which you can either wave me reading into, but I would take note that we have exhibits one through 23 in the packet. Mr. Chairman, do you want me to go through and read them?
or? I think we can accept them. Thank you so much. So with that, Mr. Chairman, if it's okay,
a brief argument. As you know, a special exception is neither special nor exception.
It's a permitted use subject to having this hearing. That is why we're here today. The
applicant is obligated, however, to meet the requirements of 1460310 of the code, which is
The specific standards for above ground accessory parking standards, which we will provide testimony on that today, and we will show that we demonstrate our compliance, and otherwise the project is by right.
So with that, I would like to have your permission to elevate Mr. Rob Voss, V -O -S -S, of Ballinger as a panelist.
Mr. Voss, please raise your virtual hand.
He's coming back in now as a panelist here.
Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Administrator.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Good afternoon.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Yes, Rob Voss, spelled R -O -B, last name Voss, B as in Victor, O -S -S.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Voss, could you describe your educational background and work experience?
Certainly. I hold two degrees from a Catholic university in Washington, D .C.,
one for a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and one for a Bachelor of Architecture.
And have you testified before zoning boards in the past and been qualified as an expert in architecture?
Have you worked in a prior other mixed use life science projects across the country?
How about in Philadelphia?
I would like to exhibit, point to exhibit 22 of our book, which is the resume for Robert
I would like to offer Mr. Voss as an expert in architecture.
Okay, fine.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Voss, could you explain your role of the project?
Yes, I am the project director.
and could you um please describe the site location i'm going to point to exhibit 10a
and there's two exhibits here if you want me to scroll down but could you please describe the
site sure the site is located in an area in west philadelphia that is bounded by 38th street and
39th street on the east and west sides and ludlow street and market street on the north and south
could you briefly describe the existing use of the project of the property
Yeah, the existing use is a surface parking lot.
And could you please describe the proposed project specifically in relation to the surrounding UC development?
Certainly. I believe there is a slide to reference.
Thank you very much.
I'm pointing to 10B, Your Honor.
Okay, proceed.
The project in which we are discussing is the Western Most Project within the U -City Master Plan, and it is a life sciences building that is built in conjunction with and in support of the additional life science projects that exist within this area of Philadelphia.
Mr. Voss, and what zoning district is this in?
CMX 4.
Okay, I'm pointing to exhibit 9 of the packet.
Okay. Is the property surrounded by other CMX4 properties, Mr. Voss?
Yes, it is.
Are you familiar with the requirements for CMX4 zoning district and other zoning districts?
Are you familiar with the requirements for CMX4 Zoning District and other zoning code requirements for the project?
Could you walk us through the plans on Exhibit 11 and specifically talking about the above ground parking garage and how it functions?
I'm going to go to Exhibit 11 right now. If you don't mind, just ask me which exhibits to point to while we're going through your testimony.
Sure. The image on the screen is an image showing the massing of the project, shows the scale of the project relative to the neighboring existing development.
I would point out that it is set back from 38th Street in recognition of the width of that street.
If you go to the next plan, Exhibit 11B, the ground floor of the building is multiple uses,
primarily retail with a public room and loading.
Where is the loading?
The loading is located off of Ludlow Street in the south side of the building.
And the garage?
The garage entrance is off of 39th Street, where the green arrow is pointing.
The garage enters off of 39th on a ramp and brings you up to five floors of parking.
And we have some renderings around the building to show you how that parking is enclosed with
the facade.
this is a naturally ventilated garage so the garage does have perforations around the perimeter
but they're perforations that obscure any visibility of the structure behind
and where the garage is not perforated it is enclosed with a more traditional facade of
terracotta and glass curtain wall you see some images here of the nighttime views
but the records show that we are showing exhibit 11d which are the project renderings
and this image here uh shown on exhibit 11d is showing the pattern of that facade
on the garage that is perforated
and elevations of those of those areas here thank you mr boss um does the property cmx
for zoning district require parking spaces for the proposed use no are there any limit or cap
on the number of parking spaces that one may provide no is your understanding this parking
garage will serve not only this property, but the larger U -City project and neighboring properties
as well? Yes. Aside from the need for a special exception for the above ground garage, does the
proposed project require any other special exception or variance relief from the zoning
board? No. In your professional opinion, Mr. Voss, would the grant of the request a special
exception in any way cause a detrimental impact on the health, safety, and welfare of the
neighborhood, exceeding that which you would normally expect from the proposed use? No. Okay.
Will it cause overcrowding of the land? No. Will it impair adequate supply of light and air to
adjacent properties? No. Will it burden water, sewer, school, park, or other public facilities?
no will impair or permanently injure the use of adjacent conforming properties no will endanger
the public health safety or welfare no okay i have no further questions for mr voss unless
the board has any questions uh anyone on the board have a question no mr chairman
okay everybody's now i have a question for mr voss proceed
mr voss so the actual parkings looks like a lot most of the interest is all if can you go back to
that um photo council this one here no i believe it was 11 where you had the parking in the bike
parking where where they were entering yeah yes so what what exactly where's the exits coming out
What exactly, where's the exits coming out of the parking garage for the vehicles?
of the parking
Yeah, the entrance to the exit.
All on 39th Street.
So the exits and the entrance is coming off of 39th Street?
Correct.
Okay, so what about the congestion of cars going in and out on that busier street?
On 39th Street?
We're going to have our traffic engineer come and testify to that. But we have been obviously we submitted a traffic study and working with the streets department on that as well. But our traffic engineer will testify to that or I can have Mr. Voss answer the question.
I mean, it was designed. The code does encourage to have both ingress and egress in a single drive aisle coming out onto a principal street like this. They try to minimize the amount of curb cuts on the zoning code.
okay so do you want the architect to speak on that or mr voss mr voss if you would like to
try and address it but then i will also have the uh the engineer the traffic engineer testify as
well yeah i would prefer the traffic engineer address the technical issues associated with
the question okay okay all right so we're good you want to go to the traffic engineer next mr
mcclure uh you know i would like to go to i'm going to go to uh the professional engineer who's
going to talk about sight lines which are also addressed mr shaheed's comment and then also
traffic engineers so the testimony will be helpful for mr shaheed or at least i'm hopeful hopeful
that it will be okay thank you thank you thank you i'd like to elevate mr james gleaton
as a panelist. G -L -E -A -T -L -N.
Hi, sir. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
He's coming back in as a panelist now, Chair. Thank you.
Okay. Good afternoon, James. Hi. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court
reporter? James Gleaton, G -L -E -A -T -O -N. Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. Okay. Counsel, proceed. Sure. Mr. Gleaton, could you
please describe your educational background and work experience? Yes. University of Pittsburgh
graduate, civil engineering, master's degree in global energy management. I've been a professional
engineer in the state of pennsylvania since 2001 and for work experience i have done site line
design most recently for the cassidy school here in the city of philadelphia
for a school being constructed wonderful and have you testified before municipal boards
in pennsylvania in the past in zoning matters and been qualified as an expert in civil engineering
yes i have is your cv here on exhibit 21 of the zoning packet which is on the screen
yes it is okay i'd like to offer mr james gleaton as an expert civil engineer
and mr gleam did note his experience in designing site triangles for uh for garages and parking
facilities thank you he's a we admit that mr gleam could you explain your role in the proposed
development i'm the project manager for civil design uh are you um are you familiar with the
the use -specific standards contained in Section 1460310 of the Philadelphia Zoning Code for
Non -Accessory Above -Ground Parking Garages? Yes, I am. Okay. I'm referring to Exhibit 13.
Mr. Gleaton, is that that section I just referenced? Yes, it is. Okay.
And what was your role with the preparation of the plan prepared concerning sight lines for
vehicles exiting the parking garage on 39th Street. I'm going to refer to those two diagrams,
which I believe are relevant to Mr. Shahid's question, 16A and 16B. What was your role?
I was a supervisor engineer for another engineer who designed it at my firm.
Okay. And have you reviewed the plans shown on 16A and 16B? And are you familiar with the
details of the parking garage, including its internal design and details relating to ingress
and egress? Yes, I am. Have you visited the site? Yes, I have. Okay. Do you agree with the methodology
and the conclusions of this plan in 16A and 16B? Yes, I do. Could you explain what they show?
what shows uh they show if a car is coming out on 39th street um yes you're right there
that the driver is able to see um traffic along with pedestrians coming from both the left
traffic along with pedestrians coming from both the left and right side is needed and that's based
on the speed of the traffic which is regulated by the city and also the slope of the street which
is calculated by the engineers. Okay and how about 16B? What is 16B? Yes that is where I said where
you actually have the grade you actually show what the speed limit is and that gives you the
distance you can see, which would be the two numbers there, 148 and 145. And this is a pen
dot form that the state has you fill out or use? Yes. Okay. And in your professional opinion,
do proper sight lines for a driver exiting the parking garage exist across both sides of the
sidewalk such that the driver of a vehicle would be able to see pedestrians on the sidewalk adjacent
into the driveway before any part of the vehicle exits the garage yes i apologize for the long
winded question that is the exact language from the zoning code um um question for um for the
board if there's any specific questions for mr gleaton before i bring up the traffic engineer
any questions no mr chairman not not right now mr chair okay why don't we bring up the traffic
engineer mr chairman i'd like to elevate mr michael davidson thank you mr gleam please stay
online thank you mr davidson please unmute yourself and wait for the day
i could could could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
Michael Davidson, M -I -C -H -A -E -L -D -A -V -I -D -S -O -N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Mr. Davidson, can you turn on your camera?
Mr. Davidson, could you please describe your educational background and work experience?
I apologize.
eyes. I thought my camera's on. Don't worry about the camera. It's all right. Could you describe
your educational background and work experience? Yes, I have a Bachelor of Science degree in
Civil Engineering from Penn State University and a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering
from the University of Texas at Austin. I have a little over 15 years of experience
in traffic engineering, and I'm a registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania.
And you not only studied traffic congestion, you studied traffic engineering as well as the effect
on the streets as well as pedestrians, correct? Correct. And yeah, for over 15 years, I've been
performing traffic analysis, collecting traffic data. I've done this for multiple state departments
of transportation so you've worked for government agencies mr davidson yes i have okay and could
you refer i'm referring to exhibit 20 can you see that on on your screen mr davidson yes i can is
that your curriculum vitae yes it is i'd like to offer mr davidson as an expert in traffic engineering
mr chairman thank you that's fine thank you could you explain your your role in the proposed development
yes i'm the traffic engineer for the project okay and are you familiar with the use specific
standards contained in section 14 16 14 603 10 of the zoning code for non -necessary above
ground parking garages yes i am okay i'm referring to exhibit 13s on the screen is that that section
yes it is okay and what is your role in the preparation
in this project did you prepare a traffic study yes i prepared the transportation impact study
report i performed traffic analysis and i oversaw all work performed by others for the study
and there's a study not only the impact on vehicle traffic but also on pedestrian traffic correct
Yes, he incorporated pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
Excellent. And you studied both the impact. You studied 39th Street and 38th Street, as well as Ludlow and Market Street, correct?
Correct.
Okay. I'm going to refer to Exhibit 14, which is the TIS.
Okay, I'm bringing up the screen. Can you tell us more about the study area that was used for the traffic study on Exhibit 14? I'm going to move down to page two of your report, okay?
Yep, so prior to beginning work on the study.
Yep. So prior to beginning work on the study, we met with PennDOT District 6 in the City of Philadelphia just to coordinate on the scope of work for the study.
And we came to a consensus on the study intersections that would be included and that is shown on the map that's on the screen.
The intersections highlighted with the green dot are signalized intersections, and the red dots signify unsignalized intersections.
And so it was eight intersections surrounding the proposed development.
Okay. And can you tell us a little bit about the existing conditions, though, when it comes to the level of service in those areas?
Sure. Obviously, this is an urban core area with a considerable amount of pedestrian and bicycle traffic in addition to the vehicular traffic.
There are several different public transportation options in the area, including SEPTA bus lines
and SEPTA subway line, the station located at 40th and Market Street.
After we performed the existing conditions analysis, we found that there is some congestion
at the study intersections, but it is an acceptable amount of congestion.
And the acceptable amount of congestion is determined by the the ITE manual, International Traffic Engineering Manual.
Yeah, so correct. And there's what we call level of service in the traffic engineering world to simplify traffic conditions at an intersection.
And it's a letter grade from A to F. A signifies best operations and F signifies the worst operations.
And what we found is, for the existing conditions, each intersection operates at a level of service C or better.
Okay. Do the traffic impact study incorporate other developments existing or proposed within the vicinity of the project when doing not only figuring out what the current conditions are, but what the proposed will be and the likely impact when this project comes online with the other projects?
And I'm going to refer to page three of Exhibit 14.
Yes, we incorporated traffic due to the development of the other pieces of the U -City Square Master Plan.
We also incorporated traffic associated with the new parking garage that's being constructed to serve the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
In addition to that, PennDOT publishes growth rates to account for any unforeseen growth in traffic, and we incorporated those growth rates into our future analysis.
Okay. Anything else that you want to talk about the methodology that you use for analyzing the traffic information for the study?
Sure. So we collected traffic data on Tuesday, April 5th, 2022.
And how do you do that?
We deployed cameras that recorded traffic from 6 to 9 a .m. and 3 to 6 p .m.
And then after the cameras were done recording, we processed that data, and we got vehicular turning movement counts, bicycle turning movement counts, and pedestrian crossings at each of the study intersections.
And that was April 2022?
Correct, April 5, 2022.
So schools were operating in April 2022, as well as the neighboring universities?
correct okay go on mr go on mr davidson sure so we use that data along with intersection
specific information such as traffic signal timings and we analyze the am and pm peak hours
for existing conditions and future conditions we incorporated the future traffic from the
other developments that we just talked about. And in addition, we forecasted future trips
associated with the proposed development. That's the subject of the study. And we used
standard traffic engineering software to perform the analysis.
perform the analysis. Could you explain how the project will impact the level of service
Could you explain how the project will
at the intersections within the study area? And those are the ones that were shown in the
beginning of the TIS and 14. And could you refer to the chart that's on page four of existing 14,
which I believe is your summary of both the existing conditions and the resulting conditions,
correct? Correct. So, in total, we analyzed five different scenarios, the existing conditions.
I apologize, four scenarios. The existing conditions, the two different opening years
of the two phases, and then a design horizon year of 2032. So, in that design horizon year,
all but one intersection operates at level of service with and without the development.
So what we did was we forecasted future traffic conditions with the development constructed
and without, and we compared the two results. The one intersection where the level of service
does change is at 38th Street and Market Street, and that changes during the PM peak hour from a
level of service c to a level of service d um so while that does change from a c to a d
it is within the acceptable thresholds as defined by the pendot standards and in addition it is
would not be considered an unacceptable level of congestion thank you and mr davison the board
had a specific question regarding the entrance and exit on 39th Street, both having the same
point being an ingress and egress point and the driveway. Could you talk a little bit about how
you believe that will operate and how you can validate your conclusions? Sure. So we did
considered the existing traffic into and out of the surface parking lot. So we did incorporate
that traffic. We grew that traffic in accordance with the PennDOT background growth rate. Now we
added the additional trips that we forecasted due to the proposed development and the other
developments in the area. And then we performed the analysis. We also
used some of the PennDOTS tools to analyze whether or not that proposed driveway intersection
would warrant separate turning lanes on 39th Street, and they would not be warranted. And
And as you can see, they operate, the intersection operates fairly well at level of service A in the design horizon year of 2032.
And do you believe that the existing of that driveway will not have a negative, a material negative impact on South 39th Street?
Does the traffic impact study propose any improvements to the study area?
and I'm referring to page four of the TIS. Yes, so in conjunction with our coordination
with PennDOT and the city, we propose to upgrade the curb ramps at two of the study intersections
in upgrading to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards. We also propose to increase
increase the traffic signal cycle length at the intersection of 39th Street and Market Street, which is at the northwest corner of the proposed development site.
And that increase in the traffic signal cycle length will provide more green time to left turning vehicles traveling westbound on Market Street and progressing on to southbound 39th Street.
Thank you. I'm going to read to you the question, but it comes from the zoning code.
In your professional opinion, will the project materially degrade the level of service at any signalized intersection within 400 feet of the project during any 15 -minute period between 7 .30 a .m. and 9 .30 a .m. and 4 .00 p .m. and 6 .00 p .m. to an unacceptable level of congestion as determined by professional engineering standards?
okay and so you believe that in a high high degree of certainty professional certainty yes
mr davis mr davis i guess i have one question uh so when you took the uh traffic
So when you took the traffic numbers into account, there is another curve cut along that block.
Am I correct?
I'm sorry.
Can you be more specific as to which curve cut?
yeah so on on the 3900 block uh between chestnut and market there should be another curve cut
along that block at the at the boston market
trying to get a plan mr shaheed one second
here's the 39th block i'm pointing to exhibit 10a
mr shaheed the the curb cut that you're talking about is on the the block of the south
yes okay here
yes that was not within the scope of the transportation impact study
and i think but i actually think yeah
so i thought the presenter before you said in the study it was from uh from chestnut
to market um in that study of the traffic that was going in and out of the streets
along with the bike controlled traffics with pedestrians
we did analyze one intersection on chestnut street the intersection of 38th street and chestnut street
mr if maybe if i can ask a question of mr davison i think can get to your to your point i i think
If I may, Mr. Shahid, Mr. Davison, I think Mr. Shahid is saying there is an existing curb cut at Boston Market between Ludlow and Chestnut.
And I think what you said is you did not study that specific curb cut, but have you studied that length of street and are you comfortable to believe that the garage that you're putting on 39th Street will not adversely impact either that driveway or the operations of 39th Street in general?
we studied 39th street ludlow street and it will not um you know materially degrade
operations at that intersection we did not specifically study the curb cut that's located
on 39th street between uh ludlow street and chestnut street so i cannot speak to that
curb cut specifically understood which way does 39th street go
north south goes from goes from north to south so you you have studied the intersection
and the traffic at ludlow and 39th street correct correct how is that intersection operating today
39th and ludlow operates at a level of service a for both the a .m. and p .m. peak hours okay
And how did you take into account the level of service of that intersection?
For existing conditions, we incorporated the vehicle turning movement counts, pedestrian traffic at the intersection, and bicycle traffic, along with other intersection -specific information to perform the analysis.
And you predicted traffic based upon peak periods, right?
Correct.
And when are peak periods?
Specifically for this study, the peak hour was...
7 .45 a .m. to 8 .45 a .m. and 4 .30 p .m. to 5 .30 p .m.
Rush hour, right? Rush hour in the morning and rush hour in the evening, correct?
Correct.
Okay. So as a traffic engineer, do you believe that there will be a confluence,
a high degree of likelihood of confluence between the peak period traffic generated by the business community in the area that will be using 39th Street?
generated by the business community in the area that will be using 39th street
and or this garage and the peak periods affiliated with the boston market
and you're yes it would be reasonable to assume they're coincide well when would you think the
when do you think the the uh wouldn't wouldn't the peak periods of a restaurant be later in
the evening or on weekends or i assume no one's going to boston market in the morning
correct correct so they would they coincide where they would not coincide
there could be some uh traffic of from people driving home from work
or but in general it would be on the later end of the peak rush hour and probably after
after that rush hour of commuters okay so let me ask you another question do parking garages
generate trips no they do not what's what generates trips the actual land use that's
building that's being constructed is it true that this garage is not only anticipated to serve
the proposed building but also other buildings that exist in the area currently and in the future
do you believe the traffic generated by this project in any way will impact
i know you haven't studied the intersection but will impact
the boston market in any material way
no okay and stated it differently as part of this project
i mean i mean this is too more to the point as part of this project
this project will have to continue to work with the streets department to ensure that there is
not a negative impact on the area to the south while going through the building permit process
correct yes that's correct okay mr shaheed did i answer the uh mr davidson answer your question
yes mr maglore and thank you mr davidson yeah thank you sorry to go through that long thing
a long uh recitation we wanted to give you a solid answer okay is there anyone else has
questions for the traffic engineer no mr chairman
mr mcclure how about your next witness uh mr chairman i think you'll be glad to hear that
i have no further witnesses well thank you very much any other questions from the board
no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands chair thank you planning commission good afternoon chair bergman
david facto f -e -c -t -e -a -u with the city planning commission do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes sir i do proceed thank you sir uh good
afternoon chair and members of the board uh this proposal completed its civic design review in
november of 2022 the committee noted that the proposed number of parking spaces seems to be
excessive given the type of building it is proposed to serve the civic design review committee
is advisory and issues recommendations that are not an expression of the city planning commission's
recommendation or opinions regarding zoning variances, special exceptions, or other discretionary
approvals. The comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning at this location to commercial
mixed use five, even with the proposed zoning and above ground parking garage would require a special
exception. The applicant has shown that the proposed above ground parking garage will have
no more of an impact than such a structure would be expected to have. And so the city planning
commission recommends the board grant the special exception thank you mi 2022 -004 -831 -3816
market street i vote yes
per amended refusal
dated 1 -11 -23.
I vote yes
per amended refusal
dated 1 -11 -23.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair.
Excuse me.
Sorry.
Something's happening with feedback.
I believe the refusal is dated
1 -11 -23.
That was my error.
Sorry about that.
I vote yes
per amended refusal
dated 1 -11 -23.
Thomas Holliman, my vote is yes with Proviso.
James Snell, my vote is yes with Proviso, good luck with that project.
We're in love with that project.
Ishmael Shahid.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you, Mr. McClure.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And just one last request, if Exhibit 4B, which is the amended plan, be stamped as well.
Yes, it will be.
Is that Hillary?
We're all fine with that?
I did not receive a proviso form or amended plans to review.
so that I would need to review
and the board would need to re -vote this
if you need a plan stamped.
If I may just correct,
we did not do the proviso way.
What we did was we've had the amended refusal
so it is based upon the plan that's in front of you.
Okay, then you do not need the plan stamped
since the refusal reflects the current plans.
Correct.
That is fine.
I'm just making sure we're on the same page.
Yep, you're good.
You're good.
Thank you, Celestia Emerson.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Number three.
Thank you, Mr. McGlore.
Thank you.
004 -812 -140 West Roosevelt Boulevard.
Rachel Pritzker, Brandon Saverin are the attorneys.
Letter of non -opposition from Council Member Lozada.
Letter from nearby church stating they would enter into an agreement with applicant for parking.
And letter of non -opposition from Masperanza.
Chair, Brandon Saverin is coming back.
New Year, temporary special exception.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, Brandon.
Please state your name and spell for the court reporter, please.
Brandon Saverin, that's B -R -A -N -D -O -N.
S as in Sam, A as in Victor, R -A -N as in Nancy.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Could you identify your client and relationship to the property?
Yes. Give me one moment. I'm so sorry. The name of the entity is...
Milan Investments?
It is. Yes, that is right. Thank you. Milan Investments, LLC. And that's my client. They're the owner of the property.
All right. And Mr. Shahid has a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his acquiesce?
Yes, I do.
Have you emailed all the required documents to proceed with this case five days in advance to this hearing?
Yes, I did.
Thank you. Please proceed and share the screen.
Okay, thank you.
good afternoon members of the board so before you is an application for a special exception
not for a variance as you heard from Mr. Fecto in the last case essentially the sort of summary
of the standard for granting a special exception is whether the proposed use would have negative
impacts that are greater than one would expect from the proposed use. And our position is no,
that the impacts of this use are in line with what one would expect from it. Just to give you
an idea of the property we're talking about, it's on the south side of West Roosevelt Boulevard
at the three -way intersection with Rockland and Masher Streets. This is a building that was a
Korean church until it was sold a few years ago and abandoned by the congregation. This is a
Google Street View view of it from Roosevelt Boulevard. It has sort of like a driveway loop
off of the local lanes of the boulevard. It's next to a auto body and car maintenance shop
that's on the corner. This is a view of the building from the rear. There again is that
auto maintenance shop, and there's the rear of the former church building. On the other side of
the street here, this is Rockland Street, and the rear is a church, which is going to be relevant to
this case. I'll talk about that in a minute, but just wanted to show you that's directly across
the rear from us. So here is our notice of referral. Again, this is not a variance case,
says there's no refusals. The referral is for assembly and entertainment use with the sub
type of use being nightclub and private club. Now that sounds a little ominous. I want to be
crystal clear about why we applied under that category and what the property owner actually
wants to do with the property. Just to show you a section of the Philadelphia code here,
what this says is that if you as a property owner want permission to
What this says is that if you as a property owner want permission to regularly have 50 or more people attend an event in your facility or have live music, you must apply under the name nightclub and private club, even if it's not a late night facility, which our facility will not be.
And the code is really crystal clear about that in that it calls out banquet halls, which is a decent summary of what we're going to be as a type of use that must apply under that name.
So that's what we did.
I'll just briefly show you, as the chairman mentioned, we have non -opposition from both the coordinating RCO and Councilwoman Lozada.
The coordinating RCO is Esperanza Housing and Development and Economic Development, pardon me.
And Esperanza has proposed that the board grant a special exception that expires approximately three years after issuance.
We had a couple meetings with them and have agreed to that request if you're inclined to grant it as such.
um so um angie milan and her company milan investments is the owner of the property
but the property is going to be leased to the dominican american chamber of commerce
and as the prospective tenant the chamber has offered a letter to the board which is
an exhibit my exhibit packet and is on the screen here that explains what they plan to do with the
property. So they're going to have sort of like satellite offices inside, and they're going to
hold events that require greater in -person visitation than their current office can
accommodate. So they've described those events here as professional networking, business networking,
workshops, conferences, member events. They've made promises to the RCO that if they do become
the tenant that they will have a security system. And in the event, which would not be more than I
would think a couple times a month, but in the event that they would have particularly large
events or events that run past 10 p .m., they would have human security guards on both sides
of the premises, which is spoken to here. Back to that church that I showed you on the rear of
the property. So we, in coordination with the RCO, wanted to secure a lease for off -site parking
because this property, while it has a driveway drop -off loop, it does not have parking. And we
thought it was important to have parking. So that church that I showed you, Tabor Lutheran Church,
has agreed in concept, if we get this special exception, to sign a lease for their parking lot.
And I'll go back to Google and just show you where that parking lot is.
So again, here's the rear of our building.
Here is the church.
And then around the corner on Masher Street, right here, is their parking lot.
So this would be available to guests.
I also wanted to show you the tentative floor plans.
We're not asking you to stamp these plans as this is a change of use application.
But would we get your approval for the use? We would pursue a building permit in accordance with these floor plans.
And essentially, the space is already pretty well configured for, you know, events given that the church used it for events, the Korean church.
But what we have here is this is sort of the upper floor, which is level with the Roosevelt Boulevard drop off.
There's a main auditorium space that actually has a stage, and we would, I believe, maintain that.
There's a warming kitchen. This is not a cooking kitchen in the rear.
That's why we're not applying for restaurant use.
And then there's a sort of side room that can be used either as like a lobby for folks entering events off of the main entrance or as a second gathering space.
This also has some bathrooms.
And then there's a lower level that is level with the Rockland Street side.
This is a smaller space that can be used as like a coat room or storage or something like that, or as another small gathering space.
It has additional bathrooms. So I think there's there's an excess of a half dozen toilets here.
And that is my presentation. I'd like to bring on Angie Milan in a moment. I will just say to conclude, to speak to the special exception standards, that as I showed you, most of the surroundings of the property are non -residential.
That, as I showed you, most of the surroundings of the property are non -residential.
We're not proposing an expansion of the building.
We're going to reuse it in its current format, no additions.
And given that we have the drop -off loop and the parking arranged with the church, we don't
feel that this application would have negative effects on the surroundings, whether by traffic,
by blocking light or air, any of the standards that the code says an applicant must avoid,
we think we are avoiding all of those negative effects. So with that, I'd like to ask if
Angie Milan could raise her hand and be promoted.
Did we see her hand?
Yes, I see her.
Hi, could you speak your name?
Can you please unmute yourself and wait for the chair?
State your name, please.
can you can you unmute yourself you might be on mute
she's been unmuted hi could you state your name and spell for a court reporter
miss malad
counselor you're an officer of the court we will take your testimony questions from the board
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
Hi, Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chair Bergman and Board Members.
David Fechtow with the City Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the commercial mixed -use zoning at this location.
the applicant has shown that the proposed assembly and entertainment will have no more of an impact
than such a use would be expected to have the city planning commission recommends the board grant the
special exception for assembly and entertainment thank you um mi 2022 mi 2022 004 812 140 west
roosevelt boulevard i vote yes for temporary special exception to expire 2 -1 -26
thomas holliman my vote is yes with proviso
james snell my vote is yes with proviso
my vote is yes we're proviso thank you council thank you all right number six MI 2022 004 811
6027 to 29 vine street henry clinton is the attorney recommendation of support from
hmc square community association mr clinton is coming back and is a panelist now chair
good afternoon mr chairman members of the board council you've already been sworn today could
you just state your name for the record henry clinton c -l -i -n -t -o -n and who could you identify
your client in relationship to the property sure my client is brian phillips he's the owner of the
property, and he is on the call. Okay. Ishmael Shahid has just a few questions for you.
Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to
his accuracy? I do. Have you emailed all of the required documents that were needed
for this here in five days in advance of today? Yes, we have. Thank you. Please proceed to share
your screen thank you mr she is that visible mr chairman it is that's fine uh good afternoon
henry clinton again for the applicant brian phillips concerning 60 27 and 29 vine street
this is the presentation package uh containing exhibits aa through a10 which i asked to be
admitted into the record. Refusal. This property is on a corner. It's zoned CMX1, but because of
the strict reading of the code, it indicates that if a CMX1 property or any property is abuts an
RSA5 zoning district, then the more restrictive of the zoning code, which is RSA5, what a
then the more restrictive of the zoning code, which is RSA -5, would apply.
Historically, this has been a commercial property since the 30s.
It housed a club as well as an office, and I have those records to show you at the end of my presentation.
As the chairman mentioned, we do have a letter of support from the RCO, HMC Squared Community Association.
and they've even given a letter of rationale as to why
that we have unique physical circumstances.
We have physical conditions that do not permit the strict conformity
with the zoning code and that the use will not alter the essential character
of the neighborhood or permanently impair the appropriate use
or development of any adjacent properties.
Some aerial photographs to give the board some perspective.
These are the properties at the corner.
As you get a closer view, you can see they once were a commercial use.
Again, there used to be a club on the first floor.
And as I understand it, office is on the second floor.
I've not been able to find out how long it's been vacant,
but it certainly seems like it's been vacant for quite a long time.
And the neighbors in the neighborhood are happy that someone's going to
basically revitalize this corner.
This is another photograph just looking down the other side of the building.
A close -up indicating the...
So basically, these are the plans. We're not going to enlarge the footprint.
We're not going to increase the height. We're going to restore the cornice. It is a nice cornice
area as well as the bay and do some brickwork on the side of the building.
and then on the front of the building again we're going to try to restore the facade to a certain
point and then in terms of the floor plan again mr chairman we're not changing the footprint
whatsoever the basement will have house the mechanicals on the first floor will be commercial
space still stay as commercial space right now it's vacant we don't really have a particular use
for it. We've been soliciting from the neighborhood and from the community group to try to get
perhaps a local business, maybe retail. But again, if that happens, we may have to come back to the
board for a use certificate. Pretty simple on the second floor of the corner property, which is the
larger of the two. We're going to have three bedrooms, kitchen, bath. And then on the other
property, which has a smaller footprint. It would be a two -bedroom setup with two bathrooms.
What I wanted to do, Mr. Chairman, is move to the end of the presentation
and show you the historical use of these buildings. And here it is, the zoning map.
Again, here's the corner, CMX1 surrounded by RSA5. And as the board knows, the CMX1 designation,
were not next to RSA5, would permit commercial on the first and at least one unit above.
These are the other typical documents you would see in a zoning presentation.
This is 1627 and 29 Vine Street.
You can see that at one point it was a club on the first floor, sealed off, and then offices on the second floor.
This is from 1976. And we even went back further to find in 1974, the same thing, offices and a club. And then we went back further to 1939. Back then it was a store and then a one family above.
So we're basically asking the board to revitalize the former use of that corner property and permit commercial on the first with residential above.
It will not impair the lighter air of any adjacent property.
It's in harmony with what the neighborhood wants.
We are not asking for any relief with regard to height, open space, or rear yard.
Again, we're keeping the same footprint, and we believe that this is not detrimental to the public health.
And with that, Mr. Chairman, I rest and ask my client to unmute himself and ask him to adopt my testimony,
and we'll entertain any questions that the board may have.
Thank you.
What's your client's name again?
Brian Phillips.
Mr. Phillips, can you unmute yourself by raising your hand?
Mr. Phillips, can you please unmute yourself and wait for the chair?
Yes. Mr. Phillips, can you please unmute yourself and wait for the chair?
Mr. Phillips, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Brian Phillips, B -R -I -A -N -P -H -I -L -L -I -P -S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Proceed, counsel.
Mr. Phillips, were you on the call when I just presented the project that you intend to have constructed?
if you had the opportunity to testify would you adopt my testimony as yours and as true and
correct yes thank you mr phillips all right questions from the board
no mr chairman no mr chairman no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands chair my planning commission thank you chair bergman and board members
David Fecto, City Planning Commission. The comprehensive plan recommends no change in
the commercial mixed use zoning at this location. This property was built with commercial units on
the ground floor. The applicant has shown that the CMX1 zoning, which picks up the restrictions
of the adjacent single -family zoning, creates a clear hardship that would prevent the viable
use of this property. The City Planning Commission recommends the board grant the use variance for
two commercial units. Thank you. MI 2022, 004 -811, 6027 -29 Vine Street, I vote yes.
I vote yes. Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes. James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes. Thank you. Mr. Clinton, please stay on.
Will do. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Number eight, MI -2022 -004 -800 -2638 North 11th Street.
Recommendation of support from the 37th Ward.
Could you identify your client in relationship to the property?
My client is Rafi, R -A -F -I, Bulk, B -A -L -K, and he's on the call.
All right.
Our vice chair, Mr. Shahid, has a couple of questions for you.
do you agree do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy
i do have you emailed all the exhibits that were required to hear this case five days in advance
to this hearing i have thank you mr clinton please proceed and share your screen thank you
Mr. Shahid. Good afternoon again, Mr. Chairman. Henry Clinton on behalf of the applicant and
principal, Rafi Bulk. This is my presentation package, which contains exhibits AA through
A10, and I have some zoning records that I'll show you at the end of the presentation.
the refusal uh because we are in an overlay district uh there's a restrictive use on how
many square feet you're allowed if you're going to have apartments in this multi -family building
so our request is for three units based on the calculations we're about 150 square feet
on lat size off a bi -right designation for a three -family unit.
If we were under the typical RM1 zoning district,
we would only need 1 ,085 square feet for the three -family dwelling,
and the requirement is 1 ,120.
But historically on this block, and I'll show you from photographs
and from zoning approvals, there are five triplexes already on the block.
uh and there are two that were approved by the board within a year uh a year and a half i believe
was march of 2022 and i actually was the attorney for one of the applicants in that situation and
i'll show the board that as i walk through this presentation uh so we did meet with the 37th ward
and they voted overwhelmingly in support of this application
uh these are photographs of the block uh north 11th street looking west uh there are five
triplexes right here five three family uh 2630 2632 has been approved for three family and we're
asking for a similar designation down toward the end of the block again there's some vacant lots
on this block remain and perhaps the community group was was trying to again continue to spur
development and then across the street there's a school so it has a real commercial look
And then across the street, there's a school. So it has a real commercial look across the street, not necessarily a single family block.
This is looking south on 11th Street. This is a church toward the end of the block. And this is a parking lot across the street.
This is a view looking north of the existing five free family dwellings.
is our zoning notice again indicating vacant lots on the northern part of this particular block
and these are the zoning plans zoning z1 again it's a rather large lot it's 70 feet deep we don't
have any issues with rear yard or open space and we're not asking for any relief with regard to
height we're asking for what some would consider a diminuous variation from the overlay requirements
uh the community group like the the look of the brick on the front as well as the as the windows
bringing light and air into the property uh this is the floor plan for the dwelling basically the
first floor and basement will be one unit and just want to point out to the board we do have a
separate trash closet for each unit. The second unit would be the second floor, about 650 square
feet, and that would have two bedrooms with one bath and a galley kitchen. And then on the third
floor, again, it would be a two -bedroom, almost a mirror of the second floor with one bath and again
a designated trashy area and the third floor would have access to a rooftop deck we consider
this proposal uh in line with the majority of the block being that there's already five and
will be two additional triplexes on the block bringing seven on the west side of that street
and on the east side of the block it's taken up mainly by the hope partnership school
we've had the continuing support of the community group. We're not impacting later air of any
adjacent properties. We are also not detrimental to the public welfare of this project as approved.
We believe that's a unique physical circumstance because of a large lot and because of the
existing composition of other homes on the block that this three -story, three -family
property will fit in with the block and in with the wants and needs of the community.
With that, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to rest my case and ask my client to unmute himself,
adopt my testimony, and take any questions that maybe the board or any members of the audience
may have. What's your client's name again? Mr. Bulk, B -A -L -K. Mr. Bulk, please unmute yourself
We'll wait for the chair.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Yes, my name is Rosalyn Balk, R -U -S -L -A -N -B -A -L -K.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Mr. Balk, were you on the call when I presented your project?
Yes, Hank, yes.
If you had the opportunity to testify, would you adopt my testimony as your own and as true and correct?
Thank you, Mr. Ball.
Questions from the board?
Yes or no, Mr. Chairman.
Questions and comments from the virtual audience?
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chair Bergman and board members.
David Fexto, City Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning at this location.
the residential single family since the neighborhood has not been rezoned since 1933
we will base our recommendation on the current multi -family zoning there is no unique physical
condition of this 1101 square foot lot that would prevent it from being used in conformance with the
zoning code the applicant has not shown that the three units planned is the minimum needed to
provide relief from the zoning code and so the city planning commission recommended the board
to neither request the case variance.
Clint, do you want to respond?
Just because of the nature of the block,
the comprehensive plan is changing,
but we applied prior to any change,
and certainly it hasn't changed yet.
And it's basically mirroring the other uses on the block.
Seven properties on that west side of 11th Street
are already multifamily.
the community group saw that
and I believe want to make
that block multifamily
um multi -family i can't speak for them i can only relate as to what i understood and they're
I can't speak for them
I can only relate as to what I
certainly an overwhelming support of this use okay thank you mi2022 004 800 2638 north 11 street
i vote yes thomas holliman my vote is no
james snell my vote is yes ishmael shaheed my vote is yes thank you counsel number nine
thank you mr chairman okay mi 2022 004 844 2003 south 70 joseph vaquero is the attorney
letter of support from the 7th street community civic association with the proviso use of
basement limited to storage trash and mechanicals letter of non -opposition from councilman squilla
mr vaccaro can you please raise your virtual hands
he's coming back in as a panelist now
good afternoon can you see me i can could you state your name please and spell for the court
reporter good afternoon joseph vaccaro v -a -c -c -a -r -o attorney for the applicant stephen
lozzo okay do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
Yes, I do.
Our vice chair has just a few questions for you, sir.
Thank you.
Good afternoon.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy?
Yes, I do.
Have you emailed all the required documents to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, I did.
with the with the exception of i'm sorry um uh last week my client was still having some
difficulty obtaining the tax clearance certificate but we did check and there were no outstanding
taxes on this property but we still don't have the formal uh tax clearance certificate
um i think we might we may have it already um please proceed and share your screen
sure thank you very much
Mr. Loazzo had purchased the property in 2020, September 18th of 2020, and he had purchased it as a duplex.
By way of history, this property was converted into a duplex some 20 years ago as two apartments, a first -floor apartment and a two -floor apartment consisting of the second and third floors.
Mr. Loiseau had purchased the property on September of 2020.
He made approximately $120 ,000 worth of renovations to it.
If I could show you the photographs.
Can you see the photographs of the apartment?
Not yet.
can you see that now yes okay so here's the first floor apartment
kitchen bathroom
living spaces
and then we have the second floor apartment here's the back
so they're very similar apartments except for again the the second and third floor
the second and third floor being one apartment and then there being a another apartment on the
first floor uh the reason for the refusal is that this was cmx2 and uh with this cmx2 there was a
commercial use required on the first floor but this building has been used in this fashion
for a very very long time and that's why the rco took that into account and gave us
the support. By way of history, there was also some neighboring properties at 2007
and 2005. The two immediate properties next to this one are in similar circumstances
and also 2013. And it's our understanding that all three of those properties had obtained
those variances. I could just show you the poster on the building.
i could just show you the poster on the building
can't seem to locate that but i put the poster up on the building right before christmas
um at this point i would like to promote stephen lozo the owner of the of the property
don't worry do we have proof of posting
yes we are all set thank you thank you yes it wasn't provided thank you i'm sorry i just
couldn't hear i just said it was provided mr vicaro you're all set okay thank you
at this point i would just like to promote mr loiseau
Mr. Wiseau please unmute yourself and wait for the chair
I could you please
I apologize thank you
Sure could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
Yes Stephen Loasso
S -T -E -P -H -E -N
Space L -O -I -S -E -A -U
Right do you swear or affirm
Tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
Proceed counsel
Thank you Mr. Wiseau
have you heard my presentation to the board it was a bit saggy but yes i'm sorry the sound wasn't
wasn't too good um on my end not your end but yes okay i'm sorry so uh you bought the building
in 2020 and you bought it in this con under these circumstances with the first floor apartment and a
two -floor apartment consisting of the second and third floors correct okay and it's your
understanding that this building has been like that for a very long time at least 20 years at
least correct and um what did you what did you do to the building after you bought it i um put in
um updates to both of the units um consisting of a large amount of capital expenditures for flooring
meaning um utilities and pretty much everything inside added in central air
okay um Mr. Lazo uh do you have anything else to add um nothing at the time okay and you certainly
didn't subdivide this building correct no okay thank you did he adopt your testimony Mr. Vaccaro
he he said that he said that my testimony was a little didn't come in too clearly
on this okay fine thank you all right questions from the board no mr chairman
no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands chair by planning commission thank you chair bergman members of the board
david vector with the city planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning
at this location to residential multi -family under that zoning the proposed use as a duplex
would be allowed the city planning commission recommends the board grant the proposed variance
for two dwelling units thank you mi 2022 004 844 2003 7th street i vote yes with proviso use of
basement limited to storage trash and mechanicals thomas halliman my vote is yes with proviso
James Snell, my vote is yes
with proviso
Mr. Mel Shaheed, my vote is yes with proviso
Thank you, counsel
Thank you, that concludes my business
Thank you, thank you very much
Number 10, MI
004 -859
Brandywine Street
Brian Anastasio is the attorney
Letter of support from Spring Garden
civic association
mr anastasio can you raise your hand
he's coming back in as a panelist now
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members of the board.
Hi, could you state your name and spell, please, for the court reporter?
It's Vern, V -E -R -N, Anastasio, A -N -A -S -T -A -S -I -O, 2016 Spruce, Philadelphia, 19103.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm, tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client in relationship to the property?
Yep, I represent Mr. Jafar Malecki, who is the...
Yep, I represent Mr. Jafar Malecki, who is the owner of the property.
All right, and our vice chair has just a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel.
Good afternoon, sir.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy?
Have you emailed all the documents required to hear this case five days in advance to this hearing?
I have. Thank you. Please proceed and show your screen.
Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. 2001 Brandywine Street is a property. It's a corner property where we're looking to legalize a four -family dwelling. This is the property in question.
for a very long time. This property was two separate commercial spaces. The commercial
spaces, the commercial tenants, the commercial activity there was, to say the least, not
welcomed by the neighbors. They longed for the day where this would become a commercial property.
So as you can see here is the first floor door.
We have a door on the side here that goes upstairs.
Here, here's the plans.
Here's the ground floor level by Unit 1A.
In the front, it's 453 square foot, one bedroom apartment.
It is already divided interior -wise with a load -bearing wall.
So there is one small would be one small studio in the rear of 290 square feet.
We have an existing third unit, which is approximately 600 square feet. That's two bedrooms.
And see if I could zoom out here.
And here's the here's the existing second unit, which I skipped, which also is about 575 square feet.
Again, it's a two bedroom unit and it exists currently.
We met on several a couple of occasions with the Spring Garden Neighbors Association, Patricia Freeman and her committee.
we entered into a community benefits agreement that the RCO has asked us to make some upgrades
to the exterior of the property. We have no problem doing so. Here's the interior as it
exists. Here are proof of separate meters, water heaters, electric meters, separate gas meters.
photos of the upstairs units.
Here we are with an aerial again right on the corner on what is primarily a residential
There is one commercial space across the street.
Also included in my exhibit packet is the deed, the actual application for appeal.
We have the letter that was sent out to all interested parties.
Total 128 individual households was mailed.
Under separate cover, I've already sent a proof of posting and a tax clearance good until the end of February.
We do have the support, the unanimous support of the immediate neighbors.
My client has demonstrated that he'll be lighting up the property at night.
and also adhering to a trash plan that was satisfactory to the community.
Mr. Anastasio, this is Hillary. Can you show the tax clearance because I don't have a record
that we received it. Can you pull it up on the screen please? Thank you.
what i'm going to do is stop sharing what i have here and then i'll share the tax clearance
it came in kind of late and we can already see it yep we saw you saw already yep yep
oh cool thank you i didn't know you could just resend that that would be great it didn't come
through for some reason. No worries. Yep. Yep. Thank you. So with that, because of the history
of the property, because it's a primarily residential neighborhood that the neighbors
a primarily residential neighborhood that the neighbors would like to see the property be fully
would like to see the property be.
residential because we've entered into a community benefits agreement with the spring garden folks
to upgrade and maintain what's there and to make it better i respectfully request the granting of
this variance and with that i'd like mr jafar malecki to raise his hand and be recognized
do we see his hand
he did text me that he's on first name is jafar j -a -f -a -r last name m -a -l -e -k -i
uh i see no one by that name with their hand up
Okay, so, Vern, you're an officer of the court. Your testimony's fine.
Thank you.
Vern, one question. The Supreme Garden Civic Associate, what was the vote?
It was unanimous, and I believe there's somebody here.
Patricia Freeman did say that someone from their group was going to vote.
Okay, thank you. Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
questions or comments from the virtual audience
chair we have justino navarro mr navarro you can mute yourself and wait for the chair
uh good afternoon could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
justino navarro j -u -s -t -i -n -o -n -a -v -a -r -r -r -a
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members of the board.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, sir.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members of the board.
My name is Justino, and I just wanted to comment and reiterate the Spring Garden Civic Association's support and the zoning committee, of which I am a representative of both, for the application as presented by Mr. Anastasio today.
The two properties, the two units, commercial units, have been a nuisance in the neighborhood for quite some time.
And neighbors were unanimously agreeable to the conversion of those two commercial units to its zoned use as residential and welcome the additional improvements that the Civic Association has been able to negotiate with Mr. Maliki for compatible improvements with the Spring Garden Historic District.
So for that reason, we are in support of the project and would urge the board to approve so accordingly.
Thank you so much for your time today. Thank you for your call. Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Albert Tauss. Mr. Tauss, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Hi, sir. Could you please state your name and spell for the court reporter?
my name is albert taus i am uh also an owner of the property again my name albert taus spelled t -a -u -s
all right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do proceed thank you mr taus did you hear my presentation to the board this
this afternoon i did is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge
perfect do you adopt and do you adopt it as your own testimony yes thank you mr taus i was not
expecting to call on you but i'm glad you're there because uh mr jafar has just texted me
saying he's having technical difficulties so thank you all right is there anyone else in the virtual
audience chair i see no hands at this time planning commission thank you chair bergman
and members of the board david facto with the city planning commission the comprehensive plan
recommends no change to the residential single -family zoning at this location the proposed
elimination of the commercial units will bring the property closer into conformance with the
residential use recommended in the comprehensive plan um let's see however the applicant has not
shown that four units are the minimum needed to provide relief from the zoning code nor has the
options shown why the two ground floor spaces cannot be combined into one residential unit.
So the city planning commission recommends the board grant the conversion of commercial space
into residential with a condition of no more than three units total in the building.
Just thank you Mr. Fecto that wall that separates both as a load bearing wall and it would be a
considerable amount of work to take that wall down. We would then have to deal with
supporting the ceiling above it in addition.
Supporting the ceiling above it in addition,
but the spring garden folks actually liked about the unit,
the studio apartment is that 20th and Brandywine is not a low rent neighborhood.
It's very expensive and this would allow a studio like that would allow someone who may go to school across the river and university cities to still be able to
room in that neighborhood uh in center city west which would be a real welcome change to what's
available to folks right now so for those reasons we respectfully request that we keep that back
unit the way it is thank you thank you for your response so mi 2022 004 859 2001 brandy wine street
I vote yes. Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes. Thank you all.
Thank you, counsel. Is there anyone in the virtual audience
whose 2 p .m. case was not called?
I see no hands, Chair. Okay, so we're going to take a five minute break, then we'll
come back in and we'll finish up, okay? Thank you, everyone.
Thank you, Chair.
Thanks, Chair.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Mr. Kelly, are you back?
I am chair.
Thank you.
Lakeisha, how do we look?
Mr. Kelly, are you here?
Yes, I am.
Thank you.
we're ready to go chair okay thank you start recording please
and we are recording okay thank you good afternoon my name is bill bergman
and i will be chairing this afternoon's 3 30 zba hearings with me is our vice chair ismail shaheed
president mr chairman our board member thomas holliman present mr chairman
And our other board, last board member is Mr. James Snell.
He's here.
He's here, everybody.
We also have our board attorney, Hillary Emerson, and our ZBA hearing supervisor, Lakeisha Dandy.
I am here, Mr. Chairman.
Sorry, I was trying to get the fun there.
That's fine.
be advised these recordings are these these proceedings are being recorded by participating
your knowledge agreement to be recorded the video will be available by contacting Tanya sunkett at
The video will be available by contacting TanyaSunkett at phil .gov.
For the benefit of our court stenographer, we ask attorneys, witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you're participating by phone, you wish to testify, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.
To enter an appearance statement, call 267 -270 -5548.
leave your email and the address of the property in question. And finally, the question and answer
box on the screen is not for comments or testimony. And any comments should be directed
to our executive director, Tanya Sumpton. Let's look at continuances for this afternoon's
3 .30 hearings. Number three, MI 2022 -004 -947 -2521, Grace Ferry Avenue. That case is continued.
Is there anyone who has any comments relative to that case?
I see no hands, Chair.
Are there any other requests for continuance?
I see no hands, Chair.
We also have one case that we do not have exhibits for, and that's number 8, MI 2022, 004 -978 -1630 North 20th Street.
Eric Johnson is the listed applicant.
This is the first listing with no exhibits.
I see no hands here.
Okay, so MI 2022 -004 -978 -1637 North 20th Street.
That case is the first listing.
It is continued.
We're going to go to the regular list.
MI -2022 -004 -865 -2609 East Allegheny Avenue, Sean Ward is the attorney, letter of support from ProPAC, Port Richmond, On Patrol, and Civic.
Chair, Mr. Ward is coming back in as a panelist now.
Thank you.
good afternoon mr chairman members of the board uh sean ward s -h -a -w -n -w -a -r -d
attorney for applicant owner right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth yes i do could you identify who that client is and their relationship to the
property. Yeah, I represent Joe Shira and his wife Arta, A -R -T -A, Shira, S -H -I -R -A, both owner and
applicants for the subject premises. Our vice chair has just a few questions. Of course.
Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his
accuracy? Yes, I do. Have you emailed all the documents into our offices five days in advance
to this hearing?
Yes, I did.
Thanks, Sean.
I'll see you then share your screen.
Very good.
All right.
For the record, just to confirm,
my screen is shared?
It is.
Excellent.
Mr. Chairman,
I submitted my typical exhibit packet.
I got to reduce this.
Hold on a second.
So I represent Joe Shira. He is the owner of the property at 2609 East Allegheny, the subject of today's hearing at MI 2022 -004865.
5. The application that we submitted resulted in a notice of referral to the board. I don't
believe I need to educate or re -inform the board as to special exceptions, because obviously at
the 330 list, you heard quite a few of those. In any event, we submitted a permit for an Italian
coffee shop, cafe, restaurant in the same building with a previously approved two -family household
living above resulted in a special exception referral to the board, and that is why we're
here today. So that referral is A1. A2 is the ZBA application of appeal. A3, project information
form, A4 proof of ownership, A5 proof of tax clearance, A6 is a site map to give the board
A6 is a site map to give the board an idea of the location of the property.
an idea of the location of the property.
A7 are our photographs, including postings, subject property, aerial views, street views.
I have a supplemental exhibit of interior photographs of the first floor at the request of Hillary.
A8 is the RCO letter of support from ProPAC, Port Richmond, on patrol and Civic.
I don't know if Jennifer from Councilman's School's office submitted a letter.
However, if it was, I would ask that the councilman's letter be marked as a nine.
A10 is the relevant zoning history.
Briefly, the board, we were before the board June of last year, and that is where the board
granted the two family variance with the existing vacant commercial space.
A -11 is the zoning map. A -12 is the aerial photograph. So very quickly, we have the application of appeal.
we have the project information form which included the refusal copy of the deed my
clients purchased this property march 2nd of 2020 uh just before the covid pandemic shutdown
um additionally uh taxes are paid through 2022 the taxes for tax period 2023 are not due till
march uh however you know they may or may not have been paid but yeah we are we are current for
word purposes this is a site location map uh the property is located on east allegheny avenue
well didn't mean to do that uh geez i did it again all right uh
i apologize mr chair my fingers are too fast today uh it's it's located between alman street
and mercer street on east allegheny avenue just below the campbell square park we have a picture
we're posting on the front of the building. The subject premises is located in the center of the
picture depicted by the red awning with the display window and front entry. This is a Google Earth
picture of the block. I would point out that the Shearers also own 2603 East Allegheny,
which is located several doors down the block. They operate that as there is a hair salon on
the first floor with a two -family dwelling above. However, we are in basically dead center of the
block with the red awning, and we are looking at the first floor for use as this prepared food shop.
Here is an aerial angle view of the block. As you can see, it is a mixed -use block. It's zoned CMX1. Basically, all of the first floors are used for some sort of non -residential use with residential uses above.
This is Allegheny Avenue, I believe, looking eastbound back towards 95 on Richmond Street.
The next photo is Allegheny Avenue looking westbound towards Allegheny Avenue, I mean Kensington Avenue.
For the board's recollection, we were here back in June of 2021, where the board granted a variance for the two family living above.
At that time, we had indicated that the first floor was vacant commercial space.
Given the COVID pandemic restrictions and shutdown of the economy, Mr. Shira attempted to find
tenants for the first floor, but has been unsuccessful to date. At this time, he is
looking to occupy and use that premise on his own behalf. So we did meet with ProPAC on or about
January 4th. It was quite a well -attended meeting because of the dual house explosion,
uh presumably from a gas leak but that has not yet been determined but uh we were at that meeting
presumably from a gas leak, but that has not yet been determined.
we did make our presentation uh they did vote uh despite that there was more than 20 people at that
meeting mr chairman uh you know those in attendance for this matter voted 20 to nothing in support of
the variance i mean i'm sorry the uh special exception ken paul from uh propac inadvertently
you refer to that as a variance request. This is the zoning map. As you will see,
the property is located on a CMX1 two -block stretch going from Almond Street, Mercer Street
in the middle, and then Thompson Street to the far right. And then we have the aerial photograph,
as you can see. Campbell Square is right here. Nativity Church is up here at this
triangle that you can see in the photograph. But just to bring everything home,
Joe Shearer is the applicant owner of the property. He also operates
Tuscany Ristorante at 2418 Ron, which is just off the boulevard at Ron and the boulevard.
This property is CMX One Commercial. As previously stated, it's an existing vacant commercial first
floor with the two -family dwelling above. The aforementioned approval by the zoning board for
the two family with the existing vacant commercial. The business operation is an Italian coffee shop
cafe. They anticipate featuring fresh brewed coffee, espresso, latte, etc. Pre -prepared foods
from his Tuscany restaurant will be served there. There will be no open flame cooking. Everything
will be done by microwave convection oven to reheat the pre -prepared foods. We're hoping
to have occupancy of 50 you know give or take you know persons in the dining area
we will have commercial trash stored in sealed containers you know those toters with the wheels
there is ample room in the rear yard with access to an alley which we can take them out to mercer
street for commercial pickup which we anticipate would most likely be on a weekly basis at the
time I submitted my application, Joe had indicated Monday and Tuesday he would be closed. He did just
ask me yesterday if we could note to the board that he wants to open Tuesday as well. So instead
of Wednesday through Sunday, 7 a .m. to 10 p .m., it would be Tuesday through Sunday, 7 a .m. to 10 p .m.
Obviously, in the morning, it would be coffee, Danish lattes and cappuccinos and things of that
nature. And then as the day progresses, he would be serving additional foods. He does anticipate
at any given time, three to five, pardon me, three to five part -time employees. And we did
indicate to the RCO that neighborhood employees would be preferred because they can get to work
more easily than people who need to travel. Based upon that, I would ask that the board
consider this. Mr. Shira is currently operating the restaurant at Tuscany and is unavailable at
this hearing. However, I did review this exhibit packet with Mr. Shira, and as an officer of the
court, I can confirm that he would verify that my representation is made to the board, including
everything in my packet are true and correct well we will accept that mr ward questions from the
board no mr channel no mr chairman no mr chairman questions from the or comments from the virtual
audience i see no hands at this time commission please uh ron bednar city planning first name ron
r -o -n last name
you swear affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do proceed sir this property is indicated for commercial mixed use on
the city plan and we recommend a special exception be ready
thank you mi2022 004865 2609 east allegheny avenue i vote yes
thomas holloman my vote is yes james snell my vote is yes
yes yes my vote is yes thank you council
number two nmi 2022 004923
MI 2022 004923, 600 East Allegheny Avenue, Zen Jin is the attorney, letter of support
from IMPACT, and letter of non -opposition from Council Member Lozada.
Mr. Jin is coming back in as a panelist now, Chair.
Thank you.
good afternoon good afternoon mr jen could you please state your name it's spelled for the
court reporter sir yes my name is zen jen z -h -e -n j -i -n 1617 john f kennedy boulevard suite 1838
federal fpa 19103 here on behalf of the applicant all right do you swear or firm to tell the truth
the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Could you identify your client,
the relationship to the property? Sure. My client is actually the tenant
of the property under a lease agreement, and he is here with us today and will testify
to my, verify my testimony at the end of my presentation. Our vice chair has just a few
questions for you, sir. Thank you. Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the
refusal and stipulate to its accuracy? It is a referral, but I will stipulate to its accuracy.
Thank you. Have you emailed all the required documents in our offices five days in advance
of this hearing? Yes. Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen. Thank you. I'm going to
share with the board the information we previously submitted regarding this application. Can the
bored to see my presentation. Thank you. So we have submitted a referral notice, the support
letter from IMPACT, photographs, plans, tax clearance, lease, and related documentation.
This is a referral for use in a CMX 2 .5 zoning district for a takeout restaurant. It is a special
exception in this particular district because of that we met with the community
and explained what our uses are and how it is not going to cause a greater impact than what is
normally expected of this type of use. Impact, upon hearing our presentation and seeing the
property photographs, and they're actually well aware of this particular property,
had no objections to the proposal. So the existing site is on the corner of Allegheny Avenue and
east street this is the space in question it is currently um or was a uh a essentially a bordega
convenience store my client intend to renovate and change it to a takeout restaurant use
the one thing about this space that everything here although it's this even this window actually
is in fact legal and has been previously approved so there are no particular changes other than
some exterior cleaning up and updating of the facade. There's an existing approved
enclosed stairway that goes upstairs. The advantage of that is that it also contains
in this space here, and you'll see it on the plans, trash storage, which is out of sight
of the community. The proposal is to maintain essentially the exterior layout, but to change
the interior to more of a takeout restaurant setup. There's a vestibule. I'm going to zoom
in to allow the board to see more clearly. There's an existing vestibule that will be kept,
existing counter, but majority of the back of this area will be changed to allow for takeout
food service. Venting will be to the roof. It'll come out the back and then go up to the roof and
invented that way. Because this space was previously used as a grocery type or convenience
type store, the commercial use is consistent to its prior use. And the community feels that the
addition of the hot food service would not be a negative impact to the area and therefore
supported our request for the special exception. And based on that support and the condition of
the property and the management for the trash, we would ask for favorable review by the zoning
board. Again, my client is here and can verify my testimony if the board would permit. Why don't
we have them adopt your testimony? Thank you. Mr. Singh, can you raise your hand virtually to be
identified? Mr. Singh, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair. Hi, could you state your name
please and spell for the court reporter joshwan j -a -s -w -a -n -t last name singh s -i -n -g -h
thank you do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
thank you do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes i do proceed counsel thank you uh mr singh did you see my presentation and hear my testimony
before the zoning board yes i do um can you verify what i have represented is true and correct and
adopt it as your own testimony yes thank you questions from the board no mr chairman no mr
chairman no chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
chair i see no hands at this time thank you planning commission uh ryan bednar city planning
property is indicated for neighborhood commercial mixed use on the city plan the proposed use is
consistent with the prior use will have no more of an impact than would be expected to have given
its location therefore we recommend request for variants request for special exception be granted
thank you mi2022 -004 -923 -600 east allegheny avenue i vote yes thomas halliman my vote is yes
james now my vote is yes ishmael shaheed my vote is yes thank you council thank you have a good
Good evening. Good evening. Number four, MI 2022 -004 -860 -5320 Screw Street. Michael Mikkelheny is the attorney. Letter of non -opposition from Cobbs Creek Neighbors.
Chair, Mr. Mikkelheny is coming back in as a panelist now.
good afternoon mr chairman members good afternoon good afternoon state your name
is spelled please for the court reporter michael mclehenney m -i -c -h -a -e -l m -c -i -l -h -i -n -n -e -y
right do you swear or affirm tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do could you identify your client a relationship to the property
My client here is Eagle Pirate LLC, and its members are Curtis Cleveland and Malik Carter, and they are on the call today as well.
Okay. Our vice chair has just a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy?
Yes, I do.
Have you emailed all the exhibits that were due five days in advance to this hearing?
Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
Okay. There we go. Thank you.
On the screen is the exhibit packet that I presented to the board, consisting of 13 exhibits.
As a preliminary matter, the appeal to the zoning board is at exhibit 9.
Our photographs of posting the zoning notices at the property are exhibit 10.
the neighbor notices with our meeting with the cops creek neighbors association is at tab 11
our deed to the property is at tab 12 for eagle pirate llc as the owner taking title back in may
of 2021 our tax balance that was presented to the board showed as a zero tax balance and the
yesterday afternoon we did have problems getting the official tax clearance the city did work that
out yesterday and I emailed this official tax certificate over this morning, but we are tax
compliant. As Mr. Chairman mentioned, we did meet with Cobbs Creek neighbors and have a letter of
non -opposition. As properly noted by the RCO, this block is a multifamily block in nature and the
neighbors had no opposition to the project. They had questions about the aesthetics,
but most of the structure that we're proposing is in keeping with the property on the block.
The refusal is at tab two. The subject property is zoned RSA3 single family. We're proposing the
erection of a semi -detached structure with a roof deck for use as a two -family household living.
That project creates one use refusal and four zoning refusals. Their use refusal for multifamily
is created since it is RSA 3. And the other refusals occupied area here is 50 % allowed,
we're proposing 63%. Rear yard depth 20 feet is required, we're proposing 15. The side yard of
8 foot is required, we're proposing 4. And the front yard setback depth of 8 feet, we're proposing
zero. These dimensional requests and the dimensional variances we're requesting are to
keep the property in conformance with the other properties on the block, as I'll show you with
the site photos. Exhibit three is an overview of the property.
Exhibit three is an overview of the property, an aerial view.
And we're on the 5300 block of Spruce with 54th Street to the west, 53rd Street to the south.
Our property is on the south side of 53rd Street in the middle of the block.
It is the only vacant lot in an otherwise intact block.
The previous structure was torn down by the city back in 2011.
The properties to the north of us are a large church structure, and the other properties are residential single -family and multifamily structures on this block of Spruce Street.
The second page of this exhibit, tab 3, is the zoning map for the property.
The property itself is RSA 3, and it's surrounded by RSA 5 properties, CMX 2 properties, and RM 1 properties that are on the other 100 blocks of Spruce Street.
Exhibit four are just the 3D aerial views of the property. The first photograph is looking
to the north across the street from the vacant lot showing the Zion Hill Baptist Church
and the intact row of houses on this block of Spruce Street. On the west side of 54th Street,
we have other commercial uses, a beer store, a china store, and to the north, a auto repair shop.
looking at the same view but going to the south it's just to show that two blocks away we have
the global leadership academy school again in the foreground is the large church building
opposite us on spruce street exhibit five are the current photos of the property itself and
the surrounding properties on the 5300 block of spruce street the property at issue is a vacant
lot we are proposing a semi -detached structure that will attach to the property to the west
looking at the next photograph are the properties going towards the east on the south side of
5300 block of Spruce Street which are all residential structures
5316 Spruce Street two doors down is an existing duplex
continuing down from that are more two -story structures for residential use at 5312 is an
existing duplex. At 5310 is another existing duplex. Going down farther on the block at 5304
is an existing duplex. And then the corner property at 53rd Street is approved for a commercial on
the ground floor with four residential dwellings above. Looking at the properties to the west of
the subject property on the same side of the street are more residential structures. The
property at 5330 Spruce Street is set up for two units. The property at 5334 Spruce is a triplex,
and I have a close -up photo of that. Looking at page 7, 5336 Spruce Street is a duplex.
And then the other end of the block are residential structures until you get to the corner,
which again is another duplex. And opposite the property on the west side of 54th Street,
again, is that beer store on the corner that I referenced, and then the Asian restaurant,
on the north side of the block is an auto repair shop on the north side of the 5300 block of
spruce street we have other residential structures and these structures as you'll notice are elevated
off the ground it's approximately 10 feet or so high before the first floor starts about 13 steps
up off the ground although they look like a two -story structure they're more like a three -story
structure in that sense and the property directly across the street is that large church building i
referenced, which a tower that's probably 60 feet or so high. And then at the other end of the block
at 53rd Street on Spruce, we have a daycare on the ground floor and an apartment building above.
At tab six, we have the zoning site plan for the subject property. And I'll zoom in on the right
side. As I mentioned, we're proposing a three -story semi -attached structure for two -family
use. The front of the property, we have a large sidewalk 11 feet wide, which steps into a front
paved area, three steps up from the sidewalk. And then we have an eight foot enclosed covered porch
and a bay at the second and third floor levels. This eight foot setback doesn't constitute a true
setback under the zoning code, and it creates a refusal for not having an eight foot setback.
And as we noted in our chart, the eight foot covered porch is to match all those other houses
on the block that all have this feature. Some are enclosed, but most are, most have the porch
feature and we're matching those aesthetics. The side yard is a four foot side yard off the
property line. The code requires an eight foot side yard that would make this property, which
is 19 feet wide, that would make an 11 foot area, 11 foot wide house, which is a hardship in and of
11 -foot wide house, which is a hardship in and of itself to construct a property that narrow,
itself to construct that.
and it would not be in keeping with the other properties on the block that all have a four -foot
side yard. The rear of the property, we have steps allowing ingress egress from the first floor unit,
as well as an egress well. The rear yard is 15 feet in depth, and behind the rear yard,
we have another three foot wide alleyway. The 15 foot rear yard depth is five feet short of the
zoning code by right, but it is in matching with all the other rear yards on this block of Spruce
Street, which is because these dimensional features are what is existing at the property.
That's one of the reasons the neighbors had no opposition to the proposal. And just to look at
the front facade, we are proposing the three -story structure with the roof deck, and we're going to
try to match in the existing aesthetics in terms of brickwork to try to match the other properties
on the block as best as possible. The floor plans for this property, it's a two -family dwelling that
we're proposing, and the first floor unit would be the first floor and basement space. The second
unit would be the second and third floor. The first floor unit would end up being a 1 ,222 square
foot unit. Both units would enter from the front of the property through the entry hall. The first
floor unit would end up with two bedrooms, a full living room, dining room, and bathroom on the first
floor, and a basement for a family room, rec room, and full laundry service. And again, the first floor
exits to the rear yard, which is where the upstairs units, the first floor unit, and the second floor
unit would be able to store their trash as needed. The second unit is much larger, not much larger,
but slightly larger at 1 ,421 square feet. It does have a bedroom on the second floor, along with
full living room, kitchen, dining room, and a bathroom, a powder room. And then the third floor
is a large master bedroom suite, walk -in closet, and a rear bedroom. So you end up with three
bedrooms and two and a half baths on the upper unit and again at that 1400 square foot and it
also has access to that roof deck. One of the things the community liked is that allows for
as opposed to the smaller efficiencies it allows for a family to live in this upper unit
with the three bedrooms and the outdoor space. I did include for the board's reference and I'm
not going to go through these again but this is the zoning records are at exhibit eight
and i put a summary page just noting the other multi -family uses on this block
there are approximately 23 structures on this block is fruit street of those 12 of them are
for multi -family use of duplex or triplex and we would submit that the it would be a hardship to
require a single family use on this block where the characteristics of the block are multi -family
multifamily single family and commercial in nature with the church across the street the
dimensional variances that we're seeking here are in keeping with the other properties on the block
in terms of the front front yard rear yard and side yard setbacks and we would submit that with
the community support that the board grant the requested variances and Mr. Bergman if the board
has any questions otherwise I would call one of my clients coach Cleveland raise his hand
Why don't you call your client and have your testimony done?
Curtis or Malik, can you raise your hand, please?
Curtis?
Mr. Cleveland, please unmute yourself or wait for the chair.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Curtis Cleveland.
C -U -R -T -I -S -C -L -E -V -E -L -A -N -D.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
proceed counsel mr cleveland did you hear the statements and testimony that i just gave to
the board related to your project yes and were my statements true and correct to the best of
your knowledge information and belief yes would you adopt those statements that i made as if they
were your own yes i would and questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman questions or
comments from the virtual audience i see no hands at this time please all right planning commission
properties
ron i didn't catch that could you say that one more time okay properties indicated for residential
on the city plan we have no objection to the granting of the variance thank you mi 2022 004
thank you mi 2022 -004 -860 -5320 spruce street i vote yes thomas halliman my vote is yes
james snell my vote is yes shaheed my vote is yes thank you council
okay here number five
MI -2022 -004 -550 -180 -180 -WEST -DUNCANNON -STREET.
Letter of support from 42nd Ward Executive Committee.
Chair, we have Mr. Ryan Bowler coming back in as a panelist there. Okay.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair, this is Hillary. I've just been, excuse me again, sorry, I've just been
advise that an attorney is also present for the adjacent property owner Sean Livesey if we could
just promote him as well on this property here on this one here yes on this case here yes
thank you okay so Mr. Boland yes good afternoon Mr. Boland could you state your name and spell
please for the court reporter yes Ryan Boland R -Y -A -N B as in boy O -L -A -N -D right
Do you swear or affirm, tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Could you identify your client, please?
Yes, my client is a tenant La Fugata, Inc., and I'm being joined here with one of its shareholders.
It's a husband and wife, but I'm here with Eduardo Marin.
Do we have another attorney out there, Hillary?
Yes, Mr. Chair.
I see you're coming back in as a panelist.
good afternoon mr chair can you hear me yes could you state your name please and spell for
the court reporter yes name is sean livesey spelled s -e -a -n -l -i -v -e -s -e -y do you swear
for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do and your client sir yes my
client is el realty the owner of the adjacent parcel which is actually 180 west duncannon
And I want to clarify that the applicant is 180 Weston Cannon Unit A, and there's a distinction.
I'll proceed.
Thank you.
Hi, Mr. Bowen, proceed.
Yes, Mr. Chairman, members of the board.
I'm here today with the support of the RCO and all of the neighbors who attended the RCO meeting.
And what we're seeking is the permission to move La Fogata Bakery's retail operations, which are half a block away in an RSA 5 district, into an I -2 district, which is for the purpose of alleviating existing traffic conditions.
So they'll be moving it from a corner in an RSA 5 to a large shopping set.
And we're here today because there's a refusal on two bases. First, the I2 zoning district
doesn't allow a takeout restaurant, which is what this bakery is categorized. And there's also a
refusal because out of an abundance of caution, we also applied to make sure that it was legal to
sell the Alka -Seltzer and Tylenol that are next to the registers. So the original location of the
bakery and this is a business that's been in the neighborhood for over 20 years family run it it
is um and let me share my screen with you okay it the original location of the bakery and i'm on the
zoning map here it's right here on on the corner here of second and duncanon it's going to be
moving right here um it's going to be moving right here this is new construction there there's a um
it's the unit right here on the front um so what what we're doing here is this the the old location
um it's going to continue doing all of the commercial production all the production for
all the commercial accounts but we're going to be moving the retail across the street where we have
parking. There's also business services going to be provided here for the community. And that is
not a subject of the refusal. That's just helping out people with bill pay and other things like
that. This is a, I'll just take you through the pictures real quick. So it's this top unit right
here. We have the AutoZone here. You have the Five Brothers Grocery Store here. Here's a more
Here's a more of a close up of we're at the top here.
of a close -up of we're at the top here.
Here's all the parking. This is a map just showing where the old or where the existing location is, where which will remain commercial.
I'll keep scrolling down. This is directly across the street to the north. You see a collision center.
This is the Seven Brothers grocery store that's also in there.
This is looking to the west at the existing location. This is the existing location of La Fogada. I'll just keep scrolling. This is looking down towards the location. It's just here past the old railroad tracks. Here's the auto zone across the street. Again, just more photos. Here's the site plan.
So there's a dry cleaner right here. We're going to be in the yellow space here.
But it would be a hardship and really would harm the community if we're not able to move the retail portion of this bakery to the industrial new construction across the street here.
I'm not going to take the board.
What was the vote of the 42nd Ward?
were submitted. What was the vote of the 42nd Ward? It was unanimous in support. I can tell you
exactly how many. Here's the letter, which is attached as an exhibit. Four on the board and
four other for the affected addresses. So I guess that's eight to zero. And it says there were
10 attendees, which I believe includes me and my client.
So I can take you through the other ones, but we've also included our tax clearance certificate,
the lease, photographs of the posting, and my client is here who can answer any operational
questions and can adopt my testimony. Mr. Wivesy, do you want to jump in here?
yeah so my questions really revolve around parking and trash so if it makes sense I can
I can question the applicant or I can I can ask Mr. Boland I think it's probably best to get
Mr. Marin on the line since he can better answer those operational questions sure okay
eduardo if you can raise your hand please eduardo mary please unmute yourself and wait
for the chair i sure could you please state your name and spell it for the court reporter
eduardo please mr mary please unmute yourself
Mr. Maverick?
Chair, I don't know if he's having technical issues or not.
Are you able to unmute him?
I can unmute him on my side, but he has to unmute on his side.
Got it.
Mr. Bolling, can you try to answer some of these questions?
Yeah, yeah. Let me see what I can do.
Okay. So the first question would be, what's the total number of parking spaces that are available on site at 180 West End candidate number A?
I would have to look at the site photographs to tell you that.
I'm looking right now at the map, and it looks like there's approximately 20 parking spaces that are directly adjacent to the building.
Okay, and do you know how many, based on the size of the institutions that are on site,
it would be the laundry and the new proposed use, do you know how many spots are required under the code?
I don't believe there's a specific requirement here.
I believe there is based on the type of use.
I believe there's a number of parking spots per square footage that's required.
And the reason I bring this up is because I know that during the RCO meeting,
my client expressed to me that there was concern over the fact that this is being relocated because of the tight parking.
And my clients own and operate this grocery store that has parking issues already.
So they're concerned by the fact that if there's overflow or just for the convenience factor for people who may be using these new proposed uses, they'll start parking in this other parking lot.
They already have an issue with people who park there for the laundromat because there's overflow into their lot.
And they're concerned because it creates an issue, you know, a bit of a hazard.
And they're concerned because it creates an issue for a bit of a hazard, it's not good
for their clientele to come to an overly crowded parking lot.
So I just want to be very clear about that.
And if the Board would be interested in putting some kind of proviso with respect to parking,
I think that would go a long way, if you have any response.
it is mr is eduardo maron is he eduardo are you unmuted now we can't hear you
mr maron can you please unmute yourself
chair he looks like he's unmuted but i don't know if he's having technical issues or not
because he is unmuted.
Mr. Ball, we can only do what we can do.
We can't get on.
Understood.
I mean, my response to that is
if there's 20 parking spaces here,
you know, this is really a private issue
that I'm not sure what we can do
to enforce whether or not
there would be people parking in your client's lot
Or if, you know, people from AutoZone are parking there or just anyone else in the community short of throwing up signs.
I mean, I'm not sure how our business is going to cause a particular problem that any other that really having any other business at that location is going to provide.
I don't know what's really unique about that.
I just understand that at the current location at Second and Duncannon, it's all street parking.
There's nowhere to park.
So my understanding is when one customer goes to run in to get an empanada, that customer might double park and completely back up traffic in a couple directions.
So I don't believe that with the quantity of customers that would be coming in, that that would be any sort of impact.
And I can't imagine that this bakery business would be something that would be significantly impacting your client.
I don't know what the hours are, but in the RCO meeting, what my client explained is that they will be operating the business.
It's a bakery.
They get up before the sun rises.
It's going to be 5 a .m. to 3 p .m., Monday to Saturday, and 7 a .m. to 2 p .m. on Sundays.
So I'm not sure if your client, you know, has is going to be busy at the same times if it's more an after work crowd versus, you know, versus on the way to work in the morning crowd.
Your points are taken. I think we're not really here to compare the inadequacy of the current situations parking versus what's proposed.
It's really what's required at this new site under the zoning code. And we're not asking for special favors or a private arrangement.
We're asking just to ensure that what's required is enforced.
We want to make sure that there's sufficient parking provided for on site.
And that's because of the overflow that I'm talking about.
We're not going to be able to control all of the traffic that goes around.
It's not what we're expecting to do, but we want to be able to be prepared for it with adequate parking.
So we want to make sure that your client is providing parking.
And I just want to see proof of that before the board approves.
i i can i'll share my screen again but i can i can show all of the um parking that that is
available um for the businesses hello mr boland this is hillary this was a change of use application
is that correct correct there were no plans this is new construction that there yes there is new
construction it's a change of use we're just a tenant but it's my understanding that this
that this is a will be the first 10 and occupying the space okay okay um because if there were no
if there were no plans submitted and parking was an issue i would think that the number of parking
spots would have been noted on the refusal um there was no indication of parking spots on the
refusal um if mr lives he would feel more comfortable his clients feel more comfortable
i can double check with ellen i about parking requirements the board can hold this for a week
and I'll just check on that. We can vote on it next week. But as far as I can tell, there was no
review for parking done based on the information provided on the refusal. Hillary, thank you very
much. That would be much appreciated. And my concern is that there might be confusion on part
of L &I with respect to 180 and 180A, because I looked at Atlas and it looks like there may be
some zoning approvals for 180 that are on it that were categorized on it.
zoning approvals for 180 that were categorized under the 180A account, essentially. So I just
wanted to make sure that L and I had that straight as well because it wasn't called out. And if it's
legitimate, then that's absolutely fine. The other question that we have is about trash and where
the dumpster receptacles will be placed since currently there are dumpsters for the laundromat
and it doesn't seem like there's necessarily going to be space for dumpsters for a bakery.
So I'm not sure if that's been addressed by the applicant in the plans.
I am not certain of the exact location of the dumpsters. I know that Mr. Eduardo Marin,
who it looks like is here, but his microphone isn't working, but I do know it's going to be
empty twice per week hello oh i got here hello hi could you state your name please and spell for
the court reporter hello hi hi could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
yes my name is eduardo and the last name marine first name e -d -u -a -r -d -o last name m -a -r -i -m
right do you swear or affirm tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
Yes, I do.
Mr. Bowen, proceed.
Mr. Marin, did you hear the statements I gave today?
Yes, sir.
And were they true, correct, and accurate?
And do you adopt them as your own?
Are you able to see my screen right now?
And can you describe for me where it is?
Do you have any idea where the trash dumpsters will be in order to ask?
The dry dumpsters will be located on the sides of the laundry.
They got two places in there.
One of those places is going to be used for dumpsters.
Already they have dumpsters in there.
So it'll be in the existing location on the south side here, like where I've shown that box?
Yes, that's enough room over there for dumpsters, for two dumpsters.
And what's your understanding as to how many parking spaces there are available for all of the tenants here?
Well, the type of hours I operate, I'm pretty sure in 5 in the morning we're going to have all the parking lot already empty.
and my operations are from five in the morning to three in the afternoon and can you explain
for the board just when it is you're really busy and when you're slow just so for the benefit of
the neighbor i mean i would have happily discussed this well in advance of the meeting
had it been uh addressed to me but if you could just describe for the board when it is you you're
you're going to be busy uh there will be in the morning hours between five and nine in the morning
that's the reason we have that hours five foot three in the afternoon
okay and what's and do you have an understanding as to specifically how many parking spaces there
are for your building for all of the tenants at least 10 parking spaces
hello mr bone could you ask that question again
okay for us mr ball and you froze up there
sir how many parking places do you believe you have access to at least 10 spaces okay thank you
i'm located yes okay thank you
mr chairman it'll be all right if i asked uh mr edward i don't know that i think he'd have to
have his council present while he's right he might not be on if he's froze i don't know that we can
do that you're right yes can we just give him a moment to come right back in that's right that's
fine yeah
are you back yet
Hans, are you back yet?
chair i don't see his name as of yet
hillary is there any way we do a result of hearing for this so that
we could finish this next week mr well mr chair if you
if you just wanted to hold on a minute. He's coming back in. Okay, great.
I apologize. Okay, so Mr. Livesy wants to ask your client a few questions, okay? Okay, sorry,
thank you. Proceed. Okay, so I guess the first question was, do you expect that the place where
you indicated the dumpsters to be placed to take up some of the 10 or so spaces?
Mr. Marin?
Can you repeat that question again, please?
Yes, yes.
So you indicated an area sort of south of the current building
where you expect to place dumpsters for the bakery.
Is that right?
Yes, sir.
And it looks like there are currently parking spaces right there, right?
now it's already in designated space for dumpsters in there yes yes there's dumpsters
for I think for the laundromat but I would imagine you need additional dumpsters for the extra use
well I'm going to need another extra dumpster will be a high volume dumpster and I think that
will be enough for us for the type of operation we're going to understood but you need to have
the uh what's required under the code so so i think you'll repeat you i mean my understanding
is that you would need to have a dumpster for this new proposed use and i think you'll need
to have it on site unless you get approval to have it someplace else and i believe it would
have to be outside so my question is if it's going to be on site where can you put it and
and avoid taking up more spots when there's already potentially a parking issue with that site.
If that's the case, we have it on the rear part of the building.
If you see on the building, if you can zoom in, we can put it on the rear of the building also.
All right, let me ask this.
How many customers do you have today, approximately?
Around 100 customers, from 5 in the morning to 9 in the morning.
You think you have around 100 customers from what time to what time?
9 in the morning, 3 in the afternoon.
From 5 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon, 100 customers.
And you have 10 spots?
The far I know, yes.
That's enough space for that 10 spots, yes.
Okay, and there's a potential that some of those spots are removed for the dumpster that might have to go outside, if there's a dumpster that has to go outside?
No, I don't think we're going to be able to use those.
We can use the rear part of the building if we request a permission for the owner of the laundry, who is the owner of the building, because we have plenty of space on the rear part of the building for that.
If you check the blueprints we have, we have an offset space over there to put dumps in there.
I see that.
I see that.
My concern is about whether there will be enough parking if you continue to take up spaces that would otherwise be for customers.
And just so you understand, Mr. Marin, because I'm not sure when you got on the line, I represent the neighbors who run the grocery store, and they're concerned about parking overflowing into their site.
okay so that's that's their concern um and i think that it's reasonable to think that if you
have a hundred by your testimony a hundred customers in a day in only 10 spots and you're
not open the entire day that you may have a bit of an issue in them especially in the mornings
with too many customers and they'll have to park on other sites okay what time the seven brothers
and start operation.
Do you know that?
Say that one more time.
One time the Seven Brothers
supermarket start.
It's actually one of the hours
for the supermarket.
I'm not sure of the hours.
I think they might open at 6.
No, no, no, no.
No, they don't open at 6.
I'm here in this neighborhood
before the supermarket
because I know the owners
of the supermarket.
They start operating around 8 in the morning.
That's the hours, 8 to 9 in the evening.
okay but i'm listen i don't think that's relevant i think the point is that uh we need to make sure
Okay, but listen, I don't think that's relevant.
I think the point is that we need to...
that there's enough capacity on your property we want to make sure that there are enough parking
spaces so but what i can tell it sounds like the board will need to make sure that there are enough
parking spaces i'm pretty sure that we have plenty of spaces in there all right i have no further
questions okay thank you thank you mr ball do you have anything else yeah i just wanted to ask just
couple of clarifying questions um you testified uh mr barrett that there's about 100 customers a
day is that retail or commercial customers i'm sorry hard i get it you're phased fading out
yeah certainly um was that retail customers or 100 customers that you have approximately 100 of
a day now they call customers who go in pick up and out and do you have any idea do most of them
drive or most of them walk? Most of them drive. Most of them drive? Yes, in the morning hours.
Okay. And do customers come in and leave or are these customers staying for, you know, an hour
each? I don't think we're going to have any tables inside for that reason. Why is the reason we're
not going to have tables in that because we have the high school in front of us okay thank you
you know what's going on with high school the only high school so we to avoid all that people
sitting in there and staying in there we have no sitting at all you eat pick it up and go okay so
if there's a hundred people a day you're saying that they're going to be in and out in a few
minutes it's not going to be um they're not going to be lingering so so so if people are in two
minutes you can have um i'll it's it would take a lot for those 10 spots to overfill
questions from the board uh yes mr chairman i think that we should hold it until we get
better information yeah i think what we'll do is let's get everybody's questions on the table
first time so if anybody else on the board has a question please let me know
no mr chair right and then questions from from the virtual audience
here we have Dylan Mahoney with his hand up okay Mr Mahoney please unmute yourself and wait for the
Chair. Mr. Mahoney you've already been sworn please just state your name. Good afternoon Mr.
Chairman to the board Dylan Mahoney from the opposite Councilmember Anthony Phillips.
So obviously we're potentially waiting on an amended refusal but with respect to the
application that's currently before the board the councilman has reviewed the neighbor's letter of
support through the RCO and the councilman has no objections. He's in favor of it right?
no objection yes sir okay okay thank you um hillary should we go to uh get a read from the
planning commission too yeah yes mr chair we can we can do everything i'll just double check it
and i just want to make sure this was okay with mr bowling as well um we'll just double check
with um l and i and make sure there wasn't a missing review of the parking requirements okay
thank you ron yeah thank you ron bednar city planning a city uh adopted comprehensive plan
recommend the change in the zoning at this location from medium industrial i2 to industrial
commercial mixed use the proposed uses would all be allowed under the proposed zoning therefore
we recommend that requested variances be granted thank you um we'll hold the vote till next wednesday
and by that time we'll have information additional information from uh from l and i am i right
hillary yes that is correct i will i will advise council um for for both parties in advance of
what information i received from l and i and then we can vote this at 2 p .m next week thank you
everyone. Thank you very much. Good. Number six, MI 2022, 004 -949 -4800 to O .T. Ogle Street.
Rachel Pritzker, Brandon Saverin are the attorneys. Let's see here.
Hold on one minute.
I'll be right with you one minute and then I lost my screen here
Oh, man, I lost my screen here.
We have applicant letter of support from Ridge Civic Association.
Good evening, Mr. Chair.
You've already been sworn to state your name, please.
Brandon Saverin.
and and could you identify your client in relationship to the property yes my client
is the owner of the property his name is Sanjeev Jain all right and our vice chair has just a few
questions for you sir good afternoon Mr. Saverin do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal
and stipulate to his accuracy yes I do Mr. Vice Chair have you emailed all the exhibits that are
required to proceed with this case five days in advance to this hearing? Yes, I did. Thank you.
Please proceed and share your screen. Thank you.
Okay, so the property I'm here to discuss has a dashed address of 4800 -02 Ogle Street.
It is one legal parcel that comprises both this residential building that my cursor is on, that's sort of a sandstone color, and this lower commercial structure next to it.
These are attached, but not internally connected.
And we are proposing essentially to demolish the commercial part of the structure.
This used to be what we in our fine city would call a steak shop many decades ago.
We want to demolish that and then subdivide these properties so that they can be two parcels.
The residential portion, the residential building is currently a duplex, and we would propose
to build a new duplex, a second structure on the ground that would be available once
the former steak shop building is demolished. So I will, oh, pardon me one second, my computer,
my computer froze for a second. So this is the notice of refusal, members of the board.
Before I get into this, I'll just say that this refusal notes here that we are proposing
three dwelling units for what would be the new building, but because we have reduced our proposal
to two units in the new building and also relocated an exterior staircase, we would ask you to approve
our plans with a proviso for one page of revised plans this evening. So I already sort of talked
about the scope of the proposal, which is in a capitalized text up here. The refusals it drew
are as follows. One used refusal because having even two dwelling units, as we are now proposing
in the new building, is prohibited because we're in RSA 5. And then we drew four -dimensional
refusals. So those refusals actually pertain to both the existing building and the new,
what would be the new building and in each case they are for the lot area and the open area and
I'm going to walk through those in a second but what you'll see this is a survey when you propose
a subdivision and these by the way according to my historical research did used to be two locks
they were consolidated at some point so we'd really be returning to the original setup here
When you propose a subdivision, you have to have an engineer prepare a survey.
I'm going to mostly focus on the zoning plan since this doesn't show the structures, it just shows the land.
But as you can see here, in addition to the rear yards that both buildings will have, there's a three foot wide alley behind both buildings that will remain.
And here is the zoning plan.
So this zoning plan essentially can help me illustrate the cause of the dimensional refusals.
So in terms of minimum lot area, we are in the fourth district overlay, and that overlay requires, particularly for Roxborough, a very large lot area, 1440 square feet.
Now, both of these lots, I believe, would be in the 800s, but that is roughly, go back and get the exact size, 892 for one, 894 for the other.
It's actually closer to 900 square feet per lot. That is completely in line with the rest of the block.
And that makes sense, given that these used to be two parcels. So we're basically returning these.
And that makes sense, given that these used to be two parcels.
So we're basically returning these to their original form and to the form that matches the block.
There are very few parcels in the area, and I don't believe any on our block, that are even close to 1440 square feet.
So having to comply with that requirement is a hardship.
It would prevent us from subdividing a lot, and we'd be left with a very bizarre situation where we'd sort of be like attaching a new building to an existing building
to live on one parcel. That's ill -advised for both permitting reasons and financial reasons.
These should be two separate properties. And then in terms of minimum lot area, what you can see is
even the new building, which has a slightly smaller rear yard, would have a nine -foot deep
rear yard, which is noted here. And that's, if I was able to show you the homes down the line
on the rest of the block although only the neighboring building is shown that's consistent
more or less with like an average rear yard on this block so again we're matching the form of
the block um you know to to provide a more open area would require a bigger rear yard than is
typically found on this block and would require a very short building and that's exacerbated
because as you can see that the lot sort of tapers in the back but what we're proposing is sufficient
for, you know, quality of living and for safety, and it matches the block. So those are the
refusals. Let me just note that I have our architect on each of the two proposed dwelling
units in the new building would be approximately 1450 square feet. These are very nice sized units.
Each would be three bedrooms, three baths. There's no change to the existing two units in the
existing neighboring buildings. So I'm not going to talk about the interior of those because we're
not touching it. But due to the fact that we're running late, I will just say we are very proud
of the sort of exterior that we're proposing here, the layout. We're contemplating some very
high quality work related to water retention, which you can sort of see in the rear yard and
this sidewalk swale, but I will hold off on walking through that in greater detail.
And if you want to hear more about any of those features, since they're not subject
of refusal, I'll just allow you to tell me that you'd like me to bring the architect
on and I'll do so.
Brandon, I think we're fine.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I appreciate that.
The last thing I'm going to mention is just the sort of hardship, particularly with related
to the use refusal for the duplex. So very quickly, the existing commercial building,
it's dilapidated. It's been vacant, we believe, since a chiropractic practice left the space
in 2007 or 2008. I have some photos in our exhibit packet that demonstrate that.
It's been used for nothing other than occasionally unpermitted storage. It's generally been
completely vacant. So to comply with the code, we couldn't even reinstate a new commercial use here
because our commercial permit has lapsed. So that would mean even if we tried to put a new
commercial tenant in there, we need a variance. I have strong reason to believe that the RCO does
not want a commercial tenant in there and would potentially not support that variance. So given
that the commercial part of the building, the commercial building is in poor physical condition,
it lacks upper floors, it lacks essential utility systems like central air, we believe it has to be
demolished by any reasonable standard. And if you're going to demolish the structure, you got
to build something new. We believe that given the context here, this is a totally residential area
in the heart of Roxborough, needs to be residential, given that we have to pay for
demolishing that building, the special site work that's required when you're building on a slope,
the market is not going to sustain building a single family home. And the only way to even
attempt that would be to sell it for probably in excess of a million dollars. Extremely expensive
house. We felt that the RCO didn't like that concept, or at least many people at the RCO
meeting. It's not what we're going to do. And it's extremely risky financially. If it doesn't
pan out, which we don't believe it would very well, it would result in a huge loss to my client.
So that's why we're pursuing a duplex on that, you know, what will be the vacant piece of the
property after we demolish the commercial structure. And what was the vote of the RCO?
18 to 2 off the top of my head.
And if you want, I can verify that in a way.
That's fine.
okay um that that is my presentation again have the owner yes um so his name is sanjeev jane
That is my presentation.
Again,
mr jane please unmute yourself and wait for the chair
sir could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
Sure. It's Sanjeev Jan. First name is spelled S -A -N -J -I -V, and the last name is Jan, J -A -I -N.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Good evening, Sanjeev. Were you able to hear my entire presentation about your property tonight?
Yes, I was.
Okay. To the best of your knowledge and belief, was my testimony accurate and true?
yes um would you therefore be willing to adopt it here as if it were your own testimony
yes okay thank you very much questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman
questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands here i have planning commission this um ryan bednar city planning
uh this property is indicated for residential use on the city plan or adopted district plan
recommends no changes to the existing zoning at this location the proposed subdivision would
create two undersized lots per the fourth district overlay standards and not in conformity with the
code therefore we recommend the request for it's not being random mr chair i just want to quickly
reiterate in like literally one sentence that what we are creating may be undersized per
this special overlay, but it is not undersized in the context of this neighborhood. These are
completely average, in line with the block lots. They're 900 square feet. They are going to be
completely typical Roxborough row homes. Okay, so did you say before, if the board votes,
it's one page, I have two pages? Yes, I apologize. You're right, because what we have is one page
this zoning plan and the other is a survey so you're right it's my 2022 004 -949 -4800 -02 oval
street i vote yes with proviso revised plans two pages stand by cba january 25 2023 thomas holliman
My vote is no.
Ishmael Shaheen, my vote is yes.
With proviso.
So either we lost it or we cut off, Brandon.
What we'll do is we'll take this back into consideration.
in an executive session, Jim will make sure he studies everything, then we'll re -vote it, okay?
Would that be occurring? Well, I'll be blunt. Could that happen not at the 3 .30 session?
I think I have a conflict at the later afternoon week from today. Could it
be at the 9 .30 or the 2 p .m. session?
Mr. Saverin, we vote the add -ons at either 9 .30 or 2 p .m. because the 3 .30 session does not
start at a consistent time. Okay. All right. I will, I will be on in the morning next week to
hear. Thank you. Well, this one, because it was an afternoon case, we will put it on the afternoon
add -on list. Okay. Thank you very much, Ms. Emerson. Okay. Thank you, Brandon. Number seven,
MI 2022 -004 -887 -7211 Crescent Road. RCO letter, West Mount Airy. We have received the letter and
it's a letter of support. Wayne and Lee Batches is the owner of applicants. It's a pro se.
Chair, Leah Batches is coming back in as a panelist.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the court reporter?
My name is Leah Snyder Batches. It's L -E -A -H -S -N -Y -D -E -R. Batches is B as in boy, A, T as in Tom, C -H -I -S as in Sam.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Right. Do you swear or affirm, tell the truth, the whole truth of nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Yes, I do.
So this application is for the erection of a roof deck above an existing detached structure for single -family household living.
Size and location is shown in your application plan.
A roof deck setback of five feet is required from an extreme front of the building, but zero feet are proposed.
so uh our our vice chair just has a few questions for you okay so no problem thank you and could
you do could you put your uh your your uh video on so we can see you please yes i i i meant to
have my video on so just give me a moment and i will try it's okay it's okay yeah i mean i i don't
and i'm not trying to hide from you i thank you for your time hold on one second i think this
might do it there you go you're on you're not hiding anymore okay our vice chair has a few
questions okay thank you good afternoon uh have you emailed all the exhibits that are required
uh to this case five days in advance to this hearing we did email everything but i believe
there were a few things that were emailed um fewer than five days in advance but i i i hope that i
do believe you have everything now. Okay, thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
Okay, so I, unfortunately, I was unable to be at my desk today, and so I'm here with my husband,
Wayne Batches. I myself am actually an attorney, but I appreciate your help through this process
as I represent kids with special needs, so I'm not familiar with this hearing procedures.
And with us also is our designer, Lauren Campuzano.
And I wanted to request if she could actually share the screen, the presentation file that we sent via PDF, because unfortunately, I'm just not able to do that with the technology.
So she can share the screen and you'll do the testimony.
Correct. Yeah. Thank you.
Ms. Campuzano, could you please raise your virtual hand?
Sherry, she's coming back in as a panelist now.
So what we need you to do is to just share the screen for her,
and she'll do the testimony, and she'll tell you when to move back and forth.
So you won't be testifying.
It will be her, okay?
Perfect.
I'll put myself on mute and I will share my screen.
That's very, very good.
Thank you.
Council, maybe make it a little bit bigger.
And Lauren, if you could go to page five and we could start there, that would be great.
so yes so this is our home at 7211 question road um this is our family home we've lived there for
15 years we bought it in 2008 um we've provided the deed and the tax clearance and there are
we're up to date with our taxes uh we live with our there it's just us just our family we have
two children who attend philly public schools um we love mount airy and we plan to stay in the
community for a long time. And so what we had proposed and sought a permit for, it's a little
different than I think it sounds as described. So you'll see there, if you look at the front of our
house, there's a front porch that has been enclosed and we are looking to put a deck on top of that
porch. So it's not a roof deck in that it's on the roof, it's on the roof of the porch. So it's
the second story. And you see there the three windows, those would become like a French door
that would open up onto the deck. And really the reason that we are seeking the variance is because
it's only about eight feet wide, which I'll show you in a moment in the plans. And so if we had to
do a five foot setback, it really would have no practical use for us. And I think also would
really affect the aesthetics um of the of the of the project um uh in comparison with other houses
in in our our northwest philadelphia community in mount area and chestnut hill um so we're here
today to talk about that uh first you know it's a little bit unclear to us whether the um the
the statute actually applies but you know be that as it may we wanted to come before the board and
do this properly so so that's where we're here why we're here um uh lauren if you could go down to
why we're here um uh lauren if you could go down to page seven how much longer is this
page seven
i'm sorry um so uh so um so we um excuse me i'm sorry um so we are asking uh okay so here you can
see what we plan to do here with the railing that comes right up to the edge of the porch.
We're going to preserve all of the existing architectural detail. And we're asking that
the variance be granted because, as I said before, it would be a hardship to us if we had to do the
setback because it really would diminish the enjoyment and the use of that area. There's no
neighborhood opposition in fact we've submitted and in this presentation file there are um
there you know the west mountain area neighbors approved it six to zero and also we have some
some letters of support from our immediate neighbors um there's no safety hazard and there's
no there's no environmental concerns and also there's no infringement on the light and air of
any of our neighbors. If you could go down to page nine of the presentation.
So these are some other similar second story roof decks that we collected from the community so
that you can see that this is consistent with other projects in the neighborhood. Some are new
and some are older um and basically you know that's it if you have any questions like i said
oh one thing that i really want to mention if we could go back to page seven um our house is set
back almost 30 feet from the street so the the railing of the new deck will be almost 30 feet
off of the street it seems to me that part of the purpose for the setback is to make sure that there
isn't a railing or maybe things falling into the street and i just wanted to point out that that
would not be the case in our situation so that's all and if the board has any questions i'm happy
to take them and thank you so much for your uh for your time questions from the board no mr chairman
no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands chair planning commission yeah on bed in our city planning the property is
indicated for residential city plan we have no objection to the granting agreements thank you
um by the way you sounded like a zoning lawyer if you're interested oh thank you so mi2022
004 -887 -7211 Crescent Road. I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
You have your three votes. Thank you.
Thank you very much. We appreciate your time.
Thank you.
Is there anyone in the virtual audience whose 3 .30 case has not been called?
I see no heads, Chair.
Thanks, everyone.
Good job, Mr. Chairman.
Good job, but we got a lot of work done today, so I appreciate everybody's helping.
We're moving ahead.
You know, that job in West Philadelphia, that new building is going to be another great addition to the University Science Center.
Thank you, everyone.
Good night, everyone.