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