nothing but the truth yes sir i do thank you thank you sir mr chairman and members of the board
these properties are indicated for residential single-family use in the city's comprehensive
plan the zoning for this block dates back to 1933 we have not received a rezona request
accordingly we have no objection to granting these variances calendar numbers mi 2020-001553
1234 South Harmony and calendar number MI-2020-001554 1232 South Harmony.
My vote is yes on both.
Yes to both.
Yes to both.
Yes to both.
Thank you very much Mr. Chair and members of the board.
Thank you.
Next one up is MI 2020-001-558-1355-57 Cater Street.
Chair, I'm promoting Sarah Aldifer.
good morning mr aldifer miss aldifer uh please identify yourself with the records by your full
name and i'll swear you in uh good morning mr chairman members of the board sarah aldifer s-a-r-a-h
a-l-d-e-r-f-e-r 1500 jfk boulevard suite 800 philadelphia we're in the firm to tell the truth
the whole truth nothing but the truth i do and do you agree to wait the reading of its refusal
and stipulate to its accuracy?
Thank you.
Thank you. Have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents, proof of ownership,
Have you emailed an exhibit packet
with the required document
to prove of ownership,
prove of...
proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal, or referral photos and plans five days prior to this
hearing? Not exactly. I submitted a partial exhibit packet with the original site plan
five days before this hearing on October 29th prior to 5 p.m. We had our meeting with the RCO
the day before October 28th and in response to that RCO meeting we revised the plans and so I
submitted revised plans after the 5 p.m. deadline on October 29th but they were we submitted two sets
of revised plans and the most recent revised plans which we're presenting today were submitted on
the fourth day, which is October 30th, 2020. So I respectfully request that we be allowed to
proceed today. Farron, you have this though? We've received everything. Yes, and I've reviewed the
revised plans and the proviso plans. Let's proceed. They're both fine. Thank you. At this time,
I'm going to share my screen. So good morning again. I'm here on behalf of M99 LLC, which is
the owner of 1355 to 57 Cater Street. The principal of the company is Jason Kuter and the architect
on this project is Adam Montalvano. 1355 Cater Street is a 1,041 square foot lot,
which is zoned RSA 5, which is presently a single family home with garage, which is shown on the
screen here, which is exhibit 4, page 15 of the PDF that was sent. The property is located on
cater between 13th and Broad and the lot is 25 feet wide and approximately 40 feet long.
The width and shallowness of the lot creates some of the refusals that we're here for today.
Our proposal is to build a single family home with two accessory parking spaces.
Our refusals are for a pilot house. The rear setback we're proposing is zero feet where five
feet is required. Parking that is accessed from a that is not accessed from a shared driveway.
Pardon the interruption, Ms. Albafer, we're still only seeing the first photo. Oh, apologies.
So here's the refusal, we're here for the roof depth access structure setback, the parking
that is not accessed from a rear street or shared driveway, rear yard of the acquired
seven feet where five feet is proposed and then the deck in the rear yard which encroaches
in into the required rear yard. The surrounding area
if it is in the aerials here
which is page nine of the pdf we're next to the arts bank here and then also on the block
is a large condominium building here, and then there's a row of single-family RSA5 homes here.
We are also across the street from a gas station with traffic in and out on Broad.
going to Surface Street photos, which is page 19. You can see here that there is the existence of
other garages on Cater, as well as here's our property, which is next to the Arts Bank, which
is a much taller building than ours. Also on the block is 1347 Cater Street.
Also on the block is 1347 Cater Street. Exhibit 12 is the zoning permit for that, which is page 43.
The ZBA granted a variance on March 14, 2018 at calendar number 32595 and allowed them zero rear yard setback and accessory parking accessed off Cater Street.
At this time, I'm going to go to the plans, which are Exhibit 9, page 36 of the PDF.
And you can see here the two-car parking accessory, and then this is the
pilot house and the rear deck that's proposed. Originally, we had proposed for the rear deck to
extend the full length of the property, but in response to comments from the RCO, we have
narrowed the rear deck, and so it takes up less space in the rear. We met with the RCO
So Hawthorne Empowerment Coalition, their letter is exhibit 15, which is page 62 of the PDF.
Here's their vote.
They voted three in support, zero in opposition.
And then in their letter, they described their position as they do not oppose the project
And they request for variances, with the exception of the second story projection into the rear yard, which they believe will limit light and air to the neighbors.
And just to respond to that, going back for a moment to the aerial shots on page nine, exhibit two, we are next to the art bank here, which is a much taller building.
um and and our building is much now is much shorter so you know from our perspective you
know if you're looking at sunlight in the afternoon coming from the west um any sunlight would
and air that block would be blocked at least later in the day would be already blocked from
the Arts Bank and then here you can see a little bit on this aerial that there is the presence of sunlight here presently that come that comes in, and we believe that the rear deck which is proposed on the second floor wouldn't appreciably limit the light and air at the rear of the property.
as any more than the existence of the structure itself.
So with that, I'd like to have my client adopt my statements.
Please bring your client on.
Mr. Croutier.
Mr. Croutier, please spell your full name, first and last name, and I'll swear you in.
Ms. Couture, can you raise your hand on the Zoom?
No hand.
Ms. Othoffer, we'll recognize you as an officer.
of the court that your client would it would adopt your testimony thank you mr chairman all right so
thank you uh any questions from the board no no no would anyone else like to testify in this case
if so please raise your hand no hand thank you planning commission good morning david effecto
city planning commission mr chairman and members of the board this property is indicated for
residential single-family use in the city's comprehensive plan. Accordingly, we have no
objection to granting this variance. Thank you. MI 2020-001558, 1355-57 Cater Street. My vote is yes.
My vote is yes. Mr. Chairman, we're presenting revised plans today, so we'd request a proviso.
I'm sorry, how many pages?
One page.
Sorry about that.
All right.
MI 2020-001558, 1355-57 Cater Street.
My vote is yes with proviso.
Revised plan, one page approved today.
revised plan one page approved today yes proviso yes for proviso yes with proviso thank you
Yes, proviso.
this is Sharon Saleta chair can I ask
excuse me this is Sharon Saleta can I ask that before you move on to the next case
could you go back to number one
you're breaking up i'm sorry brown street and just give a specific date for the return
um i'm sorry it's probably my connection problems if you could go back to number one
on the add-on list brown street and announce that they will be coming back yes okay uh we
need a date correct that they will be returning on december resumption hearing yes december 2nd
at 930. Okay. MI 2020-000089-3801 Brown Street is continued till December the 2nd at 930 AM or
two o'clock? I'm sorry. It's 930 and it's a resumption. Okay. Resumption. This case will be
resumed on December the 2nd at 9 30 a.m all right thank you
next one up is mi2020-000307-2125 north 20th
in cases but
Chair I'm promoting attorney Leo Movahill
Thank you Mr. Movahill you're still under oath
Yes good morning
Movahill you agree to waive the reading of his refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
Also have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents
proof of ownership, proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal
or referral photos and plans five days prior to this hearing? I have. Also have you met with the
RCO and have a letter? Yes. Thank you. Please proceed. Good morning members of the board. Leo
Mulvihill today on behalf of the owners of 2125 North 20th Street. We're here today to ask this
zoning board's permission to turn this property into a two-family dwelling. What I'm showing on
the screen right now, members of the board, are a copy of the materials that I forwarded.
The refusal of appeal and project information form are at page one. The area zoning maps are
at page six. The deed for the property is at page eight. My client's tax clearance information is
at page 13. Zoning notification letter is at 14. The RCO letter I've actually included in this
packet. We received it late, perhaps over the weekend, maybe on Saturday or Sunday. It was not
initially included in the materials i sent but i forwarded it and it is in this packet well but
those part of the interruption were you're still only showing your first page yeah that's all i've
done so far okay thank you um uh at page 15 in my packet i have zoning history for this property
dating back to the 50s it's showing it's always been either a two or three family dwelling
photos of the property are at page 19 and i have plans showing the interior layout of page 69 so
members of the board. First, I'm going to page three of my packet to show the address and location.
Essentially, this is an RSA 5 district. We're proposing two family dwelling in this location.
On the screen now, I'm showing page six. This is the overhead zoning maps from Philadelphia Atlas.
As you can see, this property is zoned RSA 5, but it's located in a mixed area of RSA 5,
CMX2 and RM1 properties. The deed for the property is here at page 7. I only wish to note that
there's a different party indicated on this than on the original application. When we first filed
this application, this property was owned by a different individual. My clients now, Joanne 2
and Sandy Musante, who are both on the line, have assumed that application and this is the most
current deed for the property. This is the zoning letter that I sent out members of the board,
a page triple star because I didn't have the time to renumber everything. This is a letter dated
October 29th from the 32nd Ward RCO. We held a meeting back on August 13th, 2020. It was a
virtual meeting hosted by Judith Robinson, the coordinating RCO chair over Facebook Live.
there were 30 attendees and there was a position of non-opposition.
and there was a position of non-opposition. As I recall from the comments and questions that were
As I recall from the comments and questions that were presented,
presented during this meeting, essentially the neighbors were not opposed to having a two-family
dwelling here based on the fact that there are significant two and three-family dwelling
in the immediate area and on this immediate block, and that the renovation of this property
was frankly well received by the members of the community. What I'm showing now at page 16,
and which proceeds for quite a number of pages, members of the board, is a zoning application from 1968, if I recall correctly,
which shows that it had been used as a two-family dwelling back then.
So there's precedent for this.
Page 20, it had been used as a three-family dwelling in 65, three-family dwelling in 64,
And I'll let the board peruse the rest of those documents if they show desire so I don't spend 20 minutes going through 50 pages of zoning history.
But more or less, members of the board, I represent as an officer of the court that that's the history of this property.
Getting now to my photographs.
To page 69 of my packet, members of the board, here's the zoning sign that I posted.
This is the property as it looks today.
It is not currently rented.
It's looking northbound on the street, and kind of rotating slowly towards the south,
so we see the subject property in the adjacent homes, looking further southbound, and then
across the street as we again rotate to get a full panoramic view of the block.
As the members of the board noticed, there are multiple properties with multiple mailboxes,
so this is not unprecedented on this block.
what i'm showing now members of the board is a copy of the floor plans
there's no change to the exterior elevation of the property there's no additions nothing along
those lines um in the first floor as you enter the front door you can either go to the left to
get in the unit one or go upstairs to get in the unit two the first floor has a bedroom to the
front living and kitchen area to the middle a side door to get to the rear yard for trash storage
this bathroom and a bedroom to the rear.
You can then go up the stairs at the rear of the property
to get into the third bedroom
and the additional bathroom with laundry.
Unit number two begins on the second floor,
has kitchen and living area to the front,
bathroom to the middle, first bedroom is here,
and going up that main staircase,
you get to the third floor,
which does not encompass the entire parcel.
We have two smaller bedrooms,
laundry, and a bathroom there as well.
This is just a site plan.
You can see it's a typical Philadelphia-style row home, relatively large.
There's a side alley to allow for access to the rear yard for trash storage.
And this is simply an elevation of the property that indicates the present condition of the
property, which you were able to see in the photographs themselves.
It looks nice, and there's an effort to maintain the traditional characteristic of the facade.
Now, I do have my clients, Sandy and Joanne, on the line.
If one of them might please raise their hand so that they can adopt my testimony as their own.
Sandy has been unmuted.
Hi, this is Sandy.
Good morning.
Can anyone state your name and call your last name and give your address for the record, Sandy?
Sure. My name is Sandy Musante. It's S-A-N-D-Y, and Musante is spelled N.
You need to get closer to the microphone. We can't hear you.
Sorry about that. Sandy Musante, S-A-N-D-Y, and then Musante is M-U-S-A-N-T-E.
We're in the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Yes, I do.
Please proceed.
Now, Sandy, you and Joanne are the current record owners of the property, correct?