Sure. Hillary Emerson, H-I-L-A-R-Y, Emerson, E-M-E-R-S-O-N. Here on behalf of Councilwoman
Sherelle Parker.
Do you swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Thank you, Hillary.
I actually first had a question. The Councilman is not opposed in this matter, but I was a
bit confused um with the testimony because the refusal notes that the the um single family
household living is on the second floor but it sounded like there were two floors in a basement
and the office use was in the basement so um could could um this roach just clarify
what parts of the building are proposed for the office and what part is for single family living
of course that's not a problem so yeah if and i won't try to get you back through the
the um that's fine yeah but um so the second floor would be used for residential
the main floor would be residential that's where the living room uh kitchen uh laundry room is
located in the bottom floor which is the basement would be used for business professional okay so
there so there are three four so the refusal is a little bit incorrect here it looks like
because it sounds it says the second it says the single family household living on the second floor
um and it notes it's a two-story dwelling but there's a basement and that's where the use is
being proposed right um i don't know if that should maybe be specified in the in the decision
just to clarify since the refusal is incorrect um but as i mentioned um the the councilman's not
um opposed to the proposal here um this is a commercial use um proposed on a commercial
corridor caster avenue uh the community was not opposed um there is parking you know on caster
avenue and um and on the side streets and i believe that this um the proposed use would
you know require it would have minimal traffic
Frank you have to unmute yourself anyone else
Frank, you have to unmute yourself.
Is there anyone else who wishes to testify in this matter?
If so, please raise your hand.
No hands up, Chair.
Calendar number 391286906.
I'm sorry, Planning Commission.
this site is indicated for residential use on the city plan given the property's history
and the reconfiguration we have no objection to the granting of variance and special exception
thank you counter number 391286906 caster avenue my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes
my vote is yes my vote is yes okay does that conclude the 9 30 session it does yes it does
thank you all right see everyone at uh two o'clock okay you see you guys see you guys bye-bye
Thank you.
hi Sharice I'm sorry I didn't speak to you this morning
oh that's okay how you doing I'm good thank you if you need a minute just chat with um
me and then I'll make sure that I inform the chair okay thank you so much
You're welcome.
Bye-bye.
Hey, it's 2 o'clock.
Are we going live yet?
Yes, we're ready, Chair.
And then, Tanya, I'll give you a minute or so, correct?
It looks like everybody's present for the moment.
Anybody who wishes to get in should already have done so, so you can move forward as you wish.
Thank you.
Good afternoon, everyone.
My name is Frank DiCicco, and I'm the chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
I'll be participating in today's hearing, along with Vice Chair Ms. Carol Tenere,
our Board Secretary, Confessor Plaza, and Board Members Thomas Holloman and James Snell.
Board Administrator Tanya Sunkit and Attorney Sharon Saleta are also in attendance.
For those of you who have not yet participated in one of our virtual hearings,
I'll go through some of the basics of what you can expect.
First, we'll begin this afternoon's session by reading a list of cases to be continued.
If you believe any announced case is being continued in error, please, will you please give us the opportunity, we will give you the opportunity to respond.
I apologize.
We will give you the opportunity to respond.
After reading the continuance list and receiving any feedback, we will take any additional continuance requests.
Then, once we've confirmed which hearings are being continued, Vice Chair Tenere will begin calling the remaining cases listed for this session.
When a case is called, we ask that attorneys representing applicants or other interested parties in the matter identify themselves for the record.
We will then hear the appellant's presentation, followed by any presentation by attorneys representing other parties.
Interested parties and members of the public, not represented by counsel, will then be given an opportunity to testify.
We will finally hear the recommendation of the Planning Commission.
At the hearing's conclusion, we will either vote the matter out immediately or hold it for discussion in executive session.
Any case held for discussion will be voted on at the next scheduled Wednesday morning session.
Please note the following changes related to the virtual format.
First, we will be administering oaths to individual participants prior to their testimony.
Second, for the benefit of anyone participating by phone, we ask that attorneys...
For the benefit of anyone participating by phone, we ask that attorneys and witnesses
identify themselves prior to speaking or testifying.
Third, we would like to advise everyone that this proceeding is being recorded and that
by participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded.
Fourth, for anyone participating by phone, if you wish to testify, you must raise your
hand by hitting star nine and then star six to unmute yourself. I will repeat, if you wish to
testify, you must raise your hand by hitting star nine and then star six to unmute yourself.
Finally, to enter an appearance statement, to enter an appearance statement, call Google
pound 267-270-5548. That's pound 267-270-5548 and leave your email address and the address
of the property at issue. With that being said, we can begin. Before I call the vice chair
Tenere, before our vice chair calls cases, we'd like to announce that the following matters
are being continued. Calendar number 37897, 700 East Allegheny Avenue. Calendar number 38501,
6606 Woodland Avenue. Calendar number 39621 2512 Alder Street is being withdrawn. If anyone
believes that we have called the case to be continued in error, please raise your hand at
this time. No chance. Hands are up to you. Thank you. Is there anyone else who's requesting a
continuance or withdrawal. Please raise your hand at this time.
No hands are up. Thank you.
Ms. Tenere, you may proceed. Calendar number
38800, 755 East Allegheny Avenue.
The attorney is Robert Cole.
Again, we would ask, could you raise your hand to identify yourself so we can put you
in place of the board as a panelist?
Mr. Cole, you have been promoted to panelists.
you can unmute yourself to speak, and you can share your screen as you wish.
Mr. Cole, can you hear me? I can. Please state your name and address for the record and spell
your last name, please. Yes, my name is Robert. Last name is Cole, C-O-L-E. My office address is
1301 North 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19122.
Two more questions.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?
And do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Thank you.
You may proceed.
Thank you.
I represent Philadelphia Shalom LLC, current owner of 755 East Allegheny Avenue.
The LLC purchased the property from the original applicant, Kayla Garcia, back in November of 2019.
By correspondence dated June 30th of this year, I sent by email and requested that Philadelphia Shalom LLC be added as applicant to the current petition.
Hopefully that has been done to the board's satisfaction.
Good afternoon, chairman and board members.
It's been quite some time since I've appeared anywhere.
So I'm glad to be back. We did upload a week or so ago documentation regarding our request to have 755 East Allegheny Avenue variance permitted for a two-unit rental as opposed to the current RSA 5 one-unit rental.
in accordance
In accordance with the request, we did submit the refusal by the Department of Licenses and Inspection, the Project Information Form, an RCO approval letter dated January 24th of this year, Philadelphia Shalom LLC's tax clearance,
with the request
we did submit
a copy of the deed evidencing Philadelphia Shalom LLC's ownership interest in the premises as of
November of last year. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Mr. Cole, were you sharing your screen?
Yeah, I was just going to ask the same question, Mr. Cole.
Share with me just a moment. I thought I thought I was at the beginning.
Excuse me. I thought it was just me, but apparently no screen is shown.
so you might want to come out and go back in because all we see is your zoom oh i see that
too now
i don't i don't want to lose you i must i must confess my
limited knowledge as to using Zim, so if you, I would ask the board members to bear with me
momentarily. We definitely will. Are we better? Not better. Now, all we see is, okay, I stopped
your sharing now if you will try again you go in and share hit the share button
and then go to your actual file okay I show that I am sharing my screen not now
you are okay now you're good and now go to your file because you keep going to
the actual internet where your zoom comes up okay i'm sorry forgive me i show that i am screen
sharing uh you are where are your files on your desktop i'm sorry the files that we uploaded
the files that you want to share your screen on a screen are they on your desktop because then you
can minimize what you currently have up so that you can go to your desktop to get the file.
Oh, I'm sorry. They are. I was, forgive me. We sent them by email a week ago. So I,
I thought you were referring to me not being visible on the screen. My apologies.
um we see you we don't see your files i i i understand i i wasn't i wasn't attempting to
show the files i didn't realize that's that's something i needed to do um forgive me again
so how i they are on my my desktop so how do i so minimize
this here particular screen right click on the minus button and then as you go
to your desktop hopefully oh no correct
then if you can find it there just open that up and that's what we'll see okay
Thank you.
now I have one of the documents open and I apologize they're not in a folder there
individually because I assume that's how the the board wanted them. I haven't
opened one particular document the tax certification but I don't I'm afraid I
don't know how to share it. You're actually sharing it. You're sharing. Okay.
May I inquire how best I can show the documents that I've just referenced. Would
you like me just to open them one by one or are there any requests as to the order in which I
by one, or are there any requests as to the order in which I show the board the documents?
You can just proceed with your presentation, and whatever documents you have
that you want to discuss, you can put them up. Now, if you want, I can try to locate the file,
if you feel better for me to try to share the screen, is your option.
well i if if i locate them one by one it's going to take some time that i'm sure that the board
members don't want to afford to me um they're on my desktop um may i inquire does the board
wish to view any of the particular documents that i've referenced or shall i just
shall we just i think of floor plans if you have that would be helpful
photos any photographs you have that would be helpful certainly
Oh, there you go.
I found a folder.
We do have two blueprints.
Frank may I ask a question yes how long has this property been a two-family dwelling
my client has indicated when he purchased when when the LLC purchased in
uh november of 2019 uh it was set up as as the blueprints indicate he hasn't touched the property
so it is some point before he took ownership his his company took ownership interest in the
property um i i will say from consultation with the client that there is uh one tenant on the
first floor only second floor has never been used as a residential tenant unit
since my client has owned it may I offer the second blueprint that we do have
Yes, please
And again, I would state,
this is the current status of the two units. My client has not performed any
work and has not had anything done. He took the property as he found it and had
the blueprints drawn as the property exists today.
And you've met with the RCO.
That's correct.
I will be glad to.
And I can confirm, this is Sharon's letter.
I can confirm that we do have a letter from the RCO, a letter in support.
It is impact RCO.
hopefully it is on your screen from January 24th of this year there was a
unanimous approval by the RCO thank you thank you
certainly I'm sorry yeah oh you you can summarize it if possible summarize please
yes Philadelphia Shalom again purchased the
philadelphia shalom again purchased the property uh in november of last year uh subsequent to
prior owner having uh filed the uh the instant application uh the intent by the prior owner and
the concurrent attempt by Philadelphia Shalom, LLC, the principal being Sergio Geraldo.
He is, I'm not sure if he's with us at the moment, but he is waiting patiently to join
in if necessary.
He is present at the conference.
Tent was in a Kensington area that does need affordable and safe housing units to make available an extra unit in a good building that his company owns.
And he has gone through this system in order to request the variance to make it a two-unit rental rather than the one-unit rental.
And I think it's significant to understand that he has not sought to rent the second unit during the pendency of this appeal.
He has simply waited for his time to have this hearing in order to request the second unit be approved.
There's been a longtime tenant in the first unit.
That tenant pre-existed Philadelphia Shalom's ownership.
That person will continue to reside in the premises.
But Mr. Geraldo, through his company, Philadelphia Shlomo LLC, is seeking to have the two-unit rental approved in order to increase the viability of affordable housing in this area.