This has the stamps on it from, I believe, the Planning Commission and the other reviews.
These are elevations of the existing conditions of the garage.
And this is the proposal. You can see there will be doors on the front.
And the primary change here is going to be putting an angled roof on the garage to allow
more light in for the use of the artist studio.
Now, there is a 15-foot height limit for accessory structures.
We believe that we meet the 15 feet.
Ellen and I were shown these drawings that they didn't refer it for a height variance.
um and in this um drawing here mishap based upon the definition and the code she measured from the
average ground level to the average height of the roof in the center and she comes at 15 feet um
while they're not referred by lni to the board um we're to the extent the board deems that it
might be needed we would ask for that relief as well although we don't think it is um these are
the Google Maps showing the property. This is the street view. You can see the garage is back here.
This is the front of the house. Another shot of the driveway. We had a meeting with the RCO on
February 4th. They were in favor. I do have a copy of the RCO letter here for the board to the extent
I believe you have it though. And then the property was timely posted more than 20 days
in advance of the hearing. It was put on the front fence of the property. You can see that
posting here. So one of the issues that we do have is we don't have a tax clearance certificate
letter. And there appears to be an issue related to an old business of Lucy Bell Jarka Sellers,
an old business that is out of business now. So there apparently was missing tax returns. So
she did file the two missing tax returns. So we do have acknowledgements, but they're not yet
processed. So what we would ask the board to do if they're so inclined to grant the relief is that
we would ask that they just, you know, hold their decision until we are able to submit the tax
clearance certificate to the zoning board council. Mark, our attorney wants to say. Yes. Mr. Danik,
so we're just looking at the real estate taxes and those are current. So the board can vote on
this matter today. Okay. Thank you. Yeah, but we just couldn't get the tax clearance certificate
letter. So I just wanted to make sure that was clear. Right. I know it does wrap up other taxes
in it but we only look at the real estate taxes yeah okay um and then um johannes yarkaseller and
lucy bell yarkaseller they should be online as well as mishap um i could just call them
to confirm i want to have somebody to adopt your testimony yep
so uh johannes or lucy can you uh raise your hand in the um in the zoom window
they've already been promoted they should be in now oh okay great and then uh ellen happ can you
also raise your hand please who's ellen hap for oh she's the architect that she prepared why don't
we why don't we do this why don't we see if the board has any questions for the architect before
we okay okay perfect so let's just get your testimony adopted we'll go to the board and
see who has questions okay um uh uh lucy bell yarka um sellers uh were you present during my
presentation hold on is she is she here i'm here okay could you do me a favor could you please
state your name and spell it for the stenographer my first name is lucy bell l-u-c-y capital b-e-l-l
Well, my last name is Yarka Sellers, J-A-R-K-A hyphen Sellers, S as in Sam, E-L-L-E-R-S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
And Ms. Yarka Sellers, were you present the entire time I was giving a presentation of your proposal?
And Ms. Yarka Sellers, were you present the entire time I was giving a presentation?
Just now?
And if you were called to testify, would you state everything that I stated and affirm it as your own?
And do you have anything else you'd want to add to the testimony?
I don't think so.
Great.
um thank you I have no further questions and for the questions from the board
so um would there still be uh the required the off-street parking uh somewhere on the property
given that you've been using the garage for the studio it permitted it's uh is that for me
yes your attorney or your for for you either one go ahead yeah well um do you you personally do
You have a long driveway on your property, Ms. Yarka-Sellers, correct?
Correct.
Do you still have the ability to have off-street parking if the garage is converted into this artist studio?
Yes, we're depending on it.
We don't put the car in the garage.
All right, thank you.
I saw that.
Thank you.
Questions or comments from our attorney?
I'm not at this time, Mr. Turner.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
i do not see any further hands mr chair planning commission thank you chairman and good afternoon
david vecto with the city planning commission chairman and board members the comprehensive
plan recommends no change to the rsd3 residential single family zoning at this location the city
rezoned this neighborhood in 1970 and a council supported map change the appellant requests a
larger accessory structure that is then is allowed in rsd3 zoning district the proposed use is
consistent with the comprehensive plan's recommendation to provide for additional
housing types in the northwest section of the city the city planning commission recommends
that the board grant the proposed dimensional variance for an accessory dwelling struct for
an accessory structure for dwelling use thank you mi2025-006-618-616 westview avenue i vote yes
Michael Johns, my vote is yes. Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes. Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Ryan McAdams, my vote is yes. Hi Owen, my vote is yes. Okay, so number 17.
MI 2025 007532 1601 205 Walnut Street, Augusta O'Neill. Oh you're still here, oh good.
But could you please state your name is spelled for a stenographer?
My name is Augusta O'Neill, which is spelled A-U-G-U-S-T-A.
My last name is O-N-E-I-L-L.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
We have a letter of non-opposition with provisos from Center City Residents Association.
And our vice chair has a few questions.
Good afternoon.
Have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing?
and do you waive the reading of the referral and stipulate to its accuracy
all right thank you you can share your screen proceed with the case
members of the board uh i'm here this afternoon representing the lessee of the property at 1601
05 walnut street um with me this afternoon is constantino's porphyris he's going to be the
franchisee for the um for the bakery as well as peter phillips he's the ceo of some days which is
bakery that's going to be going into this location assuming this application gets approved we're
proposing an 1100 square foot bakery in an 1100 square foot space on the first floor of the medical
arts building i'm going to pull up a picture of that building on my screen for anyone who might
not be familiar so this is the front uh of building this is the location where the bakery is going to
be going into it was previously a first trust bank um as i said before this is going to be a some days
bakery it's a franchise that was founded in 2024 by peter phillips who's sitting to my right this
morning or this afternoon mr phillips is an experienced entrepreneur he's also the founder
of chip city cookies it's a new york city bakery that's got over 40 locations um some days is a
fairly new concept it's a croissant based um sandwich and croissant based bakery they've
got five other locations in northern new jersey and new york city um mr corpheus's brother is
actually a franchisee in new jersey which is how he found out about the brand um the intent here is
to bring a high-end bakery to a corridor of the city that's got quite a few other high-end shops
right around the corner from our location is rag and bone on walnut street there's um
a lot of commercial activity there's a levain bakery there's starbucks there's all kinds of
all kinds of businesses like that so with respect to the operation of the seven days bakery all of
So this is like that.
So with your .
the prep work is going to be done on site at 1601 to 05 walnut street every one of their locations
is a fully from scratch bakery they will get deliveries of the ingredients to their store
two times a week and deliveries can be scheduled as needed the hours of operation for the bakery
are going to be 7am to 9pm. They hope to open in the fall of this year. I want to thank the board
for getting us in for a hearing a bit earlier. We originally scheduled for April, but we are in a
rush to get open because the anticipated open date is the fall. So thank you again to everyone who
helped to move this hearing up. My client expects that the construction of the space is going to
take between three to four months. They're only going to be making interior changes. They're
have cameras in the space and there will be an alarm system for their security system.
So included in my exhibit package I provided a copy of the proposed floor plan.
As you can see there's this entrance the entrance is on 16th street so you walk in and there's this
is the trash area there's about nine seats there's some counter seating there's a couple of tables
there's an order area a service area where they're gonna have the decanters
for coffees and things like that storage closet there's a pretty spacious back
of house kitchen kitchen area that's where the employers are gonna be
laminating the dough and making the pastries and doing everything to prepare
prepare all the food they are going to be baking using an electric convention
So they're going to have an exhaust that will pull some of the heat out.
The operation is fully electric. There's not going to be any gas required.
They are going to sell some products to places like DoorDash or Uber Eats or Grubhub.
But my client estimates about 95% of their operations is going to be walk-in with fewer deliveries expected.
The trash will be picked up daily.
Initially, before meeting with Center City Residence Association, we had proposed to have an alleyway and keep the trash there.
but CCRA made it clear that they don't like to see dumpsters they would prefer that we just
have the trash picked up daily so they asked for that proviso which my client was amenable to.
The recyclable materials are going to be kept separate they'll get picked up two to three times
a week those kind of materials will be kept in that storage closet that's on the floor plan.
The storage area is also going to be used for things like a step ladder cleaning supplies
and some paper goods. We did receive a referral for this application. This
requires a special exception because we're in an overlay the Center City
District Center City overlay district which requires that the takeout
restaurant use obtain a special exception. Included in my exhibit
package is just a copy of the criteria from the code for why we meet the
special exception standard. I would propose that there's part of a showing for a special exception where we have to show that there's not going to be any congestion in the public streets, overcrowding of land, impairing an adequate supply of light or air to properties, or causing a burden on public facilities. I would submit that this application certainly meets the criteria for a special exception. And in support of that, I would point the board to the
letter of non-opposition that we received from the Center City Residence Association. It's my
understanding that they never actually issue a letter of support. It's always a letter of non-opposition
if they're in support of an application. They like cookies. So my client, as part of his due
diligence, he did go out and meet with the neighbors of the property and met with the other
residents of the building he went to rag and bone and he did receive an astounding i was very
impressed by this he just received if i can find it um over 41 signatures on a petition of support
that he took around to um to neighbors of the property um so at this time i would like to
ask my client let me ask you a question before you start absolutely just out of curiosity how
you invent a building like that you i don't think it requires ventilation because okay all right
why don't you bring your client on all right could you please state your name sir and spell for the
stenographer yes sir it's uh peter phillips p-e-t-e-r-p-h-i-l-l-i-p-s all right do you
swear or affirm to tell the truth told truth nothing but the truth i do counsel uh mr phillips
did you have an opportunity to hear my presentation of the board this afternoon yes was everything
that i said true and accurate yes would you like to adopt it is it your own testimony yes
Um, just as a point of clarification, Mr. Phillips is the CEO, but my client, Mr. Porphyris is the...
just as a point of clarification mr phillips is the ceo but my client mr porphyris is the
tenant he signed the lease if in case that matters for who don't worry does that matter
testimony so he's the ceo of the business he's the ceo of some days but the actual um franchisee
who signed the lease for the location is constantinos who's behind me oh okay that's i mean
that's yeah he's if you want to have him adopt your testimony as well that's fine since he's here
All right, you're going to bring him up?
And when he come up, take that seat.
Could you please state your name and spell it for the sonographer?
Yes, Konstantinos Porphyrios, K-O-N-S-T-A-N-T-I-N-O-S-P-O-R-F-Y-R-I-S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Counsel?
Did you have an opportunity to hear my testimony this afternoon?
Is everything I said true and accurate?
um would you like to adopt my testimony as your own yes thank you so much all right and the the
question is you're saying we don't need to vent this no venting thank you very much questions
from the board yeah um the one question i have is it does look like there's a current loading dock
on the moravian street side that has a roll-up gate that is not shown currently on your plans
And so I was just curious because it says that you're not changing the exterior of the building.
Yeah, so that's closed.
There's no access from that gate space.
Oh, okay.
Yeah, and CCRA also asked for proviso that all the deliveries have on 16th Street.
And we were, yeah.
Any other questions?
Questions from that?
Oh, go ahead.
Not questions, but no venting?
No venting required. My other concept is the same way when you're utilizing fully electric equipment and there's no open flames.
You know what? You know what? I can barely, I can barely hear him.
And you speak into him.
I'm sorry. So when you have an operation that's run fully electric with electric convection ovens, no open flames, no gas, you do not require a venting for the space.