Thank you.
and chair we have 42 attendees you can start as you wish okay thank you good morning everyone my
name is bill bergman and i will be chairing this morning's meetings with me is our board member
James Snell. Present, Chair. And also here is Leonard Palmer, LeBaron Leonard Palmer from the
Division of Development Services, who is our alternate board member. Morning, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Also present is our Attorney, Hilliard Emerson, and our Executive Director, Tanya Sunkett.
Here's our virtual format. Be advised the proceedings are being recorded.
The video will be available by contacting tanyasunkett at phil.gov.
For the benefit of our court stenography, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you're participating by phone and 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-answer box on the screen is not for comments or testimony.
All comments should be directed to our Executive Director, Tanya Sunkett.
Let's look at our schedule today.
Number three, MI 2022-007-383-1440 Hellerman Street.
And Neldo Valentino is the owner.
Are you present?
Good morning, Chair. This is Yvette Benton. I'll be your co-host today. I see no hands.
Okay, so MI-2022-007-383-1440, Hellerman. That case is continued. Mark must be heard.
Number 9, MI 2023-004-824-300 West Susquehanna Avenue. That case is continued.
Number 10, MI-2023-006-254-648 North Udall Street.
That case is continued, attorney moving party.
Number 11, MI-2023-004-794-4701 Tacowana.
That case is continued.
And number 15, MI 2023, 004-812-2622 South Sheridan Street, Leopold Coupa, Gordello, and Guadalupe Garcia are the owners, enlisted applicants.
Are they present?
i see no hands chair so mi2023 004 812 2622 south sarahden street that case is continued mark must
be heard are there any other questions about the cases that we've continued or any additional
requests for continuance chair we have a kathy dowdle they have been unmuted and allowed to speak
Good morning.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Sorry about that.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
My name is Kathy, K-A-T-H-Y, last name Dowdell, D-O-W-D-E-L-L.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
What's the location of the case you're interested in?
I'm here about 4710 Warrington Avenue.
Are you one of the owners?
I'm not, no.
I'm a member of the Cedar Park Neighbors RCO.
We've had a lot of communication with the owner.
She's had some family issues and has been unable to meet with the community.
And so we're requesting a continuance on her behalf and asking that she have her case scheduled after our next meeting, which is March 19th.
And so we're requesting a continuance on her behalf.
So first, let me say, is Mitel Amin here?
I see no heads here.
All right. So MI 2023 004 627 4710 Warrington Street. That case is continued. Thank you for calling. Thank you very much. Thank you. Any other requests for continuance?
i see no hands chair thank you so number six mi 2023 004-598-4422 old york road
this is the first listing i have no exhibits vanessa latimore is the listed applicant
Vanessa Lattimore has been
unmuted and allowed to speak
good morning
could you state
Ms. Lattimore
I'm sorry good morning
good morning could you state your name please and spell for the
court stenographer
yes Vanessa Lattimore
V-A-N-E-S-S-A
L-A-T-I-M-O-R-E
you swear or friend to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth
we do not have exhibits for your case
i might have some for me i have you talking about the schematic design
we don't we don't we don't have anything from you as at this point yes i have everything i sent it
in um via email um prior to the hearing what when was that ma'am um about i want to say a week ago
i don't know i don't have the exact date on file but i did send in um the schematic design i sent
as well as the community RCO meeting confirmation.
But I do have a copy of that as well.
Hilary, do we have anything at all from this person?
Neither I nor the staff had located any exhibits for this case
as of yesterday or Monday.
Ma'am, do you know where you sent them?
I sent it to the RCO email address.
All right. Let me, Mr. Chair, I'll take I'll take another look and we'll we can just we'll go back in this case.
Yeah. And see if we can we can take this. Thank you.
So, number 13, number 13, MI 2023-004-607-966 Granite Street.
Brandy Johnson is the owner applicant.
We have no exhibits.
This is the first listing.
I see no heads, Chair.
Okay, so MI-2023-004-607-966 Granite Street, that case is continued, Mark, must be heard.
And number 18, MI-2023-004-724-1933 South Older Street.
Vern Anastasio is the
Attorney
No exhibits, first listing
Mr. Anastasio
Mr. Anastasio has been
unmuted and allowed to speak, Chair
Morning, Mr. Chair
Mr. Anastasio, just state your name for the record
Vern Anastasio on behalf of Kristen Folds, the owner of 1933.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
We do not show any exhibits for this, counsel.
Yeah, I sent it over actually early.
I sent it over two weeks ago.
So maybe it got lost in the shuffle, but I did email it over.
I have three cases today.
All were mailed two weeks from today.
All right. So. Hillary, why don't we just go through the list and we'll get to this case when we get to it and see if we have the documents. Is that OK?
OK, we'll take another look, Mr. Chair. Thank you.
Thank you. We appreciate it. All right.
And number two, number two, MI 2023-004-01, 951 Jackson Street, that case has been withdrawn.
That case has been withdrawn.
We're going to go to our regular list.
Number one.
Excuse me.
Sorry, we can go back to.
Let me find it.
Miss Latimore's case.
4422 Old York Road.
Hold on a minute.
Let me get it on the list here.
what number is that hillary i'm sorry that's number six mr chair
mi 2023-004-598-4422 old york road vanessa latimore please
miss latimore can you raise your virtual head
miss latimore please unmute and wait for the chair
Ms. Lattimore, this is Hillary. We reviewed what we have received by you, and we received
plans and an RCO letter. Unfortunately, that is not a complete exhibit packet. There are
several other items that you would need to submit. You can reach out to the office for
more information, but we will unfortunately need to continue your case today.
Okay. And with documents, was it the actual plans itself? I thought I had to continue. I missed my first time doing a zoning board meeting. I thought I had to do the meeting first.
What you should do is contact the staff and they'll help you prepare for the second and the next listing. Okay?
Thank you. So MI 2023-004-598-4422 Old York Road, this case has been continued.
Okay, we're going to go to number 14.
MI 2023-004-602-2934 South Sidenhan Street.
Anthony, Jenny, and Jenny, granddaughter, Filippolo are the owners.
This is a pro se.
Chair, we have someone with a hand up by the name, John Cristinzio.
They're coming back in as a panelist now, Chair.
Mr. Chair, I believe that may be an architect who is assisting the applicants.
This is a pro se case, so we do need to have the property owner present to present the case.
Could you put Filippo, see who's the here for that case?
We can also see if the property owner is with Mr. Cristenzio as well.
Yes, go ahead.
Yes, Your Honor.
Mr. Cristenzio, do we have the owner with you?
Yes, I do.
All right. Could you turn your video on? Let us see the owner and I'll talk to the owner. And you're just going to show that the slides and the owner will testify. Is that right?
Correct.
Okay. Hi. Could you state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
The owner, the owner, the owner.
Anthony Filippello. A-N-E-H-O-N-Y. F as in Frank. I-L-I. Double P as in Paul. E-2-L's O.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Okay. So, this application is for the erection of a rear addition at the first floor and second floor level to the existing single-family structure, whereas the required open area in the RSA 5 zoning district is 25%, 184 square feet, and 12.76% is proposed,
whereas the required rear yard depth in the RSA 5 zoning district is nine feet, and this is eight feet, six inches.
We have a letter of support from Council President Johnson,
and we also have received an email from the Gerard Estate Area Residents who have no objection to this project.
We have a letter of support also from the adjacent neighbors at 2932-2836 South Sydenham.
Could you please share your screen and begin your testimony?
Go ahead.
Okay. What you see are our plans for the property. It was built sometime in the fifties.
What you see here are plans for the property.
So, okay. So tell me what to, you know, just say what you're trying to do.
Okay. Basically what we're trying to do is to make the house more palatable for my daughter,
Jenny, who's going to be living there with her family. She wants to stay in South Philadelphia.
So we thought it was a great opportunity to buy my father-in-law's house.
My wife, Jenny, is here with me.
It was her dad's house.
She's lived there.
You know, she grew up there.
So we thought it was a great idea to buy the house and let our daughter reside at the house and, you know, have her family there.
And she'd be close to all of us because we're all in the neighborhood, so to speak.
So why don't you do this?
Show me some photos of the property.
As you can see, there's there's there's the back and the page you saw prior to where the plans where you had the front of the house.
Yeah. So we're just making the back, extending the back a little bit to get some added room.
Of course, the rooms are really small across the board in the neighborhood.
And as you can see, our neighbors have done so as well.
So it's not it's not an issue for anyone. And it'll be, you know, obviously more palatable for a three bedroom house to have a few children as opposed to having five children in like a two bedroom house.
I think I understand that. OK. So so your your rear yard is still going to be eight feet, six inches and not the nine feet. Right.
so correct sir yes all right okay all right questions from the board
no chair not for me chair questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands at this time chair planning commission
Good morning. This is Ron Bednar, first name Ron Arwing, last name Bednar, B-E-D-N-A-R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to residential single-family zoning at this location.
The applicant's proposal, rear two-story addition, dimensional variances are minimum and do not conflict with the spirit of the zoning code.
Therefore, City Planning Commission recommends that the board grant the proposal.
Thank you.
MI 2023-004-602-2934 South Sydenham Street.
I vote yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
LeBaron Leonard Palmer, vote is yes.
Sir, you have your votes.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, everyone.
Thank you so much.
Number 17.
MI 2023-004-817-6041 Frankfurt Avenue. Melissa Camacho is the owner-applicant. This is a pro se.
Melissa Camacho, if you're in the virtual audience, please raise your hand.
Chair, Melissa Camacho is coming back in as a panelist now.
Good morning.
Do you hear me?
Could you, we'd like to see your video.
Could you please put yourself in the video?
Good morning. Could you state your name and spell it for the court stenographer?
My name is Melissa, M-E-L-I-S-S-A, and last name is Camacho, C-A-M-A-C-H-O.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
So this application is for the legalization of a retaining wall and fence at the front and deck of the rear existing structure.
The deck's accessed from the first floor only with no access from ground for use as a two-family household living.
A two-family household living is prohibited in the RSA 5 zoning district, and the fence exceeds maximum permitted height of four feet, allowed six feet, and I can see 50% to 100%.
We don't have an RCO letter at this point.
We don't have an RCO letter at this point.
Have you, all your documents were within five days?
You mailed everything in, ma'am?
Yes, sir.
All right, so why don't you proceed and start your testimony?
Is there a way that they can move me next because my system's updating right now?
who would put a zoom and i won't be able to send you the information presented well we don't want
you to send this we just want to see it on on on you can't get it up online yes yes
okay all right right now we'll get back to you later okay thank you
Okay, so
Case 1, MI2023
001-117
2644 East
Ontario Sheet. Joseph
DeFelice is the Attorney for the Owners.
There's a letter of support from
ProPAC, and there's also
a letter of support from Council Member
Driscoll.
Joseph DeFelice will be joining us as a panelist.
Good morning, Mr. DeFelice. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Yeah, it's Joseph DeFelice, J-O-S-E-P-H-D-E, capital F-E-L-I-C-E.
Right. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
I do. I actually have Stanislaw and Bozina Walski, 2644 East Ontario. I also have their
adult daughter who lives at the property, Eve Roskowitz, because Mr. and Mrs. Walski have
limited English. So we were going to call Eve, if possible, to talk a little bit more about
um the proposal no re we okay with that um that is fine are you able to are the owners able to
um are you say they're there and you're they could adopt your testimony i understand they
may not be able to testify but they could adopt your testimony correct okay so if we need their
daughter to answer any questions that that would be fine but we'll just at this point just have
plan to have the owners adopt your testimony. Thank you. Do you waive the reading of the
referral and agree to its accuracy? Yes. And have all your documents been within five days?
Yes. Please proceed with your case. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for hearing our case. This is
the second time that we're in front of you today. We were in front of you back in August. We
We inadvertently submitted plans for a five-foot fence, but it was actually a six-foot fence.
We had gotten two sets of plans drawn up.
However, all notices to the community, to the neighbors, were all for the six-foot fence.
So we received an amended refusal and are back in front of you today.
Why don't you share your screen with us?
Let me do that.
thank you sir no problem so um as you can see here is this is 26 there's a the letter from
from propact um sorry men of appeal or refusal this is the property it's it's a 2644 east
ontario street next to webb street and as you can see these are the pictures of the
Why don't you go back? I didn't I didn't catch that one. Let's see that one photo. Yeah. So that's the fence where that it's on. This is the yeah, this is the current four foot wrought iron fence. And the quest is for a six foot opaque fence. And as you can see from the drawing here, this is how it's currently laid out. It's really no change. It's just extending from four foot to six foot.
We understand, you know, what the law is in place.
However, this issue that we've had at this corner has been subject to break-ins in a garage from people hopping the fences.
It's very close to Aramingo Avenue, if you're familiar with Port Richmond.
Tremendous amount of trash buildup, drug paraphernalia into the driveway.
There's kids at this property.
So this has really become a safety and security issue for the owners of the property.
That block of Webb Street, which runs along, is all detached garages built to the same line.
which runs along is all detached garages built to the same line that are probably four to five feet
higher than the current fence would be proposed. And corners in every direction, there's houses
built to a similar property line. And these are longtime Port Richmond residents that frankly
just want to better their property and want to have safety and security there.
okay um let me see the photos one more time if that's possible
so the fence goes where the where that is is exactly where that is so you're just replacing
that fence with the six foot fence okay okay um one you do want to have your client uh adopt your
testimony? Sure. Eve, can you ask your parents to please unmute to adopt the testimony?
Well, excuse me. Hi. Bozenna Waliski has a hand up. Yes. I will allow her to speak.
hello hi good morning could you state your name please and spell for the court stenographer
this is the daughter eve and i have my mom here with me um she does not speak english too well
um but i will have let me let me ask you this could could we get her to spell her
say her name spell it and then just respond to the council yes why don't we do that
When you bring her one, I'll ask her her name.
Bozena.
All right.
Good morning.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court sonographer?
My name is Bozena Walski.
Spell it.
First name is B-O-Z-E-N-A.
And second name is W-A-L-S-K-I.
you you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes please proceed counsel yes um miss walski you just heard my testimony with respect to uh
the property of 2644 east ontario yes and do you adopt that as your own yes
all right thank you counsel questions from the board
no chair
chair this is the court reporter could i please
confirm the last name of the daughter eve
you uh mr d fleece do you have the spelling there could you
say the last name of the daughter yeah well it's it's roskowitz it's um
sometimes with the polish names are a little bit uh a little bit harder to
spell. So it's R-Z-O-T-K-I-E-W-I-C-Z. Thank you. Byron? No questions for me. Thank you.
Questions or comments from our attorney? None at this time, Mr. Chair.
Why should there's a comment from the virtual audience?
I see no hands at this time, Chair.
Planning Commission.
This is Ron Bednar, City Planning.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing residential single families only at this location.
The applicant's hardship has not shown that an economic detriment would occur to the property if they were required to conform with the fence height and opacity standards in the zoning code.
Therefore, the City Planning Commission recommends that the board deny the proposed variance for fence height and opacity.
Thank you.
MI 2023-001-117-2644 East Ontario, I vote yes per amended refusal dated 11-8-23.
James Snell, my vote is yes with Proviso.
LeBaron Leonard Palmer, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you.
You have your votes.
Thank you very much.
Number four, MI 2023, 004-819, 1615 East Galwin Street.
Thomas Kenney is the attorney for the owner.
Letter of support from the 50th Ward Executive RCO.
Mr. Kenney.
Chair, I see no one with their head up by that name.
Chair, I see no one with their hand up by that name. We have a Jacob Reeder.
We have a Jacob.
Jacob Reeder may be the attorney for this case.
Okay, thank you.
Jacob Reeder is coming back in as a panelist, Chair.
All right.
good morning can everybody hear me i can mr reader could you state your name please and
spell for the court sonographer i'm sorry chairman this is thomas kenny sir this is
that's my paralegal who set me up today so that's fine that's fine just state your name please yes
sir it's uh thomas kenny on behalf of the applicant all right and just for the record
spell your last name? Yes, sir. It's K-E-N-N-Y. Right. 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,
the relationship to this property? Yes. He is present. I'd also ask him to,
when it's appropriate to have him be allowed. His name is Dr. Dotan Adda Bamiro. I will spell
the last name for the court reporter. It is A-D-E-B-A-M-I-R-O. He is the owner of Femex LLC,
F-E-M-E-X LLC, the owner of this property. Okay. Do you waive the reading of the refusal
and agree with its accuracy? I do. Have all your documents been within five days prior?
yes sir please proceed and share your screen
give me one minute there's i'm getting that lined up now can you share
yes okay
i'm going to raise my hand okay my assistant will raise his hand so he can i can have him scroll
through. Okay. What's the assistant's name? He is actually the real Jacob Reeder. The real Jacob
Reeder. I was the impersonator this morning. All right. We will just let him use the screen and
he won't testify. Correct. Thank you, sir. Mr. Reeder, can you raise your virtual hand?
chair i don't see another hand up at this time may i just have one moment sir
sure he he's been promoted chair he just starts sharing his screen all right thank you
We'll get him to share the screen and he'll testify.
Thank you, Chairman.
Mr. Reeder, please share your screen.
Good counsel. Thank you if may please this honorable panel.
We are asking only to legalize an existing use.
This property, which is located at 1615 East Gowan.
The first page of our exhibit is the public meeting that we went to.
This was back in October 12, 2023.
We have RCO support if we can just scroll up.
we went we've sent all the applicable notices to everyone
okay right here so stop stop stop go back this was the refusal uh this is normally a rsa3
property um the property was built out as far as we know historically throughout that entire
neighborhood as duplexes and that was the intent that was done for many many years if we could go
up to the rco letter there we go so we went to the meeting we do have rco support the next page please
We went to the meeting. We do have RCO support. The next page, please.
Very nicely worded by Ms. Sizemore, the RCO coordinator.
This was the essence of our presentation.
There is in the neighborhood at six, besides our block, there is a Lane Street, McPherson Street, Romeford Avenue, Murdoch.
We found at least, I believe, 30 or so properties that were similar to this.
They were built out by the same contractor, we believe.
My client purchased it as a duplex.
He thought that's what he was advised by his realtor.
I said there would be no work being done to this property.
It is already built out for two bathrooms, two units, separate utilities, and the like.
Everything has already been separated and separate entrances and everything else.
Why don't you show us photos of the property?
Please show photos, Mr. Reeder.
That's the front.
Two garages.
separate entrances
separate kitchens separate bathrooms
and separate utilities right separate utilities yes sir
okay why don't why don't you bring your client on to testify
doctor could you raise your hand please
the doctor has been admitted and allowed to speak
morning sir could you state your name please and spell it for the court stenographer
at the doctor at the barmiro sir a could you go ahead thank you a-d-e-d-o-t-u-n
last name a d e b a m i r o you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth is nothing but
the truth yes i do sir please proceed counsel thank you sir doctor you heard everything i
just said a few moments ago yes and sir would you adopt everything i said was it all true and
accurate as far as you know yes thank you doctor questions questions from the board
no chair no questions share questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands chair planning commission it's uh ron bednar city planning comprehensive plan
And recommends no change to the residential zoning at this location, given the documented use history as a duplex.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the board approve the proposed variance.
Thank you. MI 2023-004-819-1615 East Gowan Street, I vote yes.
James Snell, I vote yes.
laverne your apologies laverne leonard palmer my vote is yes it did not want to take me off mute
i don't know why all right thank you council you have your votes thank you very much have a nice
day everyone thank you okay so mr chair this is hillary i just wanted to note with the alder
street case um that can proceed um once we get to it on the list if you have received exhibits
and they are complete all right so we're going to hear number seven and number 19 together
Number seven is MI-2023-004-702-2600 Wharton Street, number TA-150-137.
And number 19 is MI-2023-004-722-2602 Wharton Street.
The attorney is Henry Clinton.
Morning, Mr. Chairman.
Good morning, Mr. Clinton. Could you state your name, please, and spell it for the court stenographer?
Sure. My name is Henry Clinton, H-E-N-R-Y, Clinton, C-L-I-N-T-O-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client and the relationship to the property?
Sure. My client is Edon, E-D-O-N, slow-mo, S-H-L-O-M-O, and he's a principal of the LLC, which owns the property.
And he's a principal of the LLC, which owns the property.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal and agree with this accuracy?
Do you waive the reading?
For all your documents, it's been within five days.
The only thing that we did, we needed support of the adjacent neighbor.
And he sent us a text message.
So we added that.
And I would note, too, that there's a support from the RCO, Residents Organized for Accupacy and Direction.
And I do see the support of the adjacent neighbor.
Please proceed, Mr. Clinton, and share your screen.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Is that visible?
It is.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the board.
Henry Clinton for OTE Realty LLC, the principal of which is Adan Slomo, who is on the call.
This is a presentation package A1 through A11.
I'll walk through the documents and ask that they be admitted.
it. This is a pretty straightforward refusal. This is a corner property, and Mr. Chairman,
you indicated that you would hear this case and the one next to it. Yes, my key. It's redundant
information. That's sure. Thank you. I'll go through this presentation and then ask that it
be adopted into 2602 because it's the same floor plan, basically, and the same refusal. If that's
okay with the board. Please proceed, sir. So this is 2600 Wharton Street. This is a corner property
and we have one refusal. It is an RSA 5 zoning district and I'll show you a photograph later
from 1959 indicating that this property at one time was commercial as was the adjacent property
2602 commercial on the first floor with units above. So our one refusal is since we're an RSA
5 zoning district. We're asking for a two-family household living. We don't have any issues with
height, open space, or rear yard. As you mentioned, Mr. Chairman, we do have a letter of support,
overwhelming support, 13 to 3, from residents organized for advocacy and direction for both
projects, both 2600 and 2602 Wharton Street. This is the text message from one of the owners
next door, Zachary Zuber, who owns 2604 Wharton Street. Basically, my client asked him to show
up today. He said, well, you have my support. These are photographs to give the board some
context of what we're asking for. So for 2600 Wharton, where my cursor is, that's the corner
property. 2602 is one in, and 2604, which is owned by Mr. Zuber, is right here. It's at the corner
of 26th and Wharton Street, directly across the street, is a four-story building. And I will show
the board the zoning records for this property. It's commercially used on the first floor.
It was a catering hall. Now it is a child care, day care. And then there's four units above.
Pretty unique architecture here. Back in the day, just by way of historical reference,
this used to be an annex for the King of Peace School, which is caddy corner to the property.
So just to give you a layout of the neighborhood, the two vacant lots, and they've been vacant since 1971, are right here.
To the far right is a wide open space.
This used to be the Benson Elementary School, which was the modest sometime in the 70s or 80s.
Directly across the street from the lots is the Church of the Pentecost.
And this whole facility here, directly across the street from the lot, used to be the King of Peace Elementary School.
to the south, the gym, and their church. That parish closed about a decade ago, and the school
was taken over by Universal. It's now vacant, but the church is operational, as far as I know,
with the Church of the Pentecost. Directly across the street is the annex of the old King of Peace
school, which has been converted to a four-family dwelling and a daycare on Titan Street, right down
the street, two-family dwelling. Caddy corner to our two lots is another two-family dwelling.
And then also caddy corner and behind these homes on Wharton Street, where my cursor is,
is 110,000 square foot business setting where there's 20 or 30, excuse me, five to six businesses
that I know of that are located in that area. Just a clear photograph of an area. I'll show
you the surrounding area another photograph for perspective these are signs indicating
our posting of the property and this is the photograph mr chairman that's uh pretty telling
i don't have any historical records to to show the board that in fact this corner was uh commercial
with two two units above or even one unit above all i have is this photograph that we're able to
All I have is this photograph that we're able to locate.
locate. So this, this now is 20.
So this now is 2,600 and one in is 2,602.
So you can see that both properties were commercial.
This was a Pioneer food store.
You can see the old Breyers ice cream sign, Breyers plant located in West Philadelphia,
which has since closed.
But the doors to the upstairs are on 26th Street.
And if I got closer, you could actually see the word Wharton Street right here.
So it really is a picture from 1959 we were able to get from the archives.
So we're asking to return these vacant lots, which the neighbors are really tired of, frankly, to residential.
It was commercial and residential at one point, and we're asking it to be residential now because, frankly, the commercial corridor is on Grace Ferry Avenue and or Washington Avenue, both of which are within walking distance of our project.
These are the plans.
You can just shrink that a little bit.
So this is the site plan.
Again, we have a corner property, which we're asking the V2 family,
and another property, 2602 adjacent, asking the V2 family.
You can see we have ample rear yard, and we're not exceeding the height.
as is desired in the gray story area which within which this is located uh very fond of red brick
so we are basically conforming with the wishes of the neighborhood uh first floor second floor
third floor uh 2600 is to the left where my cursor is 2602 is to the right and then to my
The far left is the 2600 block, excuse me, the 2600 side of the property, showing, again, a lot of brick with the side door entrance to get into one of the units.
Floor plans are relatively straightforward.
We have two bedrooms in the basement with egress wells on the corner, living room, dining room in the kitchen for the first unit.
And then the second unit is on the second and third floor.
bedrooms on the second floor, as well as the third floor with access to the rooftop deck.
So both dwelling units will have rear yard, excuse me, will have open space access.
The basement of first floor will have the rear yard.
The second and third floor will have the roof deck.
The remaining documents are the typical documents you would see in a proposal,
which are referenced in my table of contents, tax certificate, zoning map,
the deed indicating ownership of the property.
This is our notice letter indicating we mailed that 129 pieces of mail to the surrounding neighbors.
And these are the zoning records.
So this is the backup of the aerial photograph that I showed you indicating that 1268 South 26th Street,
directly across the street, is a daycare with four dwelling units.
2545 Caddy Corner, two dwelling units.
On the corner of 26th and Titan, two dwelling units.
This is the industrial commercial space, 110 square feet, and then 2206 Wharton Street.
I just wanted to show the board that this has been a vacant lot since 1971.
If the chairman may recall, back in the 60s and 70s, the Redevelopment Authority was knocking down a lot of corner properties to bring open space into the neighborhoods.
But in the process of doing that, a lot of the commercial establishments went by the wayside.
So this is proof of the four-unit building across the street. This is two rental units, 2545 Wharton, Caddy Corner to the existing project. Again, proof that two-story, I mean, two dwellings is Caddy Corner to our property.
This is the 2,600 block of Titan, again, on the corner, two rental units.
And then this rental unit is inactive, but you can see that they got a zoning approval to have limited lodging in this two-unit property.
And this is just a record of the large 110,000-square-foot industrial site that is directly across the street.
And this is the archive record indicating from 1971.
This has been a vacant lot, 2600 and 2602.
And you can see there was a permit obtained for wire lath and a stucco party wall at 2604.
So that's the presentation, Mr. Chairman.
What I wanted to say is that in conclusion, we have a unique situation here where I know
it's zoned rsa 5 and the community knows it's zoned rsa 5 both of these properties
both 2600 and 2602 but they've been vacant for almost
both 2600 and 2602, but they've been vacant for almost 50 years.
They have the empty lot of the Benson Elementary School down at the corner, which I showed earlier.
I'll bring that up again.
And the lot remains vacant. We have educational uses across the street,
religious uses across the street,
multifamily within striking distance of the property
and directly across the street.
So we're not impairing the development
of any adjacent properties.
We're taking a long vacant lot
and making it into residential,
which is consistent with the neighborhood.
It's not impairing the development
or light and air of any properties
on the block or across the street.
We're basically in harmony with the code
because it is residential.
And frankly, we're in harmony
with the wishes and desires and, frankly, the hopes of the community group
to convert these vacant lots into residential use.
And with that, I'd ask my client to unmute himself
and adopt my testimony.
Mr. Shlomo, can you raise your hand?
Mr. Shlomo has been unmuted and allowed to speak.
I'm hearing.
Frank. Mr. Shlomo, were you on the call? Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the
court stenographer? Idan Shlomo. Idan, E-D-O-N, Shlomo, S-H-L-O-M-O. Do you swear or affirm to
tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? I do. Please proceed, counsel. Mr. Shlomo,
were you on the call when I presented your project for 2600 Block of Wharton Street, which is also
basically the same presentation as 2602 Wharton Street?
I was.
And if you had the opportunity to adopt my testimony as your own,
and true and correct, would you?
And also, are you looking at the screen right now?
And do you see the list of properties on the 2600 block on Wharton Street?
And do you see the market value assessment value from the OPA registry?
And you'll see that the values are anywhere from $125,000 to $140,000 for most of the homes on the block?
And could you, as a builder, could you build a single-family home for $140,000 on this block right now?
No, we cannot.
Okay. And what would the cost of a single-family home be if you had to construct a single-family home on this block?
Approximately $290,000.
Thank you, Mr. Snowmo. Mr. Chairman, I have no more questions on my client.
Questions from the board?
No, Chairman.
No, Chairman.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Jean-Pierre and Luis. They have been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Good morning, sir. Could you spell your name and could you state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Good morning.
Jean-Pierre, can you please unmute yourself?
He may be having technical issues, sir.
Try one more time.
Mr. Jean-Pierre-Louis, could you please unmute yourself?
He's not unmuting, Chair.
Okay, sir.
Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Anat Madar.
They have been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Good morning.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Good morning, Anat Madar.
Madar M-A-D-A-R
Right. Do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Please proceed.
I'm from the community. I came for the community meeting.
I really like
the exterior and what the owner
represents, and I support
the project.
Thank you very much. Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
Chair, we have
Ada Volabueva.
Annabelle Labueva has been unmuted
and allowed to speak
Good morning everyone
My name is Annabelle Labueva
Hi, could you state your name
and spell it for the court stenographer
It's A-N-N-A
My last name
My last name, V-O-L-O-V-U, like umbrella, A-E-V-A.
V-O-L-O-B-U-L
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Please proceed.
I'm here for the community, and I just want to say that I support Duplex.
and it's a great idea
and it supports us
to develop
in development
our community.
Ma'am, are you a neighbor?
Thank you.
Anyone else from the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Daniel Tartaglini.
They have been
unmuted and allowed to speak.
Good morning. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Yes, sir. It's Daniel D-A-N-I-E-L, Tartaglini, capital T as in Tom, A-R-T-A-G-L-I-N-I.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
I do. Yes, sir.
Are you a neighbor?
I am a neighbor. That's correct.
Please proceed.
I fully support this project. That vacant lot there, to me, it really ruins the community.
There's a lot of good things happening in the area, and I fully support the development of this project.
Thank you for taking the time to call us in. Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Jose Rivera. They have been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Good morning. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Jose Rivera, please unmute yourself.
Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
Chair, I see no hands at this time.
Planning Commission.
This is Ryan Bednar, City Planning.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the residential zoning at this location.
Given the site's history, the City Planning Commission recommends that the board approve the proposed use variance for two dwelling units.
Thank you.
Excuse me, Mr. Bednar, is that the recommendation for both 2600 and 2602 Wharton Street?
Thank you.
Bill Ramos, we're going to vote these together.
So that's fine.
MI 2023-004-702-2600 Wharton, number TA150137, and number MI 2023-004-722-2602 Wharton Street, I vote yes to both.
James Snell, my vote is yes to both.
LeBaird and Leonard Palmer, my vote is yes to both.
Thank you, Mr. John.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you, counsel.
Number eight, MI 2023-004-725, 2800 to 10 Southampton Road.
Leonard Altieri is the attorney.
Recommendation of support from the Parkwood Civic Association.
Vote was unanimous.
A letter of non-opposition from Council Member Squill.
chair lennon altieri is coming back in as a panelist now good morning sir could you state
your name please and spell for the court stenographer yes good morning mr chairman
leonard altieri l-e-o-n-a-r-d altieri a-l-t-i-e-r-i with the law firm of claire harrison in center
city philadelphia you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
But you identify your client, the relationship to this property.
My client is the tenant of the property, Concentra, which is the property located at 2810 Southampton Road.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal and agree to its accuracy?
Okay. Have all your documents been within in the last five days?
The original submission packet was submitted before the five-day deadline.
I then received a letter of support from Councilman O'Neill's office, which I supplemented to the board yesterday.
Okay. Thank you. Share your screen, please.
Can you see my screen, Mr. Chairman?
We can. We're fine.
All right. Perfect.
So, again, Mr. Chairman and members of the board, for the record, my name is Leonard Altieri from the law firm of Claire Harrison for the property located at 2810 Southampton Road.
Southampton Road. What we are here for this morning is for a variance for the property,
what we are here for this morning.
which is located in the I-1 zoning district. It is also subject to the Northeast Overlay District.
As I noted in my opening statement, my client is Concentra, which is based in Texas and runs
approximately 520 locations across 44 states. The areas of concentration include occupational health,
physical therapy, health and wellness, and urgent care.
Concentra is currently operating in this structure,
and what they wish to do is now just expand within the existing structure
so they can provide more occupational therapy space for their patients.
As you're seeing on the screen right now, this is the notice of refusal.
As I noted, we are in the I-1 zoning district as well as the Northeast Overlay district.
that the use, excuse me, for group medical, dental, and health practitioner requires a
variance. And since this is also an expansion in the expansion of the use, we're also seeking a
variance on that. The property, as I said, is already operating. So this is the current
footprint of the building right here. It's around 4,827.99 square feet. What my client wishes to do
is just, again, within the existing walls of the structure, just expand the essentially leased area
to 1,785.38 square feet. And again, this area will be used for occupational therapy. As I noted,
we did receive a letter of support from Councilman O'Neill's office, which I'm showing right now.
in addition to the letter of support from councilman o'neill we also received a letter
of support from the parkwood civic association again just for reference this is an aerial of the
location street view of the location and then just proof of the zoning posters
in the map uh at that time at this time mr chairman if there's no questions for me i do
have Matthew DeLong, who is with Concentra, as well as Jeff Hansen from Little Architects that
I would call to adopt my testimony. Why don't we bring your client on and let him adopt your
testimony? Okay. Matthew, if you can raise your hand and be permitted to a panelist, please.
Hello. Can you hear me, Tara? We can. Could you please state your name and spell for the
court stenographer. Sure. Matthew DeLong, M-A-T-T-H-E-W, last name DeLong, D-E-L-O-N-G.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
I do. Please proceed, counsel. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Good
morning, Matthew. Were you on the call when I went through the presentation?
Yes, I was. And did you hear everything that I presented
to the board? I did, yes. And is everything that I presented true
and accurate to the best of your knowledge and belief yes and if i would have called you would
you have would you have given the same testimony today yes and lastly would you adopt the testimony
that i provided as your own yes that's all the questions i have for uh matthew mr chairman all
right counsel i have one question the square footage on the floor plan doesn't match what's
listed in the lease it's less is that right i think the lease has a higher had a higher square footage
than what I saw on the floor plans.
I think that's accurate.
I have two different tabs. One is the hearing presentation,
so you don't have to go through all the other nuances here.
i think it was in one of the one of the um the amendments i think it said it was it was like a
total of 7 000 square feet now here we go yeah seven thousand zero six five okay which i don't
think there was quite it's not the existing is around the existing is around 4,849 and then 17
I mean I'll do that math real quick for everyone
I'm having technical difficulties.
That's why I went to law school, so I don't have to do math as quick.
I went to law school so I didn't have to do math as quick.
7, 8, 5.
So it's 6,613.37.
Is there extra square footage somewhere else?
I just was a little confused.
I would not have that answer, Hillary.
I think that they'll probably just built that in, to build that in, to be honest with you.
not a problem thank you for the clarification questions from the board
no mr chair sorry chair i was having fine i didn't want to unmute no question
thank you boy i i understand you why should you additional comments from our attorney hillary
emerson not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the universal audience
I see no hands at this time, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Southern Ryan Bednar City.
Planning.
Our adopted comprehensive plan recommended a change in zoning at this location from industrial one medium, industrial two, industrial two medium, industrial.
The proposed use is an extension of the existing medical facility.
the city planning commission recommends that the board grant the proposed use
variance for the extension of this facility thank you thank you MI 2023-004-725-2800 to 10
Southampton road I vote yes James Snell my vote is yes ah here we go LeBaron Leonard Palmer my
vote is yes. Thank you, counsel. You have your votes. Mr. Chairman, have a good day. Thank you.
Number 12, MI 2023-004-827-1322 North Hancock Street, T-1-247286. Henry Clinton is the attorney.
letter of support from South Kensington Community Partners.
Applicant also has five letters of support from neighbors on Hancock and Pailthorpe Street.
Morning, Mr. Chairman. Henry Clinton here.
Henry, as you know, you've already been sworn.
Could you identify your client and the relationship to the property?
Sure. My client is Kumars, K-U-M-A-R-S, Kermites, K-E-R-A-M-I-T-S.
And he is on the call.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal and agree to its accuracy?
And all your documents have been within in five days?
Correct.
One question.
Your tax clearance?
Yes, we have tax clearance.
We have it?
We have a proof that there's zero tax balance.
Okay, good.
Share your screen and please proceed.
uh again good morning mr chairman henry clinton on behalf of soho llc the principal of which is
kumars karamadis who is on the call table of contents a1 through a10 i'll walk through each
of the documents and as you mentioned we have letters of support as well as the support from the
RCO. Refusal. This is an RSA 5 zoning district. We are proposing a single family home consistent
with the other homes on the block and consistent with the other homes on the block. We're also
requesting front loaded parking and you'll see why because it's a narrow street. People
park on the sidewalk and there's many garages on the block already. The other refusal concerns
building a third story or above eight feet back if there's two-story homes on either side.
There are two-story homes on either side, but you'll see there's a distance between
our property and the adjacent neighbors, which I'll show you with photographs.
This is the RCO letter of support, which just came in, I think, last evening,
indicating a vote of six to zero of the near neighbors.
These are the letters of support, which the chairman mentioned at the outset.
Here's your photograph.
So basically, the address of the property is 1322 Hancock, because this was a lot that was subdivided.
So the subdivided lot is actually on Pailthorpe Street.
So this is our proposal.
It's 1317 North Pailthorpe Street.
And the reason for the one refusal is this home, which really fronts on Hancock and the rear of it is two stories.
So we're not really adjacent to the entire body of that property.
So we're not really adjacent to the entire body of that property.
And likewise.
And likewise, property to the south, there's about an eight-foot gap between our property line and the property next door.
And the first floor of that property is actually commercial use.
So this is looking north on Pailthorpe Street.
Our property proposal is to the right.
And to the left, you can see that there are other new construction homes on the block.
You can see where the cars are parking on the sidewalk.
To the right, you can see that there's cyclone fences and openings on the rear of the homes that are situated on Hancock Street because folks come in and park to the rear of their home.
And then further up the block, there are other garages, which other photographs will show.
So this is now we're looking south.
Again, our property is to the left where my cursor is.
To the left also, you can see the rear yards of the homes on Hancock Street.
with curb cuts where they use the back of their property to park.
And likewise, in the right hand side, there's parking
and also garages on Pailthorpe Street.
Again, just more perspective.
We took these photographs further north on Pailthorpe,
show you the existing garages on the east side of Pailthorpe
and existing garages on the west side of Pailthorpe.
Front of the light indicating posting of the signage.
And this is posting on Hancock because, as I said, the rear end of this property where my cursor is, that's on Pailthorpe Street.
This is the front of that property on Hancock Street.
So we posted on both Hancock Street and Pailthorpe Street.
So to the left was the original size of the lot.
It was basically a flag lot, which was then subdivided in the middle.
and on the bottom is now the subdivided lot
upon which we are proposing a single-family property.
Turning radius, we have streets approval,
turning radius into the garage.
We actually have a two-car garage
because the front of this property is wider
than your normal 16-foot lot that you see in Philadelphia.
These are side views of the property.
First, I'll start with the front of the property
to the far right.
The garage doors here, the door is really recessed for access to the front of the property.
And then we have the living floors above.
This is a rendering of the front of the property to the right.
A little bit of a modern twist, a really nice detail with a lot of brick.
Garage doors with some light to come in as the community group wanted.
One of the issues, and you'll see in the letter of support, was the planner here.
The neighbor next door uses the rear of her property on Hancock Street, the park, and she was concerned about her turning radius.
So we do have an agreement that we're going to adjust where this planter is located, move it back a little bit.
It doesn't add any foundational issues to the property.
It's just more cosmetic, but we certainly will move that back to make sure the neighbor is happy with our project.
To the left is the rear of the property, again, showing various living quarters.
light and air coming in through the back. This is just a site plan to show you the other
garages that are located on the street on both sides of Pailthorpe Street. And the cross hatching
is our lot. And this is what I was talking about at the outset that, yes, we understand that the
code says if you're building next to a two-story property, you have to set your top floor back,
but there's an ample distance between our property and the property to the south.
And then the property to the north, which was the lot from which our lot was subdivided,
you can see that we are not really encroaching on the bulk of that property
since most of it is located east of where our property is located.
Just some more context pictures.
This is the floor plan, which I can walk through.
Basement plan, despite the fact we're going to have a garage,
We're still going to have a basement with a family theater area, a wet bar, a half bath.
First floor will garage, entry, office, and then the bedrooms are on the upper floors.
Third floor, bedroom, and then also the fourth floor with access to a rooftop deck.
We have no issues with open space, rear yard, or height.
It's simply for garage and for the setback of the upper floors.
The remaining documents are, again, pro forma, our appeal, our tax clearance, indicating zero balance.
We weren't able to get the actual tax clearance, but this is the real estate tax printout from the Philadelphia Revenue Department, indicating zero balance.
from the Philadelphia Revenue Department, indicating zero balance.
Zoning map, again, we're consistent with the RMSA 5 nature of this block.
Zoning map.
The agreement of sale, our notice letter,
indicating we've mailed out 125 pieces of mail.
That's it, Mr. Chairman.
So in conclusion, we're not really affecting the lighter air of any adjacent property.
We're set back from the property to the south.
We don't encroach upon the property to the north.
This is actually where my cursor is, 1322 North Hancock.
We're situated to the rear of that property.
We're in harmony with the residential nature of the block.
We're also in harmony with the use of garages on the block because, as I said,
The cars are parking on the sidewalk, and there's already in excess of seven garages on both sides of the street.
We're in harmony with the code, therefore, and we're also in harmony with the wishes of the South Kensington community partners who have given us their support.
So with that, Mr. Chairman, I'll ask my client, Mr. Caramides, if he can unmute himself.
sir kumars karamati is unmuted and allowed to speak good morning sir could you please state
your name and spell for the court stenographer good morning it's kumars karamati
please spell it for the court stenographer sure first name k-u-m-a-r-s last name k-e-r-a-m-a-t-i
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Mr. Karamadis, were you on the call when I presented your project to the board?
Yes, I was.
And if you had the opportunity to testify, would you adopt my testimony as your own and as true and correct?
Yes, I would.
Thank you, Mr. Karamadis.
Hilary, you do have a copy of the tax clearance?
I did not receive that.
um mr clinton if you could just forward that to add to the file that would be great thank you okay
we'll do all right questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman questions or comments
from our attorney hillary emerson not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual
audience chair we have michelle montillier housel with their hand up okay they have been
unmuted and allowed to speak. Good morning. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the
court's sonographer? Yes, sir. My name, first name is Michelle, M-I-C-H-E-L-L-E. Last name is
Montelore Housel, M-O-N-T-I-L-L-U-E-R hyphen H-O-U-S-E-L. Do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Yes, sir. Are you a neighbor? Yes, sir. I'm at 1316
North Pale Thorpe. Okay, please proceed. Yes. So they are impacting our street in this and I'm
very much against this as a neighborhood. The house right next to them is not for commercial
use at the bottom. That is a private residence. Secondarily, there is no longer parking on the
street because complaints were made because we were parking on the sidewalks. So now PPA has
come through and we are not permitted. So we are all parking on the street. So that street is even
further narrowed. By adding this house, you're going to further impact us. It is already impossible
to get down the street. I dread pulling my car out. Secondarily, there is not seven garages.
There is one that is directly across from the Hancock property. Secondarily, there's two and
two new builds, maybe three, but there's not seven. I also just want to make sure that I'm very
clear about this, that their street faces Hancock. I'm sorry that you don't like your street parking,
but my street parking is already impacted and the width and you're adding now another home and then
just at the end of the day there's plenty of gentrification happening and the skyline is
already destroyed and adding another house directly in front of me i might add destroys
whatever little view i have left um let me ask you did you attend the uh rco meeting no sir i did
not i didn't have that information um given to me i i did not receive any notification i saw the
orange sign the other day and have taken two hours now out of work. So I did not have any
previous attendance, but whatever I need to do to provide documentation of where I live,
I'm happy to do so. Thank you. Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
I see no hands at this time, Chair. Planning Commission.
Mr. Chairman, can I address those comments? Sure. Sure. Just generally.
um sure sure just generally uh i believe i said there were seven garages slash parking spaces on
I believe
the block if i if i led someone to believe there were seven garages that's certainly not my intent
there's there's seven areas where people park off street the other thing is this project has
two-car parking so we're alleviating taking two cars off the street consistent with
with what other people are doing on the block.
And we had a community meeting
and people voted in support of it.
Thank you very much.
Questions from the board?
Oh, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Planning Commission, Planning Commission.
I'm Ron Bay, North City Planning.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change
to the residential single-family zoning at this location.
The applicants request front-loaded parking
not accessed by a primary street, and the third story not set back from the front edge of the
property. There are at least four off-street parking spaces on the 1300 block of Palthorpe
Street, all within tight radius of this property. Therefore, this variance matches the character of
the block. And the third story will comprise the majority of the 1300 block of Palthorpe
and the 1300 block of Hancock. Relief from the third story setback provision is in the code
and is also supportable. Therefore, the City Planning Commission recommends that the board
grant the proposed variances. Thank you. MI 2023, 004-827-1322 North Hancock Street,
number T-1-247286. I vote yes. James Snell, my vote is yes.
LeBaron Leonard Palmer, my vote is yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the board.
Thank you.
Number 16, MI2023, 004-795-4402 Lancaster Avenue.
Cheryl Gaston is the attorney.
Letter of support from Hope PHL.
Chair, Cheryl Gaston is coming back in as a panelist now.
I'm sorry, Ms. Church.
Good morning, Counselor.
Will you state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
It's Cheryl, C-H-E-R-Y-L.
My last name is Gaston, G as in George, A-S as in Sam, T-O-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, the relationship to this property?
My client is Liliana Depplin.
It's L-I-L-I-A-N-A, and it's Depplin, and I may be pronouncing it without the Spanish
part of it, but it's D-I-P-L-A-N.
And she is one of the principals of Unity Properties, L.O.C.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal and agree to its accuracy?
And all your paperwork and exhibits have been within five days?
Please proceed.
All right. This concerns properties at 4402 Lancaster Avenue, Parcel C, just formally 4402 through 4404 Lancaster Avenue.
And let me try and share my screen here. I'm trying to do this myself today.
Okay. So there it is. Okay. I'm not sure what's going on here. Okay. Let me go back here to
Usually I have my paralegal to this myself today, so please indulge me just a bit here.
Okay. All right.
Where is it?
Ms. Gaston, why don't we do this?
Why don't you try to figure that out and we'll come right back to you, okay?
All right. Thank you.
We will come back to you, I promise, okay?
All right. Thank you.
Thank you. All right.
Number 17, MI 2023-004-817, Melissa Camacho, 6041 Frankfurt Avenue.
Melissa Camacho, if you're the virtual audience, please raise your hand.
Did she come back?
No, she hasn't raised her hand.
There she is. I'll promote her to pay. Let's share.
Ms. Camacho?
Melissa Camacho?
Can we see her hand?
Yes, I'm trying to for both of panelists here. Okay.
Hello, do you hear me now? Okay, could you please turn on your video?
thank you
miss camacho
can you hear us i i i hear you i you need to turn on your video okay thank you i see you now
i swore you were earlier in today right and you were having a hard time with your computer
is your computer back working
can you hear now i can hear miss camacho could you please state your name for the court reporter
my name is melissa m-e-l-i-s-s-a camacho c-a-m-a-c-h-o
as you remember i i swore you in earlier and i also read your case could you please share your
screen are you able to see i can now thank you please proceed and present your case okay uh
property address is 6041 frankfurt avenue which is my home address and i currently live there for
the last 23 years uh zoning problem happened with the front retaining wall that was a little
bit higher than it was supposed to be it was supposed to be i guess four feet and it's six
um and
you want to put a deck on the back too am i right
yes we wanted to repair it and also you for me and you also want to have a two-family home am i
right yes i want to make it into a duplex okay a legal one even though there's at least on the
block maybe um nine duplexes
why don't you show me some photos of your property sure and i already met with the um
rco and they did give us the vote um when we went with them last week that's the only thing
that's the only thing i think you guys are waiting for what was that vote they approved it for both
you guys are waiting for what was that vote they approved
of them okay so i listen it was the wisdom no me okay hillary do we have a copy of that
as far as i know we have not received anything from the rco you send a copy of that to us
did you hear me yes all right can you say a little louder please
pardon me can you can you say a little i'll repeat yourself again i'm sorry
could you send us a copy of your um rco vote as soon as we get the letter from them because
they were going to send it to us oh so we don't have directly yeah okay
all right so could you show me where you're good is the duplex already there
no the duplex wasn't there it's not there yet i want to um be able to put it in the back of
my house can you show me there where you're putting that yeah one moment
that's it there do you see it for the first floor kitchen
um this one on the uh left hand side okay is the layout
is that currently a garage
well it is a garage we want to change it and make it into a duplex
okay like a like a studio apartment okay all right and you have a six-foot fence
right and you want to build she could you show me where you want to build a deck
can you show me what um where we want to build a deck at
You can see it on the pictures.
Hold on.
He's already there.
He's just on your own.
Sorry, Chair.
This is Tanya.
I just wanted to mention, if I could, Chair, that I'm getting feedback from Bedita.
Please make sure that Melissa is answering the questions.
I got you.
I understand.
Thank you very kindly.
Melissa, you have to answer the questions, not your expediter, okay?
it's right here and that's the deck you're you're building another deck or that's the deck
it's the same one i just want to fix it okay all right
all right um questions from the board
no chair no questions chair okay questions or comments from our attorney
Only just to reiterate, we have not received the letter, so if you could forward whatever you have, thank you.
Absolutely. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Sloan Folks. They have been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Good morning, Mr. Folks.
Good morning, Chair Bergman, ZBA board.
My name is Sloan Folks, S-L-O-A-N-E-F-S-A-F-I-R-O-L-K-S, representing the Office of Councilmember Ketsy M. Lozada, Ring 484 City Hall.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do so, sir. Thank you.
Please proceed.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, our office was not made aware of this zoning case.
So we have not been involved since the onset.
What we can say is that the council member is willing to support whatever decision the community renders.
And she hopes that the applicant will forward our office a copy of the letter once it comes from Whistler-No-Mean Civic.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Folks.
Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
I see no handshare.
Planning Commission.
This is Ron Bednar, City Planning.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the residential single-family zoning at this location.
There's no unique physical circumstances or condition of the property that would prevent
it from being used in completely with the zoning code.
So the City Planning Commission recommends that the board propose use variants for two dwellings and for the non-compliant fence be denied.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you.
Mr. Camacho, we have a fence issue.
Ms. Camacho, we have a fence issue, we have a deck issue, and we have the two-family household.
What I want to do is, and also we're waiting for a letter from the RCO.
I'm going to hold this vote until next week.
We'll vote on this next Wednesday at 9.30 a.m. after I meet with the rest of the board and consider all the facts.
This case will be closed other than the introduction of the letter, a copy of the letter.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you.
Let's see here.
Number 18, MI 2023-004-724-1933 South Alder Street, Vern Anastasio is the attorney.
There's a letter of non-opposition from Council Member Squilla.
Morning, Council.
I believe I've already sworn you earlier this morning.
Could you just state your name for the record?
Morning, Mr. Chair.
Vern Anastasio, on behalf of Kristen Folds, the owner of the property in question.
All right. You waive the reading of the refusal and agree to its accuracy?
And as I remember your testimony earlier, all your documents were in two weeks earlier.
So please proceed and share your screen.
Thank you. Just did that. 1933 South Alder Street.
It's a single family property. We're just trying to put on a third floor addition with a roof deck. These folks currently own the property. They would like to stay there. It is a rather shallow lot.
Let me show you here.
That's a rather shallow lot, and it's only two stories.
So what we are proposing to do is put a third story on and a roof deck that will allow for primary bedroom.
So it will be turning what is, you know, very modest size living quarters into a home that could support a family.
So with a third bedroom, a primary bath, a pilot house, and a relatively small roof deck because, of course, the lot itself is undersized for a single-family home.
We did have to go through this process in order to secure the variance.
As a result, we met with Passion Square Civic Association near unanimous support with 10 folks voting in support.
As a result, we have a letter of non-opposition from Councilman Squilla's office, which you've mentioned.
Here's some photos on the block there.
This is already a property that is three stories, and it's not an unusual situation on the block.
um this is the rest of the block property in question we have some interior photos as well
very well kept up uh it's just very small as you can see it barely has dining space
so this extension on the third floor will allow the family to stay to grow and that's exactly what
the neighbor the near neighbors and the immediate neighbors want and that's why they support the
proposal i'm going to go through some additional photos for you
this is the letter that went out to everybody who lives within 350 feet of the property
here's the proof of mailing we mailed 217 individual households because the lot itself
is undersized for single family development because our request for a third story is not
only consistent with other three-story properties on the block but overwhelming support from the
immediate neighbors folks on that block to keep this family in this home we respectfully request
the granting of the variance and with that i'd like kristen folds to raise a virtual hand
Mr. Anastasia, what's your client's name?
Last name's Folds, F-O-L-D-E-S.
Last name's Folds, F-O-L-D-E-S, Kristen.
Kristen?
Kristen Folds has been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Kristen Folds has been.
Thank you.
Good morning, sir.
Female.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court's dog?
Kristen Folds, and that's spelled K-R-I-S-T-I-N.
Last name F-O-L-D-E-S.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth?
the whole truth is nothing but the truth? I do. Please proceed, counsel. Thank you. Ms. Foldes,
did you hear my presentation to the board this morning? I did. Is it true and accurate to the
best of your knowledge? Yes. Do you adopt it as your own testimony? Yes. Thank you. Nothing further.
Questions from the board? No, chairman. No, chairman. Questions or comments from our attorney,
Hillary Emerson. Not at this time, Mr. Chair. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair. Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change in residential single-family zoning at this location.
Proposed dimensional variances for open area confirms an existing condition on the lot.
However, the lack of a third-story setback is not in keeping with the character of the block.
City Planning Commission recommends that the board grant proposed variances for open area, but deny the proposed variance for the third-story setback.
Mr. Chair, I respect the opinion of the Planning Commission.
If we were to comply with that setback, there would be no livable space on the third floor.
So the lot is undersized for single-family development.
Thank you.
MI 2023-004-724-1933 South Alder Street, I vote yes.
Jane Snell, my vote is yes.
LeBaron Leonard Palmer, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
Counselor, you have your votes.
Thanks.
Number 16, MI-2023-004795, Cheryl Gaston, please.
Ms. Gaston is coming back in as a panelist, Sheriff.
okay good morning i'm back council um just for the record state your name you've already been
sworn okay it's cheryl c-h-e-r-y-l gaston g as in george a s as in sam t-o-n please share your screen
Okay. Hopefully you can see this.
All right. This is, again, as I said, this is a request for variances to construct a commercial mixed-use building on consolidated lots at 4402 Lancaster Avenue, Parcel C, we're calling it.
This is formally 4402 through 4404 Lancaster Avenue.
Variances are needed because we don't meet the density requirements.
Four dwelling units are allowed.
Seven dwelling units are proposed.
The height, 38 feet, is the maximum height.
We're proposing 45 feet, an occupied area, 75% is the maximum, 85% is proposed.
So if you can get this to move, then you're going to have to do this.
Okay, so this is our view.
This is our table of contents.
This is the deed for the property, which is for both properties 4402 and 4404.
I don't think that the properties have formally been consolidated.
This is what the OPA calls a courtesy consolidation because the properties are owned by the same owners.
The notice of refusal here just restates what I just said, that we don't meet the
Here just restates what I just said, that we don't meet the density, we exceed the density requirements, the maximum allowable area, and the height.
This is our application for appeal, project information form.
uh the um this is just uh the um proof of uh zero balance in terms of the taxes
and then uh this is a rendering of uh what we are proposing um this is the
site plan um and then uh
This is a rendering, not a rendering, pictures of what the site looks like now.
You can see there are two different pictures of it, perspective A and B, where you can see the properties, they're kind of inside or they're kind of infill in there.
So you see the tall one and the one next to it, which are the properties we are proposing to redo.
basically we're going to demolish what's there and uh put in what you see here in the renderings
which is perspective a perspective b this will include this is the cmx2 uh property um
so uh we're going to have a commercial on the first floor as required there will also be one
uh uh what do you call it um i'm sorry uh uh studio unit uh behind the uh commercial use
which is proposed for the first floor and then we're going to have the other units which will be
on the second third and fourth floors and this is the um elevation drawing which just shows
the property. And then this is the floor plan. So the ground floor, we're planning to put in two
commercial units here in the front, the studio apartment in the back. And then on the second
floor, there'll be two one-bedroom, one-bath apartments, and the same for the third and
fourth floors. This is the pictures of the posting. This is the letter of support from what
they used to be the People's Emergency Center, CDC. They're now called Hopeful. That's how it's
pronounced, it's spelled H-O-P-E-P-H-L, but they pronounce it as hopeful. And this is our letter
of support from them. This is the email from the Planning Commission concerning sending out the
letters to the community. This is the address list. This is our letter that we sent out
concerning the RCO meeting, and then the notice of refusal that we put on the back of that.
And then we have our certificates of mailing here. And what I'll say is that this is a commercial
corridor. We are proposing to do what would be consistent with the uses on that corridor,
including adding commercial space and residential units. It's
close to transportation, so we're not concerned about parking issues. And I would just note that,
and again, if I were, I guess, a bit more, I had more facility with respect to this.
I had another client who asked for and obtained permission to do two similar uses on this same corridor at 4408 through 4410 Lancaster Avenue, where we obtained variances for nine units.
The height was 38, we got 50.
The height was 38. We got 56 feet, nine inches for that. And the occupied area was 75 max. And the board granted 100. And we had no rear yard depth for that one.
And then we did one in September of 22 concerning 43-31 through 33 Lancaster Avenue, where six units were allowed.
We were given permission to have 14.
The height was 38 feet.
Again, we were granted 75 feet, 5 inches, and the, again, occupied area was 75%, and it was 100% that was granted.
And that's not to say that just because it was granted in those cases, I'm just saying that compared to those that are adjacent to this property with the same kind of zoning requirements,
This is minor in terms of the difference in the height, 38 feet versus 45 feet, and occupied area, 75 percent versus 85 percent.
And again, the number of units where four are permitted and we're asking for seven.
So we would ask that the variances be granted.
Could you bring your client home, please, and have your testimony adopted?
I'm not sure if she's here.
If she is, she may be on the phone.
Why don't we see if she's here?
Ms. Gaffney, what's the W client?
It's Liliana Diplin, D-I-P-L-A-N, L-I-L-I-A-N-A.
Liliana Diplin, if you're in the virtual audience, please raise your hand.
I see no hands, Chair.
She may be on the phone.
Well, I think that's what she's looking for on the phone.
So, Counsel, you're an officer of the court.
We will take your testimony.
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
no mr chairman no mr chairman questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands share planning commission
comprehensive plan recommends no change the commercial mixed use zoning at this location
There's no unique physical circumstances or condition of the property or prevent it from being used in conformity with the zoning code. The applicant could actually earn a dwelling unit by using our mixed income housing bonus. However, the City Planning Commission recommends that the board deny the proposed use and dimensional variances.
Thank you.
Ms. Gaston, do you have any comments for that?
Yes. I'm not sure why this is not a property that's currently usable. And again, we're not asking for anything that is beyond that which is allowed ordinarily in a CMX2 zone.
And, again, we have already asked for and received permission to have a much greater density and height for this same type of property.
Thank you.
MI 2023, 004-795-4402, Lancaster Avenue.
I vote yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
LeBaron Leonard Palmer, my vote is yes.
Counselor, you have your votes.
Thank you.
And just if you disindulge me for just a minute, this is my last zoning board case before I retire from practicing.
Well, Ms. Gaston, we all wish you a happy retirement.
And thank you for your support.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
All right.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
is there anyone in the virtual audience
who had
a 930 case that has not been
called
I see no hands chair
okay thank you everyone see everyone
Okay. Thank you, everyone. See everyone at 2 p.m.
at 2pm
thank you chair
Thank you, Chair. And a farewell to Ms. Gaston as well.
We're ready to go. Am I correct?
Yes, sir.
Okay. Thank you.
Good afternoon. My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this afternoon's meetings.
With me is James Snell, our board member.
Present, Chair.
LeBaron Leonard Palmer from the Division of Development Services is our alternate board member.
Present, Mr. Chair.
Our attorney is also here, Hillary Emerson, and our Executive Director, Tanya Sunkett.
Be advised, the proceedings are being recorded.
The video will be available by contacting tanyasunkett 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 and 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-answer box on the screen is now for comments or testimony.
All comments should be directed to our Executive Director, Tanya Sunken.
Let's look at our schedule for this afternoon.
Number 11, MI 2023-006-333-2025 South 5th Street.
That case is continued.
At number 13, MI 2023, 006-413-1338 North Franklin Street, that case is continued.
Are there any other requests for continuances?
Good afternoon, Chair.
This is Javette Benton.
I'll be your co-host for today.
Alan Nockelson has his hand up.
He's been unmuted, and I'll allow her to speak.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members of the board, Alan Ockamson.
And just for the record, do you spell your name, Mr. Ockamson?
Alan, A-L-A-N, last name Ockamson, N-O-C-H-U-M-S-O-N.
You swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
What case do you want to talk about?
Yeah, 1338 North Franklin Street.
We're not only seeking a continuance, we're asking that this is a must-be-heard, the next listing.
Okay. All right. I continue that, and I'll mention that right now. Okay, thank you. So MI 2023-006-413-1338, North Franklin Street. This was the first listing, but the next case is a request that it must be heard. Thank you.
Any other requests for continuance?
I see no hands, Chair.
And number five, MI 2023-006-598-9504 Rising Sun Avenue, the case has been withdrawn.
We're going to go to our add-on list.
Number one, MI 2023-003-510-2809-13 Master Street.
The vote in this matter has been rescheduled to Wednesday, February 14th at 2 p.m.
Number two, MI 2023-004-533-832 South Front Street.
The vote in this matter has been rescheduled to Wednesday, February 14th at 2 p.m.
We're going to go to our regular list.
We're going to start with number nine.
MI 2023-006-285-43 Maplewood Mall. Marja Kasla is the owner applicant. This is a pro se.
Marja Kasla, if you're in the audience, please raise your hand.
Marja Casler is coming back as a panelist now, Chair.
Okay, thank you.
let me see can you can everybody yes could you please state your name and spell it for
the court stenographer sure my first name is maria and last name is kaisla and my first name
is spelled m-a-r-j-a and last name is k-a-i-s-l-a you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole
truth and nothing but the truth i do so this application is for use as a visitor accommodations
on the first and third floors of an existing structure with other existing uses in the same
structure as previously approved correct use visitor accommodation is prohibited in the c
2.5 zoning
district. Correct.
And I will note that
there's a letter of non-opposition from
Solo Germantown.
There's a letter of support from
FAIF CDC and
Councilperson Bass has taken a
position of support.
Has all your paperwork
and your
been submitted within five
days? Yes. I
submitted it last week.
Yes. Okay.
So why don't you share your screen and present your presentation?
Oh, okay.
Just one second.
So let me see.
There should be a green button there somewhere.
Just one second.
No, I don't think that came up.
Just a second.
um i have to bring you guys back sorry about that um okay share screen i don't know why that
is not showing let me see um okay now here um it's coming everybody can everybody see this now
we we we can see it thank you okay so here is um yeah this is the same presentation as i gave to
the uh community meeting we had actually uh yeah um and so here is a picture of my property and
uh maplewood mall uh looking in both directions um of the of the mall that's a pedestrian street
uh there and um this is this shows where my property is there in the middle of this block
um and next one here is an aerial picture of it and there you can see my property it's a twin
the adjacent building is 41 maplewood mall and there's a little five foot alleyway and then on
the other side there's a building the 45 maplewood mall which is a um i think it's called prince lodge
They have occasional meetings. It's some type of a men's club. They have a meeting there every now and then. So that's where my property is. And there's Maplewood Mall, the pedestrian street right here.
And here is, you know, just shows the rectangular lot and how the building is situated there, 17 feet wide building and the alleyway there on the side.
I'm proposing no changes whatsoever to the building inside or outside at all.
um and here's to show the downstairs the first um floor it's a one open space studio space
at the bottom uh the bottom face is maplewood mall and uh so it's one long rectangular space
with the little kitchenette at the at the end of it uh utility closet there bathroom
on the right. And on the right side, you see the third floor, which is one bedroom, same size,
but one bedroom apartment and bedroom in the front, living room connected with the
little kitchenette and bathroom in the back there. So those are the two spaces that we're
talking about. And so the variants that I'm seeking, like you mentioned, is from CMX 2.5 to
CMX 3, or whatever is needed to be able to host short-term visitor accommodations, such as Airbnb
on the first and third floors. And currently only 31-day or longer visits are permitted on the third
And currently only 31 day or longer visits are permitted on the third floor as mandated by the city.
And as I just mentioned in the where you saw the floor plan, there's one one bedroom apartment on the third floor and also on the second floor, which I'm keeping as a lot with a long term tenant on the second floor.
and that open studio space on the first floor.
And I don't know of what activity was on the first floor
before I bought the property in 2016.
And I've owned it ever since.
And so, as I mentioned before, it's a twin building
and it's altogether three stories.
and in 2016 when I bought the building I was unable to secure a commercial tenant on the
first floor the first floor sat empty from 2016 until 2020 about mid-2020 and during the height
of when COVID started, during the height of COVID, I opened up the first floor studio space
as Airbnb, thinking that maybe, you know, people as they were not able to go anywhere or live
really normally at all, I thought maybe visitors would want to come there. And from the first day
when I opened it up, it was an immense success. It never stopped. I was extremely happy with
running the Airbnb for short-term guests and then longer term also. It varied. Some wanted
to stay longer term and some short term. And it was all like what they call touchless check-in
and check-out. Nobody ever had to meet anybody. And it seemed very, very secure and easy for
everyone and I was very very happy with how how things um moved forward and um and especially
because I had there was no activity um for four years because I was I was just not able to get
anybody there because Maplewood Mall is very quiet pedestrian street I love it I absolutely
love that street. That's why I am there. But there's no traffic there because actually Maplewood
Mall does not connect directly to Germantown Avenue or Green Street. The way it's situated
is the entry and exit of Maplewood Mall is from the little Armat Street, not from Germantown or
green. And I think that partially explains why it's a very quiet space. I want to just go back
to this map for a moment, just for your information of these properties that are on the
same side of Maplewood Mall where I am, all except to my knowledge, all properties between
my property here at 43 and at the end close to germantown avenue all except two um are vacant
have been vacant for years um there's no commercial activity on them people are not able to find uh
tenants i don't know how or or commercial tenants i don't know if they're they're even
looking um but i know from a couple of neighbors who have expressed um had expressed same concern
With me, there were no commercial attendants. And from my property up to Green Street, there's the Prince Lodge that meets every now and then, maybe a couple of times, every two months, maybe.
But it's a private, you know, private establishment. And there's a little music school there. They have lessons there. And one law firm and then on Green Street, there's a Caribbean diner at the end.
But these properties, majority of them are vacant. Same thing on the other side, at least half of the buildings are vacant downstairs. So that's a that has been a real hardship.
And so when I started the Airbnb, I was really happy about being able to do that and then controlling carefully and vetting visitors there, both on the Airbnb.
and vetting visitors there both on the Airbnb platform and then I myself I because I manage
the property I'm there all the time so it's very important to me that there are visitors who
understood the quiet. Why don't you show us some photos of the property? Yeah so here is
my backyard that I renovated completely it's very nice patio and backyard there and here you can see
all the central AC units for the buildings here in the next one this is the current third floor
that I have self-explanatory what these rooms are and that's what I have there currently
that's another picture of the same place and uh the next one is the first floor proposal for
furniture um for the visitor accommodations in the open space here's one view um of it
and uh here if i can get here's the other other one behind that big window that's where maplewood
mall is and you can see it also on the other and that's uh those are the pictures um of the first
and third floors and i keep them i maintain everything myself and yeah that's pretty much
pretty much it um so so so i understand that the first and third floor you have visitor
accommodations good right now and on the second floor you have a long-term tenant correct correct
okay all right all right questions from the board no chair no chair questions or comments
from our attorney hillary emerson not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the
virtual audience chair we have alissa weiss okay they have been unmuted and allowed to speak
yeah yes hello good afternoon good afternoon miss weiss could you state your name and spell
for the court stenography allison a double l i s o n weiss w e i s s solo germantown civic
association affected rco all right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and
nothing but the truth yes please proceed miss weiss yes thank you um i just wanted to um say
because you didn't mention that in our letter we had expressed a uh temporary variance for i i see
that in this way okay and the city of philadelphia uh and the planning commission and the council
member recently um had a multi-million dollar renovation of the maplewood mall and so we're
hoping for uh changes and occupancy so that is why we would like to see this on a temporary basis
thank you so much for calling in we appreciate your input is there anyone else in the virtual
audience i see no hayes chair my planning commission
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do chair please proceed
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing cmx 2.5 commercial mixed use zoning
at this location uh we feel the applicant has demonstrated a hardship and that visitor
accommodations are less likely to cause adverse impacts in commercial districts accordingly the
planning commission recommends the board grant the variance. Thank you. MI 2023 006285 43 Maplewood
Mall. I vote yes with temporary variance. Expires 2727. Also in proviso, first and third floor only.
James Snell my vote is yes with provisos
LeVar Leonard Palmer my vote is yes with provisos
thank you thank you you have your votes
and thank you
we're going to go to let's see here
number one
MI 2023-006-336-3721
in Midville. Stephanie Boggs-Magna is the attorney.
There is a letter of support from East Falls Development
Corporation, letter of support from East Falls Community
Council, letter of support from
East Falls Farmer's Market,
and we also have seven emails in support of the requested
And we also have seven emails in support of the requested special exception.
special exception.
Counsel, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenography?
Sure. Stephanie Magana, S-T-E-P-H-A-N-I-E. Last name's M-A-G-A-G-N-A.
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, the relationship to the property?
Sure. My clan is the theater at East Falls LLC. They are the owner of the property, and they'll be represented today by Felicity Moorman.
Okay. And all of your exhibits have been sent in within five days?
Please start your presentation and share your screen.
Absolutely. Thank you.
So briefly, before Felicity tells a little bit more about the use, this property is located at the corner of Midvale and Frederick Street, about one block north of Ridge Ave.
very closely in proximity to the SEPTA East Falls train station, as well as several bus routes that
are located here. You can see on the aerial image shown here. The building was originally constructed
in about 1920. It was used as a movie theater in its original conception, but then it was later
converted for a warehouse and for office space. But as you can see in the picture, it's maintained
much of its character as a movie theater um so more recently in its history the falser club
and the theater at east falls lc bought the building to kind of save this from being
redeveloped most likely for multi-family use given the market demand in east falls
and intended to have it become a community center and events based for local community events
and that kind of grew organically into what is now becoming a performing arts center in east
So this application is seeking to document its use as a performing arts center and space for community events.
They are not proposing any additions or renovations to the building in connection with these use, but they will be preserving the character of the existing building, which you can see in the picture.
um when i'll make a particular note about our refusal um we are seeking special exception
approval for uses assembly and entertainment use when this application was filed um performing arts
venues and the like were more broadly defined um as assembly and entertainment uses at the time
under the zoning code um this was filed before more recent changes to that in the code um but
as you can see here is our notice of refusal and as or at referral and as mentioned we are
stipulating to its accuracy um also as was mentioned by the chairman and we did meet with
east falls community council their letter of support is included within the package
along with several letters of support from other members of the community which has been very
helpful um the falzer club has quite a loyal following in east falls and felicity moorman who
who is the representative for the Falser Club
and for the owner of the property,
can explain a little bit more about the use.
So with that, I will ask her to raise her hand
if she hasn't already and identify herself for the board.
What's her client's name, Ms. Magadia?
Felicity Moorman, M-O-O-R-M-A-N.
She has been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Thank you.
Hi, good afternoon. Could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Yes, how do you do? My name is Felicity Mormon. That's F-E-L-I-C-I-T-E. Last name Mormon. M as in
Mary. O-O-R-M-A-N as in Nancy. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth,
nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. Proceed, counsel. Thank you, Felicity. Did you hear my
short introduction to the board? Yes, ma'am. Everything I said correct and accurate?
it? Absolutely. Okay. Would you adopt it as your own? I would. Great. Please feel free. I'll go
through the slides at your pace, Felicity. Thank you so much. Thank you, board. I appreciate
this opportunity today. We're exceptionally excited about this moment in the Falzer Club
history and this building's history. Just to give a little bit more, but brief history,
my co-founder and I purchased the building originally, moving in in May 2014 from Resources
for human development. It had been used as co-working space and we- Felicity, let me interrupt
you just for one second. I'm not sure if the slide deck is sharing appropriately, so I'm going to
reshare. Just one second. You bet. Continue, please. So my co-founder and I purchased the
building to move our software companies into the space, Stratus and BooLogix, where we remained for
over five years until 2020 when our software companies were purchased and the acquiring
company moved our companies to Maniank for a larger space. We then renegotiated a deal to
repurchase the building back from the company that acquired us. Their real estate assessments
proved that indeed multifamily development would be the most lucrative use of the space,
use of the space but we had grown quite attached uh to the the nature of the space and i'll share
but we had grown quite attached to the...
some photos here in just a few minutes but um we negotiated purchased the building back not knowing
what we were going to do with it but having held uh really innumerable community events over the
course of the six years that we were also using it as office space everything from potlucks to
political meetings, to clothing swaps. And so we'd become very comfortable in the space as
something of a community center. So upon purchase, we did a little deeper dive into the
deeper history of the space. Next slide, if you don't mind, Stephanie. Originally a silent film
theater, the Midvale Theater, it opened in November of 1914 and seated nearly 500 people.
By 1930, obviously, talkies, well, maybe not obviously, but talkies had come into trend.
And so the theater owners decided to build a new theater, the New Falls Theater nearby, eventually called the Alden Theater.
And they launched that in 1939, at which time there was no movie theater used for our theater.
So this became a grocery store in 1939 and was later utilized for light manufacturing, warehousing, again, a co-working space for resources for human development, and also, needless to say, our office space for a number of years.
Not wanting to see it destroyed, we bid against others to purchase the property back.
We love it, and we feel like it's a huge part of Philadelphia's history.
So in the last year, we've endeavored to create a space for our community in East Falls.
Our first community event as a space that was an office space was a fundraiser for Ukraine, where we raised $20,000.
These are just some of those photos.
Since then, we've hosted JoyFest.
We were privileged to host the Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival kickoff in conjunction with Shofuso.
And our largest clothing community swapped to date where people bring good clothing and take hopefully all the clothing that people brought.
Not always the case, but this was over our 5,000 square feet.
There was not a spot that didn't have clothing in it.
So phenomenal events.
We've also hosted the East Falls Farmers Winter Market twice.
And again, something like 40 vendors.
So we've seen an organic growth in adoption, utilization, and support of the space.
And we'll just take you through a couple of pictures here briefly so that you get kind of a feel for the unique nature of the building itself.
Stephanie, if you can pop through a couple. Unique nature of performers, too.
I'm scrolling through the performance pictures, Felicity. If you cannot see it, please let me know.
Yep, I got you. Thank you. Now, here on music, this is where we really started to find our groove with our community.
It was consistently requested that we bring in live music. It is a theater. It certainly lends itself to that. And the nature of the theater itself has been minimally impacted by our use as office space.
We have hosted countless musicians now, including Grammy award-winning Bakithi Kumalo, who played on Paul Simon's Graceland album, the late, great Larry McKenna, the phenomenal jazz guitarist Jimmy Bruno, and one of my personal favorites, Christine Havrila, and the incredible and exceptional Divine Hand Ensemble.
If you haven't seen them, I have to highly recommend literally international artists from around the world, including Gambia just last weekend.
So not not what we necessarily expected to do with the space, but we continue to do both live music and support our community with things like film screenings that you see here.
Reimagining Safety, where we had really kind of an awakening that we were going to need to
document the use because the turnouts are growing. And it's been an exceptional opportunity to serve
our East Falls community with something fresh and new. We do intend, with the approval of the board,
to subsidize some of the things we do with private events
in order to continue to guarantee fees to musicians
who often take risk in playing in new venues.
A couple of the events,
we had a wedding for a community member,
very touching, really exceptional.
And we still work here.
So my co-founder and I run a software company.
Now, everybody in software works remotely, so we don't have a need for office space anymore.
So this repurposing, while we occasionally have meetings here, is really a labor of love.
A labor of love. If I may, just to close, I want to close with gratitude for the deep conversations we were able to have with the East Falls Community Council, their leadership, membership and committee, including any concerns that they had with regards to parking and noise.
If I may, just to close.
I believe all assuaged and included in the provisos.
So thank you to the community council for their support.
Thank you very much for your time.
Council, one question.
Would you be comfortable with the proviso,
understated performance will be concluded by midnight?
Okay. All right.
Questions on the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
no questions mr chairman questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson
um only to know what the proviso um mr chair um if the board plans to adopt that it can just say
um events to conclude by midnight thank you or all events to conclude by midnight thank you
um questions or comments from the virtual audience
chair we have hillary langer they are sure and allowed to speak
hi could you state your name please and spell for the court stenography
hillary langer h-i-l-a-r-y l-a-n-g-e-r do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth i do proceed mr langer i just want to uh back up everything felicity
And Stephanie has said it's a an awesome community asset to have in the middle of our community.
They have outstanding performers. It's an incredible community gathering place.
And I say we're very lucky to have them in the middle of our community.
So we're very happy to see you grant special exception with the proviso.
Thank you, Mr. Weiner. We appreciate your call.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Michelle Feldman.
They have been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Why, could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Yes, Michelle Feldman, M-I-C-H-E-L-L-E-F-E-L-D-M-A-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
Well, first, thank you to the zoning board for your time and consideration this afternoon.
I'm testifying today in my capacity as the director of the East Falls Development Corporation.
Our organization is dedicated to the long-term health and growth of our small business community
and commercial corridors, and we testify today in strong support of the Falls Air Club's
application.
Since opening their doors, the Falls Air has constituted a burst of positive energy in
East Falls, a partner to our small businesses, a spark for commerce, and a gathering hub
for our residents and visitors.
Our organization believes the special exemption requested here is critical to the club's ability
to continue to positively impact our neighborhood.
We also believe the club's growth has the potential to bring in new businesses and shoppers.
And the club's team is incredibly community-oriented.
They go above and beyond to support our residents and business owners,
including proactively addressing any concerns of near neighbors.
Thank you so much for your time today.
Thank you for taking the time, Nicole, and we appreciate it.
Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
chair we have laura herschel they have been unmuted and allowed to speak
hi could you state your name please and hello my name my name is laura herschel that's l-a-u-r-a
h-e-r-s-c-h-e-l right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the
truth yes i do please proceed um i just wanted to voice my support of the exception um and granting
the exception. Um, I have attended multiple community events, um, before it was even the
Falser Club. Um, I've attended, um, East Falls Forward meetings, uh, Joy Fest, uh, musical events.
And I just want to say it has definitely brought community together. Um, Felicity is always
proactive in addressing like any issues. There's any noise, uh, any complaints. Um, I've never
had to complain um i have never seen any issues um and i just see it as a great asset to our
neighborhood okay thank you very much for taking the time to call us is there anyone else
i see no hands at this time chair planning commission
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing cmx 2.5 commercial mixed use zoning
at this location the property has a long history of use as a community accessible space and we feel
And we feel the adaptive reuse of the existing building advances the district plan.
the adaptive reuse of the existing building advances the district plan
Accordingly, the Planning Commission recommends the board grant the variance.
Thank you.
MI 2023-006-336-3721 Midville Avenue.
I vote yes with proviso.
All events to conclude by midnight.
James Snell, my vote is yes with proviso.
LaBara Leonard Palmer, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you, counsel. I will be calling you back very shortly.
Number two, MI 2023-006-279-5843-45, Rising Sun Avenue. Leonard Altieri is the attorney.
Letter of non-opposition from Longcrest Community and a letter of support from Council Member Phillips.
Leonard Altieri is coming back in as a panelist now, Chair.
Counsel, you've already been sworn. Just state your name for the record.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman Leonard Altieri, A-L-T-I-E-R-I, the law firm of Claire Harrison in Center City, Philadelphia.
Could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Yep, my client is Oak Street Health. They are the tenant at 5843-45 Rising Sun.
do you waive the reading of the referral and agree to its accuracy i do and all your
paperwork was sent in within five days last five days it was mr chairman and then i did supplement
the packet this morning i received a letter of support from councilman phillips office and sent
that in uh after this morning's hearing sir thank you could you uh share your screen and begin your
presentation. Yes, sir. Can you see my screen, Mr. Chairman? Yes, we're good. Perfect. So again,
Mr. Chairman and members of the board, for the record, Leonard Alterior, the law firm of Claire
Harrison for the property located at 5843-45 Rising Sun. The property is located in the CMX2
Zoning District. It is a former CVS building, and the applicant is seeking a change of use to allow
group medical, dental, and health practitioner's office in it. The applicant, as I said, is Oak
Street Health. Oak Street Health is a primary care provider specializing in Medicare patients.
Their medical offices allow their patients to regularly and easily see their physician to keep
their health under consistent surveillance the program includes exam rooms consultation rooms
the lab various office spaces for the staff as well as the community room as i noted in the
beginning we did apply to l and i we received a notice of referral because the proposed use of
group medical dental and health practitioners offices requires a special exception as i also
noted we did receive a letter of support from councilman phillips office as well as the long
Crest Community Association. There were some notes that I'll address later that the Longhurst
Community Association raised. Again, it is an existing CVS. We are not proposing to do anything
to the exterior of the building with regards to taking down walls or anything. Everything will be
contained within the actual structure, which is shown here. So essentially the way to think of it
is it's multiple office, excuse me, multiple medical building, excuse me, multiple medical
offices contained in one building, as you can see in the plans shown here. The criteria with
regard to a special exception, we do not believe that this change of use will create any additional
congestion in the streets or the transit system. We do not believe that it will overcrowd the land.
It will not impair any light or air to adjacent property. It will not burden the public facilities.
It will not impair or permanently injure the use of adjacent properties, nor will it endanger
the public health, safety, or welfare, and we do not believe that it is inconsistent with the
comprehensive plan of the city. As I mentioned before, the Longcrest Civic Association did raise
four notes inside their letter of support with regards to lack of parking, the need to repave
the driveway and the sidewalks, the need for an enclosure of the dumpster area, and a commitment
to hire local residents. It can be expanded upon even more by my client, Mr. Sean Clark,
from Oak Street Health. But in consultation with Oak Street Health, with regards to parking,
the Oak Street Health provides a van, essentially a Dodge Caravan. 60% of our patients that use
Oak Street Health are transported to the facility through that transit forum. We think that there's
sufficient parking at the location and parking is not actually something that would be flagged with
at the location, and parking is not actually something that would be flagged with regards to
with regards to this
this change of use. With regards to repaving the driveway and the sidewalks, Oak Street Health is
looking at the sidewalk as well as the driveway and will address any areas that might raise some
safety concerns. With regards to the dumpster area, we too are looking at that and have no problem
doing so. And with regards to the hiring of local residents, it is Oak Street Health's philosophy
to always hire from within the community.
It's easier to have individuals who live in close proximity to the location
as opposed to individuals who might have to travel long distances.
At this time, Mr. Chairman, I don't have anything else with regards to the presentation.
I do have my client, Mr. Clark from Oak Street Health,
that I can come in and have him adopt my testimony and offer him for any questions.
So, Sean, if you could raise your hand and we'll have you join as a panelist.
Sean Clark has been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Sean, could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Sean Clark. That's S-E-A-N-C-L-A-R-K.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you very much. Sean, were you on the call when I went through the presentation?
Yes, I was.
And were you able to hear everything that I testified to?
yes i did and if you were to be called today would you answer in a similar fashion to the
to the presentation i provided yes i would and so you would adopt this testimony as your own
yes and the last question i'll have is everything that i said was true and accurate to the best of
your knowledge and belief yes sir all right i have no further questions mr chairman questions from
the board no mr chairman no mr chairman questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands chair planning commission
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing cmx2 commercial mixed use zoning at
this location we believe the proposed health group practitioner's office will have no more
impact than would be expected to have given its location accordingly the planning commission
recommends the board grant the special exemption mi 2023 006 279 58 43 to 45 rising sun avenue
I vote yes. James Snell, my vote is yes. LeBaron, Leonard Palmer, vote is yes.
Thank you. Thank you, counsel. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Have a good day.
Okay. Number three, MI 2023-006-287-420 West Mermaid Lane. Stephanie Boggs Magna is the attorney.
Letter of support from the Chestnut Hill Community Association.
Applicant provided six form letters of support, non-opposition from their neighbors.
And there was an earth-moving plan submitted and reviewed by the Planning Commission.
Counsel, you've already been sworn.
Could you just state your name for the record?
Stephanie Magana?
Right.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal and agree with the accuracy?
I'd also like to note that this application is very closely related to another application on the calendar for today.
For today, that's 7504 St. Martin's Lane.
I think I'll move to that next.
I didn't know if we wanted to consider those in conjunction.
The materials are much the same.
I think we talked a little bit about that, and I think what we want to do is hear this one, and then I'm going to go right to that.
We're going to hear them separately.
Is that right, Hillary?
Yes, that's correct, Mr. Chair. While the properties are adjacent and have the same owner and similar refusals, what's being asked in each case is a little bit different, so we need to look at them differently, at a different time. Thank you.
Proceed, counsel.
Sure. Our project architect, Sarah Griffith, is going to be sharing her screen. So if she is not already, she can raise her hand and be promoted. We have two other professionals that will also be testifying if you want to swear them in collectively or as each one is called. I defer to what the board.
Why don't we do this? Why don't we have the person that runs the screen and then let's see, you know, how your presentation, how it goes, and then we'll go from there. OK.
Sure. So, Sarah, if you can, I see you're on the screen here. If you want to be sworn in first, you can share.
I think, is she going to testify to Stephanie or just use the screen?
She is going to testify. So, to start with, at 420 West Mermaid Lane, our clients are Meredith and Dane Jensen.
They purchased the property in 2021 in conjunction with the St. Martin's Lane property with the intentions of making the 420 West Mermaid Lane property their single family home.
with the intentions of making the 420 West Mermaid Lane property their single-family home.
So they began renovations to the property in 2022 under separate and prior buy-write approvals, and those are ongoing.
The current application is seeking approval to construct an accessory cabana structure related to an in-ground pool at the property,
all accessory to the single-family home in conjunction with fencing and related landscaping site improvements.
The size of the structure, the total area of the cabana structure, requires variance under the zoning code as it exceeds the permitted total area of such an accessory structure.
We are also seeking relief from steep slope protections for disturbance within an area with an existing slope between 15 and 25 percent at St. Mermaids.
So, Sarah, if you'd like to go through our presentation as we have, maybe we can stop a little bit short of West Mermaid.
But as she's scrolling through here before she begins, as was mentioned, we have a letter of support from Chestnut Hill Community Association for the Mermaid property.
And we also have discussed this presentation as well as the connected one with all six affected neighbors.
They have also submitted letters of support or non-opposition in regards to this project and they are submitted within our exhibit package.
So, Sarah, with that, if you want to start, specifically, we can focus on West Mermaid for now, and then we'll move on to the project at St. Martin's.
That sounds good.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Sarah Griffith, S-A-R-A-H, last name G-R-I-F-F-I-T-H.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, yes.
Please proceed.
Okay, so thank you guys for taking time to meet with us today. I'm an architect at Peter Zimmerman Architects. We're here to review the refusals on 420 West Mermaid, again, for the accessory uses of the cabana and the steep slope.
for 420 West Mermaid. The main refusal is for the cabana size. So here is, just to situate
everybody, this is the main house and the existing garage, mostly interior work happening here. And
then this is the cabana that is over the allowed 130 square feet size. These are all the neighboring
properties that have given their letters of support that Stephanie touched on. And then this
is the other property owned by the client that we're going to address later. So this is just a
quick overview, zoom in of the 420 West Mermaid Lane property. Again, this is the existing house
and existing garage. And then this is a more in-depth and detailed plan of the cabana that
as proposed along with a new pool that is in the existing footprint of the existing pool
on their property. We'll just briefly go through some renderings of what this cabana will look like.
It's going to be two masses with a roof covering an open air villian that leads out to the pool.
Here's just another view from that South St. Martin's property that is also owned by the
same client. So the total footprint under roof is 672 square feet. Each enclosed mass is 180 square
feet, which is what is prompting the refusal. But here you can see a blown up floor plan of
what will be enclosed in this cabana, which will be this open air living room, open air living
space, kitchen, powder room, steam shower, and sauna, and then in the lower level will just be
a gym, some storage, another powder room, and a laundry room. Due to the existing steep slopes,
we're able to get a basement in there and still meet the 15-foot height requirement in this zone.
These are just some elevations, so you can see a more detailed look, but they're also
mimicked in the renderings that were shown above.
Here is a site section that kind of shows you how the existing steep slopes let us get
a basement in there and how we're working with the site in order to grade down to this
basement.
um and you can see the existing house and garage that is going in in here
uh this is another section through another view through the pool so this is a new pool again in
the same location as the existing pool and a site section through this open air covered um cabana
through this open air covered um cabana space between the two enclosed masses on the property
um next i'm gonna ask for jason kelso to to speak to the steep slopes on the property
okay 420 west mermaid okay thank you jason kelso is our landscape architect jason if
you have not already please raise your hand and identify yourself with the board
jason kelso has been unmuted and allowed to speak
sir could you sir could you please state your name spell for the court stenographer
hi there jason kelso that's j-a-s-o-n-k-e-l-s-o
i'm a landscape architect with hess with hess landscape architects h-e-s-s all right do you
swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do please proceed
council thank you jason if you want to continue to go through your section of the presentation
again we're going to focus on mermaids lane for right now and we'll get we'll touch on st martin's
in a little bit thanks stephanie um all right so what i'd like to show here are just some kind of
before um before shots and then we superimposed through 3d modeling uh some imagery to show you
uh of the proposed condition so the first slide there uh this is the view from west mermaid lane
looking into the property the second image as we scroll down is a 3d rendering off in the distance
there it's a little hard to see but it is the structure that we're proposing the pool cabana
in the next slide there'll be another view as you get further into the property you can see
there's an existing driveway that that kind of bisects the property there creating some man-made
steep slopes so that is also an area in addition to the oversized cabana but
then also we're asking for relief on the steep slopes there's an and we have a
3d rendering again our intent is to to landscape pretty heavily here to give
some privacy and then the next image this is a view so there are some of the
deep slopes in the foreground there. And what Sarah touched on is this is a kind of a two-level
pool house. And you can notice that the upper level is at grade at the swimming pool. And then
we have this walkout scenario here where we're nestling into the hillside working with the
existing topography all right we can continue down right so this is this
photograph was taken from the westerly neighbor 440 West Mermaid Lane and we
superimposed the proposed structure there just to give an idea of its scale
and then um well i think these other slides all relate uh to the next property which we'll touch
on soon so i'd like to pass it over to ronald glenn what's mr glenn going to do thank you
ronald glenn is our civil engineer and he's going to touch on the sleep steep slope conditions of
the project sure ronald glenn has been unmuted and allowed to speak sir could you state could
Sir, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Ronald Glenn, R-O-N-A-L-D-D-L-E-N-N, and I'm with Ruggiero Plant Land Design.
All right.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, Stephanie.
Thank you.
Ronald, can you just briefly explain the steep slope disturbance at Mermaid's Lane?
We could just stay on this page for a moment, and I'll explain it.
So you can see the contours on this existing feature plan.
There are kind of two bands of steep slopes that bisect the property.
One is between the main building and the existing pool area, and the other between the pool area and the adjacent property to the south.
But also, as indicated by the cursor moving on the screen, there is a steep slope between these areas and the driveway that currently leads to the St. Martins property.
They're all man-made to facilitate these existing improvements.
So in order to install the replaced pool and the pool cabana, you're going to have to have equipment in there, buckets and ground.
Much of that area is going to be disturbed, but we are minimizing it as much as we possibly can while being able to fit necessary equipment.
All disturbance of these steep slopes will be managed during construction by means of
pretty common practices, whether it be coconut mat or matting, silk fences, silk socks, preventing
silt fences, silt socks, preventing sediment from watching off on through any of the basin sites.
sediment from watching off on here.
Post-construction stormwater, we're going to have a small infiltration basin that is effectively going to capture most stormwater in sight and remove it entirely and discharge it to the sewer rather than the surface.
That's my breach deal.
Thank you.
um dane jensen is also here he's the owner um so if there are any other questions we're happy to
answer any questions this time dane jensen has been unmuted and allowed to speak
hi sir could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer
yes my name is dane jensen d-a-n-e j-e-n-s-e-n you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole
truth and nothing but the truth. I do. Please proceed, counsel. Thanks, Dane. Was there anything
you wanted to add before we proceed to Q&A with the board? No, I think everything has been covered.
Thank you all very much for hearing our presentation and feel free to let us know if there are any
questions. Thanks, Dane. Okay. Just real quick. So we have a letter of support from Chestnut Hill
Community Association and six form letters of support from near neighbors. Am I correct?
that is correct letters of support or non-opposition from our near neighbors yes okay
um questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman questions or comments from our attorney
hillary emerson um just briefly um ms mcgany did you want mr jensen to adopt your testimony
sarah did that um at the beginning of our presentation but i'd be happy to go
okay okay no it's totally up to you thank you um dame just for purposes of the record um did you
hear the full presentation that was given today i did um based on your understanding and knowledge
and belief do you believe that everything was correct and accurate yes it was accurate did
you adopt the statements as your own for purposes of the record yes thank you questions or comments
from the virtual audience.
Chair, we have Charles Richardson.
They have been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Good afternoon, Mr. Richardson.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.
You have to square me.
Could you state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Certainly.
Charles Richardson, R-I-C-H-A-R-D-S-O-N,
Office of Councilwoman Cindy Bass Room, 508 City Hall.
I was prepared to
Wait a minute, do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I was prepared to speak on both
properties, but I'll do it
one at a time, since that's what we're
seen to be doing
The Councilwoman has no opposition to
granting the variance
Alright, thank you very much, we'll be back to you shortly
Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair
Planning Commission
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission the comprehensive plan
recommends no change to the rsd1 single-family detached zoning at this location we feel the
variances for oversized structure and land disturbance represent an overuse of the property
and any hardship would be self-created accordingly the planning commission recommends the board deny
the variance
Thank you.
frozen i'm thinking he did yeah uh he left and i guess he's gonna try and get back on
all right we'll pause just for a few minutes so we can get back on thank you
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Good afternoon.
Is anyone able to hear me please respond?
Some people are frozen and they should come out and go back in, please.
I can hear you Fatina.
so we're just waiting for the chair to log in we appreciate your patience
Thank you.
Thank you.
Bettina, can you still hear me?
Yes, Hillary.
I can't see anybody.
There we go.
They're coming back in.
Thank you.
for helping the chair to return and resume the hearings.
We appreciate your patience.
Thank you.
Hi, y'all.
We're going to pause for a few more minutes while we're having IT help to cheer.
Thanks all for that patience.
All right.
Sorry, everybody.
Hello?
Thank you.
what hillary where do we stand get ready to vote am i right um yes mr sure we just heard
from the planning commission so we can vote on the mermaid lane case thank you no number three
mi 2023 006 287 420 west mermaid lane i vote yes
James Snell, my vote is yes
LeBaron Leonard Palmer, my vote is yes
Thank you
And then we're going to go to number 7
And then we're going to go to number seven, MI2023-005-845-7504-St. Martin's Lane.
MI 2023
Stephanie Bogtamagna is the attorney.
Just state your name for the record, please.
Stephanie Magana.
You're already been sworn.
And we have a letter of support from Chestnut Hill and six foreign letters of support from
your neighbor.
So why don't you proceed?
Thank you.
We'll try to be brief.
So the properties at 420 Mermaid and 7504 St. Martin's share a rear property line, but they've always historically shared a driveway, primarily accessed off Mermaid Lane through the 420 West Mermaid site and into 7504 St. Martin's.
The Jensen's purchased both properties simultaneously with the intention of making 420 Mermaid their primary residence, but also making sure that they could provide a new driveway entrance for St. Martin's with the intention of making sure that that property was then sold and maintained as a single family home.
The home has a lot of historic character, but it is suffering from a lack of maintenance over the years prior to our clients purchasing the site.
It has much historic character they want to maintain. And this project collectively has been designed to try to ensure that happening.
So the proposal at St. Martin's specifically is to relocate the driveway from its access on Mermaid Lane to St. Martin's.
And the topography of the site at St. Martin's requires a variance for steep slope disturbance, rather de minimis, at 125 square feet in order to place the driveway at the St. Martin's site.
As was mentioned, we did present the whole project collectively to the Chestnut Hill Community Association.
It was very important to Chestnut Hill, as it's important to our client, that the home at St. Martin's, that everything be done to make sure that that is preserved, that this property, and in particular the home, be maintained as a single-family residence, which is certainly the Jensen's intention.
We also have letters of support and non-opposition from the neighbors.
I'll note one neighbor who is our neighbor that shares the boundary. We're closest to the driveway that's presented. Kathleen Savage. There is a specific agreement that's now shown on the screen that the Savages will have approval over the specific landscaping that is going to be proposed along both of their property lines.
And there's now a letter between the Jensen's and the Savages confirming the area where the Savages will have discretion to make sure that the landscaping is to their satisfaction.
So with that, we'll quickly go through the relevant portion of our presentation to St. Martin's and Sarah Griffith, if you want to start your presentation.
Sarah, could you just state your name, please? I think you've already been sworn.
Sarah Griffith.
Okay. And spell it for the corporate plural one more time.
S-A-R-A-H, last name G-R-I-F-F-I-T-H.
So my portion on this is very brief, and then I'll pass it on to the other two, landscape and civil.
But existing, the driveway for St. Martin's used to come through 420 West Mermaid.
Right here, you can see a dashed line of where the existing driveway used to come.
So the proposal of this is to have St. Martin's get its own driveway from St. Martin's Lane that comes up here, and the variance comes in for the steep slopes that putting in this driveway would entail.
So with that said, I will pass it on to Jason Kelsow.
Jason Kelsow has been unmuted and allowed to speak.
all right sir just for the record state your name please jason kelso j-a-s-o-n-a-e-l-s-o
right you've already been sworn please proceed thank you jason just for purposes of the record
can you identify your relationship to this project i am the landscape architect the
company i work with is hess landscape architects thank you please proceed
This slide here shows a view from the Savages.
This is the property to the west at 7502 St. Martins.
The proposed driveway will be just beyond that stone retaining wall there and the home further in the background there, the yellow stucco home there.
And this next slide, quite basic, but what we want to just show is the existing condition.
There is currently a retaining wall there where some of the steep slopes are, which our civil engineer will share with you next.
But this shows the curb cut from St. Martin's Lane.
And I will pass it over to Ronald Glenn.
mr glenn just state your name please for the court stenographer you've already been sworn
Mr. Glenn, just state your name, please, for the court stenographer.
You've already been sworn.
so uh ronald glenn r-o-n-a-l-d-d-l-e-n-n and i am the civil engineer with the bureau plant
please proceed of course um so the as stephanie said the impact on seat slopes here is is quite
minimal um in fact it's like kind of hard to see you can zoom in on it a little bit sarah if you
can at the bottom near the the wall where the uh driveway would connect um basically there's this
a there's a little bit of steep slope um right along the wall area um near a couple trees where
the slope is a little bit steep that we need to cut into to install the driveway and there might
be another small area steep slope up the way yep right around there um but mostly the slopes are
not steep slopes they're below 25 percent and similar to 420 mermaid lane much of the construction
activity uh earth disturbance will be managed by silt fence silk socks um eliminating any debris
from spilling over on neighboring properties or the public right of way and that's again
to address that thank you and again um dane jensen who's the owner of the property is available if
there are any questions um but with that i think we can turn it over to any q a from the board if
there are questions from the board no mr jim
jim sorry chair uh no no no i did uh no questions i'm sorry questions or comments from our attorney
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
chair we have charles richardson they have been abuted at a lab
mr richardson just state your name please certainly charles richardson officer councilwoman
and Cindy Bass, the Councilwoman has no opposition to green invariance.
Thank you, Mr. Richardson.
Thank you. Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
I see no heads, Chair.
My Planning Commission.
Good afternoon, Chair Peter Bernard for the Planning Commission.
Sorry.
technical difficulty the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing rsd1
single-family detached zoning at this location we feel the applicant has demonstrated sufficient
hardship and the proposed various is de minimis accordingly the planning commission recommends
the board grant the variance thank you if i may i think because of the last hearing i forgot to
ask my client to adopt my testimony if i may you can dane absolutely if you are can you raise your
hand, please. Dane Jensen has been unmuted and allowed to speak. Sir, just state your name.
You already been sworn. Dane Jensen. Thanks, Dane. Since we're doing this twice, I almost forgot.
Can you hear the statements I made in connection with this application? I did.
Thanks. Are they correct and accurate? They are. Would you adopt them as your own statements?
I would. Thank you, Dane. Thank you, Chairman. Okay. So MI 2023-005-845-7504-St. Martins Lane,
I vote yes. James Snell, my vote is yes. LeBaron Leonard Palmer, vote is yes.
Thank you, counsel. Sorry for the delay. No problem. Thank you very much. Okay.
Okay. Number four, MI 2023-006-405, 1245 East Roosevelt Boulevard. Stephen Pollack is the attorney. There was a meeting held on 117-20 forward by Parkwood Civic. We do not have that as of yet.
Stephen Pollack is coming back in as a panelist now, Chair.
Hi, Mr. Pollock.
Hi, Chairman Bergman, members of the board.
A pleasure to see everybody.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court's anographer?
Surely, Stephen Pollock, S-T-E-P-H-E-N, Pollock, P-O-L-L-O-C-K.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, Mr. Chair.
Could you identify who your client is in the relationship to the property?
My client is the Isaac Newton Foundation operating the Mass Charter School 3, and they are the owners of the property.
Mass Charter School 3, and they are the owners of the property.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal and agree to its accuracy?
And all your documents were in five days in advance?
Yes, they were, Mr. Chair.
Please proceed.
I would like to have the assistance of Ryan Thomas, who is my associate.
Ryan could be promoted so he can share the screen for everybody.
That would be appreciated.
Ryan Thomas is coming back as a panelist.
I hope I can get myself back on.
Here I am.
Quick one, the finger there.
Okay, Mr. Chair, Ryan is there.
Ryan, if you could put up the pictures.
This is the 12345 East Reservoir Boulevard was the former new headquarters of Crown Cork and Seal up near on the boulevard right just below the armory.
It's the boulevard in Southampton Road, a stone's throw away from Steamfitters, local Union 420's headquarters, I believe, Mr. Snell.
um and uh what we're trying to do here mr chair this is the uh this is the space in front of
crown cork and seals building uh and if you go to uh our plan ryan six one um we'll show you
what we intend to do is put a ball field and a track in in the front area we cannot put it
anywhere else in the property. In the back, the rear of the property is all for stormwater
management. Previously, we were granted variances to convert. When Crown left to move their
headquarters out of the city of Philadelphia, we were able to crown the Isaac Newton Foundation,
acquired the building, and adapted this to its school use. Prior, on another occasion,
The board granted, if you see this little standalone building to the left of the main building, the board granted us a variance recently to have a standalone gymnasium.
Now, as part of the program, we'd like to be able to have this ball field that would be for, as you can see, track, field hockey, lacrosse, and soccer.
but and what we have is this the hardship in this case is and I don't know if you can see the blue
various blue lines but we're subject to three different zones this is a 40 acre piece of ground
and we're subject to three different zone zone district the first zoning district is right along
at the top right along the Roosevelt Boulevard which is where Ryan's showing you and that's a
special active special parks active district which when you read what the zoning code says about it
It says it's for use of public space owned and operated by the city, the state or federal government, not a private entity like we are.
But it's been there. The next part is and that's about we have 40 acres, 17 over 1.7 million square feet of space, 115,000 roughly for this SPOA.
The next section, if you can see it in the sort of blue or purple line that's around the field and everything like that and comes down just behind the building a little bit, that is, we're burdened by an RSA 3, which is Residential Single Family Attached, and that's about 700,000 square feet of the property.
And then behind it, anything else is I-1 Industrial. So when it came to the building of even Crown's headquarters, basically what was in the I-1 Industrial became either parking space for Crown or in the rear, if we want to show it, we could show you at 6-2 our existing site plan, but it became stormwater basins to accommodate, accommodate, there you go, that whole area behind the blue down below in the bottom of your screen.
That's where the stormwater basins were to accommodate Crown's corporate use of the property.
So over the years, since 2018, since Isaac Newton and Mass Charter 3 opened up, we've adapted this space for the educational program.
We have K through 9 right now, about 1,300 students.
We would like to be able to have this facility.
We've had the indoor facility for physical education.
now we would like to have this outdoor facility for education we'll be preserving as many trees
as we can in the 40 acres we're not building anything other than you know a bleacher that
will hold about 500 people closer to the building we're going to be having a one-story sort of
Closer to the building, we're going to be having a one-story sort of bathroom facility for people that use the property.
So we believe we're not endangering health, safety, or welfare, and we're not changing the nature of this neighborhood.
We are sort of a self-contained unit facing the boulevard.
We have an outbound area off McNulty Drive named after Tom McNulty, who was the head of the plumbers for many, many years.
And McNulty Drive, we seal it off and it's exit only.
That was something that we arranged at the very first zoning board hearing way back when we got approval to use the property.
So we only use that for outflow and we don't allow people to use it during the day to go in and out, but it is served on an emergency basis.
but we limit and make everybody go out on the boulevard and the interesting thing about this
one is we were the beneficiaries of the fact that that became one crown way it has its own
signalized intersection with its own desal lane to get off if you're headed north on the boulevard
and the outer lanes and it has its own turn lane from southbound however all our kids are from
philadelphia and all our kids are basically coming from other areas of the city of philadelphia not
Not just our area in the Parkwood neighborhood area.
So we are looking to build this facility, the track.
It'll be usable for interscholastic and intrascholastic events.
We already, I saw that there was some, we've already allowed different events to go on at the school that serve the community,
like community days for different elected representatives throughout the Northeast area.
So, Mr. Chairman, I would like to call John Swoyer, who is our CEO of all the mass schools,
and this is his particular pet project, the Mass 3 and the athletic field.
Could I have John Swoyer raised to-
Let me ask you a question.
Did you receive a letter from the Parkwood?
Did you get it or you didn't?
No, we don't. Oh, you don't have it because it showed Ryan.
Will you show it? We have. I just want to be sure we do have to make sure you make sure Hillary gets a copy of it, please.
Yeah. OK, because it did say he was sending it to.
OK. All right. I see. Yeah. But it was 15. We'll send it right away.
We'll send it right away. Send it to Hillary. And also, hopefully you got Councilman O'Neill's no objection.
I did not see that, but thank you very much. We have it there.
we there we have that too okay we can we could we can forward that right to you so you have it okay
thank you very much sir so with that john hopefully can be raised to panelists or absolutely
because i know you still have a heavy burden here so no no we don't okay
john sawyer has been unmuted and allowed to speak
mr sawyer could you could you state your name please and spell for the court sonographer
Sure. This is John Sawyer, J-O-H-N, Sawyer, S-W-O-Y-E-R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
Yes, John, you've been listening to all the statements that I made on the record during the course of this hearing?
Yes, I have.
And do you believe that they're true and correct?
And do you adopt that as your testimonies if you were to if those words were to come out of your mouth today?
I would. OK, Mr. Chairman, I also have Michael Bowker, who is our engineer, who could discuss that we've gone through the water department for preliminary plan approval.
But I don't think we. Why don't we do? Why don't we hold him in case the board has questions?
OK. All right. So questions from the board?
No questions, Chair. OK.
Okay. No questions on my end, Chair. Thank you. I would just move into the record, all our exhibits. Oh, absolutely, sure. A1 through A16, plus those two letters, we will send them right away to you. Okay, right. Questions for our attorney, Hillary Emerson.
No, just thank you for sending us the letters.
Okay. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Alice Udovich. They have been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Good afternoon, Alice. Could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Sure. Good afternoon, Chairman, members of the board.
Hello?
Chair, she's disappeared for some reason.
Okay. There she is.
There she is.
Good afternoon, Chairman, members of the board.
Alice Udovich from Councilman Brian O'Neill's office.
U-D-O-V-I-C-H.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
Please proceed.
The councilman supports the granting of the variance at this location for Mass 3 Charter.
The Councilman supports the granting of the variant.
Thank you very much.
Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Michael Bowker.
They have been unmuted and allowed to speak.
All right.
Michael is our engineer.
I don't know Michael.
No, we're okay.
Michael, we don't need you at this point.
Thank you.
Questions or comments are from the Planning Commission.
Good afternoon, Chair.
Peter Bernard for the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends a change to I-2 industrial zoning at this location.
The proposal is consistent with the current use of the property, and we feel the applicant has demonstrated sufficient hardship.
Accordingly, the Planning Commission recommends the Board grant the variance.
Thank you.
MI 2023-006-405-12345, East Roosevelt Boulevard, I vote yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
LeBaron Leonard Palmer, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Mr. Pollack.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the board.
Great to see you.
This is the start of my 48th year in front of the zoning board.
Thank you very much, sir.
All right.
Take care.
Number six, MI-2023-006-256-1001 Watkins Street.
Alec Sokoloff is the attorney.
We have a letter of opposition from East Hachonk Crossing.
Letter of opposition from Council Member Squillin.
Chair Ole Sokoloff is coming back in as a panelist now.
good afternoon members of the board could you state your name please and spell for the court
stenographer absolutely oleg sokolov o-l-e-g-s-o-k-o-l-o-b of rabinovich sokolov law group
right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do could you identify your client the relationship to the property yes my client is
There's one zero zero one Watkins LLC and a member of such LLC is on the line here, Antonio DiTomo.
OK, do you waive the reading of the refusal and agree to the accuracy?
I do, but I suppose I'll get into it a little bit there.
There are some amendments made by way of proviso.
So one of the items on the refusal is moot at this point.
Okay. And all of your documents have been sent in five days prior, am I correct?
They were for full disclosure. There was one document that I just sent this morning because the city tax system had not updated a payment to reflect.
But that was I kept checking it since five days ago and it finally reflected today.
Okay, please proceed.
Thank you very much.
So, as discussed, let me just share my screen here.
Is everybody able to see that?
We can.
Great.
So, as stated, we are here on 1001 Walk-In Street, located in the East Pass Yonk section of the city.
Originally, the refusal issued in October of 2023 was for three-dimensional variance requests, one being maximum occupied area where the required is 75 and we were proposing 84, a minimum rear yard depth of nine feet is required.
We were proposing a seven-foot yard and a maximum height at the time.
We were proposing 42 feet, nine and one quarter inches, excuse me, and the maximum allowed at the time is 38 feet.
We, after two, and I'll get into it in a little bit, but after two meetings with the coordinating RCO where we discussed the height,
we have decided to amend our plans and submitted this proviso and are no longer seeking the
variance for the height requirement so the property is plans have been reduced to a three
story property and now fall within the purview and within the requirements of the code
here's such proviso application and then the plans itself
So, we are seeking to build a single family home on the lot currently, and I'll jump to
that in a little bit, but currently on the site is this garage here, the garage.
this garage here the garage is by way of a little bit of background the property was previously
owned by Lillian Itomo a longtime resident of the neighborhood and actually the owner of the
adjacent parcel the Antonio is her son who's the member of the LLC that has bought it so it's being
redeveloped however it's being redeveloped you know with someone who's part of the neighborhood
actually grew up in the neighborhood so back to the plans and the reason we're seeking these
variances and you'll see from the plans in a moment is this property is abutted by two
alleyways by two easement alleyways one along the side here and one in the back the deed of
the property actually extends about halfway into that alleyway and hence the necessity for
the rear yard variance it's basically we can't build a nine foot rear yard because we would be
going into the alleyway there in the back and the maximum open space requirement too is a
hardship for us to meet as a result of the alleyway that is here between the two buildings
if you can see we also have the architect on the line so we'd be happy to answer any
dimensional or specific questions about the plans but I'll quickly take you through the rest of our
exhibits and then would be happy to answer any questions when we did speak
we actually had two meetings here's the deed to the property so currently it is
this as I said the garage here and then you can see the fence right now for the
for the alleyway that runs along the side of the property this is looking in
both directions down Walken Street. Here's our application for appeal, our project information
board form. We met with the RCO twice, once on December 11th and then again December 16th.
Most of the discussion with the RCO was centered around the height as that would have the most
impact on neighbors. So originally, we proposed 42 feet, nine and one quarter inches. Then after
our first meeting, we had some internal discussions and amended the plans to still try to include a
fourth floor. However, we did reduce the height of the ceilings and some of the lower floors to try
to lower that the total structure height. That was also not something that the community wanted
to support. So after we received their their opposition to it, we, you know, went back and
decided that given that that was the main issue for the RCO, we would amend our plans
and negate that height variance requirement. Here's our certificates of mailing for both
meetings. Hence, there being so many of them. Here's the letter. And as you'll see from
letter most of what was discussed is again the the height issue as that is the thing that most
impacts the neighbors so and also you know it the discussion was whether or not that was in
conformity with the remainder of the block here's our zoning posters at the property
And then lastly, this was submitted as part of the original exhibit, the payment of the final outstanding balance for taxes.
And then this was just amended and added today to the exhibit packet and sent to Ms. Emerson and RCO's EVA.
At this time, if I can bring Antonio on the line to just adopt.
Mr. Sokoloff, can I ask before you do that?
Sure. Did the neighborhood change their position?
They didn't. We didn't have time to have another meeting.
The previous meeting was January 16th. Right.
So they did not change their position. But as you can see from from their letter, if you have it in front of you, as I stated, the majority of the issue was the height.
Right. OK, bring your client on.
Thank you, Mr. Tomo. Would you raise your hand, please?
Mr. DiTomo has been unmuted and allowed to speak
sir could you state your name and spell please for the court stenographer
hi Antonio DiTomo a-n-t-o-n-i-o d-i-t-o-m-o right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth nothing but the truth I do please proceed counsel thank you
Mr. DeTomo, you've been on the line for my testimony here today?
yes and would you adopt my testimony as your own yes is there anything you'd like to add for the
And would you adopt my testimony as your own?
board to consider uh no what questions from the board no chair
no mr chair questions or comments from our attorney hillary ems
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
Y'all see no hands, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Good afternoon, Chair.
Peter Bernard for the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing RSA 5 single-family residential at this location.
We feel the limited dimensions of the property represent a hardship,
and the proposed variance is the minimum necessary.
Accordingly, the Planning Commission recommends the Board grant the variance.
Thank you.
M-I-2023-006-256-1001-Walkin Street, I vote yes with proviso.
Revised plans, one page, stamped by ZBA, February 7th, 2024.
James Snell, my vote is yes with proviso.
LeBaron Leonard Palmer, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you. You have your vote, sir.
Thank you very much, Ward.
Number eight, MI 2023-006-301-1635 South 17th Street.
Ronald Patterson is the attorney.
Letter of support from the East Point Breeze neighbors.
Sarah, Ronald Patterson is coming back as a panelist now.
Hi, Mr. Patterson. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman. Ronald Patterson, P-A-T-T-E-R-S-O-N. I'm with Claire Harrison, Harvey, and Bransburg in Philadelphia.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Could you identify or client a relationship to the property?
yes i represent a j m f and company llc principal is justin fiordamundo f-i-o-r-d-i-m-o-n-d-o
it's also my son-in-law okay all right do you leave that disclosure oh thank you do you waive
the reading of the refusal and agree with its accuracy yes i do and all your exhibits were
sent in within five days prior.
Yes, they were, Mr. Chairman.
Okay, please share your screen
and begin your presentation.
You can see my share?
We can, sir.
All right, great.
So this property is mid-block.
It's located in RSA 5
Residential Zoning District.
A couple of years ago,
it was listed as a duplex for sale.
It also had a trash license
for picking up two units.
Justin purchased it in May 2023. It existed as a duplex, and both units were occupied at the time, and as a matter of fact, still are.
So he performed some minor renovations to upgrade it with the tenants there, and as you'll see in these photographs, this is the door entrance.
The hallway then splits upstairs. It's a two-story building, one to the right. Had existing, you know, separated utilities, electric, gas, water. Pictures of the interior. There's a modified interior there.
And so, you know, knowing the city and he does have other rental properties, wanted to do the right thing, and he applied for the rental license.
He was denied because there was no zoning permit for a single-family dwelling, which brings us to today.
So we're seeking to legalize this duplex use based upon the conditions that has a common entrance hall, separate entrances, separate utilities.
So there is definitely a hardship that exists that convert this back to a single-family residence.
But yet, in all the years and operating as a duplex, it has caused nor created any adverse impacts and is not any greater than would be if it were a single-family residence.
I would note that this is 1635.
I think 1639 is also a duplex.
We did meet and present to the Point Breeze, East Point Breeze Neighbors, Civic Association.
Get their letter here.
Yep. Okay. Okay. We took a vote and, you know, talked through this and I guess they actually made some nice comments here at the end, which we, which we appreciate.
Who took a vote?
So, with that said, if we could promote Justin, some, a few questions.
Justin Fierre DeMondo has been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Sir, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court's synopsis.
Unmute.
Justin, could you unmute?
Mr. Fiori DeMondo, can you please unmute yourself?
Well, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Patterson, you're an officer of the court.
We're glad we take your testimony.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And we discussed this, and Mr. Fiordamundo stated that he would adopt my testimony no
differently as if it were his own.
Questions from the board?
No questions, Chair.
No questions, Chair.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
Hi, Planning Commission.
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission the comprehensive plan
recommends no change for the existing rsa 5 single-family zoning at this location
we feel the applicant has demonstrated sufficient hardship accordingly the planning commission
recommends the board grant the variance mi 2023 006 301 1635 south tevin t street i vote yes
James Snell, my vote is yes
LeVar and Leonard Palmer, my vote is yes
Thank you
Mr. Patterson, we have your second case here
Beautiful, thank you
MI 2023-006-335-220-224
South Broad Street
letter of non-opposition
from the Center City Residence Association.
Mr. Patterson, you've already been sworn.
Could you just state your name, please?
Ronald Patterson, P-A-T-T-E-R-S-O-N,
Claire Harrison Law Firm.
Mr. Patterson, could you identify your client,
their relationship to this property?
Yes, I can. One second.
So, I represent 220 South Rossery Property Owner LLC, which is a company that's owned by
the Lubert Adler Group. And with me today is Vice Chairman Leonard Clare, if you could
promote him when you have a chance. I will go through my exhibits here.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal and agree to its accuracy?
Yes, I do.
And all of your documents were submitted five days prior?
Correct. Yes, they were.
Okay. Please start your presentation.
Thank you. As identified, the property regards 220 South Far Street, which is the garage that supports the Bellevue Hotel office and apartments.
And atop of this garage on floors seven through, I guess, 11 or some mezzanine levels in there is the Sporting Club.
And the Sporting Club had closed when COVID had hit.
And it was an opportunity at the time that both the Bellevue and the Sporting Club were purchased.
And the opportunity allowed for a complete renovation of the Sporting Club.
which here's a view across the street that we all know, you know, the area.
And so during the renovations, this will, I'll show you here.
Sorry, trying to different magnifications here.
We're here to talk about a deck.
There's an existing deck on top of the roof here at the seventh level, and you'll see it's surrounded by the Bellevue and an office building.
at the seventh level. And you'll see it's surrounded by the Bellevue and an office building.
And on this deck, what we're proposing to do is you have it utilized for
the patrons of the sporting club. Here's a view that would lead out onto the deck.
It already has a parapet wall there. It's high enough in elevation that it would impact
no one the buildings to the right here the Bellevue again is owned by the same owner
building to the left is an office building there we know the residents that would be impacted
by this and so we believe based on that that there will be no adverse impacts on anyone public health
safety welfare traffic or any greater than what would currently exist because no one's impacted
by that. Again, it's for the use of the Sporting Club members, you know, and Mr. Clare, we'll get
into further what the purpose of the deck is. We did meet, as you mentioned, with CCRA, and they
sent us a letter of non-opposition. So, if you could promote Mr. Clare now, that would be great.
Sure. Thank you.
Leonard Clare has been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Mr. Clare, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court's monographer?
Leonard, L-E-O-N-A-R-D, last name Claire, K-L-E-H-R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Hi, Lenny.
Could you state your position with Lubrid Adler and how it's connected to this property?
I'm a partner and vice chairman of Lubrid Adler, and an investment vehicle formed by Lubrid Adler
acquired the Bellevue as well as 220 South Broad from the Rubin family several years ago.
And Lenny, you heard my testimony.
Would you agree that it's true and accurate and you would adopt this for your own?
Okay, thank you.
You want to elaborate a little bit on some of the upgrades at the sporting club
and how it ties into the deck that we want to use?
Yeah, we created a large room on the third floor mezzanine, which would effectively be the fifth floor of the sporting club, the top floor, and that allowed us access to the roof because we wanted to be able to have fresh air.
One of the lessons learned of COVID was everybody wanted to be able to have fresh air.
And so we would have this roof deck, which would allow our sporting club members to sit out, get some fresh air and sunshine.
We would possibly have classes to be conducted for our members, yoga or similar kinds of athletic classes, and potentially have private events out on the roof deck.
Thank you.
And the deck is in great condition being renovated, and I believe it has some porous pavers there to capture stormwater?
That is correct.
Those are porous pavers, and it catches the stormwater underneath.
The drains are still there, and, you know, it turned out in a very attractive way.
And this area, which is approximately, I guess, 3,000 square feet,
would it be open at the same time contemporaneous with the sporting club?
That's right.
It would be available during the sporting club hours.
The club closes at 10 o'clock on weekdays and I think at 9 o'clock on Saturday and 8 o'clock on Sunday.
Thank you, Danny. So, Mr. Chairman of the Board, we believe that we've met the burden of the special exception and that there's been no adverse impact.
And I have no further questions or testimony.
Questions from the Board?
No, Chair.
No, Chair.
questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands chair planning commission
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing cmx5 commercial mixed use zoning
at this location. We believe the proposed roof deck will have no more of an impact than would
be expected to have given its location. Accordingly, the Planning Commission
recommends the Board grant the special exemption. Thank you. MI 2023-006-335-220-24
South Broad Street, I vote yes. James Snell, my vote is yes.
i vote yes james snell my vote is yes the baron leonard palmer my vote is yes thank you
mr thank you very much have your votes thank you number 12 mi 2023 006 278 2731 frankfort avenue
alan knockamson is the attorney um recommendation of opposition from the somerset neighbors for
better living councilman school is leaving the decision to the board the applicant has
provided 10 form letters of support from neighbors
good afternoon Mr. chair members of the board yeah I believe we I swore you in earlier today
could you identify your client and their relationship to the property client is Timothy
Timothy Farrell, Jr., the owner of the property, and he should be in the virtual audience.
Right. Do you waive the reading of the refusal and agree to its accuracy?
Okay. And all of your documents were sent in five days prior?
That's correct.
Please proceed, sir. Share your screen.
Thank you.
So this is 2731 Frankfurt Avenue.
Up until last night, I thought it was a pretty straightforward project.
We're seeking a special exception, not a variance, so we have a notice of referral here.
What we're seeking is this.
This property has been a place where damaged cars have been stored for some time, and we'll
go through the presentation to show that history, and that's allowed as a right.
This is an ICMX property.
What we're asking for is a special exception for personal vehicle repair and maintenance.
In a portion of the property, and this lot is 41,000 square feet, this is a 6,000 square foot portion of the property where the cars are stored.
There is some personal repair and maintenance of these cars, not of character with the neighborhood, even though we're ICMX, we're surrounded by I-2, which will allow this use as a freight.
So when we initially met with the Somerset Neighbors for Better Living, they have a two-step process.
We met with their executive board and we got very favorable input from them stating that my client who's owned the property since 2018 is a much better property owner and operator than what was previously there.
They were very complimentary of the fact that, you know, even though, you know, this is a lot that has damaged cars, it's been kept up well, it's well lit, it's properly managed.
So when we had the community meeting on Monday night where Mr. Goldberg, Alex Goldberg from my office presented it where only one question was asked and really nothing else and we didn't really get much pushback, we thought we were going to get a letter of support or non-opposition.
until last night when we received their correspondence where there was a letter of
opposition. And we still understand why there is opposition, because again, from the previous
comments there, you know, with the executive board, this was a well-maintained and operated
property. So regardless, you know, what happened at the pre-community meeting was we don't see
any issue with this. That's what the executive board stated. Obviously, they're not the final
determining factor the community is. But they did say at the pre-community meeting, why don't you
reach out to the neighboring property owners? There is some residential use nearby. We would
like to hear from them to make sure that they have no issue with disuse. And that's what we did. And
that's why we had the letters of support. We reached out to council member of Squilla's office
earlier today, again, to try to figure out what happened with the Somerset Neighbors for Better
a living community meeting, why there was a vote against it. But, you know, we never heard back
from them, but what we did receive was a letter from the council member's office where even though
the community voted in opposition to this project, they're deferring to this board to make
their best decision as to the merits of this project. And again, this is just a special
exception that we're seeking so if you look at exhibit number four and we will uh there's a
license uh for a certain type of industrial use on this property again not out of character
then we'll review the maps of the area which including the zoning map which will see a lot
of purple surrounding us uh especially i2 which would allow this use as a fright so it's not out
of character and some of the use that we're proposing to legalize is um you know is allowed
that's right and only a small portion would require a special exception and then we'll have
an aerial view of the property you'll see it's very well maintained and clean photographs of
the property it's not like one of these situations where you can see through a fence
It's not like one of these situations where you can see through a fence.
we're in a residential neighborhood
We're in a residential neighborhood and it's mismanaged and it's messy.
It's not. And even better, you know, there's there's walls and fencing where you can't see anything in there, but it's well lit around there and well maintained.
And then you'll see the interior photos specifically of the area.
That's the 6,000 square foot building structure where my client does repair work and maintenance work as well.
Then simple plans and drawings of that particular building or RCO meeting notice.
Like I said, we met with the community this past Monday.
And, you know, again, rather surprised by the result because there really wasn't much pushback to our meeting in our meeting or with the executive board.
at the pre-community meeting.
And then there are applications
for special exception.
Again, based on the law,
we're not, this use is no worse
than what you would expect
of this type of ICMX property.
And so we're not detrimentally
impacting the community in any way.
We'll go through the standards.
Or deeds of property
showing that Mr. Farrell owns the property
and their certificate of tax clearance.
Again, at the conclusion of my presentation, I'll ask that Mr. Farrell virtually raise his hand, be sworn in, and I'll have a few questions for him and the board.
Fine, the board may have some questions for him as well.
Again, this is 2731 Frankfurt Avenue's Notice of Referral.
Again, this is not a variance.
This is a special exception we're seeking.
It's an ICMX property, and again, it's for a personal vehicle repair and maintenance, which is basically what we're seeking the special exception for.
Correspondence from the coordinating RCO, again, there was a lot of opposition, which we were surprised about.
There is no letter of rationale.
Now, we did ask the, you know, the community group and if they're on, I would like to know, you know, why they they did make some some they've Alice Goldberg from my office and and the head of the coordinating RCO have been exchanging emails all day.
But we haven't really got a straight answer other than, oh, well, we can give some quotes of why people are opposed, but we still don't know what those quotes are.
um but again at their behest or at their request prior to the community meeting and after the
pre-community meeting we made a concerted effort to meet you know the nearby neighbors and this
is just a map of the individuals that signed our letter form letter support so many of them
are on Coral Street which is adjacent to us
and that's the residential aspect we thought we would
you know focus on the residential properties above all
and then the license number so from at least public records 2006 through 2012
there was a license for auto wrecking a junkyard
and then just as a matter of course like our hours of operation are from 9 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Cars are towed on the lot, like if we're beyond those hours from 9 to 4,
you know, either the towing company or the police or towing companies that are facilitated by the
police department, they have access to our yard and they responsibly put those vehicles into our
lot. And then we process that between hours, if not 4. And then maps of the area, you can see
where we are right here is ICMX. We face
three public, actually I think four public streets. Here's Frankfurt Avenue
but you can see all this ICE 2 that's adjacent to us
as well which allow this use as right. We're at the edge
I don't know if you would say at the beginning of a residential neighborhood or the edge of the
end of a residential neighborhood but over onto Silver Street
and then here's Coral by the way where some of the signatures were
obtained but um you would see like all this all this purple like you know again and if we were
the i2 that was below us this would be allowed as a fright and this property has been used this way
forever when my client purchased it like it was you know a yard which housed damaged vehicles
um he extended that use to uh provide personal maintenance repair of those vehicles indoors
and you'll see in a very large building structure which is out of sight
this is you know and by the way we're also bordering train tracks here too which makes
it very difficult to do really anything with this property and then here's the aerial view
And then here's the aerial view.
you can see we keep the lot very clean
You can see we keep the lot very clean.
Thank you.
Like we try not to be a nuisance.
And that was indicated by comments we received from the RCO's executive board.
And then this is the building structure, by the way, which would house the personal vehicle and repair work.
And then this is photographs of the property.
again to the outside world there's nothing going on here um and it's well insulated to
any residential neighborhood here are the orange notice posters like i said there are many different
public facing streets so we have orange notice posters on all four public streets
and then this is frankfurt avenue to the right of the property
uh frankfurt average to the left to the left of the property uh east silver to the right of the
property again not much going on here even though this is you know again technically uh residential
use here there are at least there are any classification there's really not much going on
here and the east silver to the left of the property that's where technically the residential
use is uh and then this is inside the yard we wanted to show you inside the yard again we keep
he keeps it very clean outside and then more pictures uh regarding frankfurt avenue inside
the yard and then interior photos so this is where he does his staging for his personal maintenance
and repair work and then there's an office inside there as well
and then there's our plans and drawings i mean it's really basic it's an open floor plan that
this is where it does the staging for his uh you know vehicle repair and maintenance
and the rco meeting notice like i said we met on monday proof of email to the coordinating rco and
other rcos for the community meeting and then we also mailed obviously the notice to 133 addresses
These are the addresses. This is proof of mailing
to those addresses. Our applications for special
exception, in particular,
the proposed use will not cause congestion
in streets or transit systems. In actuality, everything
is done on site and there is ample
parking on site and purposefully all the vehicle
repair work and maintenance work is done in an enclosed building. There's not to be overcrowding
of the land. As you can see, we're a 41,000 square foot lot. There's no impairing light and
air to adjacent properties. Like these building structures have been there forever. It's just the
use that we're seeking that would require a special exception. There's no burdening of public
facilities. We're not impairing or permanently injuring the use of adjacent properties because
as the adjacent properties, whether they're residential, there's no residential zoning
classification, but there's no residential use there. And then there's surrounding I2 use and
ICMX use. And the I2 use is in conformance with the use that we're proposing. We're not endangering
the public health or safety. In actuality, we're storing vehicles on site and protecting the public
good by responsibly storing those vehicles until they could be repaired or maintained and it's not
inconsistent with the comprehensive plan of the city either this type of use but this is our
application for special exception and the deed to the property showing Mr. Farrell owns the property
and then finally our certificate of tax clearance Mr. Farrell is on the payment plan with regards
to this property and is appealing certain taxes as well our office talked to miss emerson to make
sure that those papers were sufficient for clearance and my understanding is that it was
correct with that being said i would ask that tim virtually raise his hand
what's your full name mr knockamson uh tim farrell f-a-r-u-o-l or o-u-l
tim farrell he just put his hand up here tim farrell has been unmuted and allowed to speak
mr farrell could you state your name and spell please for the court sonographer
it's timothy ferul t-i-m-o-t-h-y f-a-r-u-o-l right you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do please proceed counsel uh yeah tim you heard
Oh, yeah. Tim, you heard everything I had to state today about your zoning matter.
everything i had to say today about your zoning matter
Here we go.
Is that correct? Did you hear everything I had to say?
I'm sorry. Can you repeat that? I just cut off.
Yes. Did you hear everything I had to state today about your zoning matter?
I did.
Okay. Is it true and correct?
It is.
And do you adopt it as your own testimony?
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Chair.
no questions chair questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson
no questions mr chair and i can confirm uh the tax information is is all set thank you
thank you questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands chair planning commission
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission
this property was remapped to icmx industrial commercial mixed use as part of a commission
led remapping in 2017 we feel the proposal is consistent with prior uses and that the applicant
has demonstrated uh hardship according sorry this is special exemption uh the proposal will have
uh no more impact that can be reasonably expected at this location accordingly the
Planning Commission recommends the board
grant the special exemption.
Mr. Nottingham said I'm going to hold the vote
on this until next
Wednesday at 2 o'clock. I just
want to talk to the board about
the vote and things of that nature
and the whole project.
Okay? All right. Thank you very much.
But we will vote on that next Wednesday
Thank you, sir.
Is there anyone in the audience
who had a 2 p.m. case that has not been
called?
i see no hands chair okay let's take five minutes then we'll come and we'll
we'll go through the 330 list thank you chair
bill you're muted
Good afternoon, everyone. I will be chairing the ZBA hearings this afternoon. With me is
our board member, James Snell.
Present, Chair.
Also, Leonard Palmer, LeBaron Leonard Palmer, Division of Development Services, is our alternate
board member.
Present, Mr. Chair.
Our attorney, Hillary Emerson, is here, and also our executive director, Tanya Sunkett.
Be advised that proceedings are being recorded.
The video will be available by contacting tanyasunkett at phil.gov.
For the benefit of our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you are participating by phone and 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 address to the property in question.
And finally, the question answer box on the screen is not for comments or testimony.
All comments should be directed to our Executive Director, Tanya Sunken.
Let's look at our schedule this afternoon.
Number two, MI 2023, 004-828-1936 North Lawrence Street, that case is continued, attorney moving party.
Number three, MI 2023, 004-829-2600 West Clearfield Street, that case is continued.
And number nine, MI 2023-004-891-9969 Wisteria Street, this case is continued.
Is there any other requests for continuance or any comments relative to the cases I've continued?
Chair, we have Pasquale Colavita. They have been unmuted and allowed to speak.
counsel could you sure counsel could you state your name counsel could you state your name
please and spell for the court sonographer sure it's pasquale colavita p-a-s-q-u-a-l-e
last name c-o-l-a-v-i-t-a regarding 11 do you do you swear or firm to tell the truth the whole
truth nothing but the truth i do so 1145 south broad is the case you're involved with sir yes
and Richard DeMarco, I believe, is on.
And Richard DeMarco, I believe, is on. He represents the RCO. It was his request for the continuance.
He represents the RCO.
Hey, why don't I get Mr. DeMarco on to? Mr. DeMarco.
Can you hear me, Mr. Chairman? Good afternoon.
I most certainly can. Could you just state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Hello, everyone. Richard DeMarco, last name D-E-M-A-R-C-O.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Mr. DeMarco, please proceed.
Yeah, and thanks to Pat for initiating the discussion.
I've been speaking with Pat about this matter.
We had emailed a continuance request to the board on Friday.
Mr. Calavita has informed me that he has agreed to not oppose the continuance and to present the RCO with a revised drawing.
And I think this matter is on track for a resolution between the two parties.
We initially were opposed and a letter of opposition was sent, but the RCO has agreed to look at the revisions.
There's been a concession made, which I think might work, and I think we're on a track for a resolution.
There was an issue as to the refusal, but it could be that the revision may impact that issue.
So I'm not sure how Hillary feels about it, but we are content to review the revised drawings and see if we can work it out.
We think we're on track for that.
Okay, thank you.
Hillary is fine with that, right, Hillary?
Yes, I just wanted to jump in.
um uh so in terms of the the refusal once the the um quiet please quiet please excuse me um once um
once the the three plans are reviewed and agreed upon if there's still concern that the refusal
may be incorrect please let me know and i will go back to um l and i and just ask them to take a
look and make sure um it it is correct or if it is not correct if it needs it can it will be
corrected to reflect very good what is being requested that's fine that's perfect so thank
you to both parties so mi 2023 thank you zero zero four eight eight seven eleven forty five
south broad street cases continue i just ask if if you could make it as short of a continuance as
within your possibilities.
I will talk to the staff
and figure out how we can do that, sir.
Great. Thank you.
Mr. Chair, might I suggest
then a continuance attorney moving party
and the parties can advise the board
when they're ready to have the case heard?
We can see what's available at that time.
23-004-887-1145 South Broad Street.
The case is continued attorney moving party.
Thank you.
Thank you. Take care.
I'd be excused.
Yes, you can. Both of you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Any other requests for continuance?
I see no hands, Chair.
And I also have a case here with no exhibits.
MI 2023-004-876-117 Laurel Street, Benjamin Carpenter and Andrew Kineck.
This is the first listing, no exhibits.
I see no hands, Chair.
So MI 2023, 004-876-117 Laurel Street.
This case is continued.
Mark must be heard.
We're going to go to number one.
MI 2023, 005-000, 1604 South A Street.
Vito Canuso is the attorney.
There's a letter of support from East Pass Yonk Crossing
and a letter of non-opposition
from Council Member Squillin.
Mr. Canuso.
Vito Canuso, please raise your virtual hand.
Mr. Canuso is coming back in as a panelist.
Good afternoon, Mr. Canuso. Please unmute yourself.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you.
State your name and spell, please, for the court sonographer.
Vito, V-I-T-O, Canuso, C-A-N-U-S-O.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
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 this property?
I represent 1604 Passion Crossings, LLC, which is the title owner of the property in question here.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal and agree to its accuracy?
Yes, sir.
And all your documents have been sent in five days prior?
Correct, sir.
Please share your screen and proceed.
Are my documents being shown?
Not yet, sir.
Not yet, sir.
There you go.
You're coming on now, sir.
Almost.
Here it is.
We're good.
As you can see, I represent the owners of this building, which is from its appearance and from its prior use,
a typical three-story row home in this neighborhood, which consists of primarily
residential row homes. As you look down on the pictures of the individual property,
you will see that there's another typical two-story row home to the right. And to the left,
There's a building that I know had previously been used as a beer distributorship and has now been converted by an art foundation to an art school, art studio, and utilized by that art foundation for cultural purposes.
I believe that this property owned by my client has been mis-zoned as a CMX2 because the previous owner who my client purchased it from purchased the property in 1964, husband and wife.
and my client purchased the property from the estate of the last surviving spouse.
The wife survived the husband, and her estate sold this property to my client.
We are seeking to utilize this property as a single-family residential property.
You will see the rear of the property also shows its only use as a residential purposes, no commercial use.
I don't know why this was zoned or when it was zoned.
And we tried to determine that because for the last 60 years, since 1964, as the deed shows, when the last transfer was prior to my clients acquiring it, it was used by this husband and wife as their residents.
And it's a typical residential structure in the neighborhood.
And the neighborhood is primarily used for residential purposes.
And on this photo, you'll see two doors away is the corner store, which is typical of this neighborhood.
All four corners have commercial CMX, commercial zoning.
and happens to be on this particular corner, the closest corner to the property,
that there are four retail uses on the first level, residential above it.
Most of the other properties on the block until you get to the corners are residential,
with the exception of this one store front to the left, which is now owned by the Art Foundation.
And as I said, it was once used as a beer distributor.
And I suspect it probably at one time was a stable for use by the local residents.
I've presented the deed, which clearly shows that the last transfer was in 1964 to
clearly shows that the last transfer was in 1964 to a husband and wife, and that this transfer to
my client, the LLC, was by the estate of the surviving spouse. Here are the architectural
plans. The property is currently physically set up for a single-family residence. The proposed use
use is a continuation of that residential use. First, lower level would be a basement
without any intended purpose other than to have utilities. The first floor is a typical
row home usage diagram, which would have a living room, dining room, and kitchen. Second
floor would be two bedrooms, happens to be capable of having two baths. And of course,
the third floor, which is only to the front of the property. The second floor roof is at the
third level. Third floor would be a master suite with a larger bathroom and other closets for
living purposes. We were happy to have gone before the RCO, and as you can see, there was a
very favorable decision by the RCO for our request to have this property used as residential.
I don't believe there's anything more that needs to be said in support of our request.
I do have Mr. Richard Rosenberg, who is a principal of the LLC, who can comment on my presentation.
Okay. Mr. Rosenberg.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Rich Rosenberg, R-O-S-E-N-B-E-R-G.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Good afternoon, Mr. Rosenberg.
You heard my presentation to the board, and you've reviewed the exhibits that have been presented?
And will you adopt those?
comments my presentation and the documents as would be your presentation if you were called
as a witness in this matter yes i have no further questions of this witness questions from the board
no chair no questions chair questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
didn't you buy burgers planning commission this is uh ron bednar city planning
while this property is currently indicated for commercial mixed use on the city plan given the
physical conditions of the site we recommend the request for various be granted thank you
mi2023 005 000 1604 south a street i vote yes
james snell my vote is yes lebaron linda palmer my vote is yes thank you counsel you have your votes
number five mi 2023 004 918 11 600 east roosevelt boulevard
Sean Ward is the attorney.
One letter of support from the Somerton Civic Association.
Chair, Sean Ward is coming back in as a panelist now.
Mr. Ward?
Do we see Mr. Ward's hand?
No, we already promoted him, Chair.
We're just waiting for him to join us.
Okay, good.
Thank you.
Hi, Mr. Ward.
Hi, Mr. Ward.
Afternoon, Mr. Ward.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Yes, Mr. Chair.
Sean Ward, S-H-A-W-N, last name Ward, W-A-R-D, here for 11600 Roosevelt Boulevard,
I'm here on behalf of the property owner and the lessee tenant beneficial owner.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal and agree to its accuracy?
Yes, I do.
And all of your documents were in five days prior?
yeah but for the supplementals which was the actual rco letter and councilman o'neill's
letter okay both were received afterwards and hillary we don't have a letter from councilman
o'neill do we it was it was emailed in and i do have a copy today okay could you make sure
i say i got the somerton one but i don't believe that we received the one from councilmember o'neill
so if you could show that that would be great thank you yeah hillary i believe that alice
emailed that to the uh the council uh council zba uh letter email address but i'll i'll send
you a copy and i i have here today so okay uh can you see my screen we do we do sir awesome
I'm very good.
It's good to be back one day at a time, but it's good to be here.
I represent, I've submitted my exhibit packet, which includes A1 through A13.
Let me bloat us up a little bit so it's easier to read.
I represent George Michlidvili, I'll spell that for the corporate reporter, capital M-C-H-E-D-L-I-S-H-V-I-L-I, doing business as PA Auto Sales,
as well as the property owner, Stefanos Kurokotis, spelled K-Y-R-I-A-K-O-D-I-S.
Again, the property is 11600 Roosevelt Boulevard.
For those unfamiliar, this is approximately a half a block south of the old Nabisco site at the boulevard and Bennett Road.
This is A1 is the notice of refusal.
This is an application for auto repair accessory to an existing auto sales lot.
That use is prohibited due to the Far Northeast Overlay District.
Accordingly, we seek a variance.
A2 is the ZBA Application of Appeal.
A3 is the Project Information Form.
A4 is the deed.
A5 is Proof of Tax Clearance, which will show that taxes are due for March 31st of this year.
So we submit that he is tax clear at this point.
A6 is an archive site plan.
A7 are photographs of the subject property, aerial views, and street views.
A8 in the supplemental packet is the RCO letter of support.
We did enter an agreement with Somerton, which basically restricts the uses by this applicant, not the owner, but the applicant of what are regularly known as the regulated uses under the zoning code.
My client has no intention or desire to institute any of those uses, so we had no problem with that agreement.
A-10 is the Councilman O'Neill's letter of non-objection to the granting of the application.
As far as the relevant zoning history, prior to 2000, this was a Shell gas station for generations probably.
In or about 2000, 1999, it became a Hertz rent-a-car location for sales and rentals of Hertz rent-a-cars.
My client took control of a property in 2017 and has been operating PA Auto Sales there since that time.
A12 is the zoning map.
A13 is the aerial photograph.
In a nutshell, we're looking to add accessory vehicle repair maintenance to the existing auto sales facility, primarily for state inspection purposes.
And it's not a retail auto repair center.
Basically, the repairs would be for state inspection inventory vehicles.
And as everybody's aware, when you buy a used car under state law, there's a 30 day warranty.
So if they drive off the lot and there's a problem, they can bring it back and it would be repaired on site.
The auto repair hours would not exceed generally 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at most.
They're closed on Sundays.
Technically, I mean, currently we would anticipate one inspection, state inspection technician, as well as one repair technician.
state inspection technician, as well as one repair technician. As business goes, we would hope to
have two to three technicians hired and possibly a receptionist or greeter. So we have our notice
of refusal. We have our petition of appeal. We have our project information form. We have our
deed. Again, with regard to property taxes, they're not due until March 31st. All other years
are paid in full. The archive site plan on the left side of the plan is Roosevelt Boulevard. At
the top here is Bennett Road. To the south or to the bottom of this drawing would be the old
Nabisco site. Here is an aerial photograph. Over to the right, you'll see the Chick-fil-A.
And back here is Topgolf.
That's the old Nabisco site.
Markham Crane used to be over here where the Tile and Kitchen Center is.
And this is our site.
This is the building proper that was used for the shell station, had service bays in it when it was a shell station.
And we're just currently looking to reinstitute those auto repair uses for the auto sales.
So this is a street view from the boulevard.
We have two existing bays. As you can see, there are lifts currently inside.
This is looking from the bays outside towards the parking lot to the boulevard.
Again, existing lifts are inside the structure.
This is our agreement with Somerton Civic.
Again, basically, these are those restricted or regulated uses that we agree not to institute
So long as George, my client, is a tenant of the property.
Moving on, we have the zoning history, you know, fully outlined and attached for the board's information if they need it.
It is owned by two. I mean, I won surrounded predominantly by I-2 industrial.
Here is a aerial photograph.
Again, the Woodhaven Road interchange is up here.
Topgolf, this is the former Nabisco site, Conley Road.
And then PA Auto Sales is located right at the foot of Bennett Road.
The supplemental photographs are the posting.
I didn't have them at the time I submitted the application or the exhibit packet.
So we supplemented that.
Again, this is the structure.
and then we have uh somerton's letter indicating a unanimous support uh i would point out and um
and then we have a fully signed copy of the agreement uh not that the board's uh going to
adopt that uh i wouldn't believe but uh they they are aware that somerton supports it um
And I do have, just to share real quickly, not sure if that worked, but hang on a second.
There you go.
And we have Councilman O'Neill's letter dated yesterday, which was sent by Alice, indicating no objection to the application.
uh george uh meshlovili is uh on the call if you want him sworn to verify and adopt that's fine
otherwise as an officer of the court i will do so do you hear him yeah he's here george if you
can click uh raise your hand
needed and allowed to speak sir could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer
I'm George Mchadlishvili, G-I-O-R-G-I-M-C-H-E-D-L-I-S-H-V-I-L-I.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you, Chair.
George, you've heard my representations to the board today?
That's correct.
Are they true and correct at the best of your knowledge, information, and belief?
And you adopt them as your own testimony as if called to testify to that?
Very good.
That's all I have, Mr. Chair.
All right.
Questions from the board?
No questions, Chair.
No questions, Chair.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Mr. Ward, I'm sorry if I missed this, but the gentleman who just adopted, what is his relationship to the property?
He's the lessee tenant applicant.
okay are you representing both him and the owner that's correct okay thank you all right
uh questions or comments from the virtual audience
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hand is, Chair.
Planning Commission.
This is Ron Bednar, City Planning.
Properties indicated for light industrial use on the city plan,
given the site is under 50,000 square feet with no associated development.
Landscaping provisions of the code are not required.
Therefore, we have no objection to the granular variance.
Thank you.
MI 2023-004-918-11600 East Roosevelt Boulevard.
I vote yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
LeBaron Leonard Palmer, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
I have your vote.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you.
Number seven, MI 2023-004-835-939 South St. Bernard Street.
Mr. Anastasio is coming back in as a
panelist now, Chair.
Counselor, I believe
I swore you in sometime this morning
Yes, a few hours ago.
For the record, just state your name.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members of the board.
It's Vern Anastasio representing Mr. Justin Flax, the owner of 939 South St. Bernard.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal and agree to its accuracy?
And all of your paperwork was sent in five days prior?
Yes, sir.
Please proceed.
Thank you.
I'm going to share my screen.
And by the way, we have a letter of support from Cedar Park neighbors and a letter of opposition from a neighbor on the block.
One neighbor, is that right?
Yeah, I said it.
Very good.
939 South St. Bernard.
Proposed as a multifamily dwelling.
Let's be clear.
We're just legalizing what's there.
My clients purchased the property.
It is a long, long decade's history of multifamily in this particular property.
And by the way, with no incident, my clients were able to rehabilitate the interior, just aesthetic-wise, no moving of walls or anything.
The property is beautiful, very well maintained and kept well.
Not one 311 call since my clients have owned it.
And it is in its best shape.
It's been in generations.
As a result, my clients enjoy the support, almost unanimous support of just about everybody who attended the RCO meeting and most neighbors on the block.
Because as my exhibit packet will demonstrate, and my exhibit packet is 110 pages, by the way.
Starting at page 100 and 101, you'll see a very long history of multifamily dwelling on the block on this particular property.
And the use has been consistently three-family dwelling going back since the 30s.
And it fell into major disrepair at some point.
My clients have breathed new life into the property.
It's one of the nicest houses on the block. We did a mailing of 97 individual households. And as you know, we received a letter.
With all, but 1 person in attendance, fully supporting the granting of the variance.
Let's take a look at some more interior photos if you'd like.
Here's some exteriors.
It's all very well done, very high in finishes for them to have to gut the property upon purchase and turn it into a single family home.
Not only would it be a Herculean task and an expensive one, but they'd be underwater for probably their entire ownership.
This was a property that was already Frankenstein into three families.
And they're going to have to go through the process of getting a retroactive certificate of occupancy.
Of getting a retroactive certificate of occupancy, they'll be subject to the international building code and all of the requirements that the building code entails so that safety and well being will, you know, will be, of course, top of top of list for them.
So, because they've enjoyed the support of nearly a unanimous membership of the RCO meeting, because they're known on that block as good caretakers of the property in its best condition in decades, despite being a three-family dwelling since 1937, we respectfully request the granting of this variance, legalizing just what they purchased.
Thank you.
You want to bring your client on?
I do, Mr. Justin Flax, if you could please raise your virtual hand.
Let me, Vern, before he comes on, let me ask you a quick question.
Is there a lacking refusal for three parking spaces?
Well, there is.
Yeah, Mr. Anastasio, I just, so, because it's RSA 3,
typically that requires one parking space per unit,
and I couldn't tell from the photos if there was any parking.
We're offering no parking, and it's not a refusal.
Right.
It's not on the refusal.
It may have been missed.
So I just wanted to note that for the record, it may have been missed.
And just verify that there was no parking.
Thank you.
And there's no off-street parking on the block at all.
And there are several multifamily properties, by the way, on the block.
It's not just exclusively single-family, not in the least.
So with that, Mr. Flax, if you could raise your virtual hand.
I'm here.
Sir, could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
I'm Justin Flax, J-U-S-T-I-N-F as in Frank, L-A-X.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please foresee counsel.
Thank you.
Mr. Flax, did you hear my presentation to the board this afternoon?
I did.
Is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge?
Do you adopt it as your own testimony?
And I'm showing on screen right now the MLS listing for the property.
This property was marketed as a multifamily dwelling.
Is that right?
Correct.
It's right here, Mr. Chairman, at the top.
It was not only marketed and sold to them as a multifamily, but the subsequent appraisal
done by the bank that too was based on multifamily is that correct sir that is yeah and we do have
the appraisal here as well mr chairman uh where the bank treated the property as a multifamily
property they believed it was a legal three-family dwelling as well they used the comps for other
three family dwellings in the immediate area. So this flew under the radar of not only my client,
you know, and he's no investor or big developer. He's just an average guy who works in the
neighborhood. But it also missed the listing agent, the brokerage firm, and the bank that
financed it so for all those reasons and the reasonable reliance my clients had
on those who marketed and sold it to them we respectfully request legalizing just what's there
thank you question question or comments from the board
no chair no mr chair questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson not at this time
Mr. Chair. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Chair, we have someone with the first name
Melissa. They have been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Can you hear me? I can. It's Melissa Joe Hanningsmeyer.
It's M-E-L-I-S-S-A J-O-H-A-N-N
I-N-G-S
m-e-i-e-r sorry it goes on why don't you go why don't you do that one more time i think
interrupted you that's okay m-e-l-i-s-s-a j-o-h-a-n-n-i-n-g-s-m-e-i-e-r do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i affirm are you a neighbor yes i am
i'm 913 south saint bernard street well you don't have to tell me that but that's fine
please proceed with your testimony okay i'm gonna try and um i don't have the share my screen option
I don't have the share my screen option here.
in here.
Does anybody know how I get to share my screen?
Because it's not on here anymore.
You don't have that option, ma'am.
I object, Mr. Chair.
I haven't seen any exhibits by this witness.
So, Melissa, listen to me.
Why don't you do this?
Why don't you give me some testimony first and tell me where we stand?
I did submit my objection five days in advance with photographs.
I guess I can't do that.
My position is, first of all, this property in 2016 was verified as a vacant building.
It was renovated by the person that this person bought it from without permits.
Um, so there's no, there's been no work on the codes on this. It was renovated without any LNI supervision. Um, this is happening a lot in my neighborhood. It's basically, if you build it, ZBA will approve it. And we're seeing this again and again and again. Um, people buy these properties, they chop them up and then, oh my God, I can't get a rental license.
And then they go before ZVA. So this applicant has not shown hardship, in my opinion. They say that it's it's too financially. First of all, these people are Wharton graduates. They are not average.
Objection. So not only is that not true, but how would my client know their education level?
okay because it's on the web all right why why don't we do this why don't we just tell me you
object okay can i present i will present the hardship uh argument the heart there there one
argument was that it would be too financially stressful to convert this back and in my
presentation that i cannot show i show that there are 12 single family homes on this block
There are two slated to be built in the next year.
Permits have been pulled for single-family homes.
Single-family homes generally appraise for more than all the three-family homes based on the BRT assessments.
The other thing is this did not have a refusal for parking.
That should have also been there.
We are really experiencing very negative impacts of over density, which my photograph showed.
People are parking in front of the fire hydrants.
They're parking in front of areas they're not supposed to park on.
They're parking in crosswalks.
um the additional that in order for this to be changed it should be the minimal amount of change
that should be done so if you're going to do minimal it should be two family with no parking
um without my photographs i'm kind of off um we are highly dense um the properties
There are 35 lots on this block right now.
There are 12 single-family, four, two-family, nine, three-family, two, four-family, five vacant lots,
and two properties that are illegal, this one and another one.
That right now, the existing density is 128 people.
if all the vacant lots are converted it's 148 people families and if the vacant lots are all
converted to three families 156 people um i think this hardship was created by the individuals they
knew what they were buying they knew it wasn't legal and they thought they could get away with
it just like everybody else on the block um my position against cedar park is that they did not
list any of the addresses. It is my position that no one who lived on the block voted for this,
and I don't think they were there. And the last thing is, is that the leader of the Cedar Park
Committee has several properties in the area, none of them which have rental licenses or
certifications fire alarm certifications so it's my position that is that they haven't proven
hardship the property is not too big to be single family or two family we are over dense um and
um this is a it's not in keeping with the zoning which is rsa3 which is low density
um it's just becoming extremely stressful to be here because
It's just becoming extremely stressful to be here because every time I turn around, somebody else is doing the same thing.
You know, they're taking these properties, trapping them up illegally.
They can't get a rental license.
You're required a rental license.
And if you're out of state, you're required to have a management company.
A management company won't handle your property unless you're properly zoned.
and real estate agents are not required to check out your zoning.
I read the Pennsylvania law.
If you are allowed to back out of a sale,
if it's discovered that the zoning is not correct,
but there's nothing that says they have to be honest.
Did you attend the zoning board?
Did you attend the RCL meeting?
Yes, I did.
And you presented your case there. I presented my case, I guess. And they voted against your position? No one who voted against my position lives anywhere near here.
I object, Mr. Chair. There's nothing to substantiate that. Well, there's nothing to substantiate the addresses of those who.
All right. I guess like my question was the Cedar Park neighbors voted against your position and not saying where they live, but Cedar Park neighbors, which was the RCO, voted against your position.
Yes. And my position is, is that the person who runs that.
I don't want to hear anything about somebody's position, but thank you for calling. We do appreciate your position.
Mr. Chair, I just want to just do a couple. I'm not even going to cross-examine the witness. I appreciate her comments. She did testify that there's already nine three-family dwellings on the block. That was her testimony. This property has been a legal three-family dwelling since 1938.
At some point, it will become a vacant three-family dwelling, and at some point, a previous owner renovated it, but again, it was marketed, listed, appraised, and sold to my client as a three-family dwelling.
I think I heard you mention that. Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
Thank you.
Chair, we have Kathy Dowdle. They have been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Yes, my name is Kathy Dardell, K-A-T-H-Y-D-O-W-D-E-L-L.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
I'm co-chair of the Cedar Park Neighbors Zoning Committee.
Okay, so please, please start your testimony.
I just want to correct a couple of things.
Number one, Lisa is right. This is an issue that we're seeing all over the neighborhood. We've had a lot of cases like this. In this particular case, as Mr. Anastasio has shown, I think there is long history of this being three-family property.
Our bigger concerns are when these things are not built out as three-family and are converted to three-family. There are a lot of building code and fire code implications that we want to make sure are being implemented, and we have confidence in this particular building. We don't have confidence in all of them, to be blunt, but in this one we do.
So I'd also like to add, Lisa is correct.
There were not a lot of near neighbors at the RCO meeting.
However, all of those near neighbors got a letter.
Cedar Park Neighbors does its best to put posters up, flyers up.
We put notices of the RCO meetings in our community newsletter.
We put them on a public Facebook page.
We really do try to make sure we get turnout from both near neighbors
and from the slightly broader community.
A couple of the neighbors who came were near neighbors.
They were in the radius of mailings,
but no, they were not specifically on the block.
As I said, you know, we do our best to get everybody notified.
If they don't come to the meeting, they don't come to the meeting.
That's all I have. Thanks.
I thank you very much for taking the time to call us.
We appreciate it.
Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
Planning Commission.
this is ron bednar city planning
property is indicated for residential use on the city plan given the documented use history
the site we recommend the course of variance be granted thank you mi 2023 004 835 939 south
St. Bernard Street. I vote yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
LeBaron Leonard Palmer, my vote is yes.
Mr. Anastasio?
Yes, sir.
Number eight, MI 2023, 004-830, 5844 North Camac Street.
Number eight, MI 2023-00483.
No RCO letter, but meeting was held by Concerned Community Association on 129-24.
I think we got an RCO letter while this hearing was being held.
Yes, we did.
Thank you.
We have a letter of non-opposition.
We're also requesting some points of clarification from a concerned community association.
So, Mr. Anastasio, could you identify your client, the relationship to this property?
My client is Shinelle Pearsal, and she is the occupant of the property at 5844 North Camac.
He waived the reading of the referral and agreed to its accuracy.
Why don't we, why don't you start your.
Thanks.
Share your screen and we'll start.
I've already shared my screen.
Can you see it?
Yeah, I can, sir.
Okay, thank you.
5844, come back.
This is a pretty straightforward case.
This has long been a child daycare, child dancing school, child oriented operation at this home.
My client simply would like to be able to use all the floors and the basement for that use.
At one point, it was, in fact, these are the floors, by the way, second floor, third floor, first floor and basement.
Currently, when we put it in for the application, the basement level was not was no longer apparently able to be zoned for the for the use.
and that's why we're here. This is the building itself.
There's entrance to the basement from the exterior.
Some other exterior shots. Here's some interior shots.
So, it's a very well-regarded, this was taken over by my client and it had become one of
the gold, blue metal, gold star daycare centers.
The first time since there's been a daycare center in this building that has gotten that
kind of recognition since my client took it over, revamped the operation.
It's a real amenity to families in the neighborhood.
And we'll continue to show you some additional interiors.
They provide daycare, after-school care, breakfast, lunch, even a light dinner when necessary.
It's owner-operated.
She works here.
She manages the property herself and the business.
and i'll spare you the additional interior photos we have a lot of them we've got proof of posting
this is the letter that went out to all the near neighbors
we also did a custom flyer at the request of concern community
We sent out to 111 individual households.
The RCO meeting was very well attended, approximately 25 individuals.
Overwhelming majority of the folks support the continuation of the business.
Many of those immediate neighbors that have their children go here.
And here is the prior use.
this is from 11 years ago
and we've got proposed expansion of the daycare
to the basement and third floor
with the existing daycare on the first and second floors
and this was approved like I said 11 years ago
at some point that use
lapsed
so when my client submitted for the use application
believing that she'd be able to get it as a matter of right
she received the refusal uh this was the refusal data 2012 that ultimately led to the zoning
appeal which was granted by this board or the board at the time
When she tried to pull the permit again, it generated the refusal.
when she tried to pull the permit again it generated the refusal
So we simply want to have exactly what there was attached to this property in 2013, the 2013 permit, which is the daycare center to be extended to all the floors, including the basement.
That's it.
And that's exactly what we're doing now, only without the use of the basement.
illegal property addresses 5844-46 come back on the property itself you know the address plaque
the owner decided to put 5846 which is their right there is no real 5846 on the tax rolls
though the tax rolls are for 5844 this is a consolidated lot which is why you have a double
address. Right there, 5844 and 46. Hillary, does that answer our question about the address?
Yes, Mr. Chair. I had looked into the address previously when questions were raised by
the RCO, and it appears that that was a former address. If you look down,
um i don't know if one one oh wait one moment please um if you look at if if uh mr anastasio
is on atlas you can scroll down further but on the license and inspections tab it indicates that
there are no records for this address so you know this this this address actually and it even says
here exists as part of 5844 north camax street okay um so yeah we're we're fine yeah i'm putting
my cursor around the partial address it's actually the legal address is 5844 of course it reverts to
5846 on atlas because it's a consolidated lot bern do you want to bring your client on yes thank you
miss pearsall can you please raise your virtual hand chynel pearsall has been unmuted and allowed
to speak chair hi could you state your name please and spell for the court stenography
N-E-L-L
Pearsall
P-E-A-R-S-A-L-L
Do you swear or affirm
the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, Counselor.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Ms. Pearsall, did you hear
my presentation to the board this evening?
And is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge?
And do you adopt it as your own testimony?
I have nothing further, Mr. Chair.
Questions from the board?
No, Chair.
No questions, Chair.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Just a couple little things I just wanted to clarify for the record, because I know there was some confusion on this case.
So I looked up the zoning history, so I was a little bit confused how the history is written on the refusal.
and it looks like there was a permit a youth permit pulled after the one that mr anastasio
showed a couple it was pulled a couple months later that actually removed removed the child
care use from the third floor and the basement so i think that's how we we got here is it was
approved and a permit was issued but then somebody went back and decided to just use the first and
second floor um so just to clarify um that's i guess how that's how we got here um the other
the other thing i just want to mention this is also um an rsa3 property um and depending on the
amount of square footage in the property um a parking space or two may be required so that may
have been a refusal that um had been had been missed so i'm just putting that on the record
in case it was missed. Thank you. Okay, questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair. Planning Commission.
This is Ron Bednar, City Planning. All property is currently indicated for residential use on a
city plan or adopted district plan. Given the physical circumstances of the site,
we recommend the request of Vanis McGregor. Thank you. MI 2023, 004-830-5844 North Camac Street,
I vote yes. Jane Snell, my vote is yes. LaVarren Leonard Palmer, my vote is yes.
You have your votes, counsel. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Have a good night.
Is there anyone in the virtual audience whose 330 case has not been called?
i see no hands share uh thanks everyone uh lebaron thanks for
doing this all day long we appreciate it the first time we used it the whole day we
doing this all day long we appreciate it the first time we used it the whole day we we do
we do appreciate coming here and um i'm going to tell everybody that that pull a lean from
planning is a lifesaver i mean she come over and took care of my computer right away so i
appreciate it yes i will vouch personally thank you thank you thank you great job everyone good
job chair good night good night everyone good night good night everyone good night
thank you mr palmer no problem have a good night