information, and belief? I do. And would you adopt it as your own? I would.
and please be cognizant of the board's time and don't be duplicative, but is there anything else
that you believe would be pertinent or relevant that I did not touch on for the board's consideration?
Sure, absolutely. Mr. Chairman, I will remain brief here. If I could go back in time, I would
have never purchased any part of this property here. I wasn't aware at some of the sensitivities
of what was historically an entire city parcel that transferred to previous private developers
that were unrelated to me before I ultimately purchased it.
So if we were to poll the community three years ago, I think the consensus would be
that nothing would ultimately get built on any part of this site.
But I do want to reaffirm and really share that this has been designed by consensus here.
We unilaterally reduced scale.
we unilaterally participated in philadelphia's affordable housing trust without any obligation
or benefit even on our end here there's no written commitment even that the city will ultimately
support or the community will support this we had the two city lots under contract at all times we
have acted in good faith here while balancing the interests of the development but also balancing
the benefit of the community and so what you see before you today is really a byproduct of
of exhausted meetings and collaboration.
I won't suggest that everyone is supportive,
but on the whole, we have an opportunity here
to build much lower scale on what is a single family block,
while also preserving an opportunity for the city
to ultimately hopefully swap two unbuildable lots
on their own with the corner that's much more desirable
for whatever the community ultimately decides
for that space to be,
whether it be a community space or a garden,
that's not our determination.
But so on our end here, I just want to share that admittedly, we regret that we bought this many, many years ago.
We wish we hadn't, although it would be another developer before you today.
But the end result here is something that we're both proud of and something that is consistent with true design by consensus and compromise on both sides, both with the community and with us here.
And so the goal here, again, is simply subdivide this so that we can be afforded the opportunity to complete this project and build a small row of townhomes on a block that is exclusively townhomes at this time.
And so I appreciate your time and consideration.
Thank you. Questions from the board?
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Counselor, what is the hardship for granting the variance?
I'm sorry, you cut out for just a second.
What about granting the variance? What is the hardship?
So I can get into the hardship, which, you know, the fundamental basis of the application is to do what the neighborhood wants.
The issue with the hardship is you obviously have a large previously existing property with a unique and strange shape.
Obviously, almost a U with a U shape in here.
We are trying to correct that to create more fundamentally normalized lots.
The issue as to the existing apartment building, we've reduced and continued to reduce the number of units allowed,
which would have been permitted by Wright under the code as it was three years ago and even two years ago.
under the code as it was three years ago and even two years ago. Since that time, the code has
Since then,
changed. And that is the only thing that leads to the refusal that you see today. In addition,
and the primary change has been, we voluntarily provided a payment in lieu for the affordable
mixed income bonus the affordable housing bonus as people describe it at the time my client
offered to the community because the site the apartment building was approved offered to the
community to either provide actual units or to provide a payment in lieu as the board understands
it at that time nobody had any care one way or the other as to what was done so my client proceeded
with a payment in lieu of that structure. If we could go back and actually switch from a payment
in lieu to providing actual units, affordable units in this property, we would, and we wouldn't
have the refusal that we need. However, it is the position of the city, and this is a more recent
determination within the last year or so, so much predating this entire development,
that it's basically a use it or lose it determination by the city. And we raise this
all the way up to the highest echelons of the mayor's office. So once you choose at your zoning
permit stage to include actual affordable units or to opt for the payment in lieu,
you are required to stay with that choice no matter what. You are not allowed to switch from
one to the other. So if we could switch, and this is the city's determination, if we could switch to
the provision of units in the apartment building, much of this would be cleared up. Again, this was
not the determination of the city, or I should say, sorry, the interpretation of the city under
the code at the time that we proceeded with this agreement. So all of these things have changed
and despite a $360,000 payment in lieu, that would have to get thrown away and we would have to
restart the entire application in order to offer actual affordable units under the code as it is
now. And as I described, that code has changed. And so I think my client can give a little bit
more description as to that, but I want to make sure we're fully answering your questions. So
Mr. Fibush, is there anything not duplicative, but anything I didn't touch on with regard to
that explanation? Mr. Fibush? Forgive me, Mr. Whalen, I was muted. Only just
also touch on that we weren't relying on hope here but in fact had the city lots under contract
and so everything we're both proposing today and we had historically proposed would have been
permitted as a matter of rights inclusive of what you just shared here and so the combination of the
city reneging on the sale of those two lots in combination with the changes to the interpretation
of the affordable housing code has prohibited us from completing what is ultimately now something
that has been negotiated and ultimately agreed to by or supported by all parties here. So you're
much more articulate than me, but there are a lot of city interpretations that have driven us to
where we are today. Counselor, it's my understanding that you're saying you did not know that you can
switch when you did partial a uh i'm sorry for any confusion my testimony was that uh the city
does not allow for a switch between payment in lieu and affordable housing units actually being
provided um and i actually went up to uh john monlock on that in the mayor's office
um it is it is actually just absolutely not allowed uh no if ands or buts uh and so i
apologize if i didn't make that clear the first time but okay okay but you did know it before you
did parcel a so uh when we did parcel a that was not the interpretation of the city the city
previously allowed for a swap of units for provision of actual units or for the payment
payment in lieu. And that has been a change of the city's position over, I want to say,
in lieu. And that has been a change of the city's position.
maybe the last year, maybe a little bit longer. My timeline's a little fuzzy once COVID hit.
Thank you. Other questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Ella Bruce with her hand up.
Ms. Bruce, you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
I'm sorry, my mouth had frozen.
Can you hear me?
Yeah, we can.
Just state your name and spell for the court reporter, please.
Ella Bruce, last name Bruce, B-R-U-C-E.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Please proceed.
I would like to say I've attended every meeting concerning this project, and I'm actually a little surprised that the RCO agreed, gave a letter of support.
I do live on Tasker Street, and I'm probably 400 feet away from this proposed project.
There's so many people that have opposed this, the people that live on Fernand.
But what I want to say is, to get to this point where the developer decided he was going to do the single-family homes, that's what the community wanted from the beginning, on the entire lot to be single-family homes.
So here we are three years later, and because it was such a fight for him with us, because we did not want what he was proposing, and for him to say that we are in full support, that is not true.
things are being twisted here at this point to subdivide this property I am in fear that he's
going to still come back and try to do an apartment complex in the existing lot he already has
a multi-family two blocks up 1400 is it 1400 point breeze and then he wants to put these
additional 57, there's no reason why he couldn't still put affordable units in this unit that he's
building now. So none of this is to the benefit of the community. It's, you know, everything is
spun to make it look like he's doing something that's to our benefit and out of, you know,
the goodness of his heart, but it's not a benefit to the community. And I don't see the hardship.
I just am in fear that we will still get increased density here where there's already so many multifamily units being purchased.
And I really would respectfully hope that you would not subdivide this because we don't know what he really does plan on doing in the end.
Because, like, there is no proposal in writing or permits requested for these other pieces of property.
thank you so much thank you for calling in man thank you any other comments from the virtual
audience here we have a tanya dixon with her hand up miss dixon please unmute yourself and wait for
the chair i could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter yes my name is tanja
t-a-n-j-a dixon d-i-x-o-n you swear or firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but
the truth? Yes, I do. Proceed, please. Thank you so much, Mr. Counsel and the board.
Like the previous speaker, Ms. Ella, I am also concerned. I am really like set back today of
what I'm hearing because it has been twisted. I am a co-captain on the 2200 block of Fernon Street.
My mother is the block captain. Also, we've been there for over 52 years. So I've seen a lot go
through this development, this piece of property, what the hands have done with it. And Mr. Ori has
not complied with anything that we have previously asked them for. I understand that we're not
speaking on the 57 units, but the 57 units have been a problem because from day one, we asked him
at least to place parking. So now he's talking about this partial that he would like to also
partial that he would like to also build upon. And we see the layout for it. It is going to
build upon.
And we see.
take away, which we don't have already, parking from this smaller street of Fernand Street.
On the design, it looks like the street is wide enough that maybe the cars can park on the other
side of the street, which is not so. This block has gone through a lot and the neighbors around it.
We have already have to sit in the understanding that there won't be any more parking.
But now he wants to, we don't know what he wants to build on here.
He has not been honest with us with the 57 units.
We still don't know how it's going to be maintained.
We still don't know how people are moving in and out.
This is a lot for this small section of Point Breeze.
We already have four other apartment buildings that have been constructed 10 feet away from this one that's being constructed already.
My parents are handicapped. My father is suffering from cancer.
My neighbor also has cancer also.
And there's another handicapped space that will be taken away.
We see that they want to plant trees.
The reason why we never planted trees on this block is because of the fact that it hurts the concrete.
The building that's going up now has brought a lot of concern to everyone because it's going to also take away the sunlight from many homes.
which with this small street during the winter time when it snows the only benefit that we had
was the sun to remove the snow because a lot of times the snow plows could not get down the street
because it's a small street so today I am just begging I am really begging that you really could
reconsider having him do anything with these partials at this present moment because we don't
know what Ori is going to do. Ori has promised many a things and have really did the total
opposite. And I am really upset at this moment. I'm just trying to keep it all together and be as
professional as I possibly can. But this is not going to help our community. This is tearing us
apart the amount of trash that we have from a lot of these apartment buildings are causing so many
problems with the squirrels my father just had to have his roof repaired because we're infested with
squirrels right now because of the amount of trash we don't know how the trash is going to be picked
up so to just keep adding more and more um townhouses apartment buildings this is just this
is just not feasible for us at all it's not that we don't want beautiful things we do but we as a
community would like for the developers to really work along with us and not against us and this is
what he has done from day one i really thank you very much thank you for calling in anyone else
from the virtual audience chair we have ray lambright mr or miss lambright you can unmute
yourself and wait for the chair could you could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
there i could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please you have to unmute
oh i thought i did i'm sorry that's fine just state your name and spell for the court reporter
ray r-a-e last name is lambright that's l as in lemon a m as in mary b as in boy r-i-g-h-t
right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes proceed okay i actually live on marsh street which is right across the street of point breeze
and i've lived in here my whole entire life which is 54 years my parents 10 years prior to
so i fairly well i do know the area and this lot
like ella and tangy um a lot of what i heard today is not as true my first um question would be
is that we're voting on a lot that is um the address is 1622 to 40 but from my understanding
is actually 1630 um is because the this parcel was split in two for some reason so now there's
two different properties so the property on the side of fernard street has a completely different
an address. So that's a little sketchy to me, how we're having a meeting. And that has also
not been addressed. The other issue is just like Ellis.
not been addressed. The other issue is just like Ella said, she's been at all the
community meetings. I unfortunately have missed a few due to the pandemic because I was not aware.
But for the most part, when it came to this lot, I tried to stay on top of what was going on.
And the last meeting that we as the RCOs had, the majority of people on there that's within a two
block radius said no so now that I'm seeing this letter saying that it was approved by 10 people
and opposed by nine I question that because one the RCO that I know I've never even received a
copy of it until this morning at 9 a.m because if that was the case five days prior to I would
actually wrote a handwritten letter and made sure it was to the board as well as the rest of my
neighbors who also oppose this change. I understand that we're here voting on
the side of Furnard Street to allow this parcel to be split. I am completely against it
because Mr. Fybush knows that we did want townhomes, but for the whole entire lot,
not just for a section of the lot that was um one of our biggest concerns is the parking yes
parking is bad all over the city for the most part south philadelphia is the worst um fernard
street is a very small street it's not a larger um little block so parking is not great there
there's no parking on the on either side of these streets of where this apartment complex or eight
townhomes will go. It is not something that the community really wanted. Point Breeze Avenue,
as Mr. Fiber said, he didn't realize when he purchased this property, it has such a historical
value with this lot. The whole Point Breeze section is historical because it was a business
section businesses were along this whole strip along with apartment units above businesses
so we asked about businesses i personally asked mr fye bush about instead of apartments you know
complete apartments how about a few businesses he did state that um we don't have the density for it
but now i hear he wants to decrease the density and build townhomes in the area so
So the whole thing does not sound great to me.