um testify should they wish to do so thank you thank you okay are we going to number two
and did we handle 5506 baltimore avenue
does anyone remember that that was yes that's going to be continued yeah that we did that earlier
yep that was number one on the sheet that's okay gotcha yes mr goodman is going to work
with the applicant to contact the RCO. Thank you. Calendar number 40048920 French
Street. The attorney is Allen Nockamson. Good afternoon. Can you put your name and
address on the record please? Yes, Allen Nockamson, Nockamson, PC, 123 South
Broad Street, Suite 1600, Philadelphia, PA, 19109. Do you swear or affirm to tell
the whole truth and nothing but the truth? I still do. Okay, and do you agree to wait the reading of
the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy? Yes, I do. And have you mailed the exhibit packet with
proof of ownership, proof of tax clearance, copy of the refusal, referral, photos, and or plans of
the property five days in advance of this hearing? And have you met with the RCO and do you have a
letter yes in all respects thank you all right i'm going to share my screen
i think this is a little bit less complicated of a project uh i'm regarding 920 french street
same packet of or type of exhibits eight of them the first is the d to the property showing that
V2 Properties LLC owns the property. I present on many occasions to this board properties that
V2 Properties has requested variances for. As I stated on each occasion, V2 Properties is one of
the larger home builders in the city of Philadelphia. They build approximately 100 or so
units a year. They are well regarded not just in their volume, but also their quality of their
work product the last two years the philadelphia inquirer has recognized them as developer of the
year so you know they really focus not on just volume but also quality and their work product
after the deed i have the certificate of tax clearance showing that they're in good standing
with respect to this property and then i have a notice of refusal and this is probably one of
a few occasions where I'm trying to reduce the density in a way and seeking by way of variance.
This is a CMX2 property. So we're allowed to build a commercial unit on the first floor and
two residential above. It's completely inappropriate to have a commercial component
with respect to this property. The lot size is only 595 square feet. The width of the property
is only 14 feet. There's no way we can have a multifamily aspect to this property.
and commercial would not survive here given the surrounding neighborhood so we're asking to build
simply a single family house and there are two refusals first of which is that we're eliminating
the commercial component uh because this is a cmx2 property and the second of which is the open area
and as you'll see from the you know our drawings it's just the lot is just way too
narrow and not long enough, where if we tried to build something as of right, we would have
a property where it's not wide enough to put stairs in the middle, right, you know, and it's
not long enough to put the stairs going straight back. So we really do, this is really an undue
So we really do, this is really an undue hardship situation.
hardship situation.
After this is the application for appeal that we filed to the zoning board adjustment,
along with the project information form for this property.
And then here's, you know, the zoning map.
Now, this is a very multifamily part of town.
Unfortunately, given this lot size, you know, we cannot build something where it has any multi-unit function.
and then there's photographs of the property as you can see it's a very very narrow lot
you can see our posters and then you'll just see our plans and it's the typical
v2 property uh single family uh house uh you you walk in you have uh what's it called you're
walking on the side here because we have a corner property it's an open floor plan living room dining
room and kitchen we have a family room in the basement and then we have three bedrooms and
two baths with a master suite on the third floor, two bedrooms, one facing each, the
front and the rear, with a bathroom in the middle.
And then we have a roof deck as well.
And we met with the coordinating RCO APM, and they are not in opposition to this project.
So I have Bill Archer, one of the directors of V2 property.
So Bill, can you virtually raise your hand?
Mr. Archer, you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in.
Can you hear me, Al?
Bill, can you state your name and address for the record?
Yes, sure.
Bill Archer, 130, Clover Lane, Berkey-Omanville, Pennsylvania, 18074.
Sorry, we didn't get that.
Just give us your name again.
Bill Archer, address is 130, Clover Lane, Berkey-Omanville, Pennsylvania, 18074.
Swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
you have to give that some thought
I think
we had technical difficulties
I know I'm being facetious thank you
thank you
Bill you heard everything I stated
is it true and correct
and do you adopt it as your own testimony
all right thank you thank you any questions from the board
no no anyone else wish to testify in this case if so please raise your hand
no hands raised for this one thank you planning commission
so this property is indicated for commercial mixed use in the city plan the um so the zoning
dates back to a structure that no longer is there and the block is otherwise single family
residential accordingly we uh have no objection to the ground universe and that was ron bednar
from planning uh calendar number i'm going to read off the way you read it four zero zero four
eight nine two zero french street my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes
thank you
calendar number three nine one two nine five four two five hunter street sean board is the attorney
mr ward good afternoon hi put your name and address on the record please
yes mr chair members of the board sean ward on behalf of the applicant
dan valentino my address is 331 east street road trevos pennsylvania
1-9-0-5-3. And do you swear or affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
I most certainly do. Do you also agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its
accuracy? Yes, we do. Just another question. Have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required
documents, proof of ownership, proof of tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral,
photos, and or plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing?
photos and or plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing, and
And also, have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
And then...
Several answers to those questions.
The one PDF file containing all my exhibits was emailed to the board yesterday,
as I stated this morning, due to time constraints with other hearings.
There is a letter of opposition from the RCO, although no meeting was held.
I will explain that as I go through the exhibit packet, if that's okay.
At this time, I'll share my screen.
Present with me today on the virtual hearing is Dan Valentino,
and I will have him adopt and affirm my representations to the board.
Okay, can everybody see my screen?
okay very good uh i've i've submitted my typical exhibit packet which includes
a1 is the notice of refusal again as this morning this is a permit for a two-family
dwelling in an existing structure um let me move it over to the other side
um two families not permitted in the district therefore we seek a use variance today
a2 is the zba application of appeal a3 is the project we lost you
don't always we hear your voice we only see uh google whatever that is yeah we don't have any
see any plans now we have stuff okay this is your uh exhibit summary yeah i'm sorry i have dual
screens and when i move it over to the one that's in front of the camera it it gets lost i'll leave
i'll leave it where it is all right okay uh a2 is the uh zba application of appeal a3 is the
project information form a4 deed a5 proof of tax clearance a6 are floor plans a7 are photographs
a8 is the rco uh summary and the meeting request emails a9 is the rovin zoning history if there
was any, but none was found. A10 is the permit history for the subject. A11 is the history for
the adjoining properties at 5427 and 542-900. A12 is the zoning map. A13 is the aerial photograph.
So we have the notice of refusal, the application, appeal transmittal, copy of the application of
Appeal project information form. Copy of the deed you'll notice it was purchased
on December 21st 2018 that'll come into play when we get to the violations and
the history of the property. Here we have tax compliance it's actually overpaid
for the year 2034 these are the floor plans as existing again this property was configured as
a two-family dwelling when it was purchased you'll see on the first floor plan there is an existing
vestibule common entry you would come in the front door and immediately turn left for the first floor
apartment you would enter the living room there's a center kitchen and dining area and a bedroom in
the back with a full three-piece bath. The second floor, you would enter the steps and come into the
hallway. The living room is in the front. There's a bedroom in the middle, an eating kitchen, and
then a bedroom in the rear with a common three-piece bath serving both bedrooms. This is a picture of
posting on the front railing of the property. This is the subject with the poster on the railing.
These are google photos showing the property in or about July of 2019. You can see it's boarded up
and it's got the candy stripe poster on the front window. This is looking down the block.
You have two occupied structures to the right. I believe them to be single family residences
and you have various garages fronting on hunter street the next photo shows two vacant properties
to the left of the subject and a auto service business located beyond that
the rco submitted a letter back in march of a vote of eight opposed and you'll see that they
were all the board members of the committee nobody from the public attended the meeting
we were unaware of the meeting so that's why we did not attend
going down through the emails. The original notification came out in
going down through the emails the original notification came out in
November of 2019, at which time we requested a meeting. The meeting was scheduled for February
27th again, but we did not receive notice of that. That's when they submitted their letter.
I requested by email on March 6th that another meeting be scheduled to discuss the property.
uh sheila buchanan from hestonville indicated that they would try and work in another meeting
but despite well obviously covid hit and then despite repeated requests uh beginning
on august 21st when i received notification from uh the planning commission that it was
from the zoning board that it was rescheduled for september 29th i requested that a meeting be held
Again, on August 27th, I requested that the meeting be scheduled, and then finally on September 15th, requested that the meeting be scheduled.
So while the RCO committee held a meeting without the applicant and no public attending, I would submit that the letter be given the weight and authority that it deserves under the circumstances.
In addition, the letter was submitted well after the initial 45-day period in which the RCO could hold a meeting.
With regard to this property, it was registered as a vacant structure following a violation prior to my client owning the property.
He is the principal of Steamboat SCM Fund B LLC, which is the current owner of the property.
so that that code violation was resolved december 14th of 2017 i presume the then owner obtained a
vacant property license with regard to the adjoining properties you'll see 5427 hunter
street is a vacant structure as well as 5429 is a vacant structure i did not see any violations
on the two single family residences to the right of the subject here is the zoning map
obviously it's a zoned rsa5 and the aerial photograph so while this property was vacant
my client purchased it again performed the routine interior fit and finish improvements
to the property no structural changes were made and now upon attempting to obtain rental licenses
it was discovered that it's not zoned as a duplex despite being configured as such therefore we seek
relief from the board to proceed with the licensing of the property and getting it occupied and
on the tax rolls mr valentino if you could raise your hand
he's available to
Dan can you unmute your
connection
Dan Valentino, can you hear me?
If none of the board members have questions for Mr. Valentino.
Dan Valentino here, sorry.
Technical difficulties, I was unable to unmute at the moment.
Okay, Mr. Valentino, please spell your full name for the record.
Daniel, D-A-N-I-E-L, Valentino, V-A-L-E-N-T-I-N-O, address 2930 Jasper Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19134.
We're in a frame to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Yes, I do.
Thank you.
Dan, very quickly, you've heard my representations to the board today?
Yes, I have.
Are they true and correct, at the best of your knowledge, information, and belief?
Yes, they are.
And you adopt them as your own testimony?
Thank you.
Valentino, how did you purchase this?
Did you throw a realtor?
It was an off-market transaction.
There was no realtor.
It was, I'm trying to think, Hunter.
It was just a fellow investor, I believe, let us know about it.
This was a pretty heavily distressed house.
Well, portfolio, rather.
Not necessarily the house itself, but it was a distressed portfolio.
But it was a distress portfolio. This house, when we purchased it, we didn't notice any violations from L&I on the project. And when we walked in, it was, in fact, configured as a two-family. So we proceeded as such in our fit and finish of the unit, assuming that it was indeed a two-family house.
This house, when we purchased it,
And when we went to obtain our rental license, that's when we got noticed that it was not, in fact, zoned as a two-family.
I have a question, Mr. Chairman.
Is there any pictures, interior pictures?