And the pizzeria is that some folks pointed to as an example of why a little coffee shop should not be allowed.
That's a completely different business and business model than what we're proposing today. Is that right?
Exactly.
Okay. So it doesn't mirror what we are proposing here at all in the slightest. Is that correct?
I don't think it remotely represents what the coffee shop would be.
Very good. I have nothing further for Mr. Faust.
Thank you.
thank you are you are you done vern you're i am mr chair i think uh i think we've we've met our
burden i submit everything into evidence i do believe there is uh some folks out in the audience
there is uh some folks out in the audience who may also want to speak questions on the board
who may also want to speak questions
yes how many does the coffee shop see
i think it's less than 18 of folks at any one time i think there's a
five or six bistro tables and some counter seats
thank you oh i'm sorry were you going to hit toneta i'm sorry oh no i'm done okay uh so uh
you said that there were no truck deliveries so how do they get supplies to my client bring it
in her car i mean we're talking we're talking about croissants a tray of croissants maybe some
bagels uh this isn't a large volume sort of bags of coffee that's correct okay so this is all going
to be done with okay it's a very yeah i can speak on this uh with some personal experience the very
first zoning hearing i've ever handled 18 years ago was my coffee shop anthony's italian coffee
shop at 9th and christian still in existence 25 years later my brother runs it there hasn't been
and and it's a far larger business than what we're proposing here we've never had one truck deliver
any coffee because it's all delivered in cars okay yep the questions from the board thank you
wheelchair accessibility no uh there'll be assistance for people who need it uh to get
up to that first step uh which is consistent with uh the commercial use on that building for
uh about a hundred years and the bathroom wheelchair accessible it may be uh if required
that that'll be subject to building code review
obviously if it must be then we will do it
bernsey does your client agree with the provisors yes mr chair they were all very reasonable
uh again the only deliveries or trash pickup for the 2200 block of written house right
that's correct okay i mean the question before the board is simple will this proposed coffee
shop impact the community in a manner more than any typical coffee shop would we've demonstrated
any other question any other questions or not yep questions or comments from our attorney
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
yes mr chair i have alexander roterer with their hand raised i have allowed them to speak
and could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
hello hi could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer yes my name is
alexander that's a-l-e-x-a-n-d-e-r last name r-o-e-d-e-r-e-r you swear or affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes i do are you a neighbor yes i am
Please proceed.
I'm speaking in support of the proposed cafe.
I think the cafe would be a positive addition to the neighborhood, which already, as we've
heard, has several food establishments and would benefit from the addition of the business
in question.
I live less than 500 feet from a similar coffee shop, and it has been a boon for our immediate
few blocks.
I think such businesses are very appropriate for this part of the city.
Thank you.
Thank you for taking the time to call us.
Anyone else?
Yes, Mr. Chair, I have a Joseph K. I have allowed them to speak.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Hi, I'm Joseph K, J-O-S-E-P-H-K-A-Y.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
Yes, sir.
Please proceed.
I'm speaking in favor of this.
I have a young daughter who's not quite old enough to go to elementary school yet, but I'll be walking up 22nd eventually every day to go to Greenfield.
And I would just love to have this as a public space.
You know, third spaces are key to the health and vibrancy of the city.
And I just love to have this available to us.
Mr. K, thank you very much for taking the time to call us.
Anyone else?
um yes wade albert has their hand raised i've allowed them to speak
good afternoon mr albert please state your name and spell for the stenographer
sure wade albert w-a-d-e last name a-l-b-e-r-t
Sure. Wade Albert, W-A-D-E, last name A-L-B-E-R-T.
You swear a firm to tell the truth, told the truth, nothing but the truth.
I do, Mr. Chair.
Please proceed, Mr. Albert.
Thank you. So I'm counsel for the Center City Residents Association.
And I just want to say that while there were a number of individuals who spoke against this project at our meeting,
uh the center city residents association believes that this project is no different than the
overwhelming majority of similar coffee shops and prepared food shops that seek special exception
relief from us uh every year or sometimes even every month and so uh we respectfully ask that
the zba grant the we're not opposed we don't oppose rather the um uh this request uh subject
to the provisos in our letter thank you very much mr albert we appreciate your call anyone else
yes mr try have a jason how many jason how many more hands do you have just two sir the first one
is jacob nabauer i would love them to speak hi sir could you please state your name and spell
for the stenographer hi yes jacob nabauer j-a-c-o-b-n-i-b-a-u-e-r you swear a firm to tell
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes are you a neighbor i am please proceed
sir. Okay, I'll be brief. I just want to mention that there's a large population of graduate
students in the area associated with nearby universities who really support this cafe and
believe that adding this cafe to the Fittler Square neighborhood supports the educational
culture of the neighborhood and the surrounding Philadelphia community. And many cafes for us are
used as meeting points to share work with colleagues. So we really would like to see
this go through. Thank you. Thank you very much for calling in. We appreciate that. Last hand,
please yes last time from jacob pritchett i've allowed them to speak hi could you please state
your name and spell for the stenographer jacob pritchett j-a-c-o-b-p-r-i-t-c-h-e-t-t
um do you do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do are you a neighbor i live in the second councilmanic district and i'm a user of the
bike lane but i don't live right next to it all right please proceed then okay um i just wanted
to say i i think that um the the whole area would benefit from a coffee shop like this i think having
stuff along the bike lane encourages um people to um to get out and use their their bikes to get
around and it's a concentrated you know benefit for people who um for people to do that and i
I think that a low-impact business use like this is a great fit for a neighborhood in Center City, and I think that that's all I have to add.
Thank you very much.
I appreciate your comment.
And we're done with hands, Jason?
Yes, we're done.
Planning Commission.
So, Ron Vittner, City Planning.
Property is indicated for commercial mixed use on the city plan.
And the applicant has shown that the proposed use will have no more of an impact than would be normally expected.
We recommend the requested food establishment special exception be granted.
MI 2024.
Can I request that I would like to hear from the owner that there is a commitment for wheelchair accessibility with or without the code requiring it?
I can't make that commitment because we don't know.
I was asking the owner. Is the owner on the call? Can they make a commitment?
She is. I don't think she can make that commitment without knowing what that would entail in changing the facade of the building.
We could make it accessible so that folks would have access with assistance.
But I think that would be a dangerous commitment to make without knowing the details of what would need to be done physically pursuant to the International Building Code.
I would like to understand that.
I'm sorry.
I would like to understand that this sounds like this is going to be a very great thing for the community, but if folks that are in wheelchairs can't use it, and it's not such a great thing for the folks that are in wheelchairs.
They could use it with assistance from staff.
When I see a plan that doesn't have a wheelchair accessible bath on it, and I'm being told that if the code requires us, then we'll do it.
That's correct.
The fact of the matter is, if we want to have a facility that is really open and supports the community and all folks that are in the community, even if it's disabled, there should be a commitment to make sure that that happens and not present us with plans that don't comply.
and not present us with plans that don't comply.
I think my client could probably...
I think my client could probably testify today
that she's committed to the compliant restroom for sure.
It's just the entrance on a 19th century building
that would be a little hairy to make a commitment in advance.
But I would like to call my client to the stand
to at least at the very least commit
to what Mr. John's request is pursuant to the restroom.
Can you hear me?
Yes, you've already been sworn.
Okay, yes.
So the restroom that's there is ADA compliant.
Well, that's on the plan that you presented does not.
Ms. Saeed.
Ms. Saeed.
Sorry, sorry.
It's not.
Ms. Saeed.
And this was existing.
It's an existing restroom.
Understood.
Ms. Saeed, do you, I'm going to, you're under oath,
And I want to pursue it to Mr. John's question.
Would you agree to ensure that the restroom would be outfitted for handicap accessibility or adaptability?
Thank you.
Okay, Michael, what do we, Michael, you said?
Yeah, I'm good with that if we can get a revised plan that shows that.
Well, that's an interior plan that's not subject to the ZBA review, right? We've already just committed to the ADA accessibility or adaptability restroom, and now we'll have to submit those plans with that bathroom to the building code examiner before we could ever occupy.
Does that make, am I making sense?
well we've asked other folks to do the same thing so i'm not i'm not understanding here i think
attorney i'm not understanding the difference between what we've asked other folks to do and
they've complied so i'm i'm not i'm not understanding that only because i'd like to
get a vote today after waiting three hours and i think we all and i understand the commitment
But I'm asking, can there something be a revised plan that shows that accessible bathroom be sent into to to ZBA so that we can say, yes, we agree?
I'm going to yield to others have made that.
I understand. Although, please forgive me.
There's all of these sorts of new rules are new for me.
All right. So I'm going to yield to attorney Emerson to figure out the procedurally how that would happen.
So, yes. Excuse me. So because this is a change of use application, there were no plans required.
We can certainly ask for plans that show the ADA restroom, but they we can't we can't bind the applicant to plans on a change of use application.
So that's that's that's that's where we stand.
um again our commitment stands to the ada bathroom plan and as attorney emerson said
i don't think uh no plans were submitted uh for review so but we certainly will do that
at the building code level.
So, number 12, MI 2024, 004-463-244 South 22nd Street.
I vote yes, with proviso, interior trash storage,
no deliveries or trash pickup from the 2200 block of Rittenhouse Street,
no exterior, amplified music.
Michael Johns, my vote is no.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with provisos.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with provisos.
I am one, my vote is yes with provisos.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with provisos.
Thank you, Mr.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Is there anyone in the virtual audience whose case has not been called?
We're going to take a five-minute break.
I did not change any hands, Mr. Chair.
all right we're going to take a five minute break and we're going to come right back we'll finish
this 3 30 list all right all right we have 35 participants we can start good afternoon
everyone my name is bill bergman and i will be chairing the 330 list with me is our board member
With me is our board member Cheryl L. Gaston, present Mr. Chairman, our board member Tanetta Graham, present Mr. Chairman, our board member Michael Johns, present Mr. Chairman, our board member Taya Nguyen, also present as Hillary Emerson, our attorney, and also the deputy director for planning and zoning.
Cheryl L.
Kathleen Grady. Here's our virtual format. Seedings are being recorded.
With your participation, you agree to be recorded. A video will be available by contacting
ZBA Executive Director at phila.gov. That's all one word, ZBA Executive Director at phila.gov.
For our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before
testifying. If you are participating by phone, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to
unmute. To enter an appearance statement, call 267-270-5548. Leave your email address and the
address of the property in question. The question and answer box on the screen is not for testimony.
All testimony or questions should be directed to our Deputy Director Kathleen Grady.
Let's look at our list for today, for this afternoon.
Number seven, MI 2024-002-822-807 Roosevelt Boulevard.
That case is continued.
Number nine, MI 2024-002-892-2100 Robbins Street.
That case has been continued. And number 10, MI 2024-002-932-5625 Thomas Avenue, that case has been continued. Are there any other requests for continuances?
Chair, I have a hand raised by the name of Otabek Makhamedov.