Thank you.
uh this visible was your chairman it's we have it all right so good evening mr chairman members
of the board and just want to address the community group letter at the outset there
were only three people at the meeting the vote was two to one against uh and i'll show you that
in their letters that's why uh it is significant that my client was able to get the signatures
that he did and he personally did it he walked around the block and got the signatures
So these are the table of contents, A1 through A10, which I ask be admitted into evidence.
Refusal is basically, the main issue is, this is a single-family block, and we're asking for a two-family household living.
The dimensional variance is the minimus.
It's about 14 square feet, so I'm going to concentrate mainly on the use issue.
This is the RCO letter of opposition. You can see one support to oppose for abstain. So basically had three people that really participated in the meeting and had to say one way or the other.
And then if you look at the rationale, again, I don't often come to the board unless I have
community support. And when I do, I just feel that there's a good reason to come without that
support. And this is one of those rare occasions. So the reasoning is they did not like the height
or under the 38 feet. We're certainly permitted to build up the 38 feet.
the rco said it's a narrow block and having a three-story building would be inappropriate for
the width of the block i understand that and i i explained that the way this house is constructed
it is set back and i'll show you that on the site plan to mimic the houses that
to mimic the houses that are on one side because the other side is a vacant lot.
are only or on one side because that the other
And then the other comment was this increases the renter population and we don't have people
who are invested in the community. And again, you know, I think a lot of us were renters at
one time and they still be. My kids are, so I don't know why there's some animus toward renters.
Here are the support signatures that you mentioned, Mr. Chairman, and in all candor to the tribunal here.
In this petition, there are several people from Udall Street, but some of them are redundant with the letters.
So we do have some strong community support, and I hope that that would carry the day today in front of the board.
all right so this is the block the 600 block of north udall this property has been vacant
according to the aerial photographs that i looked at since 2004 the property next to it i don't know
how long has been vacant but you can see there's other vacant properties on the block uh and so
the fact that my client was able to garner some of these signatures is really a credit to him
because there are some vacant and there are vacant lots on the block, obviously,
and we could not get those signatures.
So if you look at the structure of the block,
some homes have enclosed porches and some have open porches.
We tried to mimic this enclosed porch by having an enclosed first floor,
set back the second floor, six feet.
And then when we got to third floor, we set that back an additional two feet
to try to take away any canyon effect on what the community considers a small street.
Closer view of the homes on the block, all well kept in good shape.
This is looking up the street and the property.
The vacant lot is right here to the left.
You can see adjacent is an enclosed porch.
Across the street is an enclosed porch.
And there are several other enclosed porches down toward the end of the block.
Again, just another view looking in the opposite direction.
These are not my client's cars.
They're just abandoned cars, which you'll have to take care of.
Just took a picture of this property.
It's almost directly across the street.
It's a two-family dwelling.
Again, I'm not here to point out any deficiencies in homeowners on the block.
I could not find any licensure for this duplex, but it's certainly operating as a duplex.
These are my posters that were posted on the property.
And so these are revised plans.
And I'd like to start with the, let me start with the floor plan if I can and work back.
And the reason I want to do that is the basement, first floor, second floor.
So the second floor is set back eight feet from the front so that you have an enclosed
porch on the lower level.
And then when you get to the third floor, the third floor is set back an additional two feet.
So in reality, we all know that if you're going to build a three-story house, you're supposed to set back the third floor eight feet.
And the third floor is set back eight feet.
Now I'll go back to the elevation.
So I don't have a side view to show you.
That's why I showed you the site plan, rather the floor plan slash site plan on Z2.
So back to Z1, first floor, limestone at the bottom, nicely appointed, window well, even
though we don't have any basement dwellings or living area, double hung windows, nice
brick to mimic what is on the block.
And then there's a roof on the first floor.
Second floor is set back to be at the same level as the home on its side.
And then when you get to the third floor, it's a little bit of a mansert roof, and it's
setback two feet from the additional six feet from the front of the second floor.
I'll go back to the floor plan. And it's a very modest proposal. It's two one-bedroom apartments.
My client has looked at the values of homes on the block. And again, not demeaning the block.
It's a well-kept block in good shape. But the majority of the homes on the block,
The market value is less than $100,000.
And my client will testify that he can't build a single-family home for $100,000.
It costs him about $275,000.
So he opted for a two-family dwelling.
Again, he is not crammed in bedrooms.
He's made it rather spacious and tried to match the contours of the other homes on the block.
of the other homes on the block so you walk in the front door take a left and you have your
So you walk in the front door, take a left.
living quarters on the first floor with one bedroom and access to the rear yard with a
window well in the rear in the basement and i misspoke in the beginning and there is
occupancy of the basement i meant to say no bedrooms in the basement so there's no bedrooms
in the basement there's living room dining and kitchen in the basement with an egress well
And then to get to the second unit, you would continue to walk upstairs.
This is a more spacious unit because you don't have the stairways in a way on the third floor.
But on the second floor, you have living room, dining room, and a kitchen area.
And then you would continue upstairs to the third floor, and you would have one bedroom and a master bath.
There's no rooftop deck.
We don't have any issues with height or rear yard.
We just have the minimus variance for the open space.
These were the previous plans that were submitted.
I don't really think it's necessary to go into that, only to tell you that at that point,
the third floor had not been set back, and revised plans show that the third floor is
set back, the required eight feet.
Again, that wasn't a variance or a refusal.
It was done more to, let me go back, to really mimic this situation where you have a porch or an enclosed porch in the case of the property to the right, and then you go back six feet, you go up, and then the third floor is back two feet.
So really the opposition from two individuals at the meeting was basically on the third floor.
The remaining documents are what you typically would see in a presentation, the application for appeal, tax clearance certificate, zoning map, the deed, notice letter, certificate of mailing.
so i would like to briefly have my client unmute himself and not only adopt my testimony but i
just want to ask him a couple questions so that you can see the information i gave you about the
market value of the properties on the block and the cost of building is really it's really his
testimony mr jones can you unmute yourself sir could you please state your name and spell for
a stenographer.
Mr. Jones
or Mrs. Jones.
Do we see his hand anywhere?
I was just texting him.
Mr. Jones, are you on the call?
Can you unmute?
Yes, I am. I'm on the call. This is Mrs. Jones.
I'm sorry. I was having trouble unmuting.
And, Mrs. Jones, could you please state your name and spell it for the court stenographer?
My name is Naima Jones, spelled N-A-E-E-M-A-H, last name Jones, J-O-N-E-S.
We're a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
And you're a principal in the Joneses Properties?
Please proceed, Mr. Clayton.
Thank you, Mrs. Jones.
Jones, you were on a Zoom call when I presented your project and your husband's project.
And you've done some analysis of the block.
And are there 30 plots or parcels on this block?
And are the market values per the OPA between $14,000 and $106,000?
Yes, that's correct.
And there's only one house that's valued in excess of $100,000, correct?
Yes, that's correct.
And what would it cost for you to build a single-family home?
Based off of our estimates we've got, it would take at least $250,000 up to $275,000.
So in lieu of building a single-family home, which you probably would not be able to sell,
you've opted for a two-family dwelling with one bedroom in each dwelling.
Yes, that's correct.
I have no further questions of the witness, Mr. Chairman.
I'll just sum up if you give me that courtesy.
So we have a unique physical condition slash situation where we have a long vacant lot.
No one has attempted to build any structure on the property.
My client went door to door on the block and also on 54th Street, presented everyone with
the plans.
And I think the tenor was, again, I wasn't there, was that folks would rather have a property there than a continued vacant lot where people were parking and putting other household items on the lot.
People are parking and putting other household items on the lot.
We're not altering the essential character of the neighborhood because we're not over developing it.
Just two, one bedrooms.
We are not affecting the light and air of any adjacent property because of the setbacks to match the elevations of the homes next door.
We do have a third floor.
It would be the only home on the block of the third floor.
I'm not going to hide behind that.
But again, it's below 38 feet, and it is set back.
We are in generally harmony with the code because it is a residential block, and we're in harmony with what the other neighbors on the block want.
With that, I rest my case.
Questions from the board.
I have a question.
When was the lot purchased?
Lot was purchased 2018.
was this a how was it purchased was it a private private land or was it public auction or
purchase from p and j
okay so it's housing authority
so there is this is their agreement for for this to be affordable units or
or market rate?
Mr. Jones, can you answer that question?
We wanted to make it
an affordable living for at-risk
populations, like low-income families,
survivors of the
mixed violence, veterans, things of that nature.
What does
that mean in terms of, I don't understand,
less than 80% of AMI, less than
50% of AMI?
What's the...
What's your
in terms of the income you're targeting?
Well, I'm sorry.
Go ahead.
Mr. Johns, could she advise what they're going to rent the units for?
Would that help?
When we did our research, the average one bedroom in Philadelphia
and in the area ranges from about $1,400 to about $1,700 a month,
we were going to rent ours for as low as $1,000 to $1,200.
The questions are there any other window wells on the block?
And I guess would the window well come out at the same level
as the porch lines on the rest of the house?
Aaron, the architect, Aaron, are you on the call?
Well, I'm not to speak.
Hello, can you hear me?
Yeah, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
So it's Aaron Forsman, A-A-R-O-N, F-O-R-S-M-A-N, and I'm with Wiedemann Architecture in representation for the project.
Bear a firm to tell the truth, tell the truth, nothing but the truth.
Yes, I do.
So, Aaron, I believe the question was, and Ms. Graham, correct me if I'm wrong, is the window well that I have my cursor on, does that project out further than the steps?