I have to say it's not really all their fault.
They got some misinformation.
it appears to me though once they got the misinformation that they really made an effort
to um correct um the things that they did that were displeasing or um so at the time when the
food truck is not in use it because this looks it sounds to me like they'll still have the food
truck but they won't be parking it at this location anymore it will not be even when it's
not in use like even when say if they're not using it for an event they're not going to store
the food truck at this location that they had where they had the restaurant that is correct
and uh mr campbell are you still on the line yes i am can you speak to that please yes we already
have storage uh for our food truck we actually uh right reserved the food store i'm sorry the
storage for the food truck uh months ago just to be safe whenever we couldn't have the truck in
that area that we would have somewhere to store it so we already do plan on moving the truck right
away uh it's on ivy hill road it's a storage place for the food truck that we already had reserved
so so did i hear that the community wanted a sit-down restaurant is that what
was one of the issues i i didn't really say that i don't want to really be misleading
i want to say that we did circulate petitions um there are about 10 or 12 of them there are 167
signatures now a lot of those signatures are not from uh rittenhouse in narragansett but a lot of
the signatures are. So there is community support for the opening of that takeout restaurant there
on the corner. All right. My question is about the food truck. And again, maybe I don't remember
everything I showed about this, but it used to be that the food trucks that are like parked on the
street or operating on the sidewalks had to be attached to a food commissary, which is monitored
by the health department. So are we doing something different with this because this is
this mobile truck or how how does this i i hear a lot i've heard a lot about how lni is involved in
the uh initial licensing but um i thought that trucks like this had to be also under the
jurisdiction of the health department so can you speak to that please yes we have we have a
commissary kitchen that's at Jamaican
D's that we use for our commissary
if that's what you're
yes it's like a block and a half
away from where we operate
if that's what you're talking about the preparation
of the food and everything yes
like that it's in a food
commissary that has to be
and that's under the jurisdiction
of the health department
yes we submitted that with
all our new licensing because that's
what we had to have to receive
our updated information so we have that as well, yes.
Okay, so what is this talk about this other place
where you're storing this truck, I'm sorry.
So that's the place that we're trying to get into.
So that's the place that we're trying to get into.
Okay, and is that another?
And is that another food commissary?
So how are you going to, well, okay.
It doesn't necessarily have to do with what's going on here, but.
The truck will no longer be in use.
The truck will no longer be in use.
And then we will enter into the building.
Once we enter into the building, we will no longer need a commissary kitchen.
So when board member Graham asked before if you were going to continue to use the truck after you, if you got permission for the restaurant, I thought you said that you were still going to use it.
Oh, yeah.
So the plan is we want to really get established into the building first, get everything going smooth there.
And then the plan is maybe sometime in the spring, I will put a team together to operate events, you know, once the weather get nice again, because we're about to come in the wintertime.
So the truck can be put up while we get everything going at the store smooth, and then we'll work on operating the truck for events, and then we'll still use the commissary that we use.
So we'll make sure that we have that information for the commissary for the truck, because we do do a nice amount of business, so we're probably not going to have the room to clash the two.
So we'll be using that same commissary for the truck, but the truck will be put up until then.
and how many seats are you going to have in this restaurant uh so so there's no seats because it's
a takeout so we we're not going to have no seats we want to get people in and out so that we're not
creating a lot of traffic a lot of dwelling traffic you know we uh we also offer online
services for pickups so people could be right in and out we also offer you know delivery driver
services as well so it'll be a take take out so they get in and out no sitting okay but
they still will be waiting for orders oh yeah well we we have a we have a uh we have a waiting
area where they can order and also wait for their orders okay which we which we can offer some
seating just to you know cater to especially older you know clients uh customers that need
a seat and stuff so we we can accommodate those things so i'm just i'm working towards the whole
idea of congestion in the street so these folks who are waiting for this food they're not going to be
outside otherwise causing any kind of disturbance within the neighborhood no okay all right thank
you no problem questions or comments from the virtual audience um yes mr chair i have
a hand up from charles richardson i've allowed them to speak
morning mr richardson good morning mr chair charles richardson r-i-c-h-a-r-d-s-o-n
officer councilwoman cindy bass room 508 city hall you swear or affirm to tell the truth the
whole truth and nothing but the truth i certainly do please proceed sir i assume that uh you folks
received the letter of opposition from the councilwoman and also the rationale letter
that I wrote as well.
You know, there's a lot of misinformation going on here.
I spoke to Mr. Ross, the owner of the property, last Monday, and he indicated at the time,
number one, that there was not an executed lease at that point.
He also mentioned the fact that he was the one that was actually responsible for paving
over the lot, but he also said that Mr. Camper and Mr. Campbell were the ones that fenced the lot.
So they actually didn't, you know, had some idea of what they were doing.
I received a petition from Ms. Threat this morning, and I thank you for that.
There are 132 households that are designated as near neighbors by the City Planning Commission.
of those 132, there are 107 households located on Narragansett and Rittenhouse Streets,
which are the closest streets. There are 76 households on Narragansett Street and 31 on
Rittenhouse Street. The applicants circulated petitions within the last couple of days and
obtained signatures from individuals residing in 36 of those 107 households, and that's only 33%,
A little over a third of the 107 near-neighbor households, and that's from both Darragansett and Rittenhouse Streets.
Unfortunately, the applicants have been doing things wrong from the very beginning, from illegally occupying a city-owned lot, and even after being told that they were on a city-owned lot, they had established an illegal connection to PICO, and they received numerous violations from L&I.
their every action thereafter has been reactive as opposed to learning what they needed to do to
Their every action thereafter has been reactive as opposed to learning what they needed to do to operate a legal business.
Even when informed that they could not remain at that location, they have continued to maneuver and do everything within their power to disobey the city,
including public property, the land bank, and the Philadelphia Police Department,
who told them that they can't park at the location where they currently are parked and vending as well.
The petition submitted representing only 36 of the 107 nearest neighbor households do not negate 18 complaints that we received from those two blocks since they began their operations, citing such things as traffic and congestion, customer parking, which will still be a problem in that community, no matter whether they move the truck or not, because the people still have to park somewhere in order to, you know, to partake of their, and they're very popular.
I'm going to give them that. They are very popular, but they also are causing problems
with boarding septal buses and things along those lines. I myself observed, after a constituent
called us, extension cords stretching from the windows of the subject property across the
sidewalk and into the food trailer. While understanding that Mr. Campbell has a very
large following, this case does hinge on location, location, location. And while they desire to stay
at this location, this is not the right location for this type of business. The councilwoman
request that you deny the request the other questions or comments from the virtual audience
i do not see any further hands mr chair planning commission
amy void for the planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends
no change to the commercial mixed use zoning at this location
the appellant has demonstrated that the proposed use will not cause detrimental impacts to the
neighborhood beyond what would reasonably be expected. Therefore, the Planning Commission
recommends that the board plans to request a special exception for a takeout restaurant.
Commissioner, if I may make a closing statement. You can. Thank you. Commissioners,
I respect what the councilwoman wrote and Mr. Richardson's position. My clients didn't have
100% clean hands and everything. They did get some misinformation. When they learned about what they
were doing wrong, they did make a good effort to try to correct it. I think most of the problems
that the community may have complained about will be solved when they move the restaurant inside.
That area and that building was designed for the type of use that we are requesting.
And if, in fact, you are leaning on the side of maybe giving them an opportunity, I would suggest that you give them a temporary use permit.
If the problems persist, if they're bad neighbors, bad businessmen, bad actors, when we come to the board the next time, you can deny it.
But in the city of Philadelphia, business growth, business opportunity is wanted.
They're going from a truck to a whole store.
They're providing different kind of food, food that's needed in our neighborhoods.
They're very, very popular.
And I would like you to just give them an opportunity to be good business persons.
And you can give them a limited opportunity if you're hesitant about it.
And thank you very much for your time today.
Can I ask a question?
Just one quick question.
Have they considered or had any conversations around doing a community benefits agreement?
with talking to the council
one or two?
No one, and that wasn't
considered, but we have no objection
to it. We want to be in the community.
We want to work with the community.
We'd be open
to a community benefits agreement
if they were open
to letting us
operate.
One quick point.
The council person's office
you know talked about traffic being a problem double parking in the past wouldn't that be the
same once this opens um well the truck would be gone and uh that is a street there and there would
be additional parking if that truck wasn't on that corner but to say uh traffic or congestion
wouldn't be a problem at all would be misleading but i would also say a commissioner it's kind of
unfair to put the congestion of the community and the parking problems in Philadelphia on
individual businesses. That location is designed for commercial use, and we're asking for commercial
use. So what we're going to do is we're going to hold this to the next week to vote. I'll sit and
talk to the other board members about where we stand with this, okay? Thank you very much for
your time today, Commissioner. Next Wednesday at 930. Thank you.
Hilary D, how do you make it up with the interpreter?
hello ed how do you make up with the interpreter
The interpreter is back, Mr. Chair.
Why don't we, what's that number again?
This number is 17.
My 2024-002-893-1815 South 17th Street.
Interpreter, please.
Hi, this is your Vietnamese interpreter.
My name is me, M for Mary, Y for Yankee, and my ID number is Y for Yankee, Q for Quebec, 068, and I am ready.
Hillary, could you please swear in?
Excuse me.
Do you swear in a firm to faithfully translate Vietnamese into English and English into Vietnamese?
Yes, I swear.
Thank you.
Yet no them and Nanga then please the owners they've been promoted to panelists and they're present.
See here.
I'm going to.
Could could you please help me swear them in interpreter?
All right.
Do you swear or affirm?
To tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Dạ vâng, thưa quý vị, quý vị có thể và tuyên thệ rằng là mình sẽ chỉ nói sự thật và không có gì khác ngoài sự thật trong buổi ngày hôm nay không ạ?
Dạ có.
Yes, we swear.
And so, here's...
Mr. Chair, interpreter, can you just please ask them to state their names for the record so we know who is here?
Thank you.
Dạ vâng.
Phiền ông bà hãy nói tên họ của mình nhé, từng người một ạ, để chúng tôi có thể ghi lại thông tin.
Tên là không?
V-I-E-T
N-G-U-I-E-N
Mình nói tên là được rồi ạ?
Việt Nguyễn
Việt Nguyễn Nga Đinh
Yes, so my name is Việt Nguyễn, V-I-E-T-N-G-U-I-E-N, and Nga Đinh, N-G-A-D-I-N-H.
So, this application is for the erection of a one-story rear addition to an existing two-story structure.
Dạ vâng, hiện tại là mình đang nộ cái hồ sơ để được cân nhắc, đúng không ạ?
Là để từ cái nhà một tầng thành nhà hai tầng, phải không ạ?
The maximum occupied area in RM1 zoning district is 75%, whereas this is 81%.
This is your interpreter speaking.