Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Good morning, everyone.
My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
With me is our board member, Sheila 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.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also present is our attorney, Hillary Emerson, and our zoning board director, Ian Haggerty,
and our board administrator, Lakeisha Dandy.
A record of this hearing will be posted on the ZBA website.
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number three
mi2024 -004 -330 -437 north 52nd street that case has been continued
Mr. Trader, do we have a date for that?
Let's see here.
I do not see a date for that one.
All right.
Give us one second.
And we need a date for four, too.
We can announce the dates later, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you.
And number four, MI 2024, 004 -331 -1900 Hofnagel Street.
That case has also been continued.
Are there any other requests for continuances?
Good morning, Chair.
My name is Karima Quintana.
I'll be your co -host for today.
we have a participant by the name of Oleg Sokolov with his hand raised.
Mr. Sokolov, you're allowed to speak.
Thank you.
Good morning, Chair, members of the board.
Council, could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Or Oleg, O -L -E -G, Sokolov, S -O -K -O -L -O -V.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do, Mr. Chair.
What case are you interested in?
2821 West Lehigh Avenue.
We do not have that case listed for today, sir.
This was a continued matter.
We have zoning posters for that date.
I also saw that it wasn't on the ZBA calendar.
Regardless, we are asking for a continuance of that matter.
I'm not sure where that leaves us administratively.
Okay, so why don't you call the office and we'll try to get that straight, okay?
Thank you so much.
Thank you, Chair.
Have a good day, everyone.
Any other requests for continuance?
I don't see any hands at this time, Chair.
So number nine, MI 2024 -007 -119 -1323 South Hancock Street.
Danielle Auerbach is the attorney.
Also, Leonard Reuter for the city is involved in this case.
Good morning, Mr. Reuter.
Good morning.
Please take a seat.
May it please the board, Leonard F. Reuter for the city of Philadelphia.
That's R -E -U -T -E -R.
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do thank you mr auerbach
uh mr chair mr auerbach had texted me a few minutes ago saying he was having some difficulty
uh not clear what it was whether it was his computer or just trying to log in
let me see if he if you with the board's indulgence let me see if he sent me anything else
sure thank you
well i know he'd probably want to hear this if you want to roll it over and just do the next one
we can do that why don't we we'll wait till he we get in touch with him we'll call you as soon as
you as soon as you hear from let me know we'll start the cases okay that's all right thank you
all right sure number six
mi 2024 006 108 1827 north 22nd street alan knockamson is the attorney i see mr goldberg here
good morning good morning chair we have mr alan knockamson with his hand raised
yeah alice alice will be presenting the screen here and alan will be present
Yeah, Alex will be presenting the screen here, and Alan will be presenting the testimony remotely.
You're both going to do that? Say that again? You're both going to?
Okay, okay, great. Thank you.
Mr. Nockamson, please.
Good morning, Mr. Chair, members of the board. Alan Nockamson.
all right mr knockamson could you please state your name again and spell it for the stenographer
alan knockamson a -l -a -n last name knockamson n -o -c -h -u -m -s -o -n right do you swear or firm
to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do okay so mr knockamson this is a
resumptive hearing what we're looking at here is you to give us an update and information about
revised plans the board will ask questions our attorney will have an opportunity for questions
there will be public testimony and then planning will will make their positions
uh yes uh thank you sure could you please start uh yes uh again good morning my name is alan
knockamson of knockamson pc along with me is uh my co -counsel alex goldberg who is in the hearing
room, we represent 1827 N22 LLC, the owner of the property at 1827 North 22nd Street.
Again, just to give a summarization of this project, originally we were seeking six units
on this RSA 5 property, which is 1 ,728 square feet of lot size. It is not out of character
to have multifamily structures on this block in the neighboring block.
There are properties at 1829, 39, 43, 45, 34, and 1800 North 22nd Street,
which are all multifamily in nature, as well as 1906, 1904, and 1914 are all multifamily in nature.
Again, so the request for the multifamily use is to minimus in nature.
There's also a coverage refusal as well, which is also de minimis in nature to provide adequate floor plans.
We met with the community for this project some time ago,
and the only member of the community who showed up to that meeting, who I believe lived on that block, was in support of this project.
We initially, again, applied for six units.
There was some concern by the board that that was in the RCO for this project, Strawberry Managing Community Concerns.
Six units was a little bit too much for this property.
While we respectfully disagree and believe that six units would be adequate given the lot size of the property and other approvals this board has given on this block and the neighboring block,
We did agree to come back to provide revised floor plans for four units, which Mr. Goldberg will show you as part of our presentation.
But now we have on our floor plans unit number one, which is the first floor and lower level, which if you look at the first floor, it also includes interior trash room.
unit number two is on its own which is on the second floor and units three and
four are on the third floor as well so those are four units which would match
the character of that block and because of the support we had previously for the
six units and we would request that this board grant the zoning variance with
the following provisos revised plans um that we provided um also commercial trash pickups
and then trash stored indoors by way of that trash room on the first floor thank you
questions from the board
can you go back to your um i'll say i'll say this what you're talking about to the staff
what's the what's the depth there of the the basement i believe again this is based on memory
i believe that's eight feet so we're a year eight low grade that that is correct um i would ask that
Mr. Goldberg, if I'm mistaken in
any way, please correct it for record
keeping purposes.
He's correct.
It's correct.
Do we know the width between
the window and the facade
front and the wall
and the wall of the window well like the actual width i can see the ladder but the width is not
of the window well?
Like the actual width?
notated i don't know the architect may be in the virtual meeting mr goldberg could you uh sure
state your name and we're going to swear you all right alex goldberg alex g -o -l -d -b -e -r -g
you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do please proceed
i do um olal couldsy of sgra may be in the virtual audience project architect who could
be able to assist you know with the answer to that question i don't know the the widths of the
window is he is he in the audience i don't see anybody with that name they they they'd have to
comply if you know but that's correct okay how to comply they look a little i don't know
my concern is the depth below grade um particularly for new construction or even rehab
yeah and and um board member johns if you know the board feels so inclined to prove a proviso
So regarding, you know, basement living, you know, we defer to the board on that in that respect.
But four units, you know, given the surrounding neighborhood is the appropriate amount of units for this project.
Thank you. Was the RCO okay with the four units that you know of?
We have not received any correspondence other than, you know, you know, asking us to resend the floor plans that we sent to the board five days before the hearing.
And again, just want to make sure for record keeping purposes, I'm correct.
But I believe at that initial hearing, I indicated that we would go down to four units and then the board asked us to provide revised drawings floor plans for this hearing.
But there was no communication that we received from the community group regarding this matter between the original hearing and this hearing, other than to re -provide those floor plans for today.
Other questions from the board?
Alan, I know you mentioned that this was appropriate for this block.
I think the comments that we got at the original hearing was that most of the buildings around were only duplexes or triplexes.
And so I want to know what's the hardship that sort of requires this one to be for.
Well, 1800 North 22nd Street, which is a four unit, is 1347 square feet and lot size.
1843 north 22nd street is a six unit which is 1636 square feet in lot size and then you have
two properties on the 1900 block 1904 which is a quad north 22nd street which is a quad plexus
1162 square feet in lot size in 1906 north 22nd street which is a five unit which is 1372 square
feet in lot size. So again, four units is not out of character. Yes. Are there other triplexes on
that block, which are slightly smaller than us? Yes, there are. But again, they're slightly
smaller than us by at least 100 square feet in lot size. In terms of the hardship, it's, you know,
again, this is a different time than when those properties were built. The interest rates are
much higher. The construction costs are much higher. And I know this does not go into the
equation, but the owner of the property is an affordable housing developer, which will provide
affordable housing to these properties. That's his business model. That's, you know, again,
not enforceable, I understand, but that's what he does for a living.
No, that I understand. I guess I was trying to understand what hardship necessitated for units.
The amount, because it would be impractical and almost impossible to develop this property for, you know, less than four units, given those factors I stated before.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you.
Other questions from the board?
Questions from our attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the audience or the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Strawberry Mansion community concerned with their hand raised.
Thank you.
They've been allowed to speak.
Good morning.
Hi, can you hear me?
I can. Could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
My name is Bonita Cummings, B -O -N -I -T -A -C -U -M -M -I -N -G -S, Strawberry Mansion Community Concern and R -O -C -O.
my name is bonita cummings b -o -n -i -t -a c -u -m -m -i
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman and the board.
I just wanted to indicate that we did not receive the amended plans until 5 or 6 p .m. yesterday, which was Monday, 3 -17 -2025, and as a committee have therefore not been able to assess the four, we asked for it.
We asked for this amendment back in January, but was not given the amendment, and we didn't get it until we asked again, and that came yesterday.
So we do have some concerns, and those concerns were around, we were not in agreement with Wendell Wells.
They create trash pits that we're seeing in and around those blocks and the community.
So we didn't get any opportunity to really assess, again, this four, coming down to four units.
And primarily, the lot is a small size of 1 ,728 square feet, and 100 % of it is occupied, leaving no breathing room.
Also, just for my quick review, a walk -up design can be challenging with this three -story.
even with three -story walk -up design for four units can be challenging for elderly residents,
disabled individuals, or families with young children. Even this idea of shared versus
private stairs, noise, congestion. So even this four units, what we're saying is really
you for it's too many for for the lot size and um there was uh we thought being removed was no
basement living and or no window wells which in most cases is promoting basement living and then
it also flips stairs around um disorienting the block as to what the rest of the um design of the
block um actually looks like so we weren't given an opportunity to actually get um more assessment
of the four units but from what we could do in a quick turnaround um we do still have concerns
that four units is too many for us for a small lot of that size all right thank you very much
mr knockamson do you have any questions uh yes um i just want to indicate for record keeping
purposes that we are not taking 100 the lot size i believe miss cumming stated that uh i'm i don't
have the computer in front of me uh so i do believe we do have a lot coverage refusal uh but
it's the minimus in nature uh mr goldberg how much of the lot coverage are we taking
78 .7 that's right so i think miss cumming says we're taking 100 lot coverage which we're not
in terms of you know providing the drawings we did provide it along with our materials five days
beforehand and no point did Ms. Cummings stated any indication that she wanted to have a community
meeting to review these materials again we stated at the previous hearing that we would go down to
four units the board wanted to see how those were laid out again we defer to the boards regarding
the basement use. We do believe that the additional room in the basement for the first level for the
unit that's on the first level in the lower level provides a roomier atmosphere, but we would make
accommodations if the board feels so inclined to put a proviso, no bedrooms in the basement
or living in the basement. Thank you. Additional comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands at this time, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Good morning, Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission, A -M -Y -B -O -Y -D.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location from the existing single -family residential RSA 5.
We note for the board that absent participation in city, state, or federal, or a city zoning initiative affordability mentioned in the appellant's testimony cannot be enforced by any city agency.
There are a number of two - and three -family homes on this block face with similar lot sizes.
The proposed four units is not the least minimum.
The proposed four units is not the least minimum.
However, the requested occupied area variance is not the least minimum.
However, the requested occupied area variance is de minimis.
The Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant the requested variance for occupied area
and grant the variance for multifamily with proviso three units.
Thank you.
MI 2024 -006 -108 -1827 North 22nd Street.
I vote yes with proviso.
maximum three units, revised plans, one page, stamped by ZBA March 18th, 2025, no household
living in the basement, commercial trash pickup, and trash stored inside.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with provisos.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with provisos.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with provisos.
Taya Wynn, my vote is yes with provisos.
Mr. Reuter, have we heard?
Is he ready to go?
All right, we're going to hear this one case, then we'll.
Daniel Auerbach for MI 2024 -007 -119 -1323 South Hancock Street.
Mr. Reuter has already been sworn.
Chair, I'm sorry, I have a Ross Gilson with their handrakes.
Could he be with the...
He may be, yes.
Why don't you bring him on, please?
I'm here.
Ross Gilson is my client.
I'm sorry for the delay.
Sure, sure.
Hi, Mr. Auerbach, could you please state your name
and spell it for the court stenographer.
Daniel Auerbach, and my last name is A -U -E -R -B -A -C -H.
All right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
All right.
Mr. Auerbach, would you, I think you've talked with our attorney.
Are you aware where we stand with this?
Yes, I understand that the board intends to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction.
Right.
That's right.
Mr. Reuter?
Yes, I'm aware that that's the board's position.
Thank you.
So MI 2024 -007 -119 -1333 South Hancock Street, I vote to dismiss proviso, to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.
Bye, Michael Johns, my vote is to dismiss with proviso.
Charles Gaston, my vote is to dismiss with proviso.
Tenetta Graham, my vote is to dismiss with proviso.
Tywin, my vote is to dismiss with proviso.
Thank you, counsel. Thank you, Mr. Porter.
Thank you. That concludes my business.
Thank you.
You may be excused.
Thank you.
Right.
Number seven, MI 2024 -006 -308 -1310 Marlboro Street.
Mr. Nackamson.
Mr. Nackamson.
Mr. Nocklinson, you've already been sworn.
Mr. Goldberg's here.
He's already been sworn.
Could you both please state your name for the record?
Alex Goldberg, A -L -E -X -G -O -L -V -B -E -R -G.
Mr. Nocklinson, did he answer?
Mr. Nockamson, can you unmute yourself?
Mr. Nockamson?
I can do it.
I'm sorry.
He might have to go out and run back in.
It's fine.
I'll do it.
Can you do it?
Yeah, I am just having trouble rejoining the virtual meeting.
Can we get Mr. Goldberg in, please?
Are you in, Mr. Goldberg?
wow okay
mr goldberg can you raise your hand i'm still i'm getting over the screen i haven't joined
the virtual we're trying to get a screen in do you want to put somebody one in front of me and
i'll come back okay why don't you do that
Okay, why don't you do that?
Number two, MI 2024 -004 -189 -8244 Somerdale Avenue.
Meredith Ferliger is the attorney.
This is a resumptive hearing.
Hi, Chair.
Meredith Berliger is in attendance. She's been allowed to speak.
Good morning, Council.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman. I am not able to turn my camera on. I was not promoted as a
panelist. There we go. Hold on. All right. Sure. We're fine.
good morning good morning council could you please state your name and spell for the
stenographer meredith ferliger f -e -r -l -e -g -e -r you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole
truth and nothing but the truth yes i do so council this is a a resumptive hearing and
this is or how we're going to lay this out you're going to give us an update and information about
an amended refusal. The board and council will have comments. We'll go to the public testimony
and the planning commission will make a recommendation. So, council, would you please start?
Mr. Chairman, members of the board, just to briefly remind you where we last left this case back in
September, the board heard the case, and as you know, a resumption hearing was scheduled for the
purpose of receiving an amended refusal from L &I to reflect the fact that expected landscaping
refusals were missing. I will very briefly remind you why we are here, and then I'll address the
new refusals. As a reminder, the property at 8244 Somerdale Avenue is located at the corner of
Huffnagle Street and Somerdale Avenue in the Ronhurst neighborhood. And again, you'll remember
this was a former long time. So Meredith, I think, you know, why don't you go into your
presentation about the update? Because I think we remember this for very well. Okay, wonderful.
All right. So
So since the board recalls this proposal, I will skip through my summary of what the request was.
All right.
So in terms of the amended refusal, let me bring that up here because there were a couple refusals that were added.
First, a new refusal was added here for a gravel surface of the parking lot.
I would submit to the board that this refusal is not accurate and that L &I has improperly interpreted an ambiguity in the code against this particular property owner's interest.
And again, just to remind you here, the surface of the lot here is already gravel.
As you can see on the amended refusal, the code requires a parking lot to be covered with either cement concrete, bituminous concrete, asphalt, or pervious pavement.
I challenged the L &I examiner that the code provides no definition of pervious pavement and that based on its very nature, gravel is in fact pervious pavement.
However, because there is no definition in the code, it is an ambiguity that the code would dictate be weighed in favor of the property owner, which was not done here and an amended refusal was issued.
Now, most importantly, the curb cut itself will be constructed to streets department standard while still allowing the flexibility of the gravel lot that, of course, has a much lower cost than full paving.
Now, in regards to the landscaping, and I would also add that my client is not opposed to paving if that is something that the board would issue via proviso.
The gravel is preferred. Certainly, it is less expensive and it is already there, but they are not opposed to the paving either.
Now, in regards to the landscaping, three landscaping refusals were issued.
First, a landscape buffer is required along the portion of the lot that abuts a residential district.
If you look at the zoning map, you'll note that everything surrounding this lot is residential, but in practicality, this buffer requirement would only apply along that southern border of the lot.
If you look at the zoning map, you'll note that everything surrounding this lot is residential.
Let me remind you what this area looks like currently.
As the board can see, there is already a full fence that separates the congregation and the parking area from the adjoining residences.
Providing a buffer here would not only not serve the purpose of the code, but it would
quite likely be dead fairly quickly as it would end up trapped between this fence, which
is in very good condition, and the parking.
We did ask for a waiver from this particular requirement, but it was not granted.
Second, based on the code, the planting of seven trees would be required just in the
required buffer areas along the Hofnagel and Somerdale frontages. This is not viable for two
reasons. First, if the board accepts the hardship presented that would prevent the inclusion of an
eight -foot setback of the parking from the property line, and again I'll show you roughly where that
line is so you can visualize it, then it follows that it would also be impossible to plant seven
trees in the buffer area that cannot feasibly exist given the site conditions. Furthermore,
as a reminder, there's already a roughly eight -foot grass buffer between my client's property line and
the sidewalk that will be restored with this application. Furthermore, although the code
contemplates a waiver for a payment of a fee in lieu, that in this case would mean a payment of
$7 ,000 to waive this requirement. That is a prohibitive amount given the nature of the
proposed construction and the fact that this is a small religious congregation with no source of
funding other than its members. That said, my client did also express a willingness to plant
a couple of trees surrounding the property, but that was not accepted as an acceptable waiver here.
Finally, the code would also require 10 % of this interior parking area to be landscaped.
Again, if you refer to this plan that I have up on the screen, which is the zoning site plan with my
markups, you'll quickly glean why this is not possible. This is a very small parking area,
and any interior landscaping would merely serve to complicate the efficiency of the very limited
parking operations that would occur here. I would also highlight what I believe to be the most
compelling argument of all of this, that all of these landscaping requirements that are being
imposed on this particular application are only triggered because the lot itself is over 5 ,000
square feet. As you can see, the lot itself is quite large. The code only requires landscaping
when the lot is over 5 ,000 square feet. However, in this case, the parking area is significantly
less than 5 ,000 square feet, but the code does not contemplate an exemption in this type of
circumstance where only a very limited portion of the lot is subject to the application.
Of course, I'm very happy to go back through any of the evidence that was presented in September
if the board has any questions or requires any refreshing of your memory about the details of
this application. I would also have my client readopt my testimony this morning. So if the
Administrator could look for Nadine Vaz.
Do we see?
Nadine Vaz, can you please raise your hand?
Good morning.
Good morning.
Could you please state your name and spell for the sonographer?
Nathan Vaz, N -E -I -D -V -A -N, last name Vaz, V -A -Z.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you.
Nay, you are an authorized member of the owner of this property, correct?
Yes, I am the vice president and also one of the co -founder of the church.
thank you and you were present during the september hearing correct yes i was and and you've
heard all of the additional evidence that was offered in front of the board this morning
yes would you agree that testimony was true and accurate and would you adopt it as if you
would you agree that testimony was true and accurate and would you adopt it as if you had
had given it yourself
given it yourself yes i do thank you questions from the board yeah i've got a couple questions
um looking at this plan that the red line is the um the required buffer that is that's correct
mr johns that was to be very clear this line is my estimated line that was for visual purposes
to show exactly where that required eight -foot setback would be, that is also the same eight -foot
setback area that the buffer would be required, and it's one and the same.
Okay. And the seven -foot, 11 and three -quarters inch, is that a grass space between, but that's
all public, that's all part of the public way, right? Correct. That's part of the public way.
And that's correct. And how many trees were you required to plant? Seven.
It's a lot of trees for this. It is. It is. It's a lot of trees.
Only only because there's the building is so large, you know what I mean?
On the side and then to the to the left of the building. Is that grass area? Is that paved area?
Um, so if you're looking at it from Hofnagel Street, I believe that you're referring to this
area over here. So that's all paved already. That is correct. That was the parking area that
existed when this was a synagogue. But as you can see, it's really a very difficult area to park in
because there is this one story detached building. So it's, it's really not a terribly efficient
area to park in. And so what are they proposing to use that space as?
Really, I mean, there's a couple of possible spaces that can be used for parking. It's
ultimately not proposed to change in any way. Okay. And can you go back to that site plan again?
Yeah, sure.
So, is your client opposed to planting trees along the frontage on Hofnagel Street?
Nay, if you're listening, would you have any objection to planting some trees along the Hofnagel Street frontage?
I would not have any subject on that, Mrs. Meredith, Mr. Johnson.
and we would do whatever it takes us to accommodate the parking lot.
Remember, the front at Hafnagel, it's not a big space,
but we're willing to do whichever needs to take a place to accommodate this parking lot.
And also, like you said, all the purpose of this parking lot application,
which cost us a lot of money, is just to accommodate the neighborhood as well.
We're here as peaceful as a religion institute and trying to help the community.
That's all we're trying to do right now.
I got you.
So another question.
Have they had any, so the conversation that you had with the streets department, are they
saying they will not allow you to plant any trees within that seven foot, 11 and three
quarter inch space?
No, I mean, candidly, Mr. Johns, that's not that is not something that was raised with the Straits Department.
The Straits Department reviewed the application for the curb cut and then the amended the amended refusal, if you will.
The plans simply went through the planning department.
They didn't go back through the Straits Department for any review.
you all right so i guess what i'm trying to what i'm trying to get to right is that you got this
seven to three quarter inch right 11 and three quarter inch space potential to plant a couple
trees along there potentially right and then you got the front of your building that with even
within the required setback although your parking wouldn't be in the required setback
you could theoretically plant trees within that setback in that area to accommodate a few trees
I know we get to seven, but, you know, you could potentially plant a few trees.
The other issue is the the paving that is currently gravel or is proposed to be gravel.
But what I'm hearing is that your your client does not oppose putting in asphalt or pervious paving.
No, nay, you will correct me if I'm wrong, but they are not opposed to putting in paving. I mean, again, this is a fairly limited budget project, and the gravel was obviously a fairly easy option, but no, I mean, if the board would feel more comfortable with it, I do not believe they have any objection to paving the lot.
No, nay, you will correct me if I'm wrong, but the but they.
Is that correct, Nay?
He's not. He's still muted.
Okay. Mr. Jones, any other further questions?
Okay. Other questions?
Yes. I just wanted to point out a few things.
One, that this is a, this area, this lot has almost 15 ,000 square feet in an impervious area, right?
The purpose of the code is to create spaces so that we can make sure that we are managing stormwater runoff across the city effectively.
Being an existing property does not exempt us from having to take care of the place that we all live.
Additionally, if you look at the Philly tree plan, this very specific area is a part of the city that has a tree deficit.
right and i think i understand the um difficulties that is being presented but at the same time
in this particular instance there were multiple paths that could have been taken
there have been no attempts to a deal with any stormwater runoff currently on this there's no
green roof there's zero trees like you had seven proposed there were none put back across the
entire frontage of the lot, which would have actually limited the hardship. And so I do feel
like in this particular instance, what we have is like an attempt to try to get all of the provisions
released in an area where this has just been an ongoing concern, frankly, and parking causes one
of the largest runoff concerns when we're dealing with these things. So I do think that
just needed to be stated for the record. Any other questions? Yes. One, I wanted to
know if, as part of this planning for this, such as it was, that you looked into using
pervious pavement at all i'm sorry i'm having trouble art was the question did they look into
pervious pavement yes uh board member gatson i i do not believe that that was something
investigated again this is a very small religious institution um they are are you know again looking
to pull some vehicles off the street. And I believe that in this particular case,
that pervious paving is a less economical option. But again, certainly if the requirement,
if the proviso is imposed that this lot be paved, that certainly I am sure that they can
investigate what the best option would be in terms of the type of paving that they would elect to
use if that type of a proviso were imposed here. You know, again, this is not a refusal issued
for the use of parking itself. This is simply a dimensional refusal that was issued for the
setback. So it is not the use of the parking here that has been refused. It is just a matter of the
sat back i'm talking about the the surface parking lot coverage um which there was a refusal issued
for and i have the same concern as a board member win about the drainage issue and stormwater
management issue on that and then my other question is or my concern on this is that
if you're going to have a gravel as the parking surface I mean what age congregation are we
talking about here I mean that's that's not necessarily an easy kind of surface to manage
for people who are older or disabled
or maybe use canes, walkers, or what have you
to access an area.
And if you're going to park cars in there,
you're going to get ruts and things
where the gravel moves
because it's being displaced by the tires
from the cars and the parking.
And so how is that going to be managed?
And so how is that going to be managed? That makes it even more difficult for people who are trying to walk from their cars to this particular religious assembly area.
That makes it even more difficult for people.
Just just my view of things.
nay i believe that you were muted the last time that i asked this question but do you have any
objection to if the board is inclined to grant this application do you have any objection paving
this lot with a uh a paving that would comply with the city of philadelphia code
we have no objection and we'll do that hideaway as granted
it um questions from our attorney not at this time mr chair i i um council there's at least
two people in their virtual and they in the uh in -person audience for waiting to testify
sir could you please turn your mic one you see it mr chairman uh while he's doing that i i would
like to note an objection that that i i do believe that the public had the opportunity
to speak during the september hearing and that if there are any members of the public that spoke
during the september hearing that their testimony would only be limited to anything covered under
the amended refusal wow i'll i'll we'll take a look at that sir could you please turn your mic
on and sit closer my name is all right state your name and spell it for the stenographer my
name's rich miller right could you spell it r -i -c -h -a -r -d -m -i -l -l -e -r do you swear or firm
to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do have you testified before on this
yes i have all right could you just give us an update of where you stand after hearing okay i
don't agree with this at all okay all right um thank you very much we appreciate you coming
down here uh where's your i own the antique house at 8301 algon avenue opposite corner
right from the synagogue and they have i've told you before we have no parking now
when they're in session they're in session from four o 'clock to two o 'clock in the morning okay
all right and the people that are trying to walk around the place we cannot listen to me listen to
me you heard what was said today please tell me what your update testimony is relative to what
you heard today? Well, number one, they were supposed to put signs up around here and they
didn't. And they did, but they took them down in front of me. Okay. Okay. Number two, they say
they're going to put six cars here and it will hold roughly 20 cars. They have done it. We have
brought pictures of it. They have a parking lot behind the building, which holds about 15 to 20
cars, and we know that too. Their building is, we're talking about, is supposed to be
Hofnagel, I mean, 8244 Somerdale Avenue. That's 8244 Somerdale Avenue. What you're looking at,
they have now got an address of 1630 Hofnagel that the state, the post office, no one recognizes.
okay okay so now that means that's a fictitious address there is no entrance there it was taken
out it used to be a synagogue i lived across from the place 35 years now my neighbors are a lot of
renters and a few that we do have that live there we have the problem with the kids going up and
down the sidewalks through using the the handicap ramp is a as an entrance in and out they cut the
tree down in order to make it longer for them their property line ends at that orange line
and they're gaining another four or five i'm going to say roughly 12 feet from the curb
in as graveled now they gravel that and these sides have been taken down so i have pictures
of massive this morning and okay they're not not existing right okay so now we have a mictitious
place they want a spot for six cars on the side they're going to take away the city has to give
up four parking spots to give them a spot for six cars which is going to hold 20 now i don't get
that because why would the city give up all this extra ground plus four parking spots so they can
add two spots when they only have enough room to put four cars on their property and then they
graveled all the way over to the sidewalk okay okay we have actual pictures where they say we
only went six well they filled both parking lots and every parking spot on the street okay okay so
we're really not for that and the handicapped people cannot go up and down the sidewalk and
they can't use the handicapped rent because they're using it to drive in and out of the property
and they're leaving their vehicles there they're there from four o 'clock in the afternoon to two
and they're leaving their vehicles there they're there from four o 'clock
o 'clock in the morning okay thank you that's all right hold on council do you have any questions
i just want to confirm that it was a gentleman's testimony that this congregation has uh you know
a significant number of members that park on the street and that it was your testimony
that that has created impact to the community because of the insufficient parking that is
available on site your uh client their tenants are not members of the neighborhood number one
that was not my question wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute and answer the just answer
the yep just answer the question please you heard what she said answer that question i didn't quite
my question was is it your testimony that you have observed that when the congregation is in
session that many members are parking on the street because they don't have anywhere to park
on site is that your observation that's correct and they also have a valet to park somewhere
Thank you. Thank you. That was my question. All right. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Other testimony from the audience, please.
Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for coming down.
Chair, we have an attendee with their hand raised. I have one more here in person.
Houston is standing up in your days.
Okay. Well, we'll get the mic closed.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
The name is John J. Klein, K -L -I -N -E.
I reside at 1718 Hufnagel Street.
All right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Mr. Klein, please proceed.
Why don't we start? Are you in favor of this project or against?
I'm against.
Could you tell us why?
If there's something that's different than what you're...
Again, I want to also indicate I'm a member of the Ron Hurst Civic Association.
I'm physically three feet beyond the 250 -foot business.
I understand.
Why don't you get close to the mic?
Stay close to the mic, please.
The applicant is proposing six parking spaces, three at Huffnagel Street and three at the property line at Emerson Street.
Why are not the six parking spaces at the end at Huffnagel Street?
Because when I further discuss the photos, I submit it.
So, you know, my indication is that if you allow this, they're going to eventually go back to what you see in the photos of multiple cars parked on the side yard and also in the service driveway in the rear of the building,
which is also when the parking is there
is obstructing the required means of emergency
egress out of the building
the presentation of the photos I presented
the first two sheets indicate
8 .5 by 11 sheets indicate the
posted signs when they were first posted and what the
where they were posted over the past weekend.
We see that.
In the old days, the DBA inspector used to go out,
and if the signs were not properly posted before the DBA meeting,
the project was going to be the applicant had a continuance.
I think, sir, what we think we should concentrate on is
why is it that you don't think this should happen?
If you allow this, as I indicate it, you'll see indicated in those pictures the various conditions that we have to live with, both over the amount of parking on the street plus the parking on the property.
Page three shows the proposed side yard being used for parking, the street parking conditions without the facility being used for services, services or meetings, because it's not supposed to be a religious organization.
It's not a church because in the old days, if it was a church, even now under the new zoning, if it was a church, a synagogue or a temple.
even now under the new zoning of the church or synagogue or a temple you would have be required
to have a certain amount of parking spaces for the uh available assembly square footage okay um
also indicated one that that she is the applicant's three parking spaces
at Huffnagel Street.
Also photos showing
handicapped curb cut
presently being used
as the driveway
drive access to
the side yard. I think
your fellow person
has already testified to that.
I'm just indicating what's on the
my presentation.
And the photo
Emerson Street
residence property
line fence also numbers page five indicates the rear service driveway
overcrowded parking at at the 1620 huffnagle Street residents rear side
prop that probably line
basically indicated that business the main the main objection is the fact that
sunday they have services everything's parking as you see monday night is also the same condition
That's why you see the night photos.
And because I had problems with my printer last night, I did not have the date printed out on all those photos.
So those photos are from all last year and this year, as you can see in March.
So that's the end of my presentation.
Okay, thank you very much.
Hold on one minute, sir.
Hold on.
Counselor, do you have any questions?
I don't have any questions, but I do want to just reinforce one note that this gentleman stated.
Meredith, why don't we wait to see if there's anyone else that...
And you can do that at one time.
Is there anyone in the virtual audience?
I see no hands at this time, Jim.
Meredith, please proceed.
Thank you.
I just wanted to reinforce what this gentleman stated and to confirm that under the current zoning code for this particular zoning district, that if a religious assembly were newly constituted on a property, that parking would in fact be required.
And that this application does serve to bring this particular property further into compliance with the code, given that the religious institution use was established probably 80 years ago, you know, prior to the inception of these requirements.
So I just wanted to reinforce the fact that the gentleman is correct in that this application does bring this property into further compliance with the requirements of the zoning code, at least in that regard.
Thank you. Thank you, Meredith.
Planning Commission.
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location for the existing residential single -family RSA 3.
the parking lot was constructed without the required permits and the appellant has not
demonstrated that there are unique physical conditions or circumstances of the property
that would prevent it from being used in conformance with the zoning code the planning commission
recommends that the board deny the requested variances for landscaping materials and dimensions
mr chairman just one additional note as the board knows you have authority to grant deny or modify
this proposal in any way that you see fit. So if the board is inclined to grant the dimensional
variance, you may specifically deny the refusal regarding the materials. You may also, if you
choose to, partially deny the tree variance and require a certain number of trees. So I just
wanted to remind the board that you have flexibility to review this in any way you choose.
right thank you um i want to thank you both for coming down we appreciate it we're going to hold
the vote on this we're going to vote on this next wednesday the 26th at 9 30 a .m you don't have to
thank you chair i'm sorry we have a theresa miller with her hand raised you have one more
somebody okay hold on one minute miss miller you're allowed to speak
could you please state your name
and spell for the stenographer
can you hear me
my name is Teresa Miller
M -I -L -L -E -R
and I live at
Right. And I live at. Hold on. Hold on. Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, told truth, nothing but the truth?
hold on hold on
do you swear or
I do. Have you testified before? Yes. All right. Please give us comments only about what you heard today, not your prior testimony.
OK, so this building holds 240 people. And at any given time, there seems like there's that many at this at this building.
And they not only, it's not like a normal church where they might have services on a Sunday.
They are there Sunday morning for about three or four hours.
They're there Sunday night for at least six hours.
They are there on Monday or I think Wednesday, Thursday, sometimes Friday.
They're a lot.
It's not just a religious assembly.
they have catering there
they have parties there
but do me a favor
the testimony I want is what you heard today
that's all I want you to hear
if you disagree with what you heard
if you're still against it, that's fine
but tell me where you stand relative to today
I disagree
okay, thank you very much
we appreciate you taking the time
for the purpose of their
they, again, are using
the handicapped. Okay, we've had testimony about that
from both with us. They have
people in
yellow jackets. Ms. Miller, you're breaking up.
Even though they might be saying about six parking spots.
All right. Thank you very much for taking the time to call us and thank you to the other
two witnesses we had we will vote on this next wednesday the 26th at 9 30 a .m and thank you all
thank you mr goldberg are you ready to go forward army thank you
Number 7, MI 2024 -006 -308 -1310 Marlboro Street.
Alan Nockamson is the attorney.
Mr. Nockamson?
Mr. Nockamson, you're allowed to speak.
Mr. Nockamson, you've been promoted to panelists.
You're allowed to speak.
Turning again, Mr. Chair, members of the board, Alan Nockamson.
Mr. Nockamson, you've already been sworn this is a resumptive hearing, and you're going
going to give us an update and information about amended refusal, talk about the February
meeting. Our board council will have comments, the board will have comments, public testimony,
and then we'll get an update from planning. Okay, so why don't you start? Yes, again, just to give
a little background beforehand, just to remind the board of what this matters about. Originally,
Additionally, we were seeking to have 2 residential units along with 2 car parking on a property that building structure that was proposed to be set back from the property, and we would have 2 parking pads in the front.
We met with the community regarding this matter, and the community was, you know, dead set against it was unanimous opposition as to the to the project.
We made modifications to the property and also did greater community outreach where we saw an amended refusal for just two residential dwelling units.
And again, just as a matter of background, we're like a block and a half away from Frankfort Avenue in the heart of Fishtown.
We thought having two residential units off the streets was a positive.
The neighbors did not. And, you know, again, there is parking allowed on that side of the street.
so I can understand why and would be out of character.
They wanted eyes on the street.
So, again, we saw the amended refusal to family dwelling,
but our front of our building facade would match the properties, you know, to the left and right of us.
We met with the community.
They were still against it, you know, but the board itself,
You know, but the board itself, the Fishtown Neighbors Association Board, which again is a very sophisticated body, was in overwhelming favor, the board itself.
the Fishtown Neighbors Association Board, which is.
There's only a board seven in favor, two not in favor.
They did not provide another letter, you know, and again, I'll just share my screen here to show you the letter.
And here is our amended refusal, by the way, where we took away two out of the three refusals, just, again, as a matter of background, where we had off -street parking and we had our building facade, which was out of line with the neighboring building facade.
So we had three refusals, which included also the multifamily use. We went down to one refusal, which is the multifamily use.
And then this was the correspondence after the second community meeting, where you can see that the board itself, the RCO zoning board, voted overwhelmingly in favor of the proposed project, just having two residential units, no off -street parking.
Now, the neighbors still didn't, the overwhelming Fishtown community did not support it, but nearby neighbors, some of them did support it.
And then what we got different, and I think in the last time, is we have letters of support of the two properties to the right of us.
And I think maybe in a previous presentation, we may have had one of them, but I don't believe both.
So we have 1312 Marlboro Street and 1314 -16 Marlboro Streets.
Both of these properties are adjacent to us, would be the most people most directly impacted by our proposed use of the property.
The property at 1308 Marlboro Street, honestly, is an older lady that, you know, she's more of like she doesn't really come outside and we've been unable to get a hold of her.
but the the two other property owners the right of us support this project
um i think that's that's basically it that's in a nutshell like i said we made changes i think that
the board of the fishtown neighbors association was appreciative of that that's why they supported
our project seven to two we have multiple neighbors now in support of it and it's also
not out of character and i stated this at the last hearing there are three other instances of
multifamily structures on this block 1300 marlboro street which is also done by way of variance which
was a duplex which this board recently granted and then 1309 marlboro street which is three units and
1358 marlboro street which is three units as well thank you thank you um well alan you still had 30
people against you at the second meeting and the council person but i don't have the council
person's letter so i never received that so second letter from the councilman don't we hillary
yes they sent another letter there's another letter yes okay yeah i mean i have a copy of
that we'll send a copy yeah so my my understanding is that one of the members next door to us did is
online to to support the project as well i think the fact that they're here shows how you know
again how much they've appreciated our changes to the project and again from a planning perspective
being a block and a half away from frankfurt avenue and asking for a duplex would be something
that would be in character from a planning perspective thank you very much questions from
the board questions or comments from our attorney none at this time mr chair questions or comments
from the virtual audience or the current audience?
Chair, we have Robert Everett with their hand raised.
They'll be allowed to speak shortly.
Good morning, Mr. Everett.
Mr. Everett, you're allowed to speak.
I'm not getting...
Good morning, Mr. Everett.
Oh, I'm on. Okay.
Mr. Everett?
Yes, I'm here.
Could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
First name is Robert.
Last name Everett, E -V -E -R -E -T -T.
Do you swear we're referring to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Mr. Everett, could you turn on your video if possible?
I'm not getting the icon, though.
Let me turn it on.
All right.
All right.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Everett, could you tell us where you stand on this project?
I know you testified before.
uh yeah now i got the uh the panels but i i won't mess it up
The community as a whole is still opposed to the granting of a variance.
the community as a whole was still opposed to the the grinning of a very
I have all my records.
I sent it to Alex on 28th of February, I believe, and I have a receipt from ZBA.
Right.
We have it.
We have it.
Their main concern is the majority of that block, minus the three addresses Mr.
Knuckleson gave you, are single -family residents.
And yes, they're close to Frankfurt Avenue, but there is multitude of properties in the area that are available for rent, either whole houses or apartments in the area.
To the specific address as mentioned, 1300 Marlboro was actually granted to family in 2010.
The recent one in 2024 was, for some reason, they had to come back again and get it.
1309 across the street was granted in 2000 i don't know if it was granted or not it's been
there since 2005 and then there's another one at 1246 marborough about 200 feet down the street
that attempted to take a single family home to a triplex in 2022 and it was denied they would
prefer a new house be built if that's what the you know the owner wants to do and join the
neighborhood, but they want to try and keep that block as single family residences, which is
basically what it is. All right, Mr. Everett, thank you so much for taking the time. Do you
have any questions, Mr. Everett, Mr. Nockmson? No, I would just state, and I don't believe this
was stated now, but it was stated in the previous hearing. This is intended to be an owner -occupied
property. My client would, you know, in order to be able to afford to build from the ground up,
which is unlike the property that Mr. Effort stated on the 1200 block of
Frankfurt, which was conversion of a single family home.
It's really expensive to build from the ground up, you know,
with the mortgage rates and the cost of construction, it's almost impossible.
And, you know,
my client in order to be able to live in Fishtown is looking to put a duplex
there where the upper unit would be her residence and the lower unit would be,
you know, the residence below on the first floor.
Now, I understand that obviously there's no way to enforce that, but that is my client's true intention.
And this is the way it could be afforded.
Otherwise, you know, she'll have to sell it.
And, you know, I don't think she could afford to build the property.
That's other comments from the virtual audience.
Yes, chair. We have Jeffrey Mitchell with their hand raised.
They'll be allowed to speak shortly.
good morning mr mitchell hello i don't know how to turn on my video on this i'm not the best at
zoom i apologize could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer uh jeffrey mitchell
j -e -f -f -r -e -y space mitchell m -i -t -c -h -e -l -l swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth yes mr mitchell your neighbor yes we live at 1314 -1316 mall arbor
so we are in adjacent property all right please please proceed sir
mr mitchell yes are you in favor of this project or against i am in favor of the owner occupy
duplex we would not be in favor of the parking so as long as it's been amended so the parking
has been removed i think it has been we are in favor of the duplex okay mr knockoff do you have
any questions no i do not it just shows the the outreach by you know my client to her nearby
property owners who are in favor thank you thank you very much is there anyone else in the virtual
audience. Chair
Robert Everett's hand was raised
again. He'll be allowed to
speak shortly.
Okay. Mr. Everett, you've already testified.
Am I back?
Yeah. Do you want to testify
again, Mr. Everett?
Just to the
Mr. Naugwitz's
comment about the building, we understand
it's expensive to build. One
of the concerns that did come up at that community
meeting was the owner is
has the property deeded as an llc so there was concern that are they going to come in and live
there or not to show you know that they're serious about living in the property right and the basement
on the plan is completely empty and it looked like they could convert that to a larger size apartment
for living in all right mr everton do you have any questions that up mr knockamson
Again, for planning purposes, my client put it as an LLC. Again, it's not unordinary to have
And just, you know, again, it's not unordinary to have, you know, properties owned as an LLC, but it is the, you know, she does intend to live there.
And that's why she purchased the property.
And in terms of the basement living, you know, there's, you know, egress wells on, you know, allowing for the use of that property appropriately.
But again, if the board feels so inclined to limit the use of the first floor unit and lower level, you know, combined units, you know, we defer to the board in that respect.
I will say that there's a breezeway from front to back for trash, you know, you know, from trash being stored in the rear and then removed to the front.
So, again, we hope the board will grant these variances.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
No hands at this time, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission.
I believe we've already testified and we have no updates.
Same position.
Thank you.
MI 2024, 006, 308, 1310 Marlboro Street.
I vote no per amended refusal dated 1 -5 -25.
My vote is no.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is no.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is no.
I win. My vote is no. Members, could you indicate with proviso? Yes, the proviso that the chair had stated with the amount of refusal. Thank you.
Michael Johns, my vote is no with proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is no with proviso.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is no with proviso.
I win. My vote is no with proviso.
Mr. Knockerson, we're going to hear your other case last, okay?
Okay, next.
Oh, last.
Yeah, okay.
So number eight, MI 2024 -006 -488 -5419 Chester.
Renee Felder, this is a resumptive hearing.
It's a pro se.
Ms. Felder, have you been around to speak?
yes i'm muted could you hear me yes miss felder could you please state your name and spell for
the stenographer renee felder r as in ronald e n e e last name is felder f as in frank
e l d as in donut e r all right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth yes could you turn your video on
this is the recording
Ms. Felder
Ms. Felder can you get your video on
I'll keep selecting it. It won't let me start the video.
All right. Okay. Right. All right.
Ms. Felder, this is a resumptive hearing from the previous hearing, right?
Correct.
You're going to prevent additional photos and give us an update.
The board will have questions. We'll take public testimony and then we'll see where planning stands.
So why don't you start your presentation with photos and anything else you could tell us about this case.
All right. So this is in regards to the parcel at 5419 Chester Avenue.
I purchased this property back in 2009 as a multifamily unit.
So I'm going to just show you a few pictures starting from the first unit to the second unit.
I'm trying to see where you share your screen.
He's, he's, okay.
in other words you want to you want to share your screen right correct is it a bit more
it would be the green button at the bottom of your screen the green button i see it
all right you've muted yourself
no we're okay go ahead please proceed okay can you hear me i can hear you're fine right could you
no we're okay go ahead please proceed okay can you hear me
here you go you're coming up now okay please proceed with your conversation about the photos
okay so this is the parcel right here um 5419 chester avenue
multi -family unit two separate entries and this is the first unit
this would be the living area with the kitchen right next to it
then this is the hallway proceeding from the kitchen and the first bedroom which is this room
right here. Next, there's the bathroom, shower, toilet, vanity. This is the back room. And
two different shots. Now, going forward to the second unit, you come in through that
entry up the door. And as soon as you come in, there's the restroom. And just to show you various
pictures, almost the same layout. This is the shower. This is the kitchen. I do apologize that
is not in color. And this is the living area. And this would be the kitchen going backwards
to the bedrooms. This is this one right here is the middle first room and this is the back
room okay okay and there's no living space in the basement just the heaters the utilities down here
so i had this resubmit my post -its again um you also asked for a copy of the deed
as you can see i purchased it in 2000 we have that we have it okay and you have all the mill
inserts yep uh and my um the refusal letter and if i remember correctly the 51st ward was in favor
of your project am i correct correct correct um going forward my argument was basically i wanted
the variance to be grandfathered back um based off the history of the property i was not aware
that it was like an illegal duplex because I purchased it there was no demolition or anything
just upgrades and as you can as you can see in Illinois statement and saw new sheetrock throughout
the two -family dwelling so I never was aware of that it was not coded as a as a two -family dwelling
so when I did the history I seen that it was once a duplex coded as a duplex and now that
The neighborhood is coming up, and there's nothing but multifamily units.
This is on the 5300 block of Chester Avenue, like 900 square feet from me.
Along with that, I'm just showing you the different multifamily units, as you see 5300 in this area.
Again, another one.
And these are just the vacant pictures that I took, that I was unable and unsuccessfully was able to mail those mail inserts to it, to those properties, basically.
So that's my case.
Thank you, Mrs. Felder.
Questions from the board?
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the audience or the virtual audience?
No hands at this time, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission.
Comprehensive plan recommends no change to the RSA 5 residential single -family zoning at this location.
The property has a history of commercial use and multifamily,
and the appellant has demonstrated that there are unique physical conditions or circumstances
that would prevent the property from being used in conformance with the zoning code.
the planning commission recommends a board grant that proposed use variance for two dwelling units
thank you mi 2024 006 488 5419 chester avenue i vote yes michael johns my vote is yes
girl gaston my vote is yes tenetta graham my vote is yes hi owen my vote is yes
Thank you.
Number five, MI 2024 -005 -574 -1510 North 25th Street.
Zen Jin is the attorney.
Zen Jin is the attorney.
This is a resumptive hearing.
This is a resumptive hearing.
Good morning.
Zen has been promoted to panelist.
You're allowed to speak.
Good morning.
I was coming in as a panelist.
Good morning, counsel.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
My name is Zen Jin, Z -H -E -N.
last name j -i -n here on behalf of the afghan you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth i do and are we gonna do we make him a panelist uh yes i i believe i am now
i was uh given the notification thank you all right good as soon as it will see when you come
up oh i i can see everybody and i'm surprised he's there i don't oh okay you guys see him
okay um my camera is on so okay good great thank you um this is resumptive hearing
you're going to provide updated information about revised plans board and council will
have questions public testimony and updated recommendation from planning please proceed
thank you uh this is a resumptive hearing uh based on um board member michael john's request
to know the amount of below grade for the seller.
I'm going to go ahead and share with the board
the updated exhibits.
Can everyone see my exhibit on the screen?
It's coming up now.
Yes, sir.
Great.
So the refusal, as the board's aware
from the prior presentation,
is for a multifamily use in a RSA 5 district.
We have received no opposition position
from the community, and we have presented last time regarding the actual plans of the property.
One of the issues that came up where the plan and the change on the plan for today's purposes
was to mark clearly the amount that the new construction seller would be below grade.
I'm going to zoom in on the plan because it'll be easier to see the actual information.
I also want to let the board know that we should have the architect available if needed to answer questions as well.
The below grade portion of the cellar is marked here on the plan.
The total height of the cellar from the base up to the first floor is nine feet six and an eighth.
The portion that's below grade is five foot eleven and three eighths.
So that's the portion that is below grade.
There's egress well on the front.
There's a light well in the middle and the egress on the back.
As to refresh the board's memory, the proposal for the seller use is to be essentially the.
Let me jump to that portion of the plan.
to be the living space and additional, essentially, living space for the first unit.
We have the bedrooms on the first floor, and we moved the family room into the cellar
as a way to give additional living space.
So it's not a space that's going to be used for sleeping.
It's just space for activities.
and I think that's what raised the concern about how much the seller was below grade versus above
grade. The use, just to kind of refresh the memories of the board, is again, it's three units.
This is a large lot and a deep lot, which also has on its, if you're facing the property to its
left is an existing four -unit building. To its right is a single family. Across the street is
actually a very dense multifamily zone district, and there are some proposed orders. There may be
actually at this point, actual constructed building that has very high density, over 10 units
each. So we're actually surrounded by multifamily use, except for to our right. The block also
consists of various multifamily uses, not just single -family. So as a result of that, with the
size of the lot being considered as well, our proposal was for a three -family dwelling. From
a rendering side, it's easy to see that the property... I'm sorry, I'm going to try to get
zoomed in properly here. So the property is here. It's kind of a gap filler in this situation.
So the property is here. It's kind of a gap filler in this situation. This is the existing
multifamily on the left side. This is a single family on the right. And this is also a multifamily
further to the left. Our building will be the same height as the building to the left.
So the overall height of the building actually is consistent with what's already on the block.
we have posted, and again, this is a different angle where you can better see the left and right
side properties. So I'm happy to try to answer the specific questions about
the design itself. Again, we have one unit on each floor. There's three total units being proposed.
There's access to the rear through an existing easement alleyway.
We also, as part of the process of making this lot through a subdivision,
made sure there was an easement access way added in the back of the property
linking up with the existing easement to make sure that there's exit
from the rear of the property out to the street in case of emergency.
So, given that, I'm happy to try to answer any questions from the board or redirect the board to any part of our presentation.
Counsel, do you want to just have your testimony adopted, please?
Sure. Mr. Bader, if you are there, please raise your hand virtually to be identified.
Mr. Bader, you're allowed to speak.
Mr. Bader, could you please state your name and spell for the sonographer?
Yes, my name is Chagai Bader, C -H -A -G -A -I, my last name is Bader, B -A -D -E -R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you.
Mr. Bader, did you hear my testimony and see my presentation before the zoning board?
Can you verify what I have represented is true and correct
and adopt it as your own testimony?
Correct.
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
Yeah, question.
Can you go back to the floor plans again, please?
I'm going to zoom in again to make it easier.
you can go so so the basement so yeah you you want me to focus on the basement portion
i just if you no go back i want to see all four short together just so
okay so there's direct access to the yard out of the first floor
and there you said there's a there's a space there's a space between our building um and the
next building to our left that this is a breezeway that's going to be left open to allow access to
the rear yard by actually all the units is that where that fence is currently in the picture
um in the photo it would be i mean to the right to the left of the building facing the building
there's a there's a fence is that enclosed area is that the area you're talking about
uh this area this area yes that's actually our um part of our lot that's part of so that fence
is part of your lot yes this will be become a shared um it's a shared breezeway in essence
i'm sorry no no it's not shared it's on our lot um it is our property so so the so so that
whole space is on your property
so the building next door has
windows on the property line?
Shagai,
can you kind of
clarify that situation?
Actually, I believe
the architect is here as well.
The architect needs to answer, yes.
Mr. Mark Wallace, are you
here? Can you raise your hand virtually?
Mr. Wallace
has been allowed. Hello everybody.
can you hear me according to your site plan it shows that your property line is on your
line of your building line so i'm trying to figure out yeah i'm sorry yeah that's why i
wanted the architect to clarify yeah architect please state your name mark wallace that's
for the stenographer m -a -r -k w -a -l -l -a -c -e right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Counsel, ask your questions, please.
Yes. Mr. Wallace, a question has been raised about the space between our building and the building next door.
Can you kind of clarify to the board how that is going to affect the ability for the rest of the building to access?
Yes, absolutely. So that portion is actually on the neighbor's property, and we have no rights to use that.
So this project was originally subdivided off a property that fronts on Stillman Street.
In designing the multifamily building that is as a right on the Stillman side, we specifically created this easement so that we can discharge from the rear yard into that space and discharge out to Stillman Street.
So while we do have this alley next to us, and in an emergency, I'm sure someone could use it, we don't technically have the legal rights to use it.
So we wanted to make sure that we created a means of egress from the rear of this property.
So I'm sorry, to clarify, when you're talking about the rear of the property, you're talking about this easement on the site plan in the back?
Okay. So would the upper units have access to the rear yard outside of the direct access from the first floor?
No, no. They just have windows that front out that way.
All right.
And their windows meet the egress requirements for a three -story multifamily building.
So thank you. So when you say you created an easement out of that rear, so there's a rear alley, right? There's a rear alley and you've got a rear yard. And so you just have access from your rear yard to the alley.
That is correct.
Okay. For that first floor unit that has the first floor and basement, because you've got the window well, and then the first floor unit that has access out to that yard. Okay.
Correct. Yes. We wanted to make sure that we had an egress well in the right of way in the front and an egress well in the rear to make that basement as safe as we possibly could.
Right. And what's the depth of the basement below? Great.
Just under six feet.
Okay. And there's a gate on the fence designed in the rear yard to allow access to that easement, correct?
That is correct. Yes.
Thank you.
How tall is the building?
35 feet.
So essentially, with the overlay here, that is the max height.
So we try to push it out of grade as far as we could to make this basement, again, a viable space to use.
Isn't the maximum 38 feet?
No, with the overlay in this area, it's 35.
It's 35, okay.
Typically, yes, an RSA 5 would be 38 feet.
Yeah, question.
um so you're not going to have any windows on either side of this property that is correct
so um where we have a zero lot line we are proposing zero windows um zen can you go to
the floor plans the windows will be in the rear and in the front is that what you're saying
correct and that's why we took a bite out of the middle of this floor plan to make sure that we
provided light and air to the middle portion of this building. And also because you have the
windows on the property line of the adjacent property, correct? The windows on the adjacent
property line did not affect our decision. When we have our walls against our property line,
we were proposing no windows. So we decided to create a space to create windows for light and
we did position the building in a way to take advantage of the neighboring parcel and its setback
so that our light well is feel will feel a little bit larger since their building is five feet off
the property line okay thank you other questions yes okay i have a few questions about windows and
doorwells so in the basement specifically i'm looking at the window well at the bottom of the
plan yep um i'm looking at the window that's currently shown in the light well behind the
sofa and no other light well the middle one yeah there's a window right behind the sofa on the plan
and then doorway at the front and i'm wondering can you tell me the dimensions of those three
openings um offhand i don't have those but they will be egress compliant and the one in the right
of way um the one back to the light well is looks about five ish feet wide um we typically set our
around three feet and our heads are around eight okay and then um about the utility storage area
One, understanding that like now this is an enclosed space that has an egress.
Well, what are you all going to do to ensure that that does not get used as a livable space in the future?
as a livable space in the future our plan was just not to finish it okay
Our plan was just not to finish it.
questions or comments from our attorney
not at this time mr chair um questions or comments from the audience or the virtual audience
not at this time too planning commission
um thank you amy boy with the planning commission
um i believe we have already stated our testimony and we have no updates and you're staying with
your testimony yes okay thank you so mi 2024 005 574 1510 north 20 fish tree
i vote yes with proviso no household living in basement
michael johns my vote is
yes i don't without the proviso i don't know how to say that
but so yes
okay my vote is yes with proviso it's not a gram my vote is no i own my vote is yes without the
proviso okay um that's a tough one i don't know yeah okay um yeah we'll need to re -vote this
we'll take we'll take an additional member yeah okay we'll go to an additional member we'll get
back to you at council and we'll announce next wednesday we'll vote next wednesday next wednesday
at 9 38 we'll vote okay thank you number one mi 2022 006 705 2000 larry street
alan knockamson is the attorney it's a resumptive hearing
Mr. Nockamson has been promoted
you're allowed to speak
Mr. Nockamson
leave me mr chairman you you're gonna yes i'm gonna do it oh okay mr goldberg yeah and i was
i apologize i was having some tech just state your name you've already been sworn uh alex goldberg
a -l -e -x -g -o -l -d -b -e -r -g all right okay so there's a resumptive uh hearing you're going to provide
updated information about amended refusal and the member community meeting um our board and
council will have questions there'll be public testimony and planning commission will make
recommendations that's correct please proceed let's see slide over here okay um what's that okay um
thank you for your time mr chairman and members of the board um we're here back
presenting 2000 larry street this is an mi 2022 number so that should tell you how long this
has been going on we had a supplemental rco meeting we've made a large number of modifications
at the request of the community we still have a letter of opposition from that community group but
i'll spell out what those changes are i'll have my client and the owner of their property sylvia
Acaba and the owner of the business that operates out of the office here, adopt my testimony. And
I believe there are some members in the audience who'd like to testify as well. So at our RCO
meeting in November, we responded to a number of changes and we presented the revised refusal
that I'm scrolling to now. We have three refusals. The first refusal is regarding the proposed
business and professional office use this is an rsa5 property but it's the end of a row of rsa5
properties and it faces multiple industrial and commercial zone properties this property also
has a history of a one commercial plus one residential which was one of the changes that
we made that addition of a residential unit on the second floor was at the request of
um craig melodosian of the coordinating rco and i'm sure he's on and i don't think he would
dispute that that point um and that's the reason why we have the second refusal um you know adding
that residential unit we understood that would create another refusal item um but the most
important thing to miss cabo was legalizing the use for her business um because
Ms. Cabo was legalizing the use for her business because that business is an office that's
accessory to a home care business.
She's registered, and I'm sorry if I butcher this explanation, you can correct me at the
end, she's registered to operate in a specific zip code, which is the zip code and maybe
a couple surrounding zip codes.
She's not able to operate out of here.
It's going to put her business in jeopardy.
um it's also a convenient location for a handful of her employees who don't have uh don't aren't
paid electronically who um twice a week for a couple hours a day pick their i think we had
that testimony of our case and then that third that third refusal is regarding sign area so
some of the feedback we received were was regarding some temporary signage essentially
there were four signs at the property and i'm going to scroll down here so that you have a visual aid
um go back to the beginning
so there were four signs here there were two on each facade you have you see two in the image
there um the flat wall sign that's the sign that's facing the cmx one and industrially zoned
properties there was a temporary sign below that as well as a temporary sign on the railing
on the larry street side below the awning sign the awning sign as you'll see in our plans is
proposed to be removed not only are we removing that we also lowered the wattage of the backlight
of both signs that was at the request of the community and that happened after our first
community meeting so that awning sign is going away it's being replaced by a very slender sign
we're getting refusal for sign area which is an rsa 5 code provision i want to note that the sign
that's facing sort of the RSA 5 portion of the property is 11 square feet. You're allowed to
have 15 square feet of sign area. So I think we're matching the spirit of the code. The large sign,
flat wall sign that you see there is obviously larger than 15 square feet. But again, it's facing
industrially zoned and commercially zoned properties. I'm going to scroll back up just
quickly and point out that we did receive a letter from the adjacent property owner authorizing
sylvia and the one or two other employees who works in this office because that's all the tap
that happens here um to park on his lot um and that is what you see on the screen here um 2001
south 70th street so they have a good relationship with that neighbor there's not again many people
in this building at all it's sylvia and one or two other employees it's just office work and
we're proposing a one -bedroom apartment i think we had the testimony before okay and then i know
mr melodosian submitted a letter this morning and i refiled that i don't think that that's in the
version that's being shared on the screen but i imagine the board has seen that um yep and it
points out a lot of the items that they were in opposition to that have now changed such as
the use of the property the the signage there was an atm at the front of the property which has
been removed that's been gone for months now after the first meeting it's been replaced with
a little free library that's registered as a little free library that just has books there
for people to use um and sort of the last thing i want to mention and she can expound upon is the
fact that um you know 70 of their employees come from this community there's over 120 people that
work for her um most of those people never see this property at the time of our first community
meeting she estimated that about 34 employees were picking up physical checks um after that was
you know explained as a potential pressure point from the community she's asked her employees to
consider finding some form of electronic payment that's now down to about 12 people who are coming
by mondays and tuesdays one to four is their window to pick up their payment um and you know
84 of her employees of the 120 are from southwest philadelphia they're from the surrounding zip
codes there are three from this block and there's a letter of support in our packet from one of
those neighbors at 2006 larry street um our hours of operation are 9 a .m to 4 p .m monday through
friday very quiet just paperwork um and as a part because we are proposing to add a residential
dwelling unit here uh at the request of the community we're happy to agree to a proviso
you know to obtain a co as a part of this process trash will be stored in the rear
there's a there's a side you know sort of breeze way to get back there um with that you know i'd
like to ask sylvia to adopt my testimony could you please state your name and spell for the
stenographer dr sylvia carver s -y -l -v -i -a you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth please proceed counsel sylvia did you hear my testimony today yes and
was it true and correct and would you adopt it as your own and is there anything else excuse me i
and would you adopt it as your own?
And is there anything else that you'd like to share?
Excuse me, I'm sorry, pardon me, sir.
We'll take care of that.
Get a little closer to the mic.
Yep, that's good.
I'll try that again.
It'll come right to you, Paul to you.
Can you spell your first and last name, please?
My first name is S -Y -L -V -I -A,
and my last name is K -A -B -B -A.
Sylvia Khabar.
All right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
Sylvia, did you hear my testimony today?
Was it true and correct?
And do you adopt it as your own?
Is there anything else that I may have left out
that you'd like to share with the board
or the virtual audience or the physical audience?
No, not to my knowledge.
I mean, I just want to echo that, you know, we serve the community, and most of our employees
do come from.
Thank you very much.
Questions from the board?
I have a question.
So does the business and the unit share the same entrance?
They do.
So I'll scroll down.
There's a common vestibule.
and again i want to point out that this property does have a documented history of
one commercial unit on the ground floor and a residential unit above
as i'm scrolling to to show you at you know you can see what the existing
or what the pre -existing conditions of the property were before they purchased it
um and the the how greatly improved it is
here is the zoom out if i can get to the minus sign there
here's the site plan this is that narrow signage that's going to now go below
um the large sign and here's that first floor so there's your you know you sort of go straight
through that vestibule to go to the upstairs steps and then you make a right here to go to the
business use sure yes thanks for your patience on
so that's the that's the only entrance to the second floor to the apartments is through that
ground level that's correct there's a there's a rear exit of the office space
um but the there's you know just just the front door um access point to the residential unit
above okay and the the um the nine inch by whatever length that sign uh that proposed sign
is is you said it's going below the existing sign correct you can yeah you can see this yellow
outline here so that awning sign will go away completely that was a request that was made to us
and this narrow sign will go there in its place gotcha proposing to keep and legalize the the
flat wall sign that's on the other facade okay so that sign will remain so that's correct
you're removing that awning it looks horrible yes this is unsightly it's going away all right
and then i have two questions one i'm just confirming both the signs will be illuminated
but with lower lumens correct and that's already happened okay yes and then what's going to be the
use in the basement for the business storage uh it's an unfinished basement i think there may be
some laundry that happens down there um storage we keep like when some of our patients are unable
to get like diapers we keep it okay and another checking because there's a bathroom in the
basement and typically you don't see bathrooms in unfinished basements yeah i think it's it was
an existing bathroom when they purchased it and another thing um you know they do a lot of
community sort of work and fill abundance and they um abundance so they're they you know they
store some of sort of donations down there as well yeah we get donations and so we start there
when you did the renovations what did you do in the basement to ensure that that bathroom
is going to continue to be functional
in the unfinished basement?
What work did you do?
My husband is a contractor.
He will answer that.
I don't do the contracting.
Would you like him to come up?
He's the co -host.
He's going to come up anyway.
It's a group of people.
He's probably going to come up.
Yeah, sure.
If there's any provisos
that you'd like to put on the basement,
You know, it's just storage for the office use.
it's just storage for the office use.
Other questions?
Other questions?
Questions from our attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the audience?
Whoever wants to speak, come up.
All right.
Good morning.
Good morning, sir.
Good day, everyone.
Good morning.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer?
My name is Sultan, S -U -L -T -A -N.
Last name is Ashley hyphen Shaw, A -S -H -L -E -Y, S -H -H -A.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I affirm.
Sir, are you a neighbor?
I'm a resident of Philadelphia.
I represent the Philadelphia chapter of the National Action Network.
I'm sorry, Chair.
This is the reporter.
I cannot hear the voice.
I know.
No, we've got to get another chair here.
And right to your face.
That's perfect.
Is that better?
Yeah, it's outstanding.
Very good, thank you.
Are you in favor of this project or against?
Very much in favor of this project.
It's much needed in our community
or throughout the city of Philadelphia,
more important,
and particularly in the area that it resides in.
Again, I've met with the neighbors
and I've met with the owners of this business.
I find that to be very honorable.
I find that to be very dedicated to the community
and it's the things and the needs of that particular
neighborhood as well as the city of Philadelphia
their charity
their donations
their efforts in terms of
health care
for people throughout the city of Philadelphia
has been magnanimous
thank you very much sir
thanks for waiting here we appreciate it
next witness
good morning sir
good morning
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
My name is Joseph Sacco, spelled as J -O -S -E -P -H, last name is spelled S -A -C -K -O -R.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Sir, are you a neighbor?
I live around the community.
I live on 70th Street.
All right, very good.
Sir, are you in favor of this project or against?
Absolutely, in favor.
Thank you very much.
Can you tell us anything other than what we've already heard?
Absolutely.
Well, first of all, let me just take this time to commend this young lady.
A couple of years ago, I met her when she was in the process of establishing this business
when others had asked her to go to Chester.
So I met her because I live in the community.
I also operate a non -profit organization, and I distribute food around there.
And I said, well, listen, our people need work in this area.
Right.
I really want to encourage you to stay in the southwestern Philadelphia area, okay?
But back and forth, and I assured her that we will support you.
She had done everything possible going into her 401k to empty that Alisa to invest into this business.
so it is imperative upon us as residents of southwest philadelphia to support this young lady
for what and also commend her for what she has done this is why i am here to support her thank
sir thank you for waiting the time and coming here today we appreciate it thank you next witness thank
you good morning sir could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer good morning
Jerome Henry, J -E -R -O -M -E
last name Henry, H -E -N -R -Y
right, do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
okay, so as you see we have several witnesses
I'll be very brief
are you in support of this project or against?
yes sir
you're in support?
thank you very much for coming
we do appreciate the time you spend here this morning
okay, thank you
next witness
hello hi good morning could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
my name is macken cb m -a -k -a -n last name s -i -b -y right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes sir uh are you uh are you uh a neighbor
Sir, are you in favor of this project or against?
I'm in favor.
All right.
Thank you so much for coming here.
We appreciate you waiting.
Thank you.
Next witness, please.
Hi, good morning.
Could you sit close to the mic for me?
Thank you.
Could you please state your name and spell for this stenographer?
Tanya Grimes, T -A -N -Y -A -G -R -I -M -E -S.
i'm definitely for um i swear wait a minute wait a minute do you swear or affirm to tell
I'm definitely for Oswego.
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
If you swear or forgive,
the truth the whole truth nothing but i do are you a neighbor no i'm not a neighbor but i live
in a surrounding neighborhood are you in favor with this product or against i'm in favor thank
you so much for coming here today next witness
good morning do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
state your name and spell for the stenographer
K -E -H
Johnson
J -O -H -N
Do you swear or affirm, tell truth, tell truth
Are you a neighbor?
I'm in the neighborhood
Are you in favor of this practice
or against? Absolutely
Absolutely in favor?
In favor
Can I just say something?
You most certainly can be
This young lady
When it comes to character, she is very, very much reliable.
I can't say too much about this woman.
She cooks every Friday for elderly people.
But 8 o 'clock in the morning, she's done with her cooking.
I'm going to give it to other people.
You know what?
Thank you for your testimony.
We really appreciate it.
You brought her to tears.
It's like, you guys all want to cry here.
I mean, next witness, please.
Good morning.
Good morning, sir.
Good morning.
Could you please state your name and spell for this tonight?
My name is Haja Fatima Shari, H -A -J -A -F -A -T -I -M -A.
That's me, Shari, S -H -A -R -I -F -F.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Are you a neighbor?
Yes, sir.
Are you in favor of this project or against?
You're in favor?
Oh, thank you so much.
I've been living in the community for 25 years now.
And before she came there with the business, it was really bad.
Because a lot of ladies were in the street there.
And she got a lot in front of the street and gave them jobs.
So our community is really, really good now when it comes to that.
So I would really look forward to speak.
Thank you so much for spending the time here this morning.
Next witness, please.
Good morning.
My name is Gail Carter.
G -A -I -L -C -A -R -T -E -R.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
are you in favor of this project or against
thank you very much for spending the time
here this morning we appreciate all the time you spent
alright next witness please
good morning could you please state your name
Sandra Corden
and could you get a little
closer to the mic sure that's good
could you spell it for the court stenographer
S -A -N -D -R -A -C -A -R -T -E -R
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I think.
Are you a neighbor?
No. I'm doing the era, back in the 60s, doing a desegregation era. I was one of the bus kids that came into that neighborhood.
So I've seen the transition of the neighborhood, how it went down. And then in that particular place where she's at, how it's coming back up, where she's really an asset to the neighborhood.
All right. Are you in favor of the project or against?
I'm in favor of this.
Thank you so much for coming here today. We appreciate it.
Next witness, please.
Sit down, please.
Good morning.
Could you get close to the mic?
Good morning.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
My name is Anthony Kabba.
A -N -T -H -O -N -Y -K -A -B -B -A.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
You're the contractor husband?
I'm not going to ask whether or not you're in favor of the project.
I don't want to cause any troubles here.
But I think counsel had a few questions for you.
Am I correct?
Thank you, Anthony.
So when you purchased the property, what sort of work was done to the basement and specifically the basement bathroom?
The bathroom was, like, the bathroom seats were all broken, so we replaced it.
But in terms of sort of the plumbing and the water, it was just sort of cosmetically improved, but it was all existing?
Yes, we just replaced the bathroom. It used to be copper pipe.
It used to be copper pipe, and because it becomes frozen, we change it to PVC.
Any questions?
Is the PVC insulated?
Yes, because of the coal.
That was my question.
All right.
Thank you.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
No hands at this time, Chair.
Planning Commission.
I'm sorry, Chair.
Someone just raised their hand. We have an attendee by the name of Craig Melodosian.
All right. Good morning, Craig.
Good morning, Chair Bergman.
Could you please, for the record, state your name and spell for the sonographer.
Craig, C -R -A -I -G
last name Melidosian
M -E -L -I -D -O -S -I -A -N
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth, nothing but the truth
and just for the people that are
there's a large amount of people in the room
could you identify your RCO
alright
the Ward 40 Republican RCO
is acting
at the request of Council President Johnson's district office to be the coordinating RCO for,
in this matter, seven jurisdictional RCOs. We refer to ourselves as the Southwest
Philadelphia Consortium of RCOs. Could you please start your testimony?
All right. I wanted to point out that we, as I put in my letter, that we held two community
meetings virtual on 4 -15 -2024 and on 11 -25 -2024. Prior counsel took this project over and
submitted plans that were inaccurately portraying the facility. Another expediter came in after we
had a meeting with him and again submitted improper plans. Fortunately, the Nockmson law
firm took over and revised the plans. The reason we are here today is because all is not peaches
and cream as it seems. I think the board knows that one of the reasons council president uses me
is because I try to fairly structure win -win situations that benefit the community and the applicant.
This has been a particularly difficult process, and I'm trying to be courteous here.
However, if you were to pull up the dashboard for the L &I dashboard, you will find that this project had not a single permit pulled for the work that was done within the building.
The only reason the building came up for you is because a dispute occurred with a neighbor or neighbors and L &I came out and issued property with a cease and desist.
I had two, because I had a personal relationship with an extended member of the family, I came into this very positively, meeting with them several times to try and prep them, structure this so that we could come to a successful outcome that made everybody happy.
It was an extremely difficult process. It became caustic to the point where I said to the intermediary family member, it's probably best that we not discuss this.
And I again got correspondence from the husband, at which point I contacted Alex and said there should be no further contact between the family and me, that everything should be between counsel.
These caustic relationships came across both the community meetings.
We did ask for the residential to try and structure this.
We were actually looking to get the business into the basement, which has a ground -level entrance on the north elevation, which you can see by a car.
They did not opt for that.
They came back with the second floor.
we thought that that would be satisfactory. We were looking for an open market apartment.
We were then told it would be rented to a family member. We did ask that if this comes back online
that it would have to have a certificate occupancy. In discussion with Breonna Wakefield
from the council president's technical staff yesterday, we further asked that if this is
We further ask that if this is given approval, that the visa would require the applicant to go back and pull all required building permits and pay any penalties that may be associated with them so that there's no issues of life safety, all electric plumbing and heating is up to code.
given approval.
As you can see, everything is sheetrocked over.
There's been no inspection of it.
I understand this is not an L &I meeting, but I think to the fact we have two very sophisticated people here involved in this,
a woman who has a doctorate in nursing and her husband who was a former captain of the United States Army.
And to use, not to be insulting, but to use a phrase that we use in real estate,
it appeared, it seemed to the RCOs, using the language associated with real estate transactions,
The applicant did not exercise reasonable professional skill and care and engaged in conduct which demonstrated bad faith, dishonesty, untrustworthiness, or incompetency.
That's why we're asking for retroactive pulling of permits, inspection of the site, and either a TCO or CO.
I want to point out that we were initially sympathetic about them being displaced from the facility, but they continue to operate throughout the property being labeled as C &E.
There was never a full vacating of the premises, which caused some consternation with the neighbors.
I would ask that if this is approved, that it be a short -term proviso of no more of two years.
It would give the applicant an opportunity to establish a favorable relationship with the neighbors on the block.
I will point out that the neighbors on the block that were supportive self -identified as having an employment relationship with the business.
I would ask that if at the end of the two years, if the neighbors have no problem, then we would welcome them to come back and go for an extended, not a proviso, but a variance on the property.
Any difficulty here has been self -manifested by the applicant not going through the normal controls, rules, and regulations that the Planning Commission and its subcomponent L &I have established for the real estate.
The real estate was vacant long enough so that it went to sheriff's sale.
We're happy to see the unit brought back online, but the garish nature of the original signage, bright lighting, etc., clearly did not blend into the fabric of the neighborhood, and that appeared to be one of the sore points between the business operators and the neighbors.
So we'd like to point out that this is a community. It is necessary for everyone to get along. We asked for some other issues which were not addressed, which are not provisable. And that was the job, since we're told that there are 100 plus people employed here, that those jobs be advertised to our local job bank at the Southwest Philadelphia Community Development Corporation.
To that effect, we've heard nothing to that effect. One of our RCOs, Paschal Betterment League, did ask for a distribution list by zoning code to confirm that, in fact, employees were coming from southwest Philadelphia. We never did receive that.
We're not denigrating the service that this provides, but it was done in a very heavy -handed manner, and there seemed to be no effort to become neighbors.
At this point, if there's any questions that you have, like to cross me.
Do you have any questions for him?
Just some comments.
Yeah, so—
Why don't we do this?
Why don't we see if there's anyone else in the virtual audience and make your comments there?
Craig, thank you very much.
We appreciate your comments. Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair. This is Jason Hand. I'm stepping in temporarily. I do not see any
further hands raised for this matter right now. Counsel, do you want to make comments?
Sure. So, you know, I would have no objection to what Mr. Melodosian said about permitting and
certificate of occupancy. Fully on board with that. I would object to the request for a temporary
zoning permit merely because of the fact that we're at the request of the RCO being asked to
make additional modifications to the interior of the building that are going to take some time
that are going to take some time and are sort of a condition of the zoning permit that we get the
and are sort of a condition of the zoning permit.
co so um you know the way i see it the the issues have been with the building structure primarily and
rather than the operation of their business this is a very long process we they would like to not
have to re -enter it a year from now um so you know i think that requiring the work to be done
inspected and get a co should serve as sort of guard rails enough to make sure that this is
done properly. Tanetta, do you have any questions? Yeah, I do. Are you
a licensed contractor? You are? I can't hear you.
Yes, ma 'am. Yes, you are. Okay, and could you just tell me or give me any
explanation as to why permits weren't applied for prior to doing any work?
During the time, I used to come home like on the weekends because
I was attached to the army engineering,
so it's like I was doing this for fun. We never
choose to move to this location
till our office
that we are renting
on 52nd Street was vandalized
during the George Floyd incident.
So when that thing
happened, then we have to move.
But I was just coming home on weekends
having fun with my family.
Then I spent time in the
broken building, fixing.
And during
the time of the COVID,
so most of the LNI
I would not like functional.
Any other questions?
Yeah, I have a question.
I know you just mentioned that the concern about the temporary variance
was requests from the RCO to do interior renovations.
Could you explain what those renovations...
Creating a residential dwelling.
Creating the residential dwelling.
Because right now that's just open space as a part of the office.
Understood.
Any other questions?
Planning Commission.
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing RSA 5 for zoning at this location.
The proposed use for business professional office is consistent with documented prior use.
However, the appellant has not demonstrated that there are unique physical conditions or circumstances that would prevent the property from being used in compliance with the zoning code
for sign regulations.
The Planning Commission recommends
the board grant the use variance
for business and professional office
and for multiple principal uses,
but deny the requested variance
for accessory flat wall sign size.
If I may, quickly, you know, again, to reemphasize,
the sign that's facing the sort of RSA 5 portion
of the block is 11 square feet in sign area.
You're allowed 15 square feet.
I think we're meeting the spirit of the code.
Thank you.
So MI 2022, 606 -705, 2000 Lowry Street, I vote yes, temporary variance that expires 3 -19 -28, all permits to be required, and a CO granted for the building.
Michael, John.
Sorry, Mr. Chair, I just wanted to clarify the provisos a little bit. So one, the temporary variance, are you intending that to apply to both uses?
Just the business use or the signage or everything?
The whole thing.
Okay. The whole thing is temporary?
The whole thing, yeah.
Okay. And then, so you want them to obtain all necessary building permits as well as a certificate of occupancy?
And a CEO.
Okay. Yes.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you.
michael johns my vote is yes with provisals wait a minute wait a minute
there's a permitted there's right all right all right so let's let's start over okay
so mi2022 -006 -705 -2000 larry street i vote yes temporary variance expires 319 -28
three years, right? Permits to be required and CO, and per amended refusal dated 9 -27 -24.
Okay. Michael Johns, my vote is yes, with provisos.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes, with provisos.
Tynetta Graham, my vote is yes, with provisos.
Taya, my vote is yes, with provisos.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you.
Okay, before we break, number three, MI 2024 -004 -330.
MI 2024 -004 -330.
MI 2024 -004 -330 -437 North 52nd Street.
That is continued to 520 -25 at 930.
And number four, MI 2024 -004 -331 -1900 Hofnagel Street.
That case has continued to 5 -20 -25 at 9 -30.
Is there anyone in the virtual audience whose case has not been called this morning?
Chair, I do not see any further hands.
Mr. Reuter, are you just visiting or?
See everybody tomorrow morning.
Thank you.
I think it's absolutely wild that they both put their professional licenses at risk for that building.
That is insane.
That's what the whole pack was going to cry.
She's like, you're not crying.
I was like, no, I'm supposed to guarantee you.
That's right, Matt.
That's right, Matt.
So you're right.