Okay, Chair, we have 36 attendees and counting, so we can proceed as you wish.
Thank you.
I'm ready to go.
Good morning, my name is Bill Bergman and I will be chairing this morning's ZBA hearings.
With me is our Vice Chair, Ishmael Shaheed.
Present, Mr. Chair.
Our Board Member, Thomas Holliman.
Present, Mr. Chair.
And our Board Member, James Snell.
Present, Chair.
Also present is Hillary Emerson, our attorney, and also our executive director, Tanya Sunkett.
Here's our virtual format.
Be advised the proceedings are being recorded.
Video will be available by contacting tanyasunkett at phil.gov.
For the benefit of our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you're participating by phone and you wish to testify, press star nine to raise your hand
and star six to unmute. To enter an appearance statement, call 267-270-5548. Leave your email
and the address of the property in question. And lastly, the question and answer box on the screen
is not for comments or testimony. All comments should be directed to our executive director,
Tanya Sunken. Let's look at today's list, this morning's list for continuances.
Number one, MI 2023-001-026-4353 Paul Street. The case is continued. Number two, MI 2022-007-343-6020
Lansdale Avenue. The case is continued. And number 11, MI 2023-001-044-2853 North Bailey Street.
That case is continued. Does anyone have any comments relative to the three cases I just
continued? Good morning, Mr. Chair. This is Jason Hand. I will be co-hosting today. I have one hand
raised from
Young I've allowed
them to speak
Hi could you state your name please
and spell for the court reporter
Always Young are you present
Excuse me, Chair. It appears that she had two devices that she's logged into. We'll try the second one if you like.
You got it.
Hello?
Hi. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
My name is Eloise Young, E-L-O-I-S-E, last name Young, Y-O-U-N-G.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Which of those three cases are you interested in?
60-20 Lansdowne Avenue.
Let's see here.
Okay, so that case has been continued.
we need more time for community feedback. This is the second time it's been continued.
Okay. As soon as we get the community feedback, we will make sure we get this on, okay?
I'm from the RCO. I'm confused about needing community feedback.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair. This is Hillary. I'm sorry. This was handled. This is handled. It's going to be continued.
Thank you. Are there any other requests for continuance?
Chair, there is a hand raised from a number ending in 3552. I will allow them to speak at this time.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Yes, this is Adrienne Fernandez of Swamp Pool Neighborhood Association, RCO.
Could you spell your name for the court reporter, please?
Yes, my last name is spelled S-E-R-N-A-N-D-E-Z.
Yes, my last name is spelled S-E-R-N-A-N-D-E-Z.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
What case are you calling about?
I'm calling about 2712 North 16th Street, and I am requesting continuance because the applicant was listed as an expediter named Baditsa.
and um the affected rcos received no email notice for the uh community meeting and also
the rco coordinator did not comply with the code to consult with all affected rcos for the meeting
also this property so so hold on a minute is allegheny west civic associates has a letter
of support for that, right? I have no idea because I asked for documents and they were not sent at
all. We have... Algeny West Civic Association has a support, has a letter of support for that
project. So what we're going to do is we'll hear the case. We'll hear the case. And when I open it
up to the public, you can come on. Okay. Mr. Chair, this is Hillary. Hold on. This is Mr. Chair.
Sorry, this is Hillary. Mr. Chair. So this, this case does have an attorney. That's Darlene
three i see her hand is raised um she will be presenting the case today okay do you want to
bring her one right now i'm allowed to speak sir hi good morning could you state your name
please and spell for the court reporter good morning commissioner darlene three
r l e n e three t h r e a do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but
two things you turn your volume up just a little bit please yes yes okay proceed
uh good morning commissioner i am handling this case on the expedited bedita cadelia it's my
understanding all notices were sent i have the notice that was sent out and the proof of mailing
there were 22 people at this meet a letter of support i know but i i think that's where i am
And what I'm going to do is we're going to hear the case.
Can I say one thing, though?
Can I say one thing?
The meeting that was held, we received no communication at all by email.
She's speaking about what was mailed out by.
OK, so you're going to have a chance.
You can raise that.
You can raise that when we call the case.
We're going to go on with the case.
Are there any other requests?
Are there any other requests for continuances?
uh mr chair i have michael bowman with the hand raised i've allowed them
mr bowman please state your name for the court reporter
morning mr bowman michael bowman please unmute and wait to be sworn in
i'm ready all right mr bowman just state your name and
please and spell for the court reporter good morning commissioner michael bowman
m i uh the last name you spell b-o-w-m-a-n right do you swear for him to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do and you want a continuance for mi 2023
3-0-0-0-9-9-0-8129 Germantown Avenue? That's correct. All right. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Approved. Are there any other requests for continuance?
No further answers, Mr. Chair. Okay. Thank you. We're going to go to number six,
MI-2022-001-992-4101 Germantown Avenue.
There are no exhibits, third listing.
No one appeared for the applicant at the prior listing.
Case was continued, must be heard.
Julio Garcia and the listed applicant is Charlie and Sookie Cho, listed owners.
Mr. Chair I have Yvonne Haskins with her hand raised okay allow them to speak
Ms. Haskins yes good morning good morning could you state your name please and spell for the
court reporter. Yvonne Boone, Haskins, H-A-S-K-I-N-S. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth?
H-A-S-K-I-N-S.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Are you involved in 4101 Germantown Avenue?
I'm involved in, no, sir.
I'm calling only because I have a number of people who are in the community to make sure that our case has been continuing.
And I can't really remember that it's a three-story.
Ms. Haskins, you're breaking up.
Are you involved in this case here, 4101 Germantown Avenue?
Can you hear me now?
Can you hear me now?
I hear you now, but what I'm saying, are you involved in this case?
Yes, sir.
I am calling to sign out of a case that's scheduled.
Ms. Haskins, I'm in the middle of hearing this 4101 Germantown Avenue.
Mr. Chair, this is Hillary.
Ms. Haskins, I did get your email.
We will be announcing the continuances on the 3.30 list at 3.30.
Oh, actually, that's what I wanted to make sure.
Thank you.
Is there anyone in the audience from 4101 Germantown Avenue?
Sir, there are no hands.
Thank you.
So MI 2022-001-992, 4101 Germantown Avenue.
This is the third listing.
No exhibits.
No one appeared the last time.
I vote to dismiss.
My vote is to dismiss.
James Selma, my vote is to dismiss.
Ishmael Shaheen, my vote is to dismiss.
Thank you.
We're going to go to our regular list now.
I'm going to start at number 7, MI 2023, 000818773 Shawman Avenue.
Ernest Pertikin is the owner applicant.
It's a pro se.
There was an RCO meeting held on 3-8-23.
We do not have the letters of yet,
but there's a petition of support signed by 21 neighbors,
along with five other letters of support.
Mr. Pertikin.
Mr. Peterkin will be rejoining as a panelist.
Hold on a second.
Good morning, sir.
Mr. Peterkin, you have to unmute yourself, please.
all right good morning good morning could you state your name and spell please for the court
reporter my name is ernest peterkin my name is spelled e-r-n-e-s-t my last name is p-e-t-e-r-k-i-n
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do could you turn your video in please yes sir
Thank you. Our vice chair has a few questions for you, sir.
Yes, sir.
Good morning, sir. Have you emailed in all the required documents that are needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, sir.
Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
All right.
okay all right you start mr chair can you read the refusal into the record please
sure i will this application is for the legalization of the fence size and location
as shown in plan any fence located nearer to the lot line than the required building setback or
the actual distance of the building from the lot line whichever is greater shall not be more than
four feet in height and no more than 50% opaque, whereas the plan shows six feet in height and
almost 100% opaque. Proceed, sir. Thank you, sir. Good morning, Commissioner. Good morning,
members of the board. My name is Ernest Peterkin. I'm the owner of 773 Shawmont Avenue. Thank you
for hearing my case. I'm here today seeking a variance for my property that would allow my
front fence to be six foot tall and almost 90% opaque. My lot is oddly shaped similar to a
triangle with the front of the home facing the point. Here I have an image from 1909. Here you
can see the shape of the lot and I'm going to scroll down and I'll actually show some plans
for the fence so you can see the shape of the lot here. Due to the shape of the lot and the house
setback, a large portion of the usable outdoor space is found in the front of the
a large portion of the usable outdoor space is found in the front of the property.
I understand that zoning laws are made for the safety of the public.
Traffic safety is of utmost concern for street-side fences.
I'm prepared to demonstrate to the board that not only does my fence enhance the corner,
but more importantly, it does not negatively affect traffic safety.
Before I move forward, however, I have to acknowledge one of the many mistakes I've made
along the way. This fence was constructed without first applying for a zoning permit.
I'm well-versed in interior home remodeling, but my experience has not included extensive
exterior work such as larger fences. For the construction of this fence, I sought help from
a subcontractor to aid me. I was assured at the time that I didn't need a permit.
Perhaps my subcontractor was simply mistaken, or perhaps he misunderstood the circumstances.
Regardless, the fault does lie with me.
My fence construction was not a deliberate act of zoning disregard.
It was a mistake.
At the time, I thought I was taking all of the right steps.
I even hired the city to perform a survey of my property for the fence prior to the construction.
uh this here is the order for the survey that went through the city of philadelphia
for them to come out and survey the property prior to constructing the fence
this process has been quite a learning experience especially in dealing with my neighbors the vast
majority of which have shown a great deal of support for my fence but i'll speak more about
that momentarily the first thing that i would like to bring your attention to i'm scrolling to it now
Okay, first thing I would like to bring your attention to is the traffic impact analysis.
Hold on one second.
This impact analysis was executed by the civil engineer Timothy P. Reilly of DJS Associates.
If you'd allow, I'd like to read a portion of the report.
All right.
All right.