treat Darlene's treat is the three is the attorney
then we were joining as a panelist sir thank you
mm-hmm
thank you
Good morning, Council.
Good morning, Commissioners.
I've changed my location.
Thanks for bearing with me.
Arlene, we can hardly hear you at all.
could you try again how about now commissioner can you hear me not very well okay commission
Could you try again?
We'll see you again.
i'm going to ask that my case be continued i'm going to have to get all right thank you
thank you thank you so mi 2023 001 039 27 16th or 16th street this case will be continued thank you
Thank you very much.
Number 14.
MI 2022-003-935-2627 West Oxford Street.
Raymond DiRizio is the attorney.
Okay, Mr. Derizio, could you state your name, please, and spell for that?
oh i'm sorry actually this is um the property owner ray said he'll be back in a minute let
you guys know that um he just said that okay so we're gonna we're gonna go into another case and
we'll call him again okay we'll call this back thank you thank you
I'm going to go to number
for three. MI 2022-007-450-5207 West Mount Airy.
Kenaya
Chestnut is the attorney
there's a letter of
opposition from West
Mount Airy neighbors
also the RCO
has supplied letters of opposition
from six neighbors
they will be rejoining as a
panelist sir thank you
Good morning, counsel.
Unmute.
Good morning, sir.
There you are.
Thank you.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Thank you.
Kenia, K-E-N-N-I-A-H, chestnut, C-H-E-S-T-N-U-T.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Yes. My client who is present today is Shaz Wanner, S-H-A-S-W-A-R-N-E-R.
Right. And our vice chair has just a few questions for you.
Yes, sir.
Good morning, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy?
Good morning, sir. Yes, I do.
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that are needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, sir, I have.
Please proceed and share your screen.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Good morning, members of the board and Mr. Chair.
Again, my name is Kenia Chestnut, and my office represents the applicants, Chaz Warner, Ms. Jaffone Warner, owners of J. Excellence Event Hall.
Again, Ms. Warner is present today.
We are here this morning on appeal to the Zoning Board for application for the issuance of a special exception for the use of the property located at 5 through 7 West Mount Airy Avenue.
Specifically, a permit for an assembly and entertainment use in an existing structure with other existing uses in the same structure as previously approved.
The property currently has an exception to be used as a daycare and house of worship, and we are seeking to add the use to assembly and entertainment.
My clients are sisters and along with their mother, who were all born and raised in Philadelphia, have had a business providing daycare services to the residents of Philadelphia since 2018.
Most notably, they provided daycare services to the residents of Mount Airy for nearly five years.
Most notably, they provided daycare services to the residents of Mount Airy for nearly five years.
They have been members of the Mount Airy CDC for the past three years.
In keeping with the mission of the Mount Airy CDC, these entrepreneurs have contributed to, quote,
the preservation, empowerment, and enriching of a vibrant and diverse Mount Airy.
As African-American women, they decided to expand their vision for their business
by providing event planning and venue services to the community.
Ms. Jaffone Warner brings eight years of experience in planning private parties,
baby showers, graduation parties, and small weddings to J Excellence.
As established business owners in good standing with the City of Philadelphia,
my clients have shown themselves to know what it takes to be good corporate citizens.
As applicants, we have the initial duty of presenting evidence and the burden of proof
that the proposed use meets the definition for use permitted by special exception. We submit
that assembly and entertainment meet the definition for this use. Additionally, we have the initial
duty of presenting objective evidence and the burden of proof that the grant of a special
exception will not cause the following detrimental impacts to the neighborhood beyond that which
normally might be expected from the proposed use. Will the special exception cause congestion
in public streets or transportation systems beyond what would normally be expected from
the proposed use? We submit that answer is no. Will the special exception cause overcrowding
of the land beyond what would normally be expected from the proposed use? We submit
the answer is no. Will the special exception impair the adequate supply of light and air
adjacent properties? We submit that answer would be no. Will the special exception burden the water,
sewer, school, park, or other public facilities beyond what would be normally expected from the
proposed use? Again, we submit that answer would be no. Will the special exception impair or
permanently injure the adjacent properties? We submit that answer would be no. And will the
special exception impair the adequate supply of light and air adjacent properties? I apologize,
the answer is no to that also. Will the special exception be inconsistent with the comprehensive
plan of the city? We submit that that answer is no. I'd like to direct your attention to
to the comprehensive plan of the city of philadelphia
the comprehensive plan of the city of philadelphia is entitled philadelphia 2035
the goals and recommendation of philadelphia 2035 are organized into three forward-looking themes
thrive connect and renew the thrive theme addresses issues related to neighborhoods
economic development and land management most notably philadelphia 2035 envisions a thriving
metropolis and i'm quoting from the from the website in part residents can choose from a
variety of housing choices to match all income levels and vibrant commercial corridors meet
the demand for convenient local shopping economic development goals are built on a vision of diverse
economy offering opportunity to everyone the city goes on to say despite the loss of industry
philadelphia continues to diversify its economy with growth in its successful education health
health care cultural and hospitality sectors philadelphia's many neighborhood oriented
commercial corridors also provide opportunities for jobs and business growth especially among
growing communities. Finally, they say although Philadelphia is gaining
residents again after decades of loss, our infrastructure was built to support
twice our current population. Philadelphia 2035 calls for coordinated
policies for vacant land and structures. The property is situated next to a
commercial business and feeds into the commercial corridor of Germantown Avenue.
So, this is a picture of the property.
These are the residences on the block, and just directing your attention to this area
And just directing your attention to this area right here, this is where the houses end.
right here. This is where the
And then the commercial corridor begins.
This is the, I apologize for the rotation problem.
So this is the first property that begins the commercial corridor.
It is the property before my client's property.
More specifically, there is a restaurant and bar which recently closed that sits 20 feet away.
There is an event venue that sits less than 50 yards away across on Germantown Avenue.
And there is a bar around the corner, not to mention there are various restaurants, a theater, and other commercial businesses that contribute to this flourishing neighborhood.
The property is an 8,900 square foot facility and was clearly constructed for commercial use.
it's comprised of three separate event spaces including a main banquet hall that is approximately
1200 square feet and seats 1200 people a second ballroom that is approximately 540 square feet
and the third ballroom that is approximately 500 square feet, which both can accommodate 50 people.
Additionally, the venue includes five small rooms designed for photo opportunities.
The ballrooms can be used for a variety of events such as Christmas parties, business meetings, engagement parties, birthday parties, graduation parties, and more.
The venue also features five separate selfie content rooms, which are immersive and interactive spaces for visitors to create social media content, take selfies, record podcasts, host intimate celebrations, art gallery, and co-working space slash office space.
My clients will also offer event management services ranging from backyard birthday parties to corporate events.
J Excellence Event Hall aims to serve individual clients as well as small businesses.
The proposed hours of operations are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. through 9 p.m., and Friday through Sunday, 9 a.m. through 12 a.m., with one hour provided for cleanup.
My clients will arrange for private trash pickup in the event that a large event is scheduled.
They are not speaking to make any changes to the property, they plan to upgrade the venue in order to offer an elegant venue space for all occasions.
The issuance of the special exception will not add a burden of traffic to the neighborhood.
There is a public parking lot on Germantown Avenue that has approximately 45 parking spaces, as well as parking on Germantown Avenue that can accommodate parking when an event is held.
i just want to show you a picture of the parking lot
and this is free parking so there's there's no um charge for the parking
my clients were born and raised in philadelphia they have strong connections to this mount airy
community and felt it only made sense to expand their business services in this thriving Mount
Airy area. In some, it is their vision to become a premier event venue in this vibrant city.
They want to be known for their integrity, exceptional service, attention to detail,
and team-oriented approach to planning and executing memorable events for individual
and corporate clients. The objectors have the duty of presenting objective evidence and the
burden of proof that the proposed use is substantially likely to cause a detrimental
impact on the health, safety, and welfare of the neighborhood, exceeding that which normally might
be expected from the proposed use. The RCO submitted its letter opposing this application.
It also submitted letters from some of the neighbors. My client vehemently denied during
My client vehemently denied during the public meeting that she provided services for a party
the public meeting that she provided services.
that began at 2 a.m. and ended at 5 a.m. Philadelphia is not a 24-hour city, and there was no evidence
provided to substantiate this baseless claim. Further, claims of public urination are
unsubstantiated. There are several bars and restaurants on Germantown Avenue, and there
is no evidence, and there was no evidence provided that this alleged person was a guest
of J-Excellence. Further, the residents have not and cannot show that the proposed use is
substantially likely to cause a detrimental impact on the health, safety, and welfare of the
neighborhood, exceeding that which normally might be expected from the proposed use.
For these reasons, we respectfully ask that the committee approve this application for special
exception for assembly and entertainment. Thank you. Can you have your client to want to adopt
your testimony? Yes. Ms. Warner, are you present?
They've been allowed to speak.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Yes, my name is Shaz Warner, S-H-A-S, Warner, W-A-R-N-E-R.
Hi, do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Thank you, Chair.
Ms. Warner, did you hear my presentation on your behalf to the committee this morning?
I did.
were were my statements true and correct to your knowledge um yes everything but one minor detail
on the square footage in the main ballroom okay could you correct that for the record please
two thousand square feet thank you very much and to your knowledge was everything else that
i stated correct yes do you adopt this presentation as your own testimony yes
thank you questions from the board no mr chairman no chair questions or comments from the virtual
audience mr chair i have a ralph pinkus with a hand raised i have allowed them to speak at this
time hi sir could you state your name please and spell for the court stenographer
can you hear me i can my name is ralph pinkus that's spelled r-a-l-p-h pinkus spelled p-i-n-k-u-s
i am the chair of the west mount of the west mount area neighbors zoning committee
and i also sit on the board of west mount area neighbors all right wait a minute do you swear
for him to tell the truth, told truth, nothing but the truth. I do. Proceed, sir. I attended
and chaired the meeting that was held in our community on August 2nd, about one week ago.
We did send a letter. It was referenced by you, Mr. Chairman, at the beginning of the hearing.
I just want to highlight a few points regarding the concern of the neighbors.
Westmont area neighbors received 25 complaints regarding the use of this property.
What was not mentioned by Ms. Chestnut is the fact that the owner or the operator, it's not the owner, the operator, the appellant, has actually been conducting events at this property since March.
And there's already a track record of activities that have taken place, those activities with the observations of the neighbors that were mentioned at our community meeting.
there were 23 near neighbors who attended the meeting, another nine community members.
They observed that at least, if not the incident that Ms. Chestnut referred to,
there were events taking place into the early hours of the morning.
This is starting in March and lasting up until recently.
Radios were heard blaring of people using or attending the events.
there was trash on the street and the sidewalks after the events. We were also advised that the
community meeting, that if all of the event space is being used, it can accommodate at one time
320 persons, 200 persons in the large room and another 60 persons in each of the other side
rooms, so that on a given evening, a Saturday night, there could be 320 persons attending
the event. I just want to describe Mount Airy and this block. West Mount Airy is a very diverse
neighborhood and is known for this fact. There are over 40 homes on the block. This is the last
commercial property on the block, which has that particular zoning. And from the neighbor's
The neighbor's comments and my own observations, I've been down, I've lived in the neighborhood for 40 years.
comments and my own observations, I've been down, I've lived in the neighborhood for 40.
This building appears to be a former carriage house.
The street itself, the unit block of West Mount Airy Avenue, is a one-way street.