maximum of two dwelling units and the proposed dimensional variance. Council, so I'm going to
hold this to next week at 9.30 a.m. on Wednesday, and we will vote on this next Wednesday at 9.30.
Okay. I just want to sit and talk to the board about where we stand with this. Okay. Yes. Thank
thank you chairman thank you members of the board have a good afternoon we're going to go back to
number five mi 2024 003 374 630 west mayfield street this case has continued to 3 12 25 at 9 30 a.m
number 10 mi 2024 006 024 4918 ellis street joseph consul is the attorney
there is unanimous support from the new 42nd ward letter of support from council member lazada
They will be coming back in as a panel shortly.
Mr. Chair, to correct the record, we didn't, it was a different case that we received the letter from Council Member Lozada, not this one.
So, sorry about that.
Thank you. Thank you.
hello good morning mr consul can you please state your name as phil for the court sonographer
yeah it's joseph consul j-o-s-e-p-h last name c-o-n-s-o-l-a um and and before we get started
I think I can dismiss this one quickly.
My client needs an interpreter.
I misunderstood her capabilities, and she's too nervous to join without one.
So I'm going to ask for a continuance.
I know it's a little late to do that.
Thank you, counsel.
And we appreciate that.
MI 2024-006-024-4019 Ellis Street.
Cases continued to 73025 at 930 a.m.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you.
Number 13, MI 2024-006-031-1216 Christian Treats.
Zen Jin is the attorney.
There's unanimous support from Hawthorne Empowerment.
Applicant also has a petition signed by six people, two from the block.
They're coming back in as a panelist, Mr. Chair.
Thank you.
good morning good morning counsel could you please state your name and spell for the court
stenographer yes my name is zen jen z-h-e-n last name is j-i-n do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do could you identify your client please in
the relationship to this property? My clients are Mr. Xu Yu and Ms. Zheng Yan. They are the
owners of the property. Unfortunately, for today's purposes, both are currently overseas
due to the Chinese New Year holidays. Okay. Our Senator Graham has our board member has a few
questions for you, sir. Sure. Good afternoon. Did you submit your documents five days in advance
of this hearing? Yes, we did. And do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and do you
stipulate to its accuracy? I do. All right. Thank you so much. You may proceed. Thank you. I'm going
to share with the board the information previously submitted. Can the board see my exhibit on their
screen? We can, sir. Thank you. We submitted to the board a copy of the refusal, the RCO letter
and support, petitioner support, property history, photos, plans, and related documentation.
This is an application based on a request to legalize an existing multifamily household
living of five units.
The area's zoning is RSA 5, therefore it was refused for the use.
However, the first piece of evidence I would like to direct to the board's attention would
be the property certificate that my client acquired when they purchased the property
that my client acquired when they purchased the property on January of 2022. I want to note that
on January of 2022.
this property is what is normally known as a non-conforming condition property in that it was
legally six units through a variance previously. And in fact, when the property was purchased,
a property certificate also indicated as such. That prior use goes back some time.
It was done in two phases by prior owner. First was four units and then two additional unit. It
was granted by variance. We're actually not sure exactly why the city records now shows it only as
a single family. But when my clients went to get rental licenses, they were advised that it is now
zoned RSA 5 and therefore they're refused. However, as the letter from the community also
indicated they are aware of this property being multifamily for a long time and had no issues with
the fact that we're trying to legalize what is essentially existing conditions that's been there
for quite some time. So the property in question is actually on a block of properties, some of which
have already been converted to multi, some are single family. We did the proper posting. As you
can see that the property itself, it's a rather large property. Here are the meters that exist in
the basement. The basement is used for utilities only. There's no living in the basement. This is
the layout of the various rooms. I'm going to move to the plans after showing the photograph
so the board can see the actual layout of the property. The property was occupied at the time
my client acquired it. And again, they were not aware of any issues until licensing. There are
some units that are cleared out. When they actually got notified that they did not have the
permits, they acted very quickly to start the process to legalize the use that is there.
So the property's elevation, depth, width, and every dimension is existing.
We're not proposing any changes to the use of the property as far as dimensions are concerned.
The existing property layout has utility in the basement.
The access through the front door leads to a hallway that leads to a central stair, which leads up to the various units.
There's one unit in the front here.
There's a rear unit.
That's unit number two.
When it goes upstairs, there's unit number three, unit number four.
And the final floor of the property is one large unit.
That's unit number five.
That is how the property was acquired.
All the conditions are existing.
There's no proposed changes other than some refreshing painting
and other steps that's normally involved with updating the property.
The property does not have an existing sprinkler system
because at the time it was renovated, that was not required per code.
There are fire, smoke systems, smoke alarms,
and other required items within the property.
And to our knowledge, the property is otherwise in compliance with all city requirements.
So with that, we're asking the board's favorable discretion in granting this requested legalization of the five units.
I'm happy to answer any questions or redirect to any part of my exhibit.
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
Questions.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emberson?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
mr chair i do not see any hands raised at this time thank you jason planning commission
thank you chairman and good morning david pecto with the city planning commission
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa5
residential single-family zoning at this location the city changed the zoning maps in this neighborhood
in 1979 this property has a documented history as six apartment units dating to at least 1988
The City Planning Commission recommends the Board grant a proposed use variance for five dwelling units.
Thank you. MI 2024-006-031-1216 Christian Street. I vote yes. Proviso, maximum five dwelling units.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Tynetta Graham, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Iowa, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Counsel, could you please stay on?
Counsel, could you please stay on?
MI 2024.
MI 2024-006034, 1428 West Allegheny Avenue.
Could you please state your name for the record?
Zen Jin.
And could you identify your client and relationship to this property?
My client is Mr. Lee Yejou.
Yejou Lee.
He's the owner of the property.
And you have a letter of unanimous support from the Allegheny West Civic Association, RCO, seven votes in support.
Tenetta Graham, our board member, has a few questions for you, sir.
Good afternoon. Did you submit your documents five days in advance of this hearing?
And do you agree to wait with the reading of the refusal, and do you stipulate to its accuracy?
Thank you. You may proceed.
Thank you. I'm going to share with the board the documentation we previously submitted.
Can the board see my exhibit on their screen?
We can, sir.
Thank you. So this is an application that is based on our request to consolidate two lots at the corner of Allegheny Avenue.
this particular two lots are zoned RSA 3. In fact, the area is predominantly zoned RSA 3 on that
block. However, based on the existing conditions surrounding this property, my client felt that
the best proposal is a structure that is very similar to what is across the street from the
property on every corner, and therefore made the proposal based on those designs. The proposal is
for 18 dwelling units in what is essentially an apartment structure type building with 11
interior parking spaces, as well as six Class A, 1A bicycle parking spaces. Naturally, due to the
RSA 3 zoning of the district, we did receive a series of dimensional as well as a use variance
for the purpose of this application.
I want to show the board the photos of the area first.
This is the two lots in question.
They're currently vacant lots
where the proposed building will be placed.
As you can see, there are buildings up and down
and across from our lot.
This is actually across the street.
Our proposed building is actually very similar to this in the sense that it has underground parking and it's structured as an apartment building.
That is one of the corners.
One of the street behind us, the properties behind us, is part of RSA roll home style buildings.
However, I do want to point out that as far as this lot is concerned, across the street, behind our lot on the street, as well as next to us on Allegheny Avenue, all those buildings are multifamily.
We do not have actually any single family immediately abutting the lots itself.
The building across the street is much larger than what we're proposing, containing 40-some units.
Diagonally across the street is a 17-unit building.
Next to our property on Allegheny is a three-unit building,
but then immediately next to that is another building
that has also passed history of six or seven units or rooming units.
So based on all of that, we met with the community with the proposal
that is before the board today.
with the consolidated lot, our proposal is to put up a structure that contains parking underneath on
the first floor. The community prefers and actually likes the proposed parking. They did
make a few comments in that they would like to see a fencing of sorts around the property on
the first floor for safety reasons, as well as making sure that when cars are coming out of
the parking lot, they can only make a right onto Allegheny Avenue and no left turn. The architect
actually, when he proposed the parking, already made it that way, so that was consistent to
what the community wanted as well. With the additional floors, there will be a lobby area
for entry, and then the rest of the floors, there's actually three floors above, and they're
basically laid out the same way that is each has six units which for the three floors comes up to
the total of the 18 units that is before the board. I can zoom in on the unit itself to give a better
I can zoom in on the unit itself to give a better look at the units.
look at the
They're basically, on the four corners, one-bedroom units, and in the middle, two-bedroom units.
There is an enclosure for trash within the first floor area.
There's an entry lobby.
There's a fire pump room here, as you can see.
And these are the parking spaces and bike spaces that it's going to be on the first floor.
We're planning to put a greenery buffer as well in various parts.
That is all part of the design.
The trash bins are here and it's actually behind a fence.
So it is not exposed to the neighbors.
So this is essentially the request that we're bringing before the board.
While we understand this is a vacant lot and the hardship isn't specific to the land in that sense, this development would be the most consistent to what exists on basically every corner and next to our property.
And therefore, we did receive unanimous support from the community, who also understands that density on Allegheny Avenue is different than density on a smaller street behind Allegheny.
So with that, we would ask the board's favorable review of this application. I am happy to answer any questions. And my clients, I believe, are here to verify my testimony.
Why don't we bring your client on?
Sure. Mr. Lee, can you raise your hand virtually to be identified? I believe he might be logged in along with his...
Okay, thank you.
okay they will be coming back in as a panel shortly
can you unmute and please turn on your camera
Mr. Lee
i see uh his his wife is with him as well okay
may i may i proceed uh as soon as i see him i don't see him yet mr lee i'm sorry
hi mr lee could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
Peggy Lee. Spell your name, please.
Y-I-G-H-O-U-L-I Lee.
Do you swear or affirm the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes. Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you. Mr. Lee, did you see my presentation and hear my representation to the Zoning Board?