ZBA Hearing - October 18, 2023

patients that are coming by car that can see this now along Chestnut Street and South 12th Street.

So we are asking for a refusal for the height of this sign. As I said, it was deemed a building ID sign by L&I. The minimum height for a building ID sign is 150 feet, whereas this sign is only 37 feet above the floor, above grade, I'm sorry.

We did present this sign at a community meeting to Washington Square West.

We do have their letter of support included in the packet as well, noting the typo that is on the refusal,

that this sign is only 37 feet 7 inches above grade and not 87 feet 7 inches above grade as was listed on the refusal.

But again, we're asking for relief so that we can have this sign be of the appropriate height and scale

to assist pedestrians and visitors

to the building to identify this building

as they're traveling through it.

And with that, I'll ask Charles Norman

to identify himself.

He's with National Real Estate Development.

Charles, if you can raise your hand

and identify yourself for the board.

Charles Norman is allowed to speak.

Could you state your name, please,

and spell for the court stenographer?

Good afternoon.

My name is Charles Norman, C-H-A-R-L-E-S-N-O-R-M-A-N.

Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

I do.

Please proceed, counsel.

Thanks, Charles.

Have you heard my statements to the board this afternoon?

Stephanie, I did.

Do you believe they're true and accurate to the best of your knowledge and belief?

Accurate and a very good presentation.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Do you adopt them as your own statements?

i do adopt them as my own testimony yes thanks thank you um questions from the board no chair

no mr chairman no chair questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson

i'm not this time mr chair um questions from the uh virtual audience

i see no hands chair planning commission ron bednar city planning uh the property

is indicated for center city commercial mixed use on the city plan we recommend the request

for advance be granted thank you MI 2023 004 799 1101 to 53 Chesson Street I vote yes

Thomas Holloman my vote is yes

James Snell my vote is yes

thank you counsel thank you number seven mi 2023-003-273-4030

spruce street christopher brown is the attorney letter of non-opposition excuse me mr chair um

can can we move to number nine next please for scheduling um we have someone that is running

short on time. Thank you. Okay. MI 2023 004 372 901 to 05 North 45th Street. Alan Nockamson is the

attorney. Letter of support from Mill Creek Advisory Council. Unanimous.

Alan Nockamson is returning.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members of the board, Alan Ockhamson.

Yeah, just state your name.

You've already been sworn.

Alan Ockhamson.

Okay.

Could you identify your client and relationship to this property?

Yes.

My client is Dream Chasers, LLC, and in the audience is James Drayton, its member.

Okay.

Our vice chair has just a few questions.

Do you agree with the reading of the reference or stipulate through the act of seal?

I did not hear that, but I would say yes.

Have you emailed in all the required documents to proceed with this case in advance of this hearing?

Yes, I have.

Thank you. Please proceed to hear your screen.

All right. Thank you.

all right uh pretty straightforward matter 901 uh north uh 901-05 north 45th street

uh this is a project of mixed-use development uh in the uh west philadelphia area uh just off of

uh west philadelphia area uh just off of lancaster avenue uh during our presentation we'll review

Lancaster Avenue.

several matters first a notice of refusal uh then the letter of support for mill creek advisory

council uh then nearby recently granted similar variances uh the show what we're offering is not

out of character then maps of the area photographs of the property our plans and drawings or rco

meeting notice where we had a well-attended meeting in front of the Mill Creek Advisory

Council, our application for appeal, our deed to property, and our certificate of tax clearance.

At the conclusion of my presentation, I would ask that Mr. Drayton virtually raise his hand,

be sworn in, and then I have a few questions for him to answer. First things first, this is

are known as a refusal. This is a CMX2 property. You know, we're not asking to make any type of

use variances here in that we have a commercial unit on the ground floor, we have residential

above, but due to the irregular shape of our lot, we are asking that the board

grants several variances regarding dimensions and the amount of units. So first, given the size of

the lot, we're asking the board to allow us to do five units rather than two. That seems like a lot,

but given the unique nature and configuration of and shape of the lot, it's something that

fits well within this property. And if we were more of a regular shaped lot, we're either square

or rectangular, given the dimensions of this property, given the width and length of it,

this would be an as-of-right project. Second refusal has to do with the occupied area.

We are asking for 100% occupied area. Again, given the configuration or the shape of this lot,

it would be very difficult to meet the 80% occupied area restriction for this property.

So that is our hardship there. And again, you know, we've met with the community and the community thought that this was a positive project to help support the commercial corridor on Lancaster by providing that extra density, which is needed through that occupied area.

And then the third refusal has to do with the rear yard depth. Again, you'll see from the shape of the law, it would be rather difficult, if not impossible, for us to comply with this requirement. And again, given the circumstances of helping try to support this commercial corridor on Lancaster Avenue with this increased density of residential use and the support of the community, we hope that the board also grants this variance request.

So we did meet with Mill Creek Advisory Council.

It was a very well attended meeting.

I believe there are at least 20 members of the community in attendance.

And my understanding is there was overwhelming support.

And the Mill Creek Advisory Council in their letter stated that they have they've given us their full support.

So not just non-opposition, not just support, but full support.

So I think they were very taken aback by the quality of this project.

Not that this is a zoning issue, but my client also does affordable housing, and his intention here is to do that as well at this location.

uh again we also looked at you know projects that this board has considered over the years

and there are two in particular 4408 lancaster avenue this board granted a nine unit development

and given the size of a lot it's it's very comparable to what we're asking for in terms

of the variance as well and then also 4434 lancaster avenue again i looked at projects

that this board has considered over the years,

given the size of the lot

and the amount of units here asked is four,

which is, I believe, a little smaller lot

than even ours.

I just want to confirm that.

Well, it's comparable to our lot.

It's actually 1,419 square feet,

while ours is 1,240.

But they're asking for four units.

We're asking for five.

But given the circumstances here,

we believe that that's comparable as well.

And then our zoning map, as you can see here, this, our lot, is just a regular shape.

You know, it's rectangular in shape, and it'd be rather difficult under the circumstances to meet any dimensional requirements, such as occupied area and rear yard.

Next one.

Oops.

And then this is the map of the area from a Google Maps perspective.

So you can see we intersect several streets, Westminster, 45th and Lancaster.

So we're like on the tip of a very heavily populated commercial corridor that is in desperate need of occupants nearby, which are.

um that is in desperate need of occupants nearby which r5 units would allow for

and then photographs of the property uh this is our the current condition of the property right

now it's an unoccupied commercial business there business structure there

and then this is 901-05 north 45th street from westminster again irregular shaved lot

And then this is our hearing poster showing proof of posting for this property from both 45th Street as well as Westminster.

And then this is North 45th Street to the right of the property.

North 45th Street to the left of the property, you can see this is where the commercial corridor is.

Westminster Avenue to the right of the property.

Again, you can see the commercial corridor here.

And Westminster Avenue to the left of the property.

And then our plans and drawings.

As you can see, we're not asking for any height.

Oops.

We're not going to let me do this actually.

Stop sharing for a second.

Just having technical difficulties.

All right, so this is 45th Street, the project on North 45th Street.

So this is the Westminster Avenue perspective.

Again, we're not asking for any height variance.

This is Lancaster Avenue perspective, and there you can see, you know, what we're dealing with in terms of this is a regular-shaped lot and this tip here on Lancaster Avenue.

And then this is 45th Street perspective for the property.

And then you can see here as well the regular-shaped portion of the lot.

If this was squared off here, based on my calculations, we would be allowed, and this is my calculations on Atlas, five units, and that's what we're seeking here.

But because of the irregular shape, we are limited in some respects, and that's why we need the additional occupied area, as well as the elimination of the rear yards to allow us to build a functional building structure.

And then these are just our floor plans here.

I want to highlight the fact that we have a trash room that comes off the street.

So that's a responsible use of the property.

Our client also plans to do commercial pickup as well.

The commercial space is the first floor and the lower level.

And there's a unit on the first floor and the lower level.

That's one unit.

And then the second and third floor each have a unit on there as well.

There is no roof deck.

This is our hearing post or excuse me, our community notice for the meeting that took

place on September 11th at 6.30 PM.

This is proof of the email that went out, which attached that notice to, you know, which we sent to both the coordinating RCO, as well as other RCOs, as well as Andrew Goodman, which is the council member zoning aid.

And then this notice went out to 126 addresses.

List of the addresses, proof of mailing to those addresses, and then our application for appeal that we filed with the ZBA, along with the notice of refusal that went with the application for appeal and the project information form as well.

And then our deed to the property, showing that Dream Chasers LLC is the owner of the property.

And then finally, our Certificate of Tax Clearance, showing that our client owes no money to the City of Philadelphia.

They're actually part of a payment plan here, as you can see.

So, with that being said, I would ask that Mr. Drayton virtually raise his hand.

So with that being said, I would ask that Mr. Drain.

Mr. Drayton, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.

Mr. Drayton, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?

Good afternoon.

My name is James Drayton, J-A-M-E-S-D-R-A-Y-T-O-N.

Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?

Yes, I affirm, sir.

Please proceed, counsel.

Oh, yes.

Mr. Drayton, you heard everything I had to state today about your zoning matter.

Yes, sir, I did.

And is it true and correct?

Yes, it's true and correct.

And do you adopt it as your own testimony?

Yes, I would adopt it as my own testimony.

All right.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Questions from the board?

No, Mr. Sherman.

No, Chair.

questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson not at this time chair questions from the

virtual audience i see no hands chair planning commission run bed north city planning while

this property is currently indicated for neighborhood commercial mixed juice uh on the

city plan given the physical circumstances of the site and nearby area use character we recommend

your question. Thank you. MI 2023-004-372-901-05-North 45th Street. I vote yes. Thomas Holloman,

my vote is yes. James Snell, my vote is yes. Thank you, counsel. Thank you. Have a great day.

Number seven, MI 2023-003-273-4030 Spruce Street. Christopher Brown is

The Attorney, Letter of Non-Opposition from Spruce Hill Community Association.

Christopher Brown has been promoted to panelist.

Okay.

Good afternoon.

Christopher Brown.

Could you spell it, please, for the court stenographer?

Christopher Brown, C-H-R-I-S-T-O-P-H-E-R-B-R-O-W-N.

Do you swear a firm to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?

I do.

Could you identify your client in a relationship to the property?

Yeah.

Daniel O'Sullivan is here from PKB 17 LLC, the owner of 4030 Spruce Street.

until um they actually just sold it as of august 15th 2023 um but it's the part of this part of

the sale is contingent on this uh permit our vice chair has a few questions for you