And we also increased a portion of the for sale that were set aside with subsidies for 10 of those to be reserved for affordable as well for sale products.
We made some other improvements to the community benefits agreement.
and that has been signed and executed by the RCO, so we are seeking a vote, and I think we,
well, I'll let Mary from Councilman Clark's office speak for herself, but I think we,
I believe they're taking no position today. I think we've responded to their concerns,
And I will just say, we also, I provided some additional information to Sharon Saleta in terms of just detailing that history and the history of the property in an affidavit form from David Perlman, the equitable owner, and I'd like to see that incorporated into the record as well.
incorporated into the record as well well noted uh question uh is there a revised plan
Well noted.
Question.
we do have revised plans they have not changed since the last hearing but they were submitted
to sharon five pages um uh revised plans in the form and also i think we raised this the last
meeting um there was um one issue on the refusal where the um the uses for the ground floor
commercial should be uses as approved in cmx2 and i had spoken to sharon about this back in december
so we'd asked for the revised plans just a proviso it was on the application but i don't
think it made it into the refusal that the ground floor commercial uh uses would be uses as permitted
in cmx2 um this way we don't have to come back for every tenant excuse me mr grigos this is
sharon saletta the plans you submitted the actual plans are four pages is that correct and the
fifth page is the form. I will tell you right now. My apologies.
I believe there are five pages, including the Elevation 1. I have five pages here, Sharon.
That's fine.
I just had in my notes that it was four pages, but five is fine.
So the provisos would be revised plans, five pages, and commercial uses as permitted in
That's correct.
Thank you.
Okay. Do we need your client, Mr. Grigos, or no?
I think everything was included in our affidavit that was submitted.
So I don't believe we need him.
But he can affirm the changes.
We'll stipulate you being an officer to court, your client would have adopted your testimony and any revisions thereof.
Any questions from the board?
no no no no uh is i believe miss jones might be here from council president to clark's office
and or anyone else who would like to testify please raise your hand
miss jones you have to unmute yourself and you can speak good afternoon miss jones remember
you're still on the oath from earlier today please identify yourself for the record good
Good afternoon. My name is Mary Jones. On behalf of Council President Daryl Clark, City Hall,
room 494, just want to confirm Mr. Griot's testimony. We did have further conversation
and our office is no longer taking a position. Thank you. Anyone else would like to testify
in this case please raise your hand chair we have diane monroe miss monroe you can unmute yourself
and speak okay um good afternoon miss monroe please identify yourself for the record and i'll
swear you okay diane monroe 14th wood rco do you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
hold on do you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes i did thank you please proceed okay um we the the community um totally supports this project
100 we didn't receive any complaints about this proposed project they are looking forward
to having it um redone and um they are happy about this proposed project the 14th ward
committee is happy about the proposed project and we hopefully and that that the commissioners will
support it also thank you thank you anyone else would like to testify in this case please raise
your hand there are no hands at this time chair thank you mi 2020-002410 650 fairmount avenue
my vote is yes with the following proviso revised plan five pages approved today and the proviso
commercial space to be used as permitted in the cmx2 district is that correct correct yes
my vote is yes with proviso yes with proviso yes with proviso yes with proviso
so thank you thank you very much thank you i think we go to number two on the regular
list now yes carol calendar number 3089 1324 frankfurt avenue mr whalen
1324 Frankfurt Avenue, Mr. Whelan and this is the case that you just had Mr. Whelan before you.
Mr. Whelan you've been promoted to a panelist you can speak now.
Hello again board members. Mr. Whelan before you begin with your testimony just give us a
brief summation as to why you are objecting to a continuance.
uh well it would be easier to let you know if i knew what the basis for the continuance was
we'll go to the uh we'll go to the uh rco web representative thank you
to the gentleman who's here on the 1324 frankfurt avenue please
mr miller you can unmute yourself and begin to speak
yes i'm here all right mr miller i think i think you're still under oath i i think i put you on
the oath correct yep all right so uh mr whalen is uh waiting to hear what the reason for the
continuance yes i'm i'm sorry he wasn't aware i i assumed the letter was sent to them as well
um the the reason we're asking for a continuance is because we've received an updated refusal for
the project uh just last friday on february 5th uh and and with the adjustment from the prior
refusal we're also expecting a refusal on parcel a uh the discussion today is primarily about parcel
b uh and and for those reasons we haven't had time to fully uh discuss uh the the new refusals
and thus would like a continuance uh so that we can be a lot of the proper time to evaluate the
situation. Excuse me, this is Sharon Sletta. We also have an email from Mary Jones of Councilman
Clark's office saying that they support the request for a continuance.
Mr. Whalen. Yes, thank you, Chairman. In short, this is much ado about nothing.
The project began some time ago. The neighborhood requested that instead of building
by right, we proceed with a second apartment building on the rear of an existing project.
We've done so. We have always known that there was what we believed to be an incorrect refusal.
This dates back to, I think, early last summer. We spent more than six months working with L&I
trying to get a revised refusal.
L&I told us that the refusal was correct.
And that's, you know, obviously they're the arbiter
of what is or is not a refusal.
We have presented at all times, numerous times
to both FNA and all stakeholders,
exactly the project that's before the board today.
There's been no change, no surprises,
no setback removed, nothing like that.
But the, so the FNA has always known exactly what the project was.
We even, through correspondence and orally, presented exactly what we believed the refusals would have been or should have been.
Again, we're not the arbiter of what refusals get issued or not.
We made our position clear with L&I and the examiner, and they took the position they did.
So we've moved forward and sent out the required notices. We've worked with all the stakeholders here. And my understanding is that the neighborhood is generally in favor of this project, but that the RCO is really pressing for what they believe to be a correct refusal.
That said, they went and had L&I reissue a new refusal.
I think Mr. Miller is correct.
It was last week or the week before.
I would suggest to the board that that refusal is far less correct than the original refusal.
In short, there are only two refusals here.
So, you know, this, again, is much ado about nothing.
It's, you know, there are a certain number of dwelling units allowed.
We're asking for additional density.
and there's a certain height allowed and we're asking for greater height. The only additional
refusal that was added by the examiner most recently was for lot coverage and we can walk
through that happily but without getting into the weeds his calculations are incorrect and that is
not a refusal that should have been issued. So the revised refusal is less correct and less accurate
than the original refusal but in short everybody has always known what the project is the project
hasn't changed there have been no revisions to it in fact the the proviso plans that are in front of
In fact, the proviso plans that are in front of Ms. Saleta, all they did was reconfigure the pilot house a little bit and the roof deck.
miss saletta
We had, frankly, just missed an area where it entered into the roof deck setback area, so it constituted another story.
So the height refusal will get reduced, and the project hasn't changed at all.
So FNA and everyone has known at all times exactly what the project is and what we're moving forward with.
Excuse me, Mr. Whelan, this is Sharon Saleta. Can you tell me the process by which a revised refusal was issued? Did you submit an amended application?
um uh to to be fair i'm not sure because i was not involved or advised of it in any way shape
or form as the attorney for the project or the applicant um we simply refuse received a revised
refusal last week that added again maybe it was the week before um that added one additional
refusal and that refusal is frankly uh incorrect so i'm not sure how or or through what channels
FNA and or the councilman's office, council president's office works.
It sounds to me like we're in a position to go forward with the case, and we'll talk
about that a little bit.
Carol, I need to excuse myself for a couple of minutes.
Would you go back to Leonard on the add-on and then follow up on this case?
I should be back by the time you start this case.
Oh, Lord, the dog.
All right.
I'll mute myself now.
The two o'clock, is this the two o'clock add-on number one?
Or is it-
Mr. Reuter is going to read the extension of the emergency regulations into the record
and the board will then vote on them.
Sharon, what is the case number?
There is no case number.
No case.
oh he's just okay so i guess i just introduced leonard reuter yes he will read it these this is
just an extension of the previously adopted regulations and then the board members will
each indicate if they are voting to adopt them okay um hello this is leonard reuter can you all
hear me first yes we can great um i apologize i was planning on having my video on uh
But I'm actually at the city offices, and if you're aware, the city offices have really kind of a ridiculously slow network.
So I think if I keep the camera off, I'm not going to get knocked off again, but we'll see.
For right now, I'm just going to read in the proposed regulation that will extend the prior regulations that had allowed for the board to start reoperating after the COVID pandemic.
And I'm gonna try to share my screen.
This might be a mistake, but we'll see.
And can you see that?
Yes, we can.
Ooh, okay.
So zoning, I'm just gonna read this into the record.
Zoning Board of Adjustment emergency regulations
regarding public hearing notice requirements
for zoning hearings and other related matters.
whereas on march 22nd 2020 as part of a series of emergency declarations and orders the mayor
and health commissioner issued an emergency order temporarily prohibiting operation of
non-essential businesses to prevent the spread of covet 19 uh quote-unquote emergency order which
was approved as a regulation of the board of health on march 26 2020 effective march 27 2020
2020, and has since been followed by subsequent declarations, orders, and regulations, and
whereas on March 18, 2020, the Zoning Board of Adjustment promulgated a regulation suspending
board hearings and deadlines and related matters in response to the COVID-19 emergency, and
whereas as part of a series of emergency declarations and orders, the Mayor and Health Commissioner
determined on May 29, 2020, that Philadelphia could move to the Commonwealth's yellow phase
with additional specific restrict philadelphia specific restrictions that would apply in addition
to restrictions established by the governor including limitations on outdoor dining
and to implement that decision executed an order entitled emergency order allowing limited
reopening of businesses advising philadelphians they are safer at home and establishing safety
measures to prevent the spread of 2019 novel coronavirus that is covet 19 yellow phase of
reopening, known as the yellow phase order.
known as the yellow phase order. To implement that decision effective on the date determined
To implement that decision effective on the day
by the governor and the city of Philadelphia should move into the yellow phase on June
5, 2020 and whereas on June 22, 2020, the Zoning Board of Adjustment, the board, adopted
an emergency regulation regarding public meeting notice requirements for zoning hearings and
other related matters which temporarily altered the process for filing appeals providing for
notices of public meetings and hearings and related matters as were deemed necessary in order to allow
hearings by the board to resume and whereas the aforementioned regulations of june 22nd 2020
were subsequently amended on october 28th 2020 by establishing a deadline for certain appeals
that were affected by the shutdown of city offices and board proceedings and extending the previous
regulations. Now, therefore, pursuant to its powers as set forth in section 8-407 of the
Philadelphia Home Rule Charter and subsection 14-103 sub 4 sub B of the Philadelphia Zoning
Code, the Zoning Board of Adjustment hereby amends its June 22, 2020 emergency regulations
regarding public meeting notice requirements for zoning hearings and other related matters
as amended as follows. Affected period means the period beginning on March 13, 2020 through
June 1, 2021 unless further extended by the board. Two, this board's emergency regulation of March
18, 2020 is hereby repealed and replaced as follows. I should note, as an aside, that is
not a change. We're just simply quoting part of the next section that is affected. We're adding a
new section, subsection D, during the affected period, the board shall issue its decision
letter via United States Postal Service or via electronic mail or email.
E, in those cases where the board sends its decision letter via email, the date that the
email is sent shall be deemed the date of decision.
All other matters in the prior regulations are not being changed.
Pursuant to the mayor's March 11, 2020 Declaration of Extraordinary Circumstance that allows regulations related to addressing the pandemic to become effective immediately upon transmission to the Department of Records, this emergency regulation shall be effective immediately.
so in the hard copy you'll see that the words and brackets are those that are being deleted
and italics are ones that are added if there's any like minor typos that can be corrected
before it is sent to the department of records and that's it so sharon do we vote on this as a board
yes we each vote to adopt the regulation okay i vote to adopt the regulations
board i vote to adopt the regulation
i vote to adopt the regulation
mr holliman yes do you vote to adopt the regulations that mr reuter just read in
I do vote to adopt the reservations.
Thank you.
And thank you, Mr. Reuter.
Thank you.
Actually, while I have the floor,