and speak now morning Mr. Chairman and members Mr. Bates spell your first and last name please
sure uh first name is malik m-a-l-i-k last name bates b-a-t-e-s
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes i do thank you mr bertell thank you mr chair uh mr base did you hear the testimony
and uh that i provided to the board this morning yes i did do you confirm the truth
of my testimony and adopted as your own i do thank you um i have nothing further mr chair
unless there are questions from the board questions from the board no no one else would
like to testify in this case please raise your hand chair we have slow folks mr folks you can
unmute yourself and speak now good morning mr folks please spell your name identify yourself
and i'll swear you in good morning chairman to chico members of the cba board my name is sloan
folks s-l-o-a-n-e-f-s-f-i-r-o-l-k-s representing the office of councilwoman maria quiona sanchez
room 508 city hall you swear affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do sir thank you uh the applicants having met with uh the coordinating rco and receiving a letter
of support the council offers her support for this uh request thank you thank you planning
can anyone else to testify no chair there are no other hands at this time thank you planning
commission thank you chair chico ian hegarty for the philadelphia city planning commission
comprehensive plan recommends no change to the icmx industrial commercial zoning at this location
This proposed special exception will not cause detrimental impacts to the neighborhood beyond what normally might be expected for this use.
Planning Commission just wants to express thank you to SEPTA for working with us on parking lot landscaping design and on contributing to stormwater management at this location.
City Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant this special exception.
Thank you. And Mr. Bertillo, two pages, revised plans?
Oh, yes. My apologies.
no no it's okay i want to make sure of our notes are correct that's correct two pages revised plans
excuse me chair you're muted
well i apologize i'm every time i move my paper i hit this mute button
on the state. No worries. MI 2021-0030604601-25 North 4th Street. My vote is yes with the proviso
revised plans. Two pages approved today. Professor Plaza, yes with proviso. James Snell, yes with
proviso. Thomas Holliman, yes, proviso. Thank you. We'll go to case number 10. MI 2021-003-086-600
600 Brill Street.
Brill Street. Alan Notkinson is the attorney.
Alan Knockinson is the attorney of record.
Lawn Crest Community Association, RCO, sent a letter of support.
Mr. Knockinson, please identify yourself, spell your full name, and I'll swear you win.
Chair, Ms. Amazon is coming back in as a panelist now.
Okay, thank you.
Good morning, Ms. Amazon.
Please spell your full name, and I'll swear you win.
Clemente Amazon, C-L-E-M-E-N-T-A, last name is A-M-A-Z-A-N, address is 123 South Broad Street, Suite 1600, 19109.
Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Mr. Plaza has some questions for you.
Ms. Amazon, you agree to waive the reading of its refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, I do.
and have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents proof of ownership proof of
tax compliance copy of the refusal or referral photos and plans five days prior to this hearing
yes i did okay and have you uh met with the rco and have a letter you have a resounding letter
of support um so yes thank you please proceed i'll just go ahead and share my screen
can everyone see my screen yes perfect so again today i'm presenting 600 pearl street a project
that i am particularly proud of my client yasmine brown is looking to open these tiny market
with a focus on fresh fruits and vegetables she's not providing any processed foods in any way at
this particular property she actually is looking to partner and have a csa so this is really
supposed to be a mini market, similar to what I would consider co-op in many ways. So during my
presentation, I will go through the notice of refusal. Again, we did meet with the RCO for
this project on September 16th at 630, and we received unanimous support, a personal record of
45 to zero. This property is currently zoned as single family. Again, it does have a history of
multi, excuse me, a history of commercial use on the ground floor. So we're not looking to change
the use in any way in that regard. We also have maps of the area, photographs of the property,
our proposed plans and drawings. It is an existing structure, so we're just really changing the
interior a bit. We have an application to repeal, the notice we sent out for that September 30th
meeting, the lease, as well as our certificate of tax clearance. So, our refusal. The property
is owned a single family, although it has a history of commercial use on the ground floor.
our refusal states that it is for food beverages and grocery but again this is really a mini
market similar to a co-op in no way is it similar to a corner store or a bodega we're really putting
a focus on fresh fruits and vegetables here my client's looking to have a csa as well as a pickup
so people from the community have access to fresh fruits and vegetables it is our understanding that
there is a bit of a food desert here while there are other convenience stores in the area no one's
really providing fresh foods and vegetables to the community. We're not going to have any
cooking on the premises either. It's going to be pre-made and packaged foods with a focus on
healthy eating. So we did meet with the community on September 30th, as I mentioned, excuse me,
September 16th, and we did have a unanimous support of 4520. The community was very excited
about this project and that we are filling a void that is going on in this neighborhood as it
relates to having a food desert. And we are going to make sure that we maintain reasonable hours of
operation. We also spoke to the councilwoman, and she mentioned that she would have a position of
non-opposition to this project. So, our hours of operation would be Monday through Friday,
10, excuse me, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. So, we're not staying open late in any way. For the weekends,
we're just open from 10 to 6. Again, this isn't a corner store. It's not a bodega. We're not
looking to be a nuisance to the neighborhood in any way we're actually looking to hire local
we want to be really considerate and provide what's really lacking in this neighborhood
as it relates to the zoning of the property again it is owned a single family however as you can
see from this permit it does have a history of commercial use on that ground floor
so here we have the map of the area another map of the area here's a view of the front of the
property from Bell Street. If you have a side of the property from Bingham,
rail to the right of the property, rail to the left of the property, Bingham to the right of
the property, and Bingham to the left of the property. And there are other properties within
this area that have similar variances in that they are single family with commercial on the
ground floor. However, most of these are what we consider bodegas or corner stores. Again,
what we're looking to do here is provide fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, and supplement what
fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, and supplement what we believe to be a food desert.
what we believe to be a food desert.
We're not providing any processed foods, no candy, no tobacco, anything along those lines.
So in the basement, we would maintain trash storage. We don't want to be a noose to the
community as it relates to trash. We do have the register in the front. Again,
produce from a local CSA would be front and center at the front of the market,
prepared foods, which would not be cooked on the site, but would be provided.
We have the grocery area. Again, no processed foods would be provided.
We also have dairy, drinks, as well as a freezer in the rear of the property.
Our application for appeal.
Again, the refusal of the property is owned as single family, and we're looking for commercial use along that ground floor.
We have reasonable hours of operation.
Our project information form.
The notice of the meeting for September 16th at 630.
157 properties were notified.
Actually, about half of them show up to that meeting.
again we had unanimous support reporting back to zero the certificate of mailing my clients
lease for the property so with that if i could just enter certificate of tax clearance excuse
me so with that i will just have um yasmine brown youth raise her hand so that she can adopt my
testimony. Ms. Brown, you can unmute yourself and speak now. Hello, my name is Yasmeen Brown. My
name is spelled Y-A-S-M-E-E-N. My last name is Brown, like the color B-R-O-W-N. Do you swear
to affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Thank you, Ms.
Thank you. Yasmeen, did you hear my presentation today? I did. And is it true and correct? Yes. And would you adopt it as your own testimony? I would. And Yasmeen, what are your hours of operation? My hours of operation are 8 to 7 Monday through Friday and 10 to 6 Saturday and Sunday.
And do you plan on selling tobacco or processed foods at this property? I do not. And what is your intention? What's the focus here?
My focus is to bring healthy and fresh foods to the neighborhood within walking distance.
Everybody doesn't have a car, so I wanted to make sure that I was providing healthy foods in the food desert.
And is it correct that you have 10 plus years of experience as a grocery manager?
Thank you, Yasmeen.
No problem.
If the board has any questions.
Any questions from the board?
no mr chair no anyone else like to testify in this case please raise your hand
chair we have hillary emerson with our hand up miss emerson you can unmute yourself and speak now
thank you good morning again miss emerson just identify yourself for the record you're still
under oath can you hear me yes we can sorry i was a little technical witch there um good morning
again, Mr. Chair, members of the board, Hillary Emerson, on behalf of Councilwoman Sherelle
Harper. As Ms. Amazon indicated, the Councilwoman is not opposed to the proposed use of this
property. It does have a history of ground floor commercial, and it is also a corner
property. It's not unusual for those properties to be used for commercial purposes. The one
concern, not with this applicant, but with this use that we've had in the past is hours of
operation, because we often have, you know, convenience stores operating sometimes 24-7
or into the wee hours of the morning. And we appreciate this applicant willing to keep her
hours, keep her hours reasonable for the community. We would ask, and the community
asks as well in its letter of support, that there be a proviso for the hours of the operation
in the event another business would come into this property later and use the variance granted
here. Thank you. Hillary, I know Ms. Amazon mentioned it earlier. What are the hours of
operation that you agree to? At the meeting we had talked, I think she said she wanted to be
open as late as eight, and it sounds like she wants to close earlier. We're still fine with
eight o'clock if we want to have it close any day of the week, you know, open no later than
eight o'clock um any day of the week to give the the applicant all flexibility but um yeah we feel
eight o'clock is since it's a residential neighborhood um will be appropriate
miss amazon was your client looking to be open on sundays so we're requesting to have monday
through friday 8 a.m to 7 p.m um in light of community concerns we didn't want to put it
close and then for saturdays and sundays we're looking at 10 a.m to 6 p.m and the six okay i
and the six okay i want to make sure i had it right thank you anyone else to testify in this
want to make sure I had it right. Thank you. Anyone else to testify in this case?
case please raise your hand there are no other hands at this time chair thank you planning
commission thank you chairman de chico members of the board the comprehensive plan recommends
no change to the rsa 5 zoning at this location however the proposed use is consistent with
documented prior uses of this corner property and the existing structure as you could see in the
photos presented by council is configured for one commercial space and one residential unit
so the city planning commission would recommend that the board grant the variance thank you mi
2021-003086 600 brill street my vote is yes with the proviso hours of operation monday through friday
8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Confessor Plaza
my vote is yes with provisos.
James Snell
yes with provisos.
Thomas Holliman
yes with provisos.
Thank you.
Excuse me, sir.
You're muted.
it but i'm a i'm a mess today i'm sorry it's so you're fine mi 2021 that's zero zero three zero
nine one seven zero one south mind street brett fellman and i believe melanie lacy are the
attorneys of record bell vista neighbors association sent a letter of non-opposition
as did Councilman Mark Squill.
Mr. Feldman or Ms. Lacey, if you're here, please raise your hand.
Ms. Lacey is coming back in as a panelist now, Chair.
Thank you.
Good morning, Ms. Lacey.
Please spell your first and last name, and I'll swear you in.
good morning can you see me and hear me yes we can please spell your full name i'll swear you in
okay melanie lacy m-e-l-a-n-i-e last name l-a-c-e-y and i'm with claire harrison harvey
and brentsburg we're firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
thank you thank you mr plaza has some questions for you yes ma'am uh you agree to wait the reading
of its refusal and stipulate to attackers? I do. And have you emailed an exhibit packet with the
required documents, proof of ownership, proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal or referral
photos and plans five days prior to this hearing? Yes, I do. And have you met with the RCO and have
the letter? We did, yes. Thank you. Please feel free. Okay, I am sharing my screen. Are you able
to see the PDF? Yes. Okay. Okay, so I represent the applicant record release ice cream and little
pop shop. The applicant is seeking special exception approval for a proposed ice cream
and popsicle shop located at 701 South 9th Street. It's at the corner of Bainbridge Street and South
9th Street. So some of you might be familiar with record release ice cream. It's a growing local
company. They started with a location in West Philly, and their success allowed them to branch
out to Fishtown. And if approved, this Bella Visa location will be their third scoop shop as you
refer to it. So to give some background on Weckerlees, it's a carefully crafted brand with
a thoughtful business model. Their existing locations are clean and inviting neighborhood
spaces, and they source from local farms to ensure fresh and great tasting treats.
And this results in a rotating menu that features seasonal flavors.
They support local nonprofits through monetary and in-kind donations, and they employ professional staff of adults on long-term bases.
It's a year-round operation, and hours run from noon to 10 p.m., Tuesday to Thursday, and on Sundays, and until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays during the summertime, and it would close slightly earlier during the winter.
So as you can see from the referral letter, the special exception relief is required for prepared food shops in the CMX-1 commercial zoning district.
The zoning map also shows that a number of corner properties in the surrounding area are zoned commercial, and the property falls under two CTR overlay districts.
But this won't be the first establishment at this location to sell ice cream on the site.
But this won't be the first establishment at this location.
You can see the zoning history shows that prior to the last user, there was a grocery store that sold ice cream and magazines.
So the applicant is a tenant of the property, which is currently vacant.
And you can see on the site photos that it's a ground level commercial space in a mixed use building.
Here we have a photo of the front entrance, the side entrance, an aerial, and a close-up