we are live thank you good morning and tanya we'll give you a few minutes
yes you'll let us know when you're ready to go all right
Thank you.
Okay, Chair, we ready when you are.
Thank you.
Okay, good morning, everyone. My name is Frank DiCicco. I'm the chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
I'll be participating in today's hearing along with our board secretary, Mr. Confessor Plaza, and board members, Mr. Thomas Hollowman and Mr. James Snell.
Board Administrator Tanya Sunkit and board attorney Sharon Saleta are also in attendance.
For those of you who haven't yet participated in one of our virtual hearings, I'll go through some of the basics of what you can expect.
First, we will be administering oaths to individual participants prior to their testimony.
Second, for the benefit of anyone participating by phone, we ask that attorneys and witnesses
identify themselves prior to speaking or testifying.
Third, we like to advise everyone that this proceeding is being recorded and that by
participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded.
Fourth, anyone participating by phone, if you wish to testify, you must raise your hand by hitting star 9 and then star 6 to unmute yourself.
I'll repeat.
For anyone participating by phone, if you wish to testify, you must raise your hand by hitting star 9 and then star 6 to unmute yourself.
finally to enter an appearance statement call google 267-270-5548 and leave your email address
and the address of the property at issue i'll repeat that as well to enter an appearance
statement call google 267-270-5548 and leave your email address and the address of the property at
issue with that said we can begin but before mr plaza calls our first case i would like to ask
if there's anyone requesting a continuance or withdrawal of an appeal listed for this morning's
hearing if so please raise your hand also if anyone here presenting the case today
hasn't met with the rco please come forward now and explain to the board thank you
We have Justin Crick, Chair. Justin, you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in.
Yes. Good morning, sir. Please identify yourself with the record. Spell your name.
Good morning, Justin Crick, J-U-S-T-I-N-K-R-I-K. Address is 1500 JFK Boulevard, Suite 630, Philadelphia, PA-19102.
Excuse me, this is Sharon Saleta. Before Mr. Crick starts, can I let the board know that this is number two on your add-on list? It is the case where Mr. Crick is requesting another week to submit the RCO letter.
Okay, do you swear and affirm, sir, to tell you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
Yes, thank you. Members of the board, we met last week, last Tuesday, on this matter, at which time the board was reserving its decision.
until the rco provided its letter of support uh we did anticipate that it would have been
with the board at the time of the hearing it was not you gave us an additional week and
unfortunately we still have not received a response but i am continuing efforts
and requesting one more week sharon what what am i number was this which case
it's on the add-on list at the beginning of it's number two i can read it out if you'd like yeah
I can read it out if you'd like.
Yeah, please do.
please do sure it's mi2020
It's MI2020-000365-1065 East Erie Avenue.
That case will be continued.
Thank you very much.
Until next Wednesday at 930.
Will that work for you, Tanya?
And again, this is simply for the letter to be submitted.
That'll be next Wednesday.
It'll be the 4th, November 4th at 930 a.m.
yes that's perfectly fine thank you anyone else requesting a continuance or withdrawal
please raise your hand
here we have someone from strawberry mansion you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in
who's here from strawberry mansion bonita cummings
okay cheers she could be sworn in good morning please identify yourself with a record first and
last name and your address bonita cummings director strawberry mansion community concern
RCO 2640 Myrtlewood Street
I'm sorry you finish it
Philadelphia PA 19132
Do you swear and affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth nothing but the truth
Please proceed
2330 North
can anyone hear me i'm sorry i'm sorry yeah but neither you can go for it i'm sorry i muted you
by mistake okay 20 23 30 north 29th street uh the applicant said that they were going to ask
for a continuance and we did submit yeah we have that on our list to be continued
that is on the two o'clock list so oh is it no wait 23 30 i have it down for 9 30 30 yeah
oh i'm sorry no remembered okay oh okay i don't have an mr mi number though or do i let's see this
um yeah i think i i have it is that uh mi-2020-001179 okay can we hold on for one minute
Tanya, is that on the 2 o'clock list?
Yes, I scheduled for 2 o'clock.
So the announcement will have to be made then.
Remember I said, Frank, I put it on there by mistake.
Okay, all right.
No problem.
All right.
I thought I should.
We had 9.30.
Okay, so we have to come back at 2.
Yeah, see, that's the problem.
I'm sorry.
Strawberry Mansion sent it to me and said 9.30, but it's on the 2 p.m. list, Bonita.
So you guys had the wrong time.
No problem.
all righty thank you thank you ma'am so you don't really have to come back because we have it for
both the rco and the and the attorney who's requesting a continuance but it's up to you
Thank you.
Okay, any other requests?
Chair, I have Charles Richardson.
Mr. Richardson, you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in.
Good morning, Mr. Richardson.
Please identify yourself for the record, and then I'll square you in.
Good morning, Mr. Chair.
charles richardson from the office of councilwoman cindy bass room 312 city hall
we're confirmed to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do uh asking for continuance for mi 2020 001 178 the address 610 east mount pleasant avenue
the applicant has not met with the rco as yet they have a scheduled meeting i've received an
email from the, from East Mount Airy neighbors, they have a scheduled meeting for November
the 17th at 7 p.m. So we would like to have that continued until after the meeting.
Excuse me, this is Sharon Saleta. This is one of the two cases that you were going to
announce as continued. It's number eight on your list, that and number 12 are being continued.
Number eight, you said, North Bovair.
Mr. Richardson is here on number 12.
That, too, is on one of the cases you were going to announce is continued.
That too is on the one of the cases you were going to announce has continued.
Which one is that?
Number 12, Mount Pleasant.
Okay, yeah.
So it's number 8 and number 12, correct?
They are both being continued and number 10 is being withdrawn.
Okay, I'll read in number 8 and number 12.
uh mi 2020-001082 uh 1714 north belvare street is continued and
mi-2020 correct me if i'm wrong here
um wait a while I have one two
it's um number 12 would you like me to read it chair yeah because I'm confused on this yeah please
do MI 2020 001179610 East Mount Pleasant Avenue please continue thank you
any other requests that's all i have chair so but i have the right the original list you sent
me and correct me if i if i'm wrong on any of these following cases are will be continued
mi 2020-000916 2616 south 18th street um sure that was from by the attorney yesterday that was
no that was yesterday's list you have to scroll down to yep yep yep yep yep my mistake again
sorry i think you have announced all the continuances for 9 30 but there is an addition
um one is being withdrawn that's number 10 correct 30th street yes
apologize um mi 2020-000115 2444 north 30th street is withdrawn
that should be everything okay um again i'm sorry for the confusion
um all right mr plaza confessor you can begin i believe
All right. First one up is MI 2020-001083, 100 North 54th Street.
Our board, I'm promoting attorney Darlene Street.
good morning darlene three here can you hear me
a little bit louder good morning this is darlene three can you hear me yes yes we can please
identify yourself name and address good morning darlene three darling three and associates today
i'm representing mr david green would you miss miss three would you please spell your first and
last name? D-A-R-L-E-N-E, last name Threatt, T as in Thomas, H-R-E-A-T-T as in Thomas.
Thank you. Swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do. And do you agree to waive the reading of its refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, I do. Also, 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 i have emailed all those documents thank you also have you met
with the rco and have a letter yes i met with the rco and i do have a letter from the rco
thank you please proceed i like to have my client put his name and address on the record
mr david green are you here
Commissioners, I know Mr. Green is on the line. I don't know if there's some technical
difficulty. I am ready to proceed.
Proceed with your testimony and then we'll get to Mr. Green.
Okay. Hopefully you can see my screen today. Do you see my documents?
Yes, we have it.
Okay. Good morning, Commissioners. I have a package, an exhibit package for you today,
which consists of a refusal the appeal the property information form the assignment sale agreement the settlement
the property information form, the assignment sale agreement, the settlement sheet, a tax clearance,
a commercial activity license, property information, a little bit of zoning history,
plans, pictures, a community letter that was sent to the residents, as well as a letter of support
report from HMC squared dated 10-23-20. Commissioners, this is a two-story, a structure that has a
split. Pardon the interruption, Ms. Threat, but all we have is your first page.
Yeah, I'll scan it down as I get to the exhibits. Thank you.
So if you'd like me to go through them now, the refusal is the first page,
the application for appeals the second page
the property information sheet the third page
the assignment contract for sale and purchase of real estate
page six seven the settlement sheet pages eight
and 9. The tax clearance, page 10. The commercial activity license, page 11.
Property information sheet, pages 12 and 13. The prior zoning history here, I'll stop at,
page 14. As you can see, this is a two-floor structure. The prior use had been a grocery store
on the first floor, an apartment on the second floor. That's basically the history. Although the
first floor has been vacant for many, many years, I don't believe that a grocery store there was
us sustainable page 15 is our plan and i'm going to try to do something new and flip it for you
because oh it went all the way back i guess i can't flip it but i'll go back down to it
the first pages of our plans just have some pictures and some specifications and the site plan
the second page is the layout of the property basically it's just a two-story property the
basement will be empty the first floor both apartments are approximately 750 square feet
you have a nice generous open area here living room with the kitchen we have a full bathroom
we have a closet and we have a nice size bedroom the second floor is basically the same we have a
nice open area for the living room and kitchen area we have a nice size bathroom here closet
area and again a very nice size bathroom there commissioners we have some pictures here you can
see the properties in pretty disrepair on the bottom. Generally, the facade of it is a stucco.
We do plan to redo the entire facade with a nice smooth stucco and change the front to more of a
residential look to be consistent with the other properties on the block. And as you can see,
the property has a residential look in and of itself. Here's a second picture. Here's a side
picture for you. You can see it's a pretty long corner property. There's an entrance right on the
corner. There's a side entrance. You can't really see from the picture, but there's also a nice
size little backyard back there. This is a general picture of the street. Most of the properties here
are two stories. Here's another picture of the street. There is another grocery store or caddy
corner to this property. Here's a forward-looking picture of the property with the posting on
it to notify the neighbors of the hearing. A little close-up of the zoning poster. Then we
have the letter that was sent to the community on August 25th. It was sent with proof of
mailing from the U.S. Postal Service. It identifies the meeting and the coordinates for the meeting.
It was, in fact, a Zoom meeting. And finally, we have the letter from the community, dated September
And finally, we have the letter from the community dated September 23rd, 2020.
of the tools.
It is a letter in support of the project.
The last page reads that there were six in support and six in non-opposition.
Commissioners, I believe this is a good use for this property.
The community is in full support of the granting of the request for the variance.
The development is consistent with the development in the neighborhood and the development on the block.
And most importantly, it's really not an overuse in that it's just a nice, good-sized, one-bedroom apartment.
And with that, my presentation is finished, and I'm open to any questions.
Thank you. Do you want to get your client on?
um mr green are you on the line
um is do you know if how he joined is he on the phone you know what tanya if he's not there
we'll stipulate uh that uh miss three i have a hand oh there we go
good morning david this is darlene three can you hear me
David you can okay good morning can you hear me now yes good morning Mr. Green please identify
yourself for the record okay hold on one second all right sorry I had to put my headphones on
my name is David Green uh first name spelled d-a-v-i-d last name g-r-e-e-n-e can you guys
still hear me yes do you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes i do thank you mr mr green did you hear my uh presentation to the board this morning
yes ma'am i'm very thorough thank you would you adopt um all of my um representations to the board
absolutely thank you questions from the board
no anyone else would like to testify in this case please raise your hand
No hands at this time.
Thank you.
Planning Commission?
Greg, please identify yourself, spell your first and last name, please.
Hi, I'm Greg Waldman, Gregory Waldman, G R E G O R Y.
Last name Waldman, W-A-L-D-M-A-N.
We're here with the Planning Commission, correct?
Yeah, the Planning Commission staff.
We're in the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you, Mr. Waldman. Please proceed.
This property is indicated for commercial mixed use on the comprehensive plan.
This parcel was mapped as such in 1971 and has since transitioned away from being a commercial area.
Accordingly, we have no objection to the granting of the requested variants.
Thank you.
MI-2020-001083100N, 54th Street.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
Thank you very much, Commissioners.
Thank you.
Sharon, you asked about calling on the add-ons.
Yes. Is that Diamond Street? Yes. Diamond Street is the first. Okay. MI-2020-000719. 919 Diamond Street. And the attorney is Michael McElhenney. Michael McElhenney, yep.
He's been promoted to panelists. He can be sworn in.
good morning Mr. McElhenney please identify yourself with the record spell your first
spell your first and last name good morning Mr. Chairman members of the board Michael McElhenney
m-i-c-h-a-e-l-m-c-capital-i-l-h-i-n-n-e-y with the law office of orphan eds and toner
1500 jfk boulevard suite 800 philadelphia pa 19102 here on behalf of the equitable owner of
919 diamond street do you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes i do thank you please proceed thank you mr chairman um if you recall this case was heard
originally on october 13th um at that hearing uh the board decided to hold the vote as we needed
a time to correct a revised zoning plan to remove reference to a balcony.
A revised zoning plan has been completed and
a revised zoning plan has been completed and consisting of two pages with a one-page proviso
consisting of two pages with a
form that has been provided to the ZBA and council for the ZBA and we would request that the zoning
board approve the variances for this project and stamp the revised plans that have been provided
to the board. Do we have a list, Sharon or Tanya, of the provisos?
I don't. I thought the proviso was revised plans. Mr. McElhaney, are there additional
provisos requested? No, it's just the revised plans. Oh, I'm sorry.
I can't plan the one-page proviso form. Okay, I misunderstood. I thought there was a proviso
as well all right um do we uh any questions from the board no no no did we get the planning
commission to weigh in on this last time i assume we did didn't we yes this project also went
through cdr okay so we don't need planning on this right no thank you mi 2020-00118 no excuse me
wrong one excuse me uh mi-2020-000719919 diamond street my vote is yes with the proviso revised
plan two pages approved today yes with proviso i'm sorry was it two pages mr mckelhenny
yes two pages thank you yes with yes with proviso yes with proviso
thank you the next add-on is mi 2020-000365 1065 east erie avenue and this is the one that
Mr. Crick requested an additional week
That you granted a few minutes ago
We're waiting for a letter from the RCO
Yes, he's going to come back next Wednesday
MI-2020-000378
1613 South Broad Street
And the record on this is closed
It is just a vote
but we don't have to get any testimony correct that's correct uh but there were some changes
to the to the original plan correct um this is the one no i i think the board considered
but there are no additional plans that you need to consider it was simply
what do i need to put on into the on the record the uh elimination of the spiral staircase and
there was well you were going to yes you were going to add that as proviso um i believe elimination
of the spiral staircase and no bedrooms in basement okay all right mi2020-000378
1613 south broad street my vote is yes with the proviso uh eliminate removal of spiral staircase
and no bedrooms and basements.
Yes, with Proviso.
Yes, with Proviso.
Yes, with Proviso.
MI 2020-001067, 60 North 23rd Street.
My vote is no.
My vote is no.
My vote is no.
my vote is no
okay is that that's it correct is that the add-on list
yes chair that you can go back to the regular hearing list now
let's go back to item number two i believe christian street
yes 2020-001182 1019 christian street
i've promoted henry clinton to a panelist thank you ms sunken i appreciate it yeah
good morning mr please identify yourself for the record sure my name is henry clinton uh 1313
south 33rd street florida qpa 1916 you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
and nothing but the truth.
Thank you.
Can you agree to waive the reading of its refusal
and stipulate to its accuracy?
Also, 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?
Also, have you emailed an exhibit packet
with the required documents,
approval of ownership?
I have.
Just closing the shade with too much sunlight.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the board.
I'm here on behalf of the office.
Did you email an exhibit packet with the required documents,
proof of ownership, proof of tax compliance,
copy of the refusal or referral,
five photos and plans, five days prior to this hearing?
I have.
Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
Yes, I do, Mr. Plaza.
Thank you. Please proceed.
Ms. Sulkin, can I share my screen?
Yes, Mr. Clinton.
Is my presentation visible?
Yes, it is. If you could maximize it, though, we see partial of your desktop.
Better?
Perfect.
Thank you, Ms. Duncan. This is my exhibit package. Today's hearing, the 28th.
table of contents exhibits AA through A11 appearance statement this is the refusal
this is an existing medical office on the basement of first floor with two apartments above
the refusals relate to the open lots rather the lot area but this is 100% lot coverage and the
building has been here for 50, 60 years, 1019 Christian Street. We have a letter from Bella
Vista Neighbors Association of non-opposition, and succinctly they describe this as a doctor's
office in the three-story building. It's a mixed CMX1, RM1 district, and they have no opposition
to what we're asking for. Basically, what we're asking for is that the commercial use on the
first and second floor uh be switched to a residential use as i said there's two existing
apartments one on the second floor one on the third floor and i'll show you photographs as i
work through there's a vote for in favor no opposition so the chairman and the board i'm
certainly are familiar with this area this is christian street the property is here right on
the corner you can see that there's an awning on the outside which will be removed the awning
advertised a chiropractor's office, which was in there for some time. This is the side of the
building on Warnock Street. This is how you get to the apartments upstairs. There's also an area in
here for trash and laundry. This is the former chiropractor's office, and I'll show you some
material photographs of that office. This is the basement. They had a flood within the year. That's
why it looks in such disrepair. But this is the basement of the doctor's office. This is the
first floor of the doctor's office. It's still in place. This was the reception area. Then you'd
walk down the hall and you had meeting spots on both sides. The plans, this is existing. Again,
basement, offices, first floor, some meeting rooms, second floor, an existing two-bedroom
apartment, the third floor, and existing two-bedroom apartment. The proposal is to have
the kitchen and dining in the basement with egress wells in front and on the side,
and then on the first floor will be the bedrooms and two bathrooms. This is the deed,
our tax certification application for appeal project information this is the zoning map
to show the board that this is a cmx1 area at least on this corner it is surrounded by rm1
i may have witnesses i don't know if they're on the line or not
this is my letter noticing today's meeting as well as a community meeting that we had
There's my certificate of mailing indicating 140 pieces of mail were sent out to all the neighbors.
Also, I've attached the zoning permit to show the board that, in fact, this is currently zoned as a doctor's office and a legitimate apartment on the second floor and on the third floor.
I don't know if there's any questions from the board, but I'll certainly entertain them.
okay thank you any questions from the board no no no anyone else like to testify in this case
Anyone else would like to testify in this case? If so, please raise your hand.
if so please raise your hand
No hand.
Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I just did want to add one thing that my client did make several attempts with local realtors to find a commercial business to come into this first floor and basement.
but as you know there's not many businesses that are starting up uh in the midst of this situation
that we have and she also tried last year to do the same thing and without being able to get a
retail tenant in there the feeling was we did not want this location to be dark and that a residential
use would be more well suited for the building and for the neighborhood um excuse me this is
Sharon Saleta. Mr. Clinton, did you submit the RCO letter? I'm not seeing it in the exhibit
packet I'm reviewing, but it might be that you supplemented that. Yeah, it came to us late,
so we did submit it and is here on the screen right now. It's dated October 22nd. So I think
we had already sent our package to you after we got this letter, but then we did send it to you
individually. Thank you. But it is here in my package dated October 22. So with that, Mr.
Chairman, I rest. I think that this proposal indicates that we have a hardship because we
can't rent the space to commercial users. It's in harmony with the code. It's in harmony with
the neighborhood. There's a lot of residential properties on the block. Actually, it's a mix.
is grows is right down the street but there are other residential properties on the block
and it's in harmony with the with what the community has voted on so with that i rest and
asked my client is not on the line and i asked that it be stipulated that she would have adopted
the testimony uh that i just gave where she be where she able to be on the call so noted thank
you planning commission
um this property is split zoned as excuse me you just have to identify yourself you don't
need to spell your name just hi um greg waldman uh planning commission staff
this property is split zoned as residential multi-family and commercial mixed use
we do not believe that the requested variants will have an adverse impact on the block accordingly
we have no opposition to the requested variants thank you mi-2020-001182 1019 christian street
my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes thank you next one up is mi
Mike 2020-001-183-12345 East Roosevelt Boulevard, 12345 Roosevelt Boulevard.
This is Sharon Saleta.
The attorney is Steve Pollack and we have a letter of non-opposition from Councilman
O'Neill.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Steve Pollack's been promoted to a panelist.
you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in okay good morning mr pollack please identify
yourself with the record spell your first and last name stephen pollack p-o-l-o-c-k i am the
attorney for the isaac newton foundation the owner of the property that is used by mass charter
schools as their third location i have to swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth. I do, Mr. Chairman, members of the board. Thank you. Please proceed.
Do you agree to wait in of its refusal and stipulate to its accuracy? I do, Mr. Plaza.
Also, 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? We have. Thank you. Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter? Yes, we have.
Thank you. Please proceed. May I, Mr. Chairman, add with privileges my associate Natalie Young because Natalie, I am so technologically challenged, I'm using Natalie to put up her exhibits.
Thank you. If we could have Natalie Young, Tanya, allowed to also be up and share the screen, that would be great.
She would need to raise her hand.
she's been promoted to panelists you have authority to share your screen as necessary
okay um as an overview and i also have with me today and i'll
Okay. As an overview, and I also have with me today, and I'll introduce them when the time comes, I have, this is for Mass 3 Charter School. We're seeking to add a freestanding gymnasium. The board granted us a variance back in 2018 to convert the Crown Court and Seal headquarters up on the boulevard.
I guess we're trying to do something again in Mr. Snell's neighborhood.
He's very familiar probably with this property since it's up near his neck of the woods.
And we're adding a freestanding gymnasium of about 8,000 square feet.
Natalie, if you could go to the rendering that we have at pages 38 through 41 of what we handed up to the board.
We'll just give you an overview of what we're asking for.
that's that's the property as it sits right now if you go to the next page you will see that where
the little blue area is that's where we're adding the freestanding gym in the south parking lot
uh and then if you can go to the next page and the next that's an overview of that's what it'll
be with the basketball court and 163 seats it's we're going to be uh using it for um everyone to
be able to um have gym gym class for the kids because we weren't able to really accommodate
a full-fledged gym inside the existing crown core concealed building as it was converted
so natalie go to the next and next there we go so that the gym will start looking like that in
the in the right hand corner it's the blue and white building with the canopy then go to the
next one to give it a little bit closer view of what it'll look like and then uh the next one
even a little close up. And then the last shot of that is what it'll look like inside. So that is
basically what we're asking for. The property is split zoned with three zones on it right along
the boulevard. It has a park zoning. Over 54% of it is an I-1 industrial. And then the other
portion is about is rsa3 which has single family attached uh i have handed up and we've as we
indicated we filed an exhibit list that went through a1 through a16 instead of reading it in
like i know i just want to say consider please board that i've read everything into the record
and identified everything that we've listed on this uh with that what i would like to do is call
john swoyer who is the ceo of of mast and all all three of its locations just to give you a brief
overview of of the need for the the building we're here for a special exception because we're just
trying to extend the use that was granted by the board back in 2018 not not to cut anybody short i
think if you want to get your client on just to adopt your testimony i think we get the full
picture here gotcha that's what i was hoping okay chair he's available to be sworn in thank you
John. Hi, my name is John. Please spell your last name. S-W-O-Y-E-R. And your involvement with
this application? I'm the CEO of the Mass Schools Network. All right. Do you swear and affirm to
tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Thank you. And John, you've heard
what I've stated on the record. Do you adopt that as your testimony today? I do. And do you want to
add anything else i don't just uh very excited to be able to have a gym for a thousand students
k-6 next year mr chairman members of the board we had submitted a revised a revised proviso plans
that it consists of the of the form plus uh three three pages there was over we we sort of shrunk
the canopy and shrunk the building to its size and so and we changed the number of seats from 150 to
163 we have ample number of parking spaces we still have an abundance of parking spaces with
479 on the property but we would if the board is so inclined to grant us the variance or special
exception today we would greatly appreciate consideration of approving those revised plans
that we submitted and that was three pages is that correct Mr. Apollo that is correct Ms. Saletta
thank you and now with that we would rest thank you questions and incorporate everything into the
record. Thank you. Questions from the board? No. Anyone else would like to testify in this
case? If so, please raise your hand. No hands at this time, Chair. Thank you. Planning Commission?
Good morning. This is Greg Waldman, Planning Commission. This property is split zoned as
residential single family, light industrial, and special purpose open space under the zoning code.
light industrial, and special purpose open space.
Under the zoning code, the property shall be governed by the requirements
for the single-family zoning district.
The said district occupies greater than 20% of the parcel, which it does.
The proposed charter school and gymnasium has been in the works for some time
and has support from the community.
Accordingly, we have no objection to the granting of the special exception.
Thank you.
mi-2020-001183 12345 east roosevelt boulevard my vote is yes with proviso revised plan three
pages approved today yes with proviso yes with proviso yes with proviso thank you good luck
keep up the good work thank you thank you very much mr chairman members of the board everybody
stay safe. And vote. You too. MI 2020-000135-1304 West Allegheny Avenue.
The attorney is Henry Clinton.
Morning, Mr. Clinton. I'm sorry. Excuse me. Allegheny Avenue is Michael Matione, not Mr.
i apologize good morning thank you
i promoted joseph strampello joseph you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in
good morning mr strampello please identify yourself with the records by your last name please
yes good morning uh chairman uh my name is joseph strampello s-t-r-a-m-p-e-l-l-o
you are with
you saw enough fern to tell the truth the whole truth for nothing but the truth
yes i do agree to wait the reading of its refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
Yes, I do.
Also, 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, we did.
And as of this morning, we have emailed a letter from the 12th and Cambria Advisory
Board, the appropriate RCO, with regard to their position on the project that we are
proposing.
Thank you.
please identify yourself for the record and you may proceed. Yes. Good morning again,
Chairman and members of the board. Again, my name is Joseph Strampello. I'm from the
Mattione Law Firm. We are located here in Philadelphia at the Federal Reserve Bank
Building, 100 North Independence Mall, 5 Northwest, Philadelphia PA-19106. I am here on behalf of the
applicant, Anthony Maranucci. Mr. Maranucci, are you present on the line and can you hear us?
Mr. Strampolo, he will not be able to unless allowed. So you let me know when you need him.
Okay. This project for...
I'm sorry, where is that at? I'm sorry. Chair, if you would, just for just a moment.
I apologize for that delay. I have my associate here. He's giving me a little bit of a help.
This is an application for six units at the property located at 1304 West Allegheny Avenue.
The applicant, Anthony Maranucci, is here, will be present on behalf of himself and also the owner, Allegheny 20 LLC.
see. The building is a three-story brick building located between 13th Street and Park Avenue just
east of the intersection of Broad and Allegheny. You may be familiar with the area. Sorry,
we're going full screen. There you go. Now you can just go like that. I don't need your table
of contents. You may be familiar with the area. It's literally one block away from the Temple
University Medical Facility Complex. The property is currently zoned RM1. The lot size is 1710 square
feet, and the proposed... Excuse the interruption, Mr. Strampello. Your screen is just showing
Exhibit 1. Yeah. If you can scroll down as you speak, that would be helpful. Thank you.
Yeah, you scroll with right and left, and I'll take you through the page.
So, I've just put in front of you the refusal, which indicates the lot size being 1,710 square feet.
The proposed improved area would be 2,838 square feet.
The RM1 zoning permits four as of right.
The RM1 zoning permits four as of right. In this particular case we are seeking six.
IN THIS PARTICULAR
Of note here is that the previous rental address for this property issued to 20
Allegheny LLC had actually had five units and when we purchased the property in August of 2018
there were actually nine separate occupants within the building there was one commercial
unit on the first floor and there were eight residential properties or eight residential
uses within the building this we believe would be an improvement for that particular area if
if you scroll down through the pictures which i'll now go through
let me do the pictures where's it just keeps go downward
Okay, if we go to Exhibit 4, 4A shows the front of the building at 1304 West Allegheny Avenue.
The other pictures are of properties that are immediately adjacent to it on the south side
of Allegheny Avenue. As you can see, they are similar in design and size and similarly
architecturally very similar.
I apologize, Board. I'm having a difficult time with these exhibits, but
no problem. So here you go. Now you can show them the pictures of the whole block.
And across the street, the photograph that you see presently in front of you are the properties
across the street. The area is primarily used for residential properties or residential units
somewhere between four and six particular units.
In this particular case, we are seeking to completely rehab the interior of the building.
And in doing so, our proposal is to install six residential units.
I'd like now to turn to the exhibit, which shows the floor plans.
And that would be on exhibit.
Exhibit floor plans.
Exhibit 3. So there are three floors there and our proposal is for the first floor to have a one-bedroom unit and an efficiency unit.
The second floor, a one-bedroom unit and a one-bedroom unit. And the third floor, a one-bedroom unit and two-bedroom unit.
Now, if you look at one of the schematics here, the far left-hand one plan shows the basement, which is going to be a laundry area.
There is also a specific area that shows the area in the rear of the building, which is designed for trash collection and trash storage.
This is going to be, if we're permitted to do so, six units.
It'll be a complete rehab. All interior walls, all mechanicals to be replaced, electrical, plumbing, heating, all this all will be entirely new.
There will be no renovation to the outside of the building. There may be a few windows that might be changed in the course of these renovations, but we don't anticipate any change to the elevation of the building.
Now, the owner of the property, 20 Allegheny LLC, is certainly not unfamiliar with the area.
They own 15 properties within a two-block area, mostly on Allegheny Avenue.
Among those properties that they own, they currently have 60 residential units.
Over 50% of them have been rehabbed and are currently rented.
The other 50% are planned for rehabilitation and will be rehabbed, and the same occupants will eventually be moved back into those properties.
The demographics in this area, we believe, certainly support our request for six particular units.
Because of the pandemic and other changes, there has been a demand for more units, smaller units.
This is not a building for a large family. These are buildings or units that we've designed for use for single people, possibly a couple.
The most we're going to have is the one, as I said to you before, one unit which has two bedrooms in it.
So this is, we believe, applicable to the area, and again we have quite a bit of
experience in this particular area with the with the 15 buildings that we own
and the the number of rental units that we have. Let me scroll down into the other
exhibits.
it's also interesting to note that there are two properties one within a stone's throw of 1304
west allegheny which currently has a legal use of six units and 1228 west allegheny which currently
has a legal use of five units.
So it's not unusual for this area to have as many as six units.
It's a fairly high congested area with quite a number of people living in this area who
work within the Temple University Health System.
Anthony Marinucci, are you available, Mr. Marinucci?
Can we let him in now?
If he could raise his hand.
Eli Fruckner, are you available?
Chairman, I apologize.
We have one gentleman that's going to attend the meeting via phone,
and the other was supposed to be linked into this meeting, that would be Eli Fruchter.
As an officer of court, we'll stipulate that your client would adopt your testimony.
I'm in. Am I in?
Oh, there you go.
Thank you.
Eli Fruchter.
Eli, sir, please spell your first and last name for the record.
Eli, E-L-I, Fruchter, F as in Frank, R-U-C-H-T-E-R.
Mr. Fruchter, have you any ideas?
Let me swear him in, please.
Do you swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do. I affirm.
Please proceed.
Mr. Fruckner, have you had the opportunity to listen to the testimony that was offered this morning at this hearing?
And do you adopt the testimony as presented to the board this morning?
I certainly do. Thank you.
Mr. Fruckner, do you have anything to add?
It's probably not. I guess you couldn't add it because it's a question of legalities.
but i would add that prior to us owning the property this this was basically run illegally
by the previous owner as a rooming house and had many many more uh residents living there but that's
just in terms of practicality in terms of uh of how many people would be adopted to be living
there as well as we're requesting as to what was before uh i assume you couldn't introduce that
because we're talking about illegal happenings, you know, historically speaking.
But practically, less people will be living there if we are so adopted to get out of everything.
But that was all I would add.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And again, as I say to Mr. Firkner and his company,
20 Allegheny LLC has quite a bit of experience in this particular area.
We met with the applicable RCO on two occasions in this particular case, and they recently submitted a letter via email this morning.
I'm wondering whether or not the board has received that email from the 12th and Cambria Advisory Board RCO.
Aaron or Tanya, did you receive it?
um i'm checking in though he yeah i don't look at it would have come from sarah mcelvoy from
the matione law firm okay yes i believe we did
mr chairman i can read in uh the letter if you like uh yeah just read in the uh
whatever their recommendation was.
Yes, I'd address it.
Dear Mr. Frank DiCicco,
this is a summary of the community meeting
held on August the 27th, 2020, 7 p.m. on Zoom.
The meeting was in regards about the property
at 1304 West Allegheny Avenue.
The permit number is 105-2070.
The final position is one of support.
The vote was 17 support, two non-opposition.
It goes on to say,
excuse my tardiness but i thought i sent the summary already thought i had it on my computer
but i could not find it and it's signed by the representative of twelfth and cambridge advisory
board and this is sharon saletta ms mcavoy did send us a copy of that letter this morning
we apologize for the late submission no problem thank you able to get it thank you questions
from the board no no no anyone else like to testify in this case if so please raise your hand
no hands at this time thank you planning commission
no hands at this time thank you
my name is greg waldman planning commission staff this property is indicated for residential
use on the comprehensive plan this block has a long history of multi-family but we feel that
six units is excessive at this location we do not believe that the applicant has proven the
hardship exists for the increase to increase the number of units to six accordingly we recommend
that six units not be granted thank you uh mr strompella i just want to go back uh did you say
in your earlier part of your testimony that there were seven units when this property was purchased
by your client when we purchased the property there were actually nine units one commercial
and and um and eight residential units within the building and okay again immediately down
the block there's a legal uh understood okay thank you mi 2020-000-135-1304 west allegheny
avenue my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes you okay next one up
is MI2020-001104, 1325 Cotman Avenue.
I have no hands up for this one.
um the exhibits were submitted by mr tantella i don't have any attorney listed for this case
though the property owner is an llc please raise your hand for this case if you are to present
Is there anyone here to present this case?
No hands?
No hands.
Thank you.
MI 2020-001104 1325 Cotman Avenue is continued.
Okay, next one up. It's MI 2020-000107-1410 Aldine Street.
This is Sharon Saleta. If I can say I don't have a record of having received exhibits for this one.
No hands are up either.
Okay. MI 2020-000107. 1410 Alden Street is continued.
This is Sharon Saleta again. If you can skip number seven, it's something that you heard as an add-on.
Right. We'll go to number nine.
Okay. MI 2020-00-1258-1910-9th Street.
I have promoted attorney Vito Canuso.
Mr. Canuso, you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in.
Good morning, Mr. Canuso.
Please identify yourself with a record.
Spell your name, please.
Good morning.
Vito, V-I-T-O, Canuso, C-A-N-U-S-O, attorney for 1910 Associates, LLC, owner of the property, 1910 Pine Street.
Wearing the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do, sir.
Thank you.
Confessor?
Do you agree to waive the reading of its refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, sir.
Also, 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, sir.
Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
Sir, we met last evening with the RCO.
I spoke to the counsel for the Center City Residents Association prior.
counsel for the Center City Residents Association prior to and during the meeting and they are aware
of this meeting today I did not receive any notification that they have submitted a result of
that meeting. Is there anyone from is this Center City Residents Association is anyone
representing the center city residents association is there anyone on the line please raise your
hand i have a wade albert wait you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in good morning
mr albert please identify yourself and then i spell your first and last name sure wade a lb e rt
albert um council for the center city residents association we're in a firm to tell the truth
the whole truth nothing but the truth i do thank you i think you heard mr canuso uh you had a
meeting last night do you have any uh results of that meeting yes we said we held the meeting last
night and a letter was submitted late last night to the zba um i'll explain the position uh later
but ccra took the position that is it is opposing the project okay thank you thank you so mr canuso
please proceed yes uh as uh requested and as submitted we uh on behalf of uh the owner there
was submitted a letter of authorization permitting mr sam morisi to act on behalf of the llc signed
by um the other member of the llc victor paladino also submitted was a deed for the property the
property information sheet, the notice we supplied regarding the Center City Residents
Association meeting last evening. We've also submitted our letter to Councilman Johnson
asking for his position regarding this project and have not received a response as of today.
We presented the plans or layout for the property. Also submitted was a petition signed by the residents of the building in favor of this request. Also, photos were sent of the exterior of the building.
Pardon the interruption, Mr. Knuse. Do you have any of those exhibits you can share with us?
I don't have the capability of submitting them on the screen, Mr. Chairman.
But they were submitted along with a tax clearance and a certification of mailing.
What is the nature of this variance?
What we're requesting is this building, which was purchased by my clients in 2012, has been operating with seven residential units.
My clients have received regularly and operate under a residential license for six units.
We're requesting of the board approval for the use of the building for seven residential units.
As you can see by looking at the plans submitted currently and has been continuously operating from at least prior to 2012 when my clients obtained ownership, there is a basement area.
Well, again, pardon the interruption. Again, the problem is we don't have any, the board doesn't have any plans to review as you're going through your testimony.
Okay, this is Sharon Saleta, Chair. There's one use refusal for inadequate lot size for
the number of units proposed allowed would be four units. They're proposing seven units,
which would require a 2,880 square foot lot size. The existing lot size is 1,760.
again i appreciate that but oh there i mean i just like to see the layout where where are the
apartments are there any occupying the basement i'm that i'm um i possibly can uh try to get this
uh plan that i have in front of me up on the screen which may be helpful if that's uh i'm
I'm not sure of the technology as to how that's done.
Sharon, I'm sorry if I could interrupt.
Did you receive this packet?
Because I don't see it, I could present it on a screen.
I received an email with quite a few attachments.
I received an email with,
I can send you the floor plans if that would be helpful.
And then I'll present for the chair at the board.
Thank you.
Thank you, counsel.
I sent that email with all of the attachments I forwarded it the plans the floor plans are
or Ms. Sunkit, the first exhibit.
Nothing yet.
No, Sharon, I didn't receive anything yet.
I've sent it twice.
I'm not sure
what I can say can do.
All right.
In the interest of time,
maybe we can go to Mr. Albert
to get some of his testimony on
and then we'll have to circle back.
It's a little bit difficult,
Mr. Canusa, for us to
visualize the floor plan without actually seeing it. I can appreciate Mr. Chairman.
Can I ask Mr. Canuso did you send this to the RCO ZBA as well? Yes.
Robert may have it I'm not sure. So Mr. Albert if you're still there maybe we can you can give us
what the center city residence association's decision was and let me take it from there
thank you mr chairman um the the applicant explained that this is a property that has been
rented uh for several years and just to be clear c-series opposition is not based on density
um it is a dense neighborhood and we understand that there were two issues that the the zoning
committee found troubling in this case one is that um while the relief requested right now before the
zba is for a variance to have seven apartments on the premises um the applicant um represented
that the property is licensed uh it has a rental license for only six six units and the belief of
CCRA is that they likely would not oppose that if the request was only for six units they believe
that um that it that there uh should not be a disparity uh between those uh how two different
agencies in Philadelphia are handling this matter um and the other issue is that we did some
homework after the presentation and realize that in any event, it appears that the rental licenses
are actually expired right now, which was another thing that CCRA found troubling. So this is really
a soft opposition. If there was an approval for six units, I don't think CCRA would have a problem
with that. And if the owner of this property was to have an active rental license, that would also
alleviate our concerns um we hope that you know we have not heard of any problems with the tenants
who have lived in this property over the years so it's not it's not a nuisance property um
But just based on the facts that were presented to us, we voted to oppose.
but just based on on the the facts that were presented to us
Thank you.
Thank you.
Mr. Canuso, trying to look at this floor plan, maybe they have to shrink it a little bit.
Where is the seventh unit?
Does it exist already?
Yes, and is occupied, has been occupied since 2012.
12. The seventh unit would be on the fourth floor. As I started, the basement does not
have any living area, only storage and or laundry area for use by the tenants. There's
a studio, one large studio on the first floor, along with a one bedroom on the first floor.
So, again, not to repeat myself, the seventh unit already exists, so there's no construction or anything of that nature that would take place to create that unit, correct?
Nothing physically to change in the existing situation.
And this has existed since prior to 2012 and has been operated by my clients since 2012 when they acquired the property, as indicated on the deed that was presented.
And we are just asking to legalize the current use as per the request filed with the L&I.
Thank you.
We got questions from the board.
Is your client there?
Mr. Sam Maurice is on, if he can be permitted to participate.
Mr. Sam Maurice, please identify yourself with a record,
spell your first and last name, and then I'll swear you in.
Hi, this is Samuel Maurice, S-A-M-U-E-L-M-O-R-I-C-A,
with 1910 Pine Associates.
We're in the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Thank you, Mr. Canuso.
Mr. Maurice, have you listened to my presentation here this morning?
Yes, sir.
As you adopt what has been presented to the board by me pertaining to this property at 1910 Pine Street?
Yes, sir.
Now, in addition to your affiliation with the owner of this property, 1910 Associates, LLC, you have an affiliation with APM Real Estate?
And what is that affiliation?
We are the property management company, also owned by the same owners of the building.
And does that management company manage other properties in the area with similar configurations and usage?
Yes, sir. We do have another building on 1814 Spruce Street with 10 apartments.
We have another building on 1622 Pine Street with eight apartments, one at 244 South 21st Street as well.
Very similar. Yes, we have about 20 properties in the area.
And are all those operating in compliance with the zoning code and with the licensing requirements for the city of Philadelphia?
Yes, sir.
And have you ever had any problems or complaints from any of the adjoining neighbors or residents of the property since operating this property with seven units going back to 2012?
No, sir. This is probably one of our most quiet, well-maintained buildings.
And am I correct that we presented a document executed by all the residents indicating they're in favor of this application to the board this morning?
Yes, sir.
I have nothing further of this witness. I offer the witness to the board for questioning.
Thank you. Questions from the board? No.
no planning commission i'm sorry excuse me anyone else wish to testify in this case if so
please raise your hand chair i'm promoting i'm sorry we have france pierre from the council
person's office france you're gonna meet yourself and wait to be sworn in good morning mr pierre
please spell your first and last name for the record and i'll swear you in good morning mr
Good morning, Mr. Chairman and fellow board members. That's Franz Pierre, Jr. That's F-R-A-N-T-Z, last name Pierre, that's P-I-E-R-R-E.
Chairman and fellow board members. That's Franz Pierre Jr.
We're going to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
And identify who you're representing?
Yes, that's Councilmember Johnson's office, 2nd Councilmanic District, and I guess in this case, a zoning supervisor for the 2nd Councilmanic District.
Nonetheless, I just wanted to put on the record that I have not received any correspondence in regards to this proposed development other than the letter of opposition that I received from CCRA.
So I think there was something that was stated on testimony that petitions or communications were sent to Council Member Johnson's office.
I have not received anything.
So I just wanted to put that on the record.
Thank you.
Okay, anyone else who would like to testify?
Please raise your hand.
No more hands, Chair.
Thank you.
Planning Commission.
um greg waldman from the city planning committee photo city planning commission
this property is indicated for residential multi-family use on the comprehensive plan
the relief being sought would not increase the existing non-conformity of the property
accordingly we have no objection to the granting of the requested variance thank you mi-2020-001258
Pine Street. My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes. Thank you all.
unfit. That completes the
morning list? No, we still got
it. That's right.
Remember I said I don't have the whole
sheet. Okay. I got to look
through. I'll go back on. You got to five more
I believe. You got it. Thank you.
Next one up is MI
2020-001
079 4015 Baltimore Avenue I got it now thank you and this is Sharon Saleta I don't have a record
of having received exhibits for this file okay anyone here for 4015 Baltimore Avenue
no hands at this time thank you mi-2020-001079 4015 baltimore avenues continued
okay next one up is mi2020-001091 702 seagull street
And this is Sharon Saleta again. I have no exhibits for this one either.
Anyone here to testify on 702 Sigal Street?
No hands at this time.
Thank you. MI 2020-001091. 702 Sigal Street is continued.
Okay, next one up is MI-2020-001087, 5400 North Broad Street.
The attorney on this is Neil Sklaroff.
I have promoted attorney Nils Sklaroff for you.
Good morning, Mr. Thank you.
Good morning, Mr. Sklaroff.
Please identify yourself with a record.
Spell your first and last name.
Sorry, Mr. Chairman.
I'm trying to get the mute button to work.
Nils Sklaroff, N-E-I-L-S-K-L-A-R-O-F-F
with a firm of Dilworth Paxson, 1500 Market Street, Suite 3500E, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
19102, I believe.
Thank you. Do you swear in a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Thank you, Mr. Sklariff. Please proceed.
You agree to wait to read in of its refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Also, have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents, proof of ownership,
proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal or referral folders and plans five days prior to
this hearing? I believe so. Great. Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
We have a letter that we received this morning. They preferred to do this as a paper
meeting, and hopefully I'll be able to share my screen.
meeting. And hopefully, I'll be able to share my screen and be able to show that to you
toward the end of my presentation. May I share my screen? Here we go.
Except I haven't... Well, I think this is it.
Mr. Chair and members of the board, I have the honor this morning to represent the School District of Philadelphia with regard to its effort to replace an existing sign at the Philadelphia High School for Girls at 5400 North Broad Street.
we have submitted this package and we'll go to through the exhibits and I'll be able to explain
the project at that time we have our tax clearance certificate we have a deed notice I couldn't find
the original deed but this is a declaration filed of record by the school district in which
5400 North Broad Street is mentioned as being in our ownership. As the board may know, in previous
additions of the zoning code prior to 2012, schools were often invited into residential
districts. This is an RSA3 district, as are most of the residential property in the area.
It is across from Einstein Medical Center, which is its own institutional district, and there is much retail and commercial allowed along North Broad Street.
This is a copy of the zoning notice, which has been filed.
This is a key map showing our filing.
This will begin with a photograph of the existing sign at the school.
You'll note it is elevated above the street level.
Here is a showing from the school level.
This is the sign here.
It hasn't operated in many years.
This is Old York Road to the right.
We have posted the signs and our notice of refusal along the streets.
This is across Olney Avenue.
This is on Broad Street. This is again on Olney Avenue, another entrance, another photograph of the residents across Olney Avenue. And if I could get this to go right, there's the Einstein Medical Complex across Broad Street.
This shows an aerial of the property. This is Philadelphia High School and this area in red
illustrates the existing sign and the location for the proposed sign. Diagonally across the street
is the Omni Transportation Center. There are commercial uses up Broad Street. This is the
old beneficial bank. It has a billboard on top of it. And I'm sure we're all familiar with all of
the retail in the Broaddent and Ani area. Again, that's the sign. This sign is actually one foot
wider and therefore larger than the proposed sign. If I get this to work, the proposed sign
is a little less than 30 square feet. I'll get to the refusal in a moment, but the top of this sign
will have the Philadelphia High School for Girls logo and the name. Below that will be an animated
digital illuminated sign, which will notify the community and the alumni of what's going on
inside. The sign is proposed to have a height of a little over eight feet, a width of seven
feet, four inches. The last sign that we saw was eight foot in width. Some other details that were
submitted along with the application. This is our application for a zoning use registration permit.
But here is the refusal that, as I said, we're in an RSA-3 district.
And because of that, we have three refusals.
The first three.
One is that animated illumination is not permitted in.
animated illumination is not permitted in RSA 3 district. It's also not permitted within 200 feet
of an intersection. Apparently we're within 200 feet of Broad and Olly. And that illuminated
signs are not allowed with 150 feet of a residentially zoned district. We are a residentially
Zone District for this block. We also have refusals for the maximum area. Allowed is 1,500 square feet
where we are proposing, excuse me, 15 square feet where we are proposing a little less than 30.
The maximum height allowed for a freestanding sign is seven feet and our proposed height is
eight feet, one inches. We included in the exhibits our appeal papers, which included
the project information form. We wrote to the RCOs back in September. We'd actually reached out
in August. We got a response eventually from a concerned community association,
which was the Identified Coordinating RCO. They asked for a number of questions,
and we responded to those. And then we sent a letter out to the near neighbors, 198 of them,
and we included the zoning notice, the instructions that the ZVA publishes for
joining the virtual hearing. We also included the refusal as well as the zoning notice.
And this is information that ACCA asked to be included, which is their paper meeting,
along with what we had provided them before. Now, if I can, I guess I have to
a new share. Let's see. Mr. Squire, if you don't mind, we can summarize. That would be helpful.
I'm almost done. I just wanted to... Oh, okay. Thank you.
And apparently I'm not... There it is. This is the letter received this morning from ACCA.
they object to the animated portion of the sign. We would like the full technology available
in signage. We think it is a modest sign. It's a replacement of the bigger sign.
It is parallel to York Road. It's not perpendicular, and therefore it would be viewed
it wouldn't be as
readily viewable as it would
if it would be
perpendicular
I think we all take note
would hope of all the large
signage that has been in the commercial area
I go back long
enough for Esquire Theater
Lane Theater, Esquire Drugs
Laureas which had
huge signages
within a block and a half. With me today is Heather Mullen. If we need any questions about
the signage, she's with the fabricator. The principal, Lisa Macy, apologizes for not being
here today. She had to attend a funeral. In accordance with section 14303-14F, I ask that my
testimony if there is no objection be made part of the record and as if given by an official of
the school district noted thank you all right have you concluded sir yes i have all right thank you
questions from the board no no no anyone else would like to testify in this case if so please
raise your hand sure i have charles richardson from the council person's office good morning
mr richardson please identify yourself for the record good morning again mr chair charles
richardson from the office of councilwoman cindy bass room 312 city hall they're still under oath
thank you okay uh the councilwoman uh received the same letter that mr sklaroff received uh
And has no objections to an illuminated sign.
There are community concerns with regard to the animation.
Don't know whether proviso would be applicable there.
But, you know, but if it can be added to the decision, that it be a non-scrolling sign or something along those lines, then, you know, the councilman would request that that be the case.
Thank you. Mr. Sklaroff, the rotation of messages, is that going to comply? There's an ordinance, I believe, that was instituted. I forgot what it says, 30 seconds or whatever it is. So many per minute.
Thank you.
Mr. Sklaroff, the...
right it's eight seconds and there's a limit as to how it has at least eight seconds uh we'll
comply uh with the code we'll comply with the illumination and uh were this not in rsa
district we might not be here you wouldn't be here understood thank you uh planning commission
i'm sorry chair we still have more people oh sorry about that sorry we have linda carter
You're going to meet yourself and wait to be sworn in?
Okay, I'm here.
Ms. Carter, please identify yourself with the record.
Spell your first and last name.
Linda Carter.
L-I-N-D-A-C-A-R-T-E-R.
You're swearing to the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
And you are?
Your involvement in this case?
I live at Broad and Somerville.
Our comments after we discussed this when we got the letter, we agree with the flashing illuminated signage objection.
um that area from broad and somerville up to uh i think they call it einstein boulevard and then
up to broad and alney um it's a very high traffic area and also there are many yesterday i heard an
accident as i was coming into the house at broad and somerville and there are accidents at that
Broad and Einstein Boulevard constantly I mean I can't give you a good figure I would
suggest that maybe somebody in traffic, the traffic office look into it but there are
accidents along that area all the time.
Any kind of bright signage would just add to I would think the traffic problems that
they have along that route. So we object to even the bright signage, much less the animation,
especially the flashing. I'm reading here where it says the Broaden Island is a very dangerous
corner and a flashing sign will needlessly attract unwanted attention to a school full of girls.
I was a girls high girl, and I've been gone for a very long time, but I would like very much to think that their protection, you know, is still paramount, you know, with the reduction of police.
and I don't know if they have police staff on site there but you know during the day and
during the winter months you know it's just not a safe area and attracting more attention to it
we don't think is a good thing. Thank you. I can say this from my past experience
when I was in city council I did a lot of legislation in fact I did the legislation for
market east there's no evidence that uh uh electronic uh billboards or uh that have any
scrolling type of advertisement have led to any increase in traffic accidents uh that battle
been fought a number of times i do appreciate your comments but again there's no empirical
evidence that i'm aware of that would suggest a illuminated sign with a flashing message
and it adds to or would create a public safety hazard.
Okay, anyone else who would like to testify in this case, please raise your hand.
We have the name ACCA.
You can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in.
Good morning.
Please identify yourselves by your first and last name and provide your address, please.
My name is Sandra Broadus. That's S-A-N-D-R-A-B-R-O-A-D-U-S. I represent ACCA, a Concerned
Community Association. We are the coordinating RCO on this case and the one who submitted the letter
that you have on the screen. Can you hear me? We're going to affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth. Yes, I do. Thank you, ma'am.
please proceed. I just wanted to mention that this
I just wanted to mention that this project of putting a new sign up at Girls High came up about two years ago.
The principal at the time did give us a call and we were able to present the idea in theory to a full community group at the time.
And the reason for our concern is that Girls High sits up on a hill, and for the most part, with all the disturbance that goes on on the Broad and Elney corridor, the school is kind of unanimous.
People don't see it.
They don't think about it.
And that's a good thing.
That's a good thing.
um to put a sign up where there are actually uh flashing lights or moving um words a if the sign
the words are scrolling in order to read the message people have to look at it the traffic
either has to turn their head to the left or the right to see it but more important it uh draws
attention to the school that i don't think they want um there's some bad things that go bumping
the night at Girls High on the Broad Nounley Corridor. And Girls High is just a building.
They're not really thought of until they draw that attention to themselves. The other concern
is that some of the neighbors just seem to feel as though this is a my sign is bigger
than your sign situation. We do appreciate the need to upgrade. We do appreciate the
need for the technology. We also are aware that the technology can be regulated in a
manner that the messages are still. And I think that that would serve the purpose of the school
to get the information out without drawing undue attention to itself and possibly creating hazards
in traffic, which we think that it will if people are trying to read it, depending on what is
actually posted. I think that a still sign with all the technology, the illumination, the colors
and whatever else they want to put up there that's not moving, that's not splashing, that's
not scrolling, would serve the community and the school better.
And we're requesting that a proviso be added that the sign remain still.
So if I hear you correctly, you're not objecting to multiple messages.
It's the manner in which those messages would be delivered, scrolling versus static.
Exactly. Exactly. That's it. That is our only concern. And we would like that in a proviso so nobody forgets in the future that the message or not to scroll. If they scroll, in order to read it, you have to actually turn and wait for the words to pass. If you're in traffic, that is a distraction.
Thank you. Mr. Squiroff, is there an economic component to this as well as it relates to the
school generating any revenues? This is a project that is endorsed
by the principal and the administration and it is at the request of the alumni who are paying for
this. Many of the alumni live in the immediate area and unfortunately the principal isn't here
to discuss the support that this sign has had from alumni. But this is at their suggestion
and at their cost. It's not a matter of creating funds for the school. It is not a matter of
safety. We're not going to discuss the safety protocols that we have in place. But this is
a smaller sign that's already there. And so it's not a question of being larger. We do appreciate
ACCA's concerns. If they think once this is up, there's an issue, the school district's always
interested in talking to the nearby community. But at this point, we think we should have the
full breadth of the technology. As the chairman noted, there is just no evidence that this
creates a hazard. I'm sorry to hear that Broad not only has that many accidents currently and
I would suggest that this couldn't possibly add to the numbers of accidents that have already been
this couldn't possibly add to the numbers of accidents that have already been testified to
in this area. It's an area that I've passed through and had for more years than I'm going
to admit, but I don't think this is going to attract unwanted attention to Girls High, nor do
So I think it should be given any different treatment
than Central or any other school in the district.
Okay, thank you.
Counselor, can I ask you a question?
Is there a similar type sign
at other public schools in Philadelphia?
I don't know the answer to that,
though I was told by someone from ACCA
that there's one at Central,
but I can't confirm that.
I think there is one at Central. I mean, that's at the Alany and Ogons.
Next door, yeah. But we're not basing it necessarily on that.
There are schools all over the region have animated signs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and much larger than what we're talking about.
Tom, you finished?
yes thank you thank you any other anyone else would like to testify in this case please raise
your hand and if you are testifying please offer something new and different we have Tanisha
Singleton you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in good morning ma'am please identify
yourself with the records spell your first and last name and provide your address hi my name is
Tanisha Singleton, T-A-N-I-S-H-A, Singleton, S-I-N-G-L-E-T-O-N. I am, I live in the neighborhood.
I live at 5602 North Sydenham Street, which is directly across from Philadelphia High School
for Girls, and I am an alumni. Okay, hold on, please. Do you swear in the firm to tell the
truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes. Please proceed. I believe this time will
be great because it will attract more students to the school. And yes, it's bright, but that's how
our younger people will know what's going on at this school. Girls High has been a great staple
in the community, and a lot of people in the neighborhood need to know. Just like I believe
Ms. Linda Carter said that people don't know about Girls High. It's up on the hill, and she
thinks it's a good thing. I don't think it's a good thing that people don't know what's going on
at this at this school um filled with wonderful women who have contributed greatly to our community
and our world we have so many great alumni that graduated and i think that a lot of people need
to know what they have done and using this sign would be great that's all thank you thank you
okay uh planning commission
Good morning. Greg Waldman, City Planning staff. This property is indicated for residential
single-family use in the City's comprehensive plan. We do not believe that the proposed animated
illuminated sign would have an adverse effect on the block. Accordingly, we have no opposition
to the granting of the variance thank you mi-2020-001087 5400 north broad street my vote is
yes my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes good luck
Next one up. It's MI 2020-001086879 North Orton Street.
This is Sharon Stiletto. The RCO NLNA supports the proposal.
i have a lauren thompson uh lauren are you the attorney or owner for the case
i'm the applicant and design professional okay but there's an attorney there is not this is a
single family home you said you're the owner though no i'm not i'm the design professional
an app yeah you can't present though we need an attorney yep i this is sharon slutt i believe the
um owner is present if he would like to present the owner is present and the name is it ralph
rafloelo i'm sorry rafloelo
Ralph Loyola.
you're going to have to help us
You're going to have to help us with that.
Spell your name, please.
First and last name.
My name or the owner, sir?
The owner's name.
You've got to be present.
Okay, here's the owner coming forward now.
Let's promote it.
Ralph, you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in.
Hi, my name is Ralph Loyola.
I spell my name is R-A-L-P-H-L-O-I-E-L-O.
My address is 868 North Lawrence Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19134.
Are you swearing the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Thank you, sir. Please proceed.
Mr. Loello, 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. Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter? We did meet with the RCO. We have
an email from them expressing support.
Please proceed, sir, with your testimony.
I'm trying to share my screen.
I'm not sure. Are you able to see my screen?
Not yet. Did you hit on the green share button, then tap on your documents to share?
Are you on a computer?
Okay. So do you see the green button down share screen?
If you click on that once, and then you should see items that come up to select the documents
that you wish to share, you can click on there.
Are you able to see my screen?
So we have your screen up, but your Zoom.
Okay, now we got it.
So this is our refusal.
We were refused for a build by right because we added accessory parking.
And we had a bump out that made the yard depth in the back 5.5 feet.
And the required rear yard depth is 7 feet.
of these two we are still seeking a variance for the accessory parking we are not seeking
a variance for the required rear yard depth we have eliminated the bump out and we are
now in compliance with the seven feet.
This is the deed, proof of ownership. This is the tax clearance. And here is a short
presentation of the project. It's going to be a single family residence. Here is the
site context. It's on the 800 block of North Orkney Street. We're zoned RSA 5. The street
street is very narrow. There is not parking on the street. There is enough to fit a car
through and that's it. Here is the zoning site plan that was submitted and refused.
You can see back here the the bump out has that is has since been removed, but we are
still seeking the parking. This is a rendering of the project in its site context. You can
see there is a northerly adjacent project that has a garage currently. That's a finished
project. The project is applying for a FIAS Plus certification. If you're not familiar
with theus it's a passive house the energy reduction is you know close to 90 percent of a
typical construction this is the grade level there's the garage
second story kitchen living room two bedrooms on the third story and the fourth story
one bedroom one bath
The roof will have a photovoltaic array here.
Here. Here are the elevations. You can see there's the garage. And that's it.
Here are the elevations.
any questions from the board no no anyone else would like to testify in this case if so please
raise your hand no hands at this time thank you planning commission
Greg Waldman, City Planning. This property is indicated for residential single-family
use on the city's comprehensive plan. We do not believe that the addition of accessory parking
would have an adverse impact to the block. Accordingly, we have no objection to the
branding of the variants. Thank you. MI-2020-001086, 879 North Orkney Street, my vote is yes.
My vote is yes. My vote is yes. My vote is yes.
Hello. You, I believe that concludes the morning list. Is that correct? Yes. Tanya, Sharon, any
unfinished business? I do have
Zin Jin with his hand up.
Mr. Zin Jin.
Yes. Good morning. Please
identify yourself with a record.
Zin Jin, Z-H-E-N-J-I-N
1617 John F. Kennedy
Boulevard, Suite 1838
Philadelphia PA 19103.
I'm here for several...
You're swearing for him to tell the truth, the whole truth,
nothing but the truth. I do.
We were advised at my office that 701 West York Street was scheduled for this morning.
That is why I'm present.
I was hoping to be called, but it seems it wasn't on the list.
I don't see it.
Tanya, Sharon?
Mr. Jim, is this a follow-up hearing or an original hearing?
Follow-up hearing.
We had an original hearing about a month ago.
Do you remember the date exactly?
it was three weeks ago
let me give you the exact date
hearing before was
I have October the 13th
if you can hold on for just one minute
I think I'm still muted
Sorry, I'm pulling up my summaries from that day.
I'm sorry, Mr. Zingin. I don't have a note on why you were coming back. Could you?
Yes. At the time of the hearing, we were still in negotiations with the local RCO on a community
benefits agreement uh we have been able to work that out and they actually issued a letter in
support last night which we supplemented um we actually submitted an exhibit package five days
ahead of this hearing date but we supplemented one this morning with that letter attached
and we are making some changes to the total number of units based on our negotiations with the
community. You would have revised plans? I think it can be limited simply by number of units because
we essentially agreed to reduce from 50 units to 40 units which is the original applications for
50. This will reduce it to 40 and that it's a very large building so the layout would change
pretty substantially with 40 units but the community's main concern is they want to limit
it to 40 units with one accessory unit for a community meeting room that we agree to set up
for the community. And this is Sharon Saleta again. I apologize. I pulled up my more recent
pulled up my more recent notes and it does say that Mr. Jinn is returning today at 9 30.
notes and it does say that Mr. Jin is returning today at 9 30.
I know that the planning commission supported it with a proviso that the existing building
not be demolished however that proviso wouldn't be necessary because to demolish the building
they would require another they would have to apply again in any case.
We can go forward with this case? I believe you can vote it yes based on
Ms. Jurgen's representations and
with a proviso as to the number of units.
Do we have an MI number?
Yes. We do. It's... Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead.
Thank you. MI 2020
000162.
And the address again? It is
701 West York Street.
Any objection? If not, we'll go forward with this case. MI 2020-000162, 701 West York Street.
No hands are up at this time.
Do we need to go through with confessor's statement?
No, I believe because this is a follow-up hearing if you just get the number of units that are required so you can add it as a proviso.
So we can vote on it, right? MI-2020-000162, 701 West York Street. My vote is yes with the Proviso. Maximum 40 units?
Yes with Proviso. Yes with Proviso.
Yes with Proviso.
If I may just add an accessory meeting room to the Proviso so we can have that without LMA.
Maximum 40 units and an accessory community room.
Yes. Thank you. Thank you. All right. We concluded.
Chair, if I could just add one more thing to the record. Number 11 on your list for today
was the request to withdraw. And I believe we continued it on record. If we can put on record
that this is withdrawn by the attorney, Oleg Sokolov. At Baltimore Avenue?
Correct. Okay. MI 2020-001079-4015 Baltimore Avenue is withdrawn.
Yes, thank you. And I do have an additional hand up. Attorney Justin Crick.
Actually, I just emailed Mr. Crick because this was one of the
add-ons for Erie Avenue it was um we were he was given another week to submit the letter or to try
to obtain the letter in the meantime we just received the letter um and I wondered if it
rather than waiting since you have the letter now and he can present it whether you could vote it
yes thank you Sharon um so it is my understanding that the board has received a letter of support
unfortunately i did not the email i received said that she would have it by friday but then i guess
she immediately took care of it so i appreciate that and would request that the board approve the
application what is that uh am i number 2020 dash 000365 press 1065 east erie avenue philadelphia
Pennsylvania 19124 and I apologize my name for the record Justin Crick K-R-I-K and I think I
swore you in earlier yes yes all right uh Sharon do we need to have any other testimony
um I'm just sorry I'm looking at the letter um the letter is actually it's from Councilwoman
sanchez saying the applicant has met with the rco the attendees voted to support and she attaches
their email the request therefore i am submitting this letter of non-opposition
anyone who wants to testify on this in this case if so please raise your hand
no hands thank you and i think we did get the planning commission last time
yes yes okay all right mi2020-0003651065 east area avenue my vote is yes my vote is yes
my vote is yes my vote is yes hey thank you everyone thank you does that conclude this
morning's list that's all i have yes that's it thank you okay all right everybody stay safe
see you at two o'clock you got it take care
Take care.
Hello.
yes chair did we go live yet yes we're live recording sorry yeah i didn't hear you thank
you no problem all right tanya we'll wait to get for you to give us the green light
we're ready to go chair you are ready good thank you good afternoon everyone my name is frank de
chico i'm the chair of the zoning board of adjustment i'll be participating in today's
hearing along with our board secretary Mr. Confessor Plaza and board members Mr. Thomas
Holloman and Mr. James Snell. Board Administrator Tanya Sunken and board attorney Sharon Soletta
are also in attendance. For those of you who haven't yet participated in one of our virtual
hearings I'll go through some of the basics of what you can expect. First we will be administering
oaths to individual participants prior to their testimony. Second, for the benefit of anyone
participating by phone, we ask that attorneys and witnesses identify themselves prior to speaking
or testifying. Third, we'd like to advise everyone that this proceeding is being recorded
and that by participating you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded. Fourth, for anyone
participating by phone, if you wish to testify, you must raise your hand by hitting star nine
and then star six to unmute yourself. I'll repeat, for anyone participating by phone,
if you wish to testify, you must raise your hand by hitting star nine and then star six to
unmute yourself. Finally, to enter an appearance statement, call Google 267-270-5548 and leave
your email address and the address of the property at issue. I will repeat that as well. To enter an
appearance statement, call Google 267-270-5548 and leave your email address and the address of
the property at issue. With that said we can begin but before Mr. Plaza calls our first case
we'd like to ask if anyone is requesting a continuance or withdrawal of an appeal
for this afternoon's two o'clock hearing session. If so please raise your hand at this time.
Also if anyone here presenting the case today hasn't met with the RCO please come forward now
and explain to the board thank you thank you
first up we have viago you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in
hi good morning good afternoon sir please identify yourself it's good please identify
yourself for the record name and address spell your first and last name yeah my first name is
tiago t-h-i-a-g-o last name amaro a-m-a-r-a-l the address is 530 reed street do you swear and affirm
to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes thank you please proceed
i'm just introducing myself i'm the owner for the property we're going for the zoning
and i'm here for any questions you may have about it well we're going when we call your case you'll
have time to testify we're only asking those who have a withdrawal request or continuance
uh to to notify to to let us know have you met with the rco yes okay you have a letter from the
rco excuse me this is sharon saletta i believe henry clinton is the attorney for this case yes
Yeah, Mr. Amaral, you'll wait for us to call your case.
Sure, no problem.
Thank you.
Anyone requesting a continuance or withdrawal?
Chair, we have Leo Movahill.
Leo, you can unmute and wait to be sworn in.
Good afternoon, Mr. Movahill.
We're anxious to see what you look like today.
Oh, it looks like I don't have any video capability right now, unfortunately.
Oh, God.
We'll have to wait until 3.30, I guess.
okay uh please identify yourself with a record yes good afternoon chairman members of the board
Please identify yourself with a record.
leo mulvihill that's m u l v as in victor i h i l l i'm here on behalf of the applicant
for the property at 542 west rockland street that's r o c k l a n as in nancy let me swear
you in please you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do thank you please proceed members of the board i've reached out to the rco four times
last week i reached out to the councilwoman bass's office as well to try to have any response to our
requests through a community meeting in this matter we have heard none i understand that
the board would like to probably continue this case as a result which we're fine with for this
time but i ask that must listing next listing if the rco is not able to meet with us so we don't
hear a response from either them or councilwoman bass's office that we'd be allowed to proceed
before we go any further is anyone from councilwoman bass's office
listening in and if so please raise your hand
chair we have charles richardson from the councilwoman's office
mr richardson you're still under oath from this morning please identify yourself for the record
good afternoon mr chair and board charles richardson from the office of councilwoman
cindy bass room 312 city hall um logan civic association has uh been unable to do any type
of rco work uh due to the pandemic or their their feeling that they can't do anything with regard
to the pandemic so zoom is out and so is uh any in-person meeting but uh i've been working with
the planning commission and what we're going to do is reassign those cases that are outstanding
with logan at this point in time to some of the other rcos in the area so mr mulvihill will be
hearing from from uh the planning commission sometime very shortly with regard to the new
assignment thank you so we will continue you're not adverse to continuing this case correct no
affair not at all and mr mulville basically asking for a must be heard i believe yes your honor
pardon me uh chairman this has been going on since september 1st i've sent multiple emails with zero
response which is not difficult for even an rco not holding a meeting i would have loved to have
known this earlier or have been contacted by the council person's office to be made aware of this
fact rather than spending several months spinning my tires with an ineffective rco so i understand
the council the council person's position here but my clients just one guy this is for a single
property at this point and this puts a significant financial stress on him
so okay heard for next listing with irrespective whether an rco is assigned or not would be ideal
for us chairman understood i have faith in mr richardson and councilwoman bass's office i'm
sure they'll work it out. Having said that, MI 2020-001229-542 West Rockland Street is continued.
Thank you, members of the board. Thank you. Any other requests for continuances or withdrawals?
We have Henry Clinton. Clinton, good afternoon. You're still on the oath from this morning. Please
identify yourself with a record. Mr. Chairman, this is Henry Clinton. I only raised my hand
because my client indicated at the beginning that when you asked for continuances, he logged on. So
I was just going to tell you that I'm representing him, but Sharon beat me to it. Thank you. Okay.
Thank you. Anyone else?
here we have attorney michael mattione you can unmute yourself and be sworn in
good afternoon mr mattione please identify yourself for the record spell your name please
michael mattione m-a-t-t-i-o-n-i
we're confirmed to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
Thank you, sir. Please proceed.
3860 Brown Street.
We're requesting a continuance.
We have spoken to both the RCO
and a correspondent with Andrew Goodman
of Council Member Gaudier's office.
And we are going to have another,
one or possibly two community meetings with them
regarding this property.
We would like to continue this
until sometime in January, really.
Excuse me, this is Sharon Saleta.
this is number six on your list it's one of the cases that you were going to read in as continued
got it thank you okay am i anybody else anyone object to the continuance of this case
Okay, MI 2020-000091, 3860 Brown Street is continued.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I have France Pierre from the Councilperson's Office.
please uh identify yourself with the records by your name you are still under oath from this
morning good afternoon everyone that's france pierre council member johnson's office that's
f-r-a-n-t-z last name pierre p-i-e-r-r-e uh i i was having technical difficulties at the beginning of
the start of the two o'clock calendar. I was waiting to hear if 2022, I'm sorry, 2022 South
61st Street was continued. The RCO has not met, oh no, I'm sorry, the applicant has not met with
the RCO as of yet. What address is that again? That is address 2022 South 61st Street. There's
been no request for continuance as of yet. Okay. So I would like to request a continuance
due to the fact that the applicant has not met with the RCO. Is there anyone out there
who represents 22, excuse me, 2022 South 61st Street? No hands at this time. Sharon, we
move forward and continue this, correct? Yes, that's right. Thank you. MI 2020-0003082022 South
61st Street is continued. There are no more hands, Chair. Okay, but I have on my list
Calendar number MI 2020-000-118-4715 Green Street is continued.
Any attorney or applicant regarding this case have any objection to the case being continued?
Please raise your hand.
Moving along, MI 2020-000-848-4457 Main Street.
REQUEST TO BE CONTINUED AND MI-2020-000332-2104 NORTH FRANKLIN STREET IS CONTINUED AS WELL CHAIR THERE'S
ALSO NUMBER 18 ON YOUR LIST 2330 NORTH 29TH STREET MI-2020-
0-0-0-2-2-4-2-3-3-0 North 29th Street is continued have someone with their hand up mark
you're going to mute yourself and wait to be sworn in good afternoon sir please identify
yourself for the record name and address spell your first and last name hi my name is mark
m-a-r-k-a-b-e-n-d and i'm on for 774 south cleveland street
uh you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes please please proceed um so i have my i have my lawyer on actually um to talk but
are you requesting a continuance or are you
i'm not sure the terminology this is one of my first times joining the call we had our
rco meeting last week um they asked us to join again for this so i would guess it's a continuous
okay um excuse me this this is alan knockamson's case if you could see if he's present here yes
he's here alan good afternoon you're still under oath from this morning please identify yourself
on the record uh can you hear me mr chair yes i was not on this morning it was yesterday the
days are blended the days are blending mr chair absolutely thank you sorry about that
so i i swear to tell the truth nothing but the truth thank you i do uh we're not seeking a
continuance we're actually presenting this matter oh okay all right so we'll get back we'll get to
you in short order. Thank you. Any other requests for continuances or withdrawals?
Chair, we have a Francis Cufferson. Francis, you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in.
Francis, you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in.
Please identify yourself with a record name and address.
Spell your name for the stenographer.
Francis, F-R-A-N-C-I-S, last name Cuthbertson, C-U-T-H, B as in boy, E-R-T-S-O-N.
I am here as the architect for 774 South Cleveland Street.
I pressed the mute, I mean, I pressed the mute, I pressed the hand, raise your hand button,
because i heard the owner mark abens asked for continuance and we do not want to continue and so
it's already done i did that's been work sorry not to interrupt you but that's already been
expressed by mr knockinson the attorney on the case we will hear that before he came on so my
no problem no problem that's all chair we're prepared to go forward thank you very much
MI 2020-000331950 North American Street
excuse me chair there was an add-on that was going to be heard first um 1827 Kinsey Street
the attorney is Sean Ward oh okay that was from this you did give me that this morning I'm sorry
um i don't have the sheet what is the mi number in that
um because it was originally heard in december of last year there isn't an mi number it's
it's calendar 38108 1827 kinsey street and the attorney is sean ward okay so we're going to hear
that first correct yes there was already a hearing mr ward is just going to give you a summary and
give you the materials that you requested at the end of the first hearing okay thank you mr ward
please identify yourself with the record and i'll swear you in good afternoon mr chairman sean ward
on behalf of the applicant francis quinn uh miss quinn is present with me in my office today i can
and do you swear to frame to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes yes we do um i'm going to share my screen
okay can you see my screen now yes
yeah no yes okay uh mr chairman this heard uh this this matter whoops
that's the wrong screen sorry stop share
working on too many things at the same time here um let me try this one
that's it
mr chairman this uh this case was originally heard december 4th of 2019
at which time following the hearing the chair requested that we provide floor plans
so they were submitted on December 11th along with a transmittal letter and a request for a vote
however nothing took place and then obviously COVID hit so upon speaking with Ms. Saleta
we agreed that it would probably be probably serve the board best to bring it back in
and then refresh your recollection as opposed to just asking for a vote.
I submitted a 55-page exhibit packet back then on behalf of Frank Quinn.
The application was for a two-family dwelling.
A two-family dwelling is not permitted in the district,
and therefore we're seeking a use variance.
And this case stems from a fraudulent sheriff's deed.
Well, back up a second.
Ms. Quinn purchased the property through the sheriff's sale in 1984, and the property was known as 1921-23 Kinsey Street.
And then in 1987, a fraudulent deed was issued pursuant to a sheriff's sale in 1987, which transferred 1923 Kinsey Street to an individual by the last name of Weiss, pursuant to a court action.
That sheriff's deal was set aside, and then Fran took another sheriff's deed for 1923 Kinsey Street,
despite the fact that it's one parcel.
And what that did was that created two separate OPA accounts, OPA accounts.
So there's now one for 1921, and there's one for 1923.
As a result of that, an LNI inspection indicated that she did not have the proper zoning.
for 1921 Kinsey Street, despite the fact that it was zoned as a tap room and four apartments
since 1983. As you can see, there's a good bit of eight. And then in 2014,
um and then in 2014 um unfortunately fran filed an application to reduce the first floor apartment
from from two units to one unit and as a result of that let me find that permit for you
as a result of that application a zoning permit was issued for the properties indicating that
the entire first the entire structure was a single family dwelling which was not the case the
the application you know the prior application clearly indicates tavern and four apartments
and then her application
filed in 2014 here's the permit let me blow that up for you um they documented the existing
a single family dwelling in the two-story structure, which was not what she's thought
to do. As you can see, she clearly indicated on the application that the first floor
would be a single apartment as opposed to the prior use of two apartments. So to make
a long story short, you know, this property is, it's one parcel. As you can see here,
this is 1921-23 Kinsey Street again this is 1911 Kinsey Street there is no separate parcel in
between those two uh the photograph shows it's one it's one structure um we have other photographs
show in the the front of the building which despite the fact that it has separate paint colors
It is, in fact, one structure and is currently – there you go.
So this side is 1921.
That's our zoning poster from the prior listing.
And then you'll see on the right side is 1923, which used to have a tap room called the Kinsey Street Cafe.
That tap room is now closed.
The liquor license has been sold off, and that is vacant commercial space at this time.
again you can see the multiple meters for the for the various residential uses the commercial use
and so the board asked for floor plans um to try and help you understand the layout of the building
so i think we were not to interrupt i think we were concerned at the time with how they were
connected or something there was a breach in a wall no it's it's it's one building so there's
no breach in the wall but but you know office of property assessment now has it listed as two
separate parcels all right once once i get the zoning straightened out i'm going to go go to opa
and i want them to consolidate it back into one one parcel one one account
understand thank you so but in any event the you know on this side this is the vacant commercial
space the former kinsey street cafe there's a side entry that takes you into the apartments
steps leading up to the second floor bring you to this landing okay uh you would turn left to
enter this apartment and you would go straight forward to enter the apartment that is now
currently over the commercial uh vacant commercial space so frange is trying to get back to where she
was before uh yeah the erroneous permit you know well number one the erroneous deed and then the
erroneous permit issued by ellen i when she was just seeking to eliminate there was an efficiency
see apartment downstairs in the front so she was trying to eliminate that to make this just one
unit or over here at the first floor so so presently what we have is despite the fact that
OPA indicates that it's two separate parcels you know we we in fact have one legal description
it's one parcel and it currently consists of a vacant commercial space on the 1923 side on the
first floor and then there are three apartments the first floor apartment on the 1921 side
and then the two apartments above uh the entire structure so we're just we're just asking the
board to you know confirm confirm this use so that way she can get tenants you know she can
number one get her building permits for the interior renovations which she's been uh seeking
to do since last december and uh and obviously it would have been a great time to be able to do it
during covid well nobody was in there so um fran you've heard my representations to the board are
they true and correct yes would you adopt them as your own testimony absolutely yes thank you
very much thank you questions from the board no no no thank you planning commission
good afternoon chairman members of the board uh my name is ian litwin i-a-n-l-i-t-w-i-n
planning commission staff we're confirmed to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
We are confirmed to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
yes i do
Yes, I do.
Please proceed.
So this property is recommended for residential use on the comprehensive plan.
The property is large and will permit five families if it had remained zoned on one as recommended in the district plan.
Accordingly, we have no objection.
Thank you very much.
Calendar number 38109.
1921 Kinsey Street.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
That's it.
You only get four today, Sean.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And everybody have a great day.
And how's Carol doing?
She's coming along.
She's coming along.
Thank you.
Very good to hear.
Thank you.
Stay safe.
MI 2020-000331-950 North American Street.
I have Eric Ginsberg. You've been promoted to panelists. You can unmute yourself and
wait to be sworn in. Good afternoon, Mr. Ginsberg. Please identify yourself with a record, name
and address, spell your last name, and I'll swear you in. Good afternoon. Eric Ginsberg,
E-R-I-C-G-I-N-S-B-U-R-G.
I'm the owner and applicant at 950 North American Street.
You're going to affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do, yes.
Confessor?
Mr. Ginsberg, before we begin, is this an LLC?
No, that's erroneous.
I'm private owner of a residential property.
That business was mine.
It's totally unrelated.
too. Okay. Is the deed under LLC under your name? It's under my name. And this is Sharon Saleta. I
did check the deed. It is under his name individually. Thank you. Okay. 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 have. Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter? Yes, I do. Thank you. Please proceed.
Mr. Chair, this application was to add an accessory parking space, a second accessory
parking space to a residential property at 950 North American Street. I have a number
of documents I can present. I wasn't sure if you want to see every single item or for
the record. As much as a floor plans and or photographs, that would be helpful.
Sure. Okay. I'll show you the presentation that I made to the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association Zoning Committee.
Just bear with me, my computer is working a little bit overtime.
bear with me one moment i think i have it
okay uh is that sharing appropriately yes okay
This is the front of the property. This is 950 North American Street, the house with the red arrow and the green door. Every property on this block of 950 North American Street backs up to a small service street called Bodine Street. It runs along the east side of Liberty Lands Park.
um so it is it is straight through when this property was originally zoned as you can see
the large concrete pad between the gray fences represents the rear of the property
for demonstration purposes the white larger vehicle is a zoned accessory parking space
there is a zoning permit for that from 2003. what we are asking what our plan is requesting
a second accessory parking space where the black car is located
for demonstration purposes. Relocating the utility
relocating the utility pole about 10 to 11 feet to the right and extending the existing curb cut
pole about 10 to 11 feet to the right.
to 24 feet. That was the plan that was submitted to L&I which was refused. The streets department
did approve the geometry of it. We have a copy of of that that plan as well.
um here is a site plan or at least a snippet of the site plan that was created by my architect
simulation design lab you can see what we are doing here is this is the existing parking stall
you see at the rear of the property and this is the additional parking stall that we are requesting
um the dimensional dimension it met all dimensional standards so there is the refusal
was not based on open area dimensions of the parking stall uh open space requirements side
yard requirements rear yard requirements were all met uh this is the refusal
um and i've highlighted the uh most pertinent section of it um essentially in in the rsa5
district uh accessory parking for any single family use in an attached or semi-detached
building shall be prohibited unless it can be accessed from a shared driveway, alley, or rear
street. And more specifically, a rear street on which no street parking is permitted on the side
of the street directly abutting the lot. So in this case, there are no specific parking regulations
on that section of Bodine Street. I will show photos of the conditions of that street and the
parking conditions of that street to make the case for this variance.
Okay, so that is the only refusal that we were seeing.
Okay, wrote to the streets department traffic engineers asking if there were any specific
parking ordinances that they knew of on the street. They do not maintain parking ordinances
there but they did suggest that they do not know of any formal regulations of that street.
uh here is the city plan which shows that that that section of bodine street for reference this
triangle is liberty lands park uh 950 north american street is i'm sorry this section is
liberty lands park the triangle represents uh the location of my property and it backs up to
Bodine Street. The plan says it is a 20-foot cartway with two 10-foot curbs, so you have a
20-foot street. Typically, in a 20-foot street, you'll see one lane of parking, not two. In this
case, there's no specific postings or regulations about it. Okay, so this is, sorry, Mr. Chair.
All right, I think you can summarize that would be helpful. Thank you.
All right. This is looking south down Bodine Street. You can see there's parking on both sides of the street, but the parking that is on the right side, the west side of the street, is really on what is the remains of an old sidewalk from when the neighborhood was more of an industrial neighborhood.
The park never reconstructed the sidewalk. It seems to be, you know, as the NLNA zoning committee agreed, it's a little bit unclear exactly what the regulations are.
But given that all of all of the buildings that have a primary frontage on the street are residences, no one has their front door on the street.
There are no commercial properties on the street. It really is a service street that the impact of the neighborhood of extending that curb cut and allowing that parking space would be somewhat minimal or non-existent.
I have a letter from the neighborhood RCO supporting the proposal.
Was there a proviso?
There was a proviso. The RCO requested that we extend the fence. And for sake of time, I don't want to open the file. It was submitted. But I'll just go back to the original plan. I'll go back to the picture. That's probably the best way.
What they asked me to do was extend this fence along the lot line so that someone who is in a vehicle on the street doesn't think, well, that whole thing's a driveway. They understand.
parking yeah yeah okay so uh is that just one page the revised plan uh it's yes it's it's the
same plan with that amendment of the fence same drawing so is that considered i mean
sharon that'd be considered a revised plan correct um he actually has to give us a site plan that
shows the fence extension we do have the provisor plans form but i don't think there is a site
Document L or I.2.
okay so is the fence shown on that and marked as something that is new yes let me yeah you know
Okay, so is the fence shown on that
and marked as something that is new?
my computer's a little slow with this file but uh it's it is drawn in on the plan and and marked
oh okay that's fine then thank you okay so sharon do i do i call it as a revised plan
yes and he did submit the proviso plans form too so revised plans one page okay very good thank you
thank you both uh questions from the board no no no anyone would like to testify in this case if so
please raise your hand no hands thank you planning commission good afternoon chairman members of the
board again this is ian litwin with planning commission staff bodine street is lined with
severe size of properties, many with off-street parking. Legalizing this use will have no impact
on the neighborhood. Therefore, we do not have any opposition to granting the variance.
Thank you very much. MI 2020-000331-950 North American Street. My vote is yes with proviso.
Revised plan one page approved today. Yes with proviso. Yes with proviso. Yes with proviso.
Next one up, it's MI 2020-001305-530-32, Grease Street.
This is Sharon Saleta. Again, Mr. Henry Clinton is the attorney on this case. We received a letter
of non-opposition from counsel in Squilla. He requested a couple of provisos, which I believe
are reflected in the revised plans that Mr. Clinton will be submitting.
Mr. Clinton, you're under oath, please proceed.
Confessor when he gets on.
Are you there?
he has been promoted to panelists
hi henry you're still under oath please identify yourself with a record proceed
it's henry clinton uh queen memorial building 1313 south 33rd street
wpa 19146
mr clinton you agree to wait the reading of its refusal and stipulate to attack
accuracy? I don't. Also, have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents,
proof of ownership, proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal or referral,
folders and plans five days prior to this hearing? Yes, I have. Also, have you met with the RCO and
have a letter? Yes, I do, Mr. Plaza. Thank you. Please proceed. Thank you.
Ms. Sunkit, can I share my screen?
yes you may thank you
can my screen be viewed yes you want me to make it bigger that's perfect thank you
This is 530-532 Reed Street. With me on the line are my clients, Tiago and Ray Alamare, in the event that they testify. Table of Contents, Exhibits AA through A10.
appearance statement, refusal. This refusal concerns a, if you look at the bottom here,
it really gives you a hint on the use of the property. Since 1943, it's been used as two
garages. It was a soda water plant, now known as strictly soda. It's also retail sales for used
cars back in 77. And since 1989, the zoning appears it was a warehouse for storage of
bedding materials. More recently, it's being used by my client to store materials. And prior to that,
it was used by a woodworker who, if the adjacent neighbor is on the call, will tell you that the
fumes were obnoxious and work went on at all times of day and night. So the refusals concern
the fact that there are two garages on site, which we're going to use and incorporate into
two single-family homes and the other issue concerns a lot size this is a non-conforming use
the existing garage when i show you the aerial photographs occupies right now 100
the existing garage when i show you the aerial photographs occupies right now 100 of the lot
and our proposal is to have 15 open space which when you see again some of the aerial photographs
you'll see is larger than most lots on the 500 block of reed street we received a letter from
dickinson square west and the bold part is the significant part they opposed the project because
it had rear decks on the back of the property which we have now eliminated and they also object
to the lack of escape route in the event of a fire from the rear yard and again i'll show you
aerial photographs that show there there's no alley at the back of this property for any of the
properties to get out of the rear of their property and plus this is going to be new
construction and we'll have sprinklers. So I believe that we've satisfied the concerns of
the RCO. Also, Carl from Avera represents the adjacent neighbor, Ms. Carol McCabe. Again,
she may be on the call. And Carl and I have had a number of discussions, and I sent him a letter
indicating the changes that we're making to the plans. Originally, we requested two cars be in
the front load of garages. We've moved one car. There'll be now one car parking. All the decks
on the rear of the property will be removed. Also, each garage is going to have a one-hour fire rated
and combination carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. And then more importantly, exhaust
vents that vent directly to the roof. We also will have sound retarders on the walls adjacent
to both properties to cut down on noise, additional insured. Ms. McKay will be listed
as additional insured on my client's policy, or hours of operation we've listed. And the other
thing about this project is there will be no basements, and so there will be no underpinning.
We also gave Carl the contact information, and he did not get a chance to sign this agreement,
but here's an exchange of emails between Carl and I and the important part is at the bottom
he asked me to revise the letter to put a signature line for him he'll camera sign it
and if he can't get it to me he said present it to the board and he'll sign it when he when his
secretary comes in on Thursday which is tomorrow so that's an indication that we are in full
agreement and as officer of the court I also represent that here are photographs just give
an idea of the density of the block, which the chairman is well aware of. This is the site,
the project. It's a double garage right now, single story, occupying 100% of the lot. This
is Mrs. McCabe's house right here, three-story property. I took photographs myself from the roof
looking down at the end of the garage. This is the end of the garage. This is the neighbor that's
on that would be Garrett Street and you can see there's no alley. This is a shot from the roof
with Mrs. McCabe's house there and then there's a picture looking east. Mrs. McCabe's house is here
and you can see all the other yards. There is no alley and no means of egress on the back side
of the property. We do have revised plans since we eliminated those decks on the rear
and we got rid of the two-car parking.
Here are the revised plans just showing the elevations
with the garage fronts.
We put the door to the property on the left of the garage
so Ms. McKay was concerned about the turning radius,
which is now ample.
And actually, Mr. Chairman, these are the original plans
which showed two cars, and it also showed the rear decks.
So we're getting ready to that. And this is the revised plan showing one car parking and there are no rear decks on the property.
Floor plan, pretty straightforward. Slab on grade.
Excuse me, start the wrong end. Start slab on grade with a garage and office on the first floor and the rear yard.
Living, dining, kitchen on the first, two bedrooms, a master and a rooftop deck.
following up with the deed indicating ownership tax certification our appeal
the zoning map again the zoning map you know shows it's an rsa5 a double wide lot
here's a letter of notification to the community group proof that we've mailed out 192
notifications to the adjoining neighbors. So just in conclusion, this is a long-time garage which is
going to be eliminated. There will be no commercial work done on this block, at least in that location
anymore. My client intends to build two single-family homes, one at 530, one at 532.
My client intends to build two single-family homes, one at 530, one at 532.
We're eliminating the rear decks and providing soundproofing and ventilation for the garage.
I believe this is in harmony with the code and in harmony with the neighbors and with the block.
And I'm wondering if I can get my client to adopt my testimony, Mr. Chairman.
Please do.
Tiago, are you on the line?
Ms. Sunke, can you unmute
and or Ray Amari
Tiago, yes I am
Tiago, did
you hear my testimony
and if you had the opportunity to testify, would you adopt
my testimony as your own and as true
and correct
Thank you
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
Anyone would like to testify in this case, please raise your hand.
Chair?
Yes, ma'am.
We have Mason Austin.
Mason, you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in.
Hello. Good afternoon, sir. Good afternoon. Please identify yourself with a record. Sure.
Mason Austin. I live at 1309 South Fairhill Street, and I'm here in my capacity as a neighbor,
not in my professional capacity. 1309? South Fairhill Street. Oh, Fairhill. I'm sorry. Thank
you. Okay. So just get the dead end right at the garage. Pardon me? So just the block that
dead ends right at the garage yeah i'm familiar with that yeah uh the the owners are very lucky
i i made a bid on that the day after they bought it so late um anyway uh anyone else would like
to testify on this case please raise your hand well we have others but can we swear mason in
oh i'm sorry mr mason yes you swear to firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the
truth? Yes, I do. Thank you. Do you have any comments? Yes, I do. So, well, you know,
it was great to have Yanni there as a neighbor to borrow tools. We have no objection to the
overall use of two, for two residential units. By we, I mean, me and several neighbors on the
block. The consensus among people that I've spoken to, though, is that they do object
to the garages. The intersection is really fast and blind and dangerous, so we're concerned about
that. Also, as you know, the parking is at a premium, and whereas there is currently a curb
cut, because Yanni's shop occupied the full square footage for all but a few months, there was never
any uh use of the doors for the actual for actual cars um so returning that to a public uh parking
spot as opposed to a private one i think would be a big great benefit to the community um that's it
um if i click here i just wanted to make sure that um he was just speaking on behalf of himself
yes i am thank you thank you
We have Nicole.
Nicole, you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in.
Thank you.
Good afternoon, ma'am.
Please identify yourself with the record name and address by your name.
My name is Nicole Hostetler, H-O-S-T-E-T-T-L-E-R, and I reside at 1303 South Ferris Street, three doors away from Mason Austin.
And you swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I just have a few quick points would it be possible I submitted an exhibit it's just one
page would it be possible to share that on the screen you said you already submitted the exhibit
I did it was an attachment in the email that I had sent okay I'll promote you to a panelist
Thank you. Just give me one moment, please.
Would it be possible if Mr. Clinton removed his so that I could share mine?
Ms. Sunkin, do you want me to stop sharing?
Yes, I stopped.
Yes, please.
Thank you. Just give me one moment, please.
Thank you.
Just give me one moment, please.
So I just want to voice some of the same concerns that Mason had very briefly.
I have no objections to the use or the dimensional variances. I'm actually very pleased to see it
better mix in with the existing residences on both sides. I do have a very grave concern about
the safety of this intersection. The previous uses or use with Yanni rarely utilized the garage
for various purposes but rarely used it going in and out with his vehicle. He had always parked
in the driveway apron and it seems if it becomes residential that will become worse.
um we i as one of them were so concerned that i'm not sure if you can see it but directly
under the one-way sign we installed a mirror with our own time and money because it's really
difficult when you're exiting fairhill street making a right turn um for oncoming traffic
both as a driver and a cyclist so uh photo two is a near miss that i caught and photo three
is your sight lines that you can see so we're I am very concerned about this and I ask that
some sort of compromise be made that the garages be removed and the drive the driveways be removed
and returned back to a curb cut similar to all the other uses on that block but that the use
is excellent and I'm pleased to see it happen thank you thank you the only comment I'll make
is I know in recent years that garage may not have been used as a as a garage in the sense that
vehicles were parked in there but for as long as I can remember that up until again recent years it
was it was a beer distributor at one time it had many uses that those garages were used for truck
parking, car parking, etc. Normally I would not be willing to want to break up a block like that but
that garage has been there for as long as I can remember and I'm old. So anyway and again Nicole
just to let you know the northeast corner in your photograph too if you haven't already contacted
the Councilman Squilla's office you may want to talk to them about getting a sign installed that
would allow for cars not to park that close to the intersection of Franklin Street. They should
be able to have some signage that will create more of an open area and not a blind spot.
Having said that, are there any other comments? We have Jessica. Jessica, you could meet yourself
and wait to be sworn in. I would ask respectfully for all those who still want to speak on this
issue to please give us something new and different. We'd appreciate that. Jessica,
could please give us your full name and address? So it's Jessica Heckman, H-E-C-K-M-A-N, and then
1313 South Fairhill Street. Do you swear in the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing
about the truth? I do. Thank you. Please proceed. So you asked for something new. There's not
something new. I'm just here to join with Nicole and Mason's previously stated testimony around the
safety of that intersection. So, I agree with the overall proposal of what to put in there.
Just as a regular commuter in the city and somebody who resides on Fairhill, very concerned
about the safety of that intersection because, as Nicole mentioned, we've already gone through
ways to improve that intersection. However, it continues to be very dangerous for us as
motorists but also for cyclists going in either direction and I have huge concerns about the
addition of vehicles going in reverse in that space and I see the benefit of adding in a curb
cut there and my husband's here and he agrees as well as one of the residents of 1313 South Fair
health if you need him. Thank you. Thank you. We also have Mary Ann. Mary Ann, please wait to be
torn in. Good afternoon, ma'am. Please identify yourself with the records by your full name
and provide us with your address. Mary Ann Leach, L-E-I-T-C-H, 526 Reed Street.
please proceed i i object to the garages being used in that way that we have a lot of pedestrians
we have a lot of traffic coming up here very quickly it's going to be dangerous the other
issue is uh it was shown in the rear that we don't have i have an easement i'm at 526
we don't have, I have an easement. I'm at 526. Behind me has an easement. We go out to Garrett
Street. Ms. McCabe and this garage do not have any access to get to the front if need be. And I
believe that an alley next to this house would provide a front access. Rather, it is so crammed
in back there it's ridiculous now i know they can't go i'm sorry you live at 526 yes and i
have an easement you have an hour yes mr clinton stated there is no access excuse me please excuse
me you have an hour correct i'm sorry there's an alley yes an easement does 528 have an easement
no neither does the garages okay i know we know about the garage 528
they don't have any you know a 534 has an easement
uh no okay thank you okay please proceed
uh that would be it i i would request that uh there'd be an opening
next to Pam's house she has a hundred year old Flemish brick design which is a beautiful building
to be covered up like that you know when you can have an easement or not an easement because that
would be a joint thing an alley for this new property to help prevent further cram in back
there it's ridiculous it's so close and that's it that's all I have to say thank you very much
Thank you. Anyone else?
No one, Chair.
Thank you. Planning Commission?
Good afternoon, Chairman, members of the Board.
Ian Litwin, Planning Commission staff.
We do not have any opposition to the dimensional variances,
as the new lots are in keeping with the pattern on the block.
However, notwithstanding the existing garages,
the proposed front-loaded garages will exacerbate a poor pedestrian experience and are out of
character with the rest of the block. There is no hardship preventing this development from
occurring without front-loaded garages. New row homes without front-loaded garages would improve
the pedestrian safety and increase on-street parking. Accordingly, we oppose the variance
for parking access from the front street. Thank you. Yes, sir. I'm just going to address,
but you could go first obviously go ahead i'll listen to you again yeah at the community meeting
uh not to diminish what folks have already said the rco asked about the parking indicated that the
the two spaces would be an overuse uh they didn't even mention it as an opposition in their letter
and we backed off and had one car since my client has owned it within the last year he has used it
And he's going in and out of there with his truck. He's a hardwood flooring store. And so recently, as in the past, this garage has been used. And we think that since it's been historically a garage and has been used as a garage, that it continue as such.
Thank you. I know there was a number of provisos, not to belabor this case. I would like to close
the record and allow for the board to render the decision at next Wednesday morning's executive
session. That'd be November the 4th at 9 30. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Is that board okay
with that any objections okay thank you thank you mr chairman uh mi 2020-001488 774 south cleveland
Street. Number four on our sheet. Ellen Notchamson. I have promoted Attorney Notchamson to as a
panelists. Mr. Notkinson, you have already been sworn in, correct? Yes, I believe so, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Please proceed. You agree to wait to read in of its refusal and stipulate to attack
your seat? I do. Also, 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? I have. Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
I have. Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
We have, and yes, you do have a letter. Thank you. Please proceed.
Thank you.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the board. Again, my name is Alan Nockamson of Nockamson, PC, 123 South Broad Street, Suite 1600, Philadelphia, PA, 19109.
And I'm here to present 774 South Cleveland Street. I'm going to share my screen.
And in front of you is a packet of exhibits which include eight exhibits.
The first exhibit is the deed to the property showing that Mark Abend owns the property
of 774 South Cleveland Street.
This property is located in the Graduate Hospital section of Philadelphia.
After this is a certificate of tax compliance showing that he is in good standing with the
City of Philadelphia.
After this is the notice of refusal.
This is an RSA 5 property.
We are located to the left and to the right of us are two-story houses.
We are currently a two-story house.
All we are looking to do is renovate this house and add a third-story straight up.
This is where Mr. Abend is going to live.
He's not a developer.
He is from the area and he wants to move to the graduate hospital area by renovating this
house.
The fourth exhibit is the application for appeal that we followed with the zoning board
of adjustment.
After that is the project information form.
And here is the zoning map.
Again, we're on South Cleveland Street, which is between Dorrance and South 18th Street between
Catherine and Fitzwater.
And after that is the photograph at the front of the property as well as to the left and
to the right. While the pictures don't indicate very well, this is a mix between two and three
story houses on this block of South Cleveland Street. We did meet with South of South Neighborhood
Association and we came to an understanding in terms of making slight alterations to our
drawings and receive their support as a result of that.
So some of the things are non-zoning related by adding flower boxes in the front, changing
some of the materials for the drawings.
I would defer to Ms. Saleta, but the only real change that we made here was we changed
the configuration of the pilot house, not the location, but just to have it slope in
the rear to kind of diffuse the height of the actual pilot house but it's the same height it's
just like sloped like this I don't believe that that would require a proviso but I would defer
to Ms. Saleta there's one other thing and the architect did point this out to me on the original
site plan it said roof mean height on the original one that we followed with L&I it said 33 feet
which was a draftsman error it's actually 30 feet I don't know if that would also require a proviso
But I would defer to Ms. Saleta as respect to that.
So, and again, we met.
Excuse me, are you submitting revised plans?
I don't think it is necessary, but I would defer to you, Ms. Saleta.
Like, again, the only thing we're changing, instead of having it straight like this, like, you know, square, we're just sloping this.
So, I don't think that would require a proviso, but I would defer to you.
and again it um i understand that i agree that it should not require a proviso i'm
but i imagine if you have any issues with lni you could always come back to us
well should we just do this in the form of proviso because it is stamped these plans
they are stamped yes why don't we do that then yeah let's just do it that way we you know you
don't have to come back all right okay and then the only other thing is what about this the site
plan where there was a draftsman error where it said the roof mean height it originally said 33
feet but now we changed it to 30 feet would that require could the notation be put on the plan or
something if you could just include that on the proviso plans form okay can i can i submit those
after the hearing today um yes would you want to if you can do it quickly they don't sound like
major changes perhaps we could vote it during the board could vote it during the 3 30 session would
that work for you that would work perfectly I have uh one other matter so I'll have after dealing
with that matter I'll work on the proviso plan form and um submit it to you uh as well would
that work for the board members yeah yeah let's let's do it that way sure thank you okay thank
you so we'll hold off on a vote until that's uh and Alan gets back to us correct yes um and again
we met with the you know they support this based on us making some minor changes and here's their
zoning committee applicant pledge that we signed uh and some again just you know these are not
And some, again, just, you know, these are not zoning related, but third floor will be a thin brick material above cornice and some other zoning, unzoning related matters.
Sony related, but third floor will be a
That's it.
Thank you.
Okay, next up, number five on our list, MI 2020, that's 001177.
Can we get planning?
We're going to wait till we vote or no?
Well, why don't we do that?
Let's get planning.
okay in case they change uh staff people okay good idea thank you that's fine uh once again
this is ian litwin planning commission staff uh this property is indicated for single family
residential use in the city's comprehensive plan and zoned accordingly the eight foot setback in
the zoning code exists to protect neighborhood character seeing as the rco is not in opposition
we do not oppose granting the dimensional variance thank you and uh we'll get back to voting on this
in the 3.30 session.
Did you want to know
if there was anybody who was interested
in testifying? I told you I'm having
a rough day today. Thank you.
I got you back, Chair.
Cloudy days in me don't work.
We have a Marcus.
Marcus,
I apologize for bypassing you.
If you're here on
the South Cleveland case,
please identify yourself, spell your
first and last name.
hello this is well this is marcus ferrera m-a-r-c-u-s and then last name f as in frank
e-r-r-e-i-r-a i'm a resident of 1620 south street and a member of the sasna zoning committee
we're in a firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
I do. Please proceed. So we voted to approve this application in part to give a little
background about our neighborhood philosophy about these three-story buildings on two
otherwise mostly two-story blocks. We generally prefer a mansard roof
vis-a-vis the setback however the neighbor across the street said wait a minute that's
going to look a little silly because the other buildings have three stories without a mansard
on the block so why don't we just continue with that then there was a discussion via zoom
And what ended up happening was there was a seeming consensus that there would be a three story, but the continued the cornice line above the second story.
I wanted to jump in and say, hey, wait, maybe we can rethink this.
How about we put the cornice on the third above the third story to match the cornice lines of the other properties?
and that discussion didn't really happen so I ended up voting no personally as a member of the
zoning committee I think the vote came out to four to two and then there was some internal
discussion with us and I don't know if the neighbor across the street is here to voice his
preference but I think that this is a last chance to reconsider. Hey Charlie good good evening
so buddy how you doing confessor you got your uh confessor you have to mute yep the um so this is
the last chance to reconsider put the cornice at the top of the third story and um have a
a uniform brick all the way up otherwise we're going to have this weird situation where some
of the cornices are at the third some are mid block or mid mid facade and then here we're
potentially going to have or we're definitely going to have if it goes as planned um a different
type of brick above the second floor cornice from below which may be a frankenstein look if not done
very very artfully that's all thank you anyone else care to testify on this matter please raise
your hand that's all chair okay thank you we'll vote on this at the three o'clock session thank
Thank you for reminding me, Tanya.
All right.
If I could just interject a correction, the 3.30 session.
What did I say?
Three o'clock.
Okay, 3.30 session.
Oh, God.
MI-2020-001177, 865 North 50th Street, 50th Street.
anyone here for eight six seven north
Anyone here for 867 North 50th Street?
We have Michael Lambert coming forth as the attorney.
However, there are some concerns about his exhibit submission.
Lambert, please identify yourself with a record, name and address, spell your name.
Yes, good afternoon.
My name is Michael Lambert.
i represent uh 867 north 50th street um we are here hold on please hold on hold on
lambert l-a-m-b-e-r-t you swear to the firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the
truth i do your answer please proceed thank you mr chairman uh again my name is michael lambert
and I'm here with the glass of 1867 North 50th Street.
We're asking this board to...
I'm sorry.
We have a series of questions that need to be asked
by a professor.
Because we have some concerns about your exhibit submission.
Yes, ma'am.
Professor?
Or Jim?
Apologize, man.
It was acting up.
I couldn't hit that.
Sorry about that.
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, sir. We did it twice.
Awesome. Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
Yes, sir. I have a copy of that right here.
Do you agree to wait the reading of its refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Absolutely, sir.
You may proceed.
And I'm sorry, we never received the exhibit package.
It looked like it went to planning, but not to the ZBA or here in Saleta.
We sent it twice, sent it on Friday, and then we sent it again today.
I did not receive it until today. There was a supplemental package that I received today, but I did not receive the basic exhibit packet until this afternoon.
Was that the exhibit?
Are you referring to me?
Yes, we sent the exhibit on Friday
and then we sent it again today.
We apologize if it did not reach you, ma'am.
However, we did send it twice.
We sent it again today
just in case you didn't receive it.
I'm glad you have it now.
If you could confirm that you have everything.
Okay, you sent it.
However, when I review what you sent today,
It was a submission to the Planning Commission.
Who should we be sending?
The requirement is to the RCO, ZBA box, and to Sharon Salata.
So that's the concern.
We didn't receive it ahead of time.
We did send it to Sharon Salata.
Did I spell her name right?
And we sent the supplemental on Monday.
If I may briefly, we were waiting for the Mill Creek Playground RCO to send us the letter, so we decided last week to put the RCO letter, but we decided last week to send it anyway, so we would not have this issue today, so that we could prove that we sent it prior to the five days.
However, on Monday when we did receive the Mill Creek playground approval letter and the tax clearance, we sent both of them on Monday
And then today we sent it again just in case there's an issue
So I do understand that you have it today
I'm hoping that you have everything that we've sent to both submissions and we will be able to proceed with a very quick, probably easy presentation
Okay, but I'm just putting on record
that we did not receive it
timely. If you can send the
email to show
forward the email that you sent
already
then we'll have that on record. However
what I see that you email
is for the planning
commission. Then what you email
as supplemental documents
Sharon and I both receive.
So this has happened in the past.
So that's why I'm making sure
it's on record that
we did not receive the documents timely. But Chair, it's your call.
Thank you so much.
Is there, could you show us, as Ms. Sunkit just mentioned, what you sent out this morning?
Do you have any electronic, something that you can show that you actually sent it out?
Yes, sir.
This morning?
No, from five days ago.
Well, you said Monday and then this morning, correct?
Yes, sir. It's actually about four times we sent two different packets. The initial packet was sent last Friday, and we have proof of that we could forward that to you right now. And we also sent the supplement.
that we have proof for that we could forward that to you right now and we also sent the
supplemental on monday because at that moment we received the uh rco letter and uh fax clearance
um then today we sent them both again uh we can prove that we sent it on i only sent it to the
blatant commission my apologies
mr lambert yes sir we're we're simply asking if we could uh
Mr. Chairperson, Chairman, if we could proceed with what we have, if you if you have satisfied
with what we've submitted. We can provide additional proof, but I didn't want to hold
you up because we have everything together now and we've submitted that.
Thank you, sir. Do we need
um we have everything we have everything now it's the board's call i think um mr lambert
has acknowledged that the submission on friday only went to the planning commission
he did resend everything today we apologize all right tanya okay i'm fine chair it's totally your
call okay thank you let's move forward with the case thank you so much yes sir uh moving forward
just make sure that the documents are submitted like you know it said you know five days prior
to this hearing okay we don't want to continue making a habit you know what i mean kind of
no sir absolutely okay thank you absolutely not sir thank you so much please proceed thank you so
much sir uh again uh as i said earlier uh this we'll ask the panel or the board rather to approve
our request to allow a, this is a three-story house, and we're actually, when my client purchased
the property, it was divided into two units. The first floor is a one-bedroom apartment
with a one-bedroom kitchen bath, and the second floor and third floor is another unit altogether.
The second floor, as you'll see, has a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and one-bedroom,
and the third floor has two bedrooms and additional bathroom. My clients have other
properties where they have created Section 8 and specifically for veterans, and that's what
they're trying to do here with this particular property. As the board will see from the plans,
that third floor does encompass the two bedrooms and as well as the bathroom. And as a second floor,
as I said earlier, it consists of one bedroom, a living room, kitchen, and one bathroom. So the
second and third floor are one unit, which has two bathrooms and three bedrooms. And the first
floor has a one bedroom. Based on that, we have submitted the tax clearance, we've submitted
photographs of what was done prior to my client purchasing the property and was also submitted
a copy of the Mill Creek Playground Advisory Council's RCO approval letter.
I don't want to take too much of the board's time.
I've done it already, so I don't know if there's any specific questions the board has for me
at this time.
and one last thing uh i wanted to also advise that um there are multiple properties in this
neighborhood specifically on this block uh that have two or sometimes three units in each
property because of the shortage of housing um and we're trying to make uh with the board's
approval, of course, an opportunity where we can provide low-income housing for Section
8 folks, specifically military, as I said earlier, and that's what we're asking the
panel to approve. Thank you, sir.
Questions from the board?
No doubt.
is there anyone who would like to testify in this case if so please raise your hand
here i have a rachel rachel you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in
good afternoon ma'am please identify yourself with the records name and address spell your
full name for the stenographer hello my name is rachel can you hear me try that again my name
is Rachel Janos. I'm trying to. Do you have any other devices on? I just have a headset because
my speaker on my laptop does not, it does not work on. A little bit of static. Give us,
try it out. Spell your first and last name. First name is R-A-D-H-A-E-L. Last name is L-L-A-N-O-S.
Last name is L-L-A-N-O-S.
I remember they get that.
Can you get that? Hold on one second.
Sonographer, can you get that? Thank you.
Your address, ma'am?
871 North 50th Street.
We're going to affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Please proceed.
Okay, I'm just calling for the concern.
Now, this is going to be turned into a multifamily, or was it originally a multifamily property?
My main concern is the parking. Parking is at a minimum right now on 50th Street on both sides.
I've been trying to get the city because there's an empty lot by 871.
And I've been trying to get the city parks and recreation. I have multiple emails trying to get them to remove the tree so that it would ease up the parking.
but i feel as though with each home on that street one car parking is pretty much the minimum and
with the school being on the corner parking is going to be astronomical if it's turned into a
multifamily dwelling thank you thank you anyone else would like to testify in this case if so
please raise your hand that's all we have chair thank you planning commission
good afternoon chairman members of the board ian litwin planning commission staff
this property is indicated for single family residential use in the city's comprehensive plan
and zoned accordingly opposed use is inconsistent with the long-standing single family zoning in
mill creek accordingly we are opposed to granting the variance thank you i just have a question for
Mr. Lambert, I think you, in your testimony, you said that the work had already been done?
No. I'm sorry, sir.
I misunderstand.
No, when my client purchased the property, it was already divided into the two units.
There were electricals, and we went through that with our photographs. There were two electrical
panels it's wide when my client purchased the property everything was already set up
he purchased in the middle of construction or whatever they were doing prior to my client
purchasing it and when he purchased it it was already put together as a two-unit facility
he was not it was in the process of being converted no it had already been
your photographs look like there's a lot still construction going on unless i'm missing i'm not
reading that right well it has already been divided the property has already been divided
what what is left is cosmetic would be like painting the drywall putting the drywall uh
doing the painting the drywall doing the floors but the majority of the work was already done
which is one of the reasons why he purchased it because he has additional properties that he
already has a section aid for so show i'm sorry for interrupting you show us the photographs
of that basement again yes sir thank you for your patience
so you see the floor is needed the walls need to be painted yeah well it's ongoing construction
is what I'm asking. I'd like to see the utilities. There it is. So when my client purchased it,
it was already divided or subdivided from one single family to two units. Two electrical power,
go back, go back. That one hot water heater? Two. Go back to the water heater, please.
Where's the other one? There's two pictures. This is what we talked about earlier.
there are two separate water heaters
there are two separate
pictures, go back to the water heaters
and again, when did your client
purchase this property?
they purchased it about a year ago
March 25th
and they have been trying
to get this process going
since sometime last year
I was brought in earlier this year
Alright
This is how it's been
And this is how they purchased it
And they purchased it believing
That everything is okay
And at that moment
When they realized that it was not okay
They couldn't get it
That's when they hired me and everybody else
And that's when we were able to look it up
And see that they could not
Proceed without the zoning
And that's why
we said okay let's just follow the zoning because yes sir all right again uh any questions from the
yes sir all right again uh any questions from the board i think i already asked but
board i think i already asked but any questions
any questions no no thank you all right mi-2020-001177 865 north 50th street
my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes
okay thank you thank you so much uh mr chairperson and ladies and gentlemen of the panel
for the board mi 2020 dash 000 848 4457 main street
did you skip over some or no uh i believe number seven right
that was number five six was continued
it might be me hold on
i don't have number seven here
tanya is this the right case we're pulling up
um let me check i don't know if that was we that is the next one number seven
I believe it's continued. I'm sorry.
Was it continued?
Yeah, I think we go to number nine now.
Number nine.
Thank you, Frank.
Number nine, correct?
Okay, thank you.
2020-001-283-4705 Ridge Avenue.
this is Sharon Saleta I want to note we have um the RCO supports the proposal with a proviso
stating no outdoor events with amplified music we also have a letter of support from councilman
Curtis Jones board I have promoted um attorney Gregory Halimiak for you to swear in good afternoon
sir please identify yourself with the records by your name and address good afternoon mr chairman
and members of the board and staff gregory heleniak last name h-e-l-e-n as in november i-a-k
2005 market street 16th floor philadelphia pa 19103 here on behalf of wisseg and brewing company
i believe tim gill is also on the line if he can be recognized he is the owner and operator
Okay, we'll get to him shortly.
Do you swear in the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, Mr.
Thank you.
So you proceed with your testimony, and Mr. Confessor has some questions for you.
Do you agree to wait to read in of his refusal and stipulate to his accuracy?
We do.
Also, 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, we have.
Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
Yes, we met with East Falls Community Council and have provided a letter within our submission packet.
Thank you. Please proceed.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the board.
As I said, I'm here on behalf of Wissick and Brewing Company, the owner and operator,
which Tim Gill is also available today, as well as our architect, Ian Smith of the Ian Smith Design Group.
I would ask that our submission packet be incorporated into the record.
We're here today for two reasons. The first is that the uses on the
reflect on this refusal with the exception of the personal service use for yoga programming
were subject to the 2016 application that was made on for this property and should have been
considered approved we have found a discrepancy with lni's review of this file and we're here to
correct that understanding additionally there is no definition for the modern brewery
in the zoning code we believe this is the hardship and that's why we're here today
with this piecemeal approach essentially creating the brewery use which is not provided under the
code. If I can share my screen here.
Can the board see this then?
So this is the application from 2016. As the board can note, for this space, the Wissick
so this is this is the application for uh from 26
and Brewery, the application was for Tasty Groom accessory to the already approved adjacent
brewery. And also noted on this application was the retail sales of beer, clothing, and
souvenirs, as well as assembly and entertainment. Those same uses are subject to this current
refusal before the board the board did approve this project back in 2016 when the zoning permit
was issued it only reflected the sit-down restaurant it was the applicant's understanding
that those uses were included within that initial approval related to the
L&I issue with the use, L&I has issued guidance related to this brewery, but if by issuing
this guidance, L&I has also acknowledged this use of a modern brewery does not exist under
the zoning code and that any applicant for a brewery must apply for multiple uses under
multiple categories the effect of which has been practically on breweries in the city
is to appear before this board and have to receive relief of some sort in order to accomplish that
end as i mentioned at the beginning we have received the support of east falls community
council after meeting with them subject to the proviso of no outdoor events of amplified sound
That is not something that Whisk and Brewery intends to do. It's not in the nature of
the business model, which Mr. Gill will attest to later on in our presentation.
We have also received a letter of non-opposition from the Councilman Mr. Jones, a letter of support
from East Falls Forward, also a registered community organization for the East Falls area,
and a letter of support from the east falls development corporation
which represents and advocates for the advocates for the business community within the east falls
area as i noted uh we're here for a list of uh uses that are uh listed on the refusal um one being
the uh that the fact that this was before the board previously uh what we're asking for in
terms of that is that these uses are applicable to the entire structure both the tasting room area
and the brew house area as well as the outdoor area and those uses include the sit-down restaurant
use as well as the retail sale of apparel beer and food items souvenirs and other consumer goods
assembly and entertainment and the personal service and the reason that personal service
use has been identified by L&I is because Whistakin Brewing Company offers a recreational
yoga session. It's an opportunity to bring customers into the brewery. It's about 20
people who are instructed on yoga and then enjoy the facilities outside of that. As I stated
previously, we received that sit-down restaurant use in 2016 and understood that that approval
included the retail sales of beer clothing and souvenirs as well as
assembly entertainment what what our application represents in its entirety
is the ability for Wistic and Brewing to take the uses on this property and use
them throughout the property as you can see here this is Wistic and Brewing
company it is on the is accessed you know the address is 4705 ridge avenue it's accessed on
schoolhouse lane just above ridge avenue and kelly drive you'll see it's a decently sized facility
that includes both an industrial part and the gathering space
uh to take you inside to give the board an idea of how this works these are pictures of the uh
what operates now is the tasting room under the sit sit down restaurant use
um this is the interior shot it's a gathering space for the community
it has become very popular in the community uh plenty of gathering space inside however this
plenty of gathering space inside however this this area which is on the screen now is the
this area, which is on the screen now.
brew house area during hours when this property is not open to the public this is where the beer
is made canned distributed but in in hours when brewing is not in effect the concept here is to
use this additional space which is very large very open it has significant access to the outside
including two manned doors and three garage doors two of which are pictured
here as overflow space can provide for a larger group seating and this is where
those activities such as yoga or indoor cornhole league or quizzo night or some
some type of accessory space to the main tasting room area can be accommodated
as you see it's pretty pretty wide open here and this is the view outside furthermore I
do I do want to hit back on the fact that this this use is not provided within the
zoning code and we we find that to be an issue because every brewery including Wissigan Brewing
it has to go piecemeal for these uses it's not a true industrial use it's more than a retail use
it's more than a commercial use and the limitations of a sit-down restaurant use do not fully encompass
that the understanding by the public that this is a gathering space a place to spend the day
a place where you can go and do other accessory activities that might not take place in your
average restaurant um and one last thing before i asked mr gill to come on uh the brew the wissigan
brewery did conduct a survey at the request of uh east falls community council uh to to see uh to
garner support and where that support is coming from um this is a petition that was done in a
combination of uh an online survey form as well as uh response cards at the at the table individual
use response cards that were turned in the brewery received 906 responses of those 255
were directly in east falls those are community members that are coming to the brewery and are
supportive of the continued use of the property in this manner and another you know 428 were from
within the city of philadelphia this is a philadelphia business serving the east falls area
and is committed to supporting the community that is very community-minded in both what it does,
what it provides for the community, and also the interest takes in community in initiatives and
supportive charities that are relative to the community. I'd like to ask if Mr. Gill can be
recognized at this point good afternoon sir
mr gill good afternoon please identify yourself with the record
spell your first and last name good afternoon mr chairman and
um members of the board my name is timothy gill
t-i-m-o-t-h-y g-i-l-l and i am the president and owner of the
sick and brewing company thank you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing
but the truth i do thank you please uh proceed mr halyak thank you mr chico uh mr gill did you
hear my testimony i did uh do you uh adopt as your own and testify to its accuracy i do uh mr gill in
addition to my testimony can you please describe for the board um what uh is involved in what we
consider the modern brewery use the same uh your model i don't want i'm sorry for interrupting i
i don't think we need to go that far we have a number of other cases i think we we get the
picture but thank you no disrespect but all right mr chairman i just like to know uh sharon again
what was that proviso was that no additional no outdoor events with amplified sound yes that's
right was there any other proviso just that okay thank you questions
no no no anyone else would anyone else like to testify in this case if so please raise your hand
thank you planning commission good afternoon chairman members of the board
Ian Litwin, Planning Commission staff.
As stated by the applicant,
the zoning code does not include
an appropriate single-use category
for the multiple functions of a modern microbrewery,
forcing these applications to appear
before the zoning board to get community input.
Seeing as there is strong community support
for this proposal,
we do not oppose granting the use variances.
Thank you very much. MI 2020-001283, 4705 Ridge Avenue. My vote is yes with a proviso. No outdoor events with amplified sound.
Thank you very much.
MI 2020-0012...
Yes with proviso.
Yes with proviso.
Yes with proviso.
Thank you and good luck Mr. Gill.
Thank you very much.
Next one up is MI-2020-001236-5001 Umbria Street.
Do we have an attorney here for Umbria?
Mr. O'Brien on our sheet.
anyone here for 5001 umbria street i'm promoting mr o'brien to a panelist you can unmute yourself
sir and wait to be sworn in good afternoon mr o'brien please identify yourself with the
records, spell your full name, and I'll swear you in.
Mr. O'Brien, you have to unmute yourself.
Ah, I'm sorry.
There we go.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.
William O'Brien, 4322 Main Street, Philadelphia, 19127, on behalf of the applicant, Acre Street
Partners, LLC. With me here is Steve Oszewski, O-L-S-Z-E-W-S-K-I, a managing member of the
company. And also on this meeting is Chris Karakoff, the project architect.
We're going to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Thank you, please.
Do you agree to waive the reading of his refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Also, 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 have.
Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
Yes, I do.
Thank you.
Please proceed.
Thank you.
if i may share my screen um uh go through the exhibits with you briefly um the uh just for the
record the tax clearance certificate uh and deeds are at pages 43 and 44 of the exhibit package
Page 2 is the refusal. This proposal has two use refusals. One is for multifamily dwelling
use. This is located in an industrial commercial mixed zone and residential is prohibited.
And the project proposes to disturb some steeply sloped area, approximately 6%. Strict application
the code presents a hardship and i'll address those issues briefly as i go forward pages
three and four are the letter of support from the ridge park civic association the development team
met with the zoning committee of the civic association and then following those meetings
there were two community zoom meetings one on september 8th the second on october 6th
At the October 6th meeting, I think there were over 75 participants, and the vote, as indicated
in the Civic Association's letter, was 50 in favor and six opposed.
I believe Marlene Scheffler, who's the president of the Civic, is probably on this meeting,
and there is one request.
uh the civic association has long expressed concern regarding umbria street has a lot of
vehicular traffic and it's also an essential link between the bicycle path along the schuylkill river
between kelly drive and the schuylkill river trail so it's been a lot of bicycle traffic and
the civic is hopeful that this development if approved uh will be the
provide the opportunity to create some traffic calming measures. And the Civic addresses that
in their letter in the last paragraph. Moving on to the project itself. This slide represents
the location. It is on Umbria Street, as I mentioned. It's between Parker Avenue and
Umbria Street. And in the bottom photo, you'll see the railroad. That is the R6 commuter
And in the bottom photo, you'll see the railroad, that is the R6 commuter rail line between
I don't know.
Norristown and Center City.
And the current uses next door is a 56 unit townhouse development.
And then up on Parker, you see mostly single family homes, the same thing on Paoli.
These are semi-detached single family homes is a single family detached home.
uh the current condition uh it's a composed of three different parcels uh on umbria street
there is the 200 foot frontage the lot itself is not that deep it's about 15 000 square feet
and then above it is a larger lot it's about 71 000 square feet with a driveway from paoli
combined it's a little bit it's about two acres combined the proposal is to consolidate those
three lots into one lot and the let me just bring this up this image is an aerial rendering of the
proposed structure uh it would be two buildings uh one on umbria street uh the second on the paoli
avenue site uh the umbria street building has uh 53 apartments uh and uh 19 parking spaces
um or 22 parking spaces rather and the paoli building above it uh is 125 apartments
with 92 parking spaces for a total of 114 parking spaces and 178 units.
The location of the site is proximate to both the 62 bus, the 35 bus, and as I mentioned,
the Ivy Ridge train station. The use, although it's not currently permitted in the ICMX zone,
it is what was recommended in 2014 by the planning commission the planning commission
identified two areas in the 21st ward to receive attention one was whistic and transfer station
whistic and maniunk area and then this is the ivy ridge station area that was also indicated for
a change in in use the property at issue is right where i'm holding my cursor and this area was
considered to be best used going into the future for transit oriented development mixed use
residential commercial the site and let me bring this down so it can be seen
the site is affected by two areas of steep slopes the area at the top that i'm pointing out is a
naturally sloped area that will not be disturbed the umbria street lot has a area of steep slope
which I'm indicating here it's about six percent of it well it's a little bit less than six percent
of the site and that is not a natural slope the slope above at the east end of the property is
natural this slope was created when this plateau was extended probably about 30 years ago by a
former owner. The zoning plan, there is a proviso plan for revisions. They're very minor. There
originally were two curb cuts on Umbria Street. The Civic Association preferred one cut and
that was that was done and then uh there was a gate uh shown on the paoli avenue entrance
the cdr process that was removed and there was a walkway pedestrian walkway introduced between
paoli avenue and the paoli building other than that there are no modifications to the original
plan presented to L&I. These are images of the Umbria Street building. It is five stories with
the fifth story a different material and set back so that it's sensitive to the streetscape
and it also includes a commercial space which is shown here as a possible restaurant.
This is an image of the same facade from a different angle showing the entrance,
the one entrance in the lobby area. The next two slides show the Paoli Avenue driveway entrance,
its landscaping and the pedestrian walkway and the final image is a just showing the facade of the
Paoli Avenue building.
the rest of the slides are site sections elevations and floor plans uh landscape materials um i'd be
happy to go through each of those um but let me first introduce again steve washefsky yeah would
you please be sworn in perhaps mr chairman sir please identify yourself spell your first and
last name uh steve oshefsky it's s-t-e-v-e last name is o-l-s-z-e-w-s-k-i i am the managing
partner of baker street partners you're swearing for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing
but the truth i do mr o'brien you want to ask your client if he adopts your testimony yes mr
oshefsky did you uh hear my testimony a few minutes ago yes uh is was it truthful yes and
and do you adopt it as you're up?
I do, okay.
Thank you.
I'd like to do, rather than go through any floor plans
at this particular time, see if there's anyone else,
any board members have any questions as of yet?
All right, and let's go.
Anyone else who would like to testify in this case?
If so, please raise your hand.
No hand.
okay uh planning commission
good afternoon chairman members of the board ian litwin planning commission staff
uh this proposal is consistent with the recommendations of the lower northwest district
plan specifically to allow for dense mixed use development around the ivy ridge regional rail
station this project completed civic design review on october 22nd the committee advised the team to
revisit the Umbria Street facade to ensure it is energized and inviting, and the entry off Paoli
Avenue was brought up as an opportunity for improvement. Despite these suggestions, the
committee was enthusiastically supportive of the proposal, praising the design team for their
thoughtful relationship with the community and for the proposed design. We do not have any opposition
to granting any of the variances. Thank you very much. MI 2020-001236-5001 Umbria Street, my vote is yes.
my vote is yes my vote is yes
excuse me this is sharon sletta mr o'brien were there revised plans that you wanted stamped
uh yes i submitted them by email uh the uh yes it has to be added as a proviso
I'm sorry, I didn't have that.
How many pages?
There's one page, the zoning plan.
Okay, so let's go back and revote that.
MI 2020, that's 0012365001, Umbria Street.
My vote is yes with the proviso revised plan.
One page approved today.
Yes, for proviso.
Yes, for proviso.
Good luck.
Thank you.
MI 2020-001306, 3335 East Thompson Street.
This is Sharon Siletta.
We have a letter of non-opposition from Councilman Squilla in this case.
Thank you.
uh to the stenographer you're okay okay thank you
so i have clementa with the you can unmute are you for this case
yes i am good afternoon ma'am please identify yourself for the record spell your first and
last name and i'll swear you in if i could one moment i i don't know are you presenting today
as the attorney yes i am presenting as the attorney i'm an associate attorney at knockamson pc
okay so let me promote you to panelists thank you
okay chair i promoted her to a panelist you can now swear her in okay thank you thank you again
And please identify yourself for the record.
Spell your first and last name.
Good afternoon, Chairman and members of the board.
My name is Clementa Amazon.
That's spelled C-L-E-M-E-N-T-A.
Last name is Amazon.
A-M-A-Z-A-N.
You agree to waive the reading of his refusal and stipulate to attack her scene?
Yes, I do.
I didn't swear to her.
Hold on one second.
Do you swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Do you swear to the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
Thank you.
Professor, please proceed.
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 have.
Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
Yes, and we have their support.
Thank you.
Please proceed.
Okay, I'll just share my screen.
can everybody see that yes okay perfect so good afternoon my name is clemente amazon i'm an
associate attorney at knockamson pc and today i will be presenting 33 35 east thompson street
and in front of you i have a packet of materials
So, the first is the deed that we have to the property, and we have the Certificate
of Tax Compliance, the Notice of Refusal.
For this project, we're simply trying to do a second-story addition to a garage, so our
refuses are reflected as such. I have the application for appeal, the project information
form, the zoning map for the area, and the front of the property is on East Thompson
Street, and the garage faces Webb Street, and we're between East Ontario and East West
Moreland. And here I have photos. As I mentioned, this is the front of the property, which faces
east thompson street this is the garage which faces web street so we are just simply adding
an addition to this garage a picture of the notice that was posted on the property
here's a view to the right and left of the property
and as i mentioned this is not uncommon for this area there are similar structures where
an additional story has been added for the garage as you can see here on the 3300 block of web street
There are several that have additions to the garages.
And I have the plans here.
Our existing garages right here, we're simply trying to add the second-story addition to this property.
And it's going to be used as a study just in light of COVID and everyone having to work from home at this point in time.
As I mentioned, we do have the support of Pro-PAC.
It was unanimous, five in favor, zero against.
And we also have the Councilman's Letter of Non-Opposition.
Here's a picture of the notice.
And we sent out notice to all the effective properties as required and our Certificate of Nailing.
So at this time, I'm open to any questions that the Board may have.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
Questions from the Board?
Anyone else like to testify in this case?
if so please raise your hand no hands chair thank you uh planning commission
good afternoon chairman members of the board this is ian litwin with planning commission staff
this property is recommended for single-family residential use in the city's comprehensive plan
and zoned accordingly the proposed addition matches the pattern of development on web
Street. Therefore, we have no opposition to granting the ballots. Thank you very much. MI 2020-001306
3335 East Thompson Street. My vote is yes. My vote is yes. My vote is yes. My vote is yes.
okay good luck thank you
mi2020-000326 2015 poplar street
i have francis cusperton
hello chairman can you hear me
Yes, we can. Please identify yourself with a record, name and address.
My name is Francis Cuthbertson, CKG Architects applicant for 2015 Poplar Street, 323 Wilder WILDER Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19147.
You were sworn in earlier, correct?
I was.
Thank you so much.
So who's presenting the case, Mr. Cuthbertson?
That would have been myself for the owner.
the owner is michael chap sorry unfortunately you can't as a design professor
Sorry. Unfortunately, you can't as a design professional.
The owner will have to testify or his attorney.
Well, the owner can testify. There's no attorney. So can the owner testify?
Yes. This is not an LLC, is it?
No, it is not. It's his private residence.
Then he has to testify.
So is he there?
His name is Michael Chapman, so if Michael can hear me, Michael, raise your hand and just begin the process.
Michael has been promoted to panelists to present the case.
Thank you, Tanya.
Mr. Chapman, please identify yourself with the record, name and address, spell your last name for the stenographer.
Michael Chapman, M-I-C-H-A-E-L-C-H-A-P-M-A-N, 2015 Poplar Street.
Thank you.
Do you swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I did.
Mr. Chapman, 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?
Mr. Cuthbertson did, yes.
Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
We have.
We received RCO approval unanimously.
The head of the RCO said her computer was not working. She confirmed an email we sent to her
which was included in the packet. Okay, this application is for the legalization of one
surface parking space and direction of a fence accessory to a single family dwelling
as shown on the application of plans. You may proceed. Okay, so we had a rear gate put in
behind our house um uh the contractor that we used to put up several in the area he showed us
where these all were um mr chapman excuse the interruption do you have any exhibits you can
share with us uh again i was i was provided with the architect from the uh builder he has
the package i have the exhibits i have you can share them mr customer we'd appreciate that thank
you all right will someone have to enable me to share that would be helpful yes you you already
have the authority to share. Okay, I don't see it on here on my computer. I'm on an iPhone
and I'm on the screen itself, but I don't see the ability to share on here. Hey, Frank,
i think i can share it on here so it's a green button at the bottom of the page that says share
screen i and yeah i know i'm familiar with it but it's not on here for some reason it's not on mine
all right now i see it oh now michael chapman's is on
okay so you can rotate that that would be helpful uh yeah
oh wrong way
yeah that's good thank you
okay so these are the plans here it's a rear gate that's at the back of the property
It is open air, and I think we're asking for a variance due to the height of the gate.
This is my first home.
This is my first housing project.
My wife, Laura, and I, we have a young son with an automatic gate, and it provided us
the proper security and ease of use for our family situation.
Do you have any photographs of the street?
Can you see that there?
Not yet.
We just don't have the architectural rendering drawings.
for okay very good okay so it's really just about putting a garage door there correct
similar to what's to the left of you uh yeah well it's yeah looking right at us there yeah
Well, it's yeah, looking right at us there, yeah.
and then there is another one to the left
And then there is another one to the left of us also, the very same.
Yeah, okay.
All right.
Excuse me, this is Sharon Saleta.
With the exhibit packet, there was a revised proviso plans form submitted, and the only
change listed was site plan added to drawing number A001.
The form you're required to submit how the plans that you are requesting be approved
differ from those that were submitted to lni so could you detail what the changes are to the
revised plans i can i interject please frank hufferson all right yeah i just added the site
plan which didn't change anything because when i went through the requirements to set a full site
plan showing the front and back street so that's all i did it was nothing it's just really a
graphical item that's all it was okay then it will be included in the record as an exhibit but
it doesn't need to be stamped or no nothing like that it's for clarification only okay thank you
okay very good thank you thank you both um questions from the board no
no anyone would like to testify in this case if so please raise your hand
here we have mo mallory i believe mallory you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in
Good afternoon, ma'am. Please identify yourself with a record, spell your first and last name, and provide us with your address.
Hi, this is Mallory Perlstein, M-A-L-A-R-I-E-P-E-R-E-L-S-H-T-E-Y-N. I'm at 2014 Cambridge Street.
We're in a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
You are representing yourself?
Myself, yes.
how far away do you live i'm actually looking at the garage doors right now i live behind that
house okay thank you um so they say that them and the their neighbors put one in um and then that
they have an existing one next to them but their house their garage doors are about four feet
higher than every other garage door fence on the street uh so it's just kind of an unsightly
when you say their garage you're talking about the garage door to the left of
2015 pop 2015 yeah so they had the same contractor put in their garage roll-up door
that matches the door next the height of the door next next to it correct yeah so 2013 and
2015 both have the same roll-up door you're are you opposed to that i am very much it's very
unattractive
was there did i hear in the testimony by uh mr chapman were you looking to reduce the height
of that? I don't remember. Is yours going to, is your plan matches what is at 2013?
It does. The plan matches what's at 2013, yes.
Yeah, both of them are already built.
Okay, I know it's built, I just was curious. Okay, except for the gate, the framing's there.
oh no sorry oh it is up it's rolled in there it is it it is okay chairman yes okay all right
very good thank you all right anyone else i would like to testify in this case if so please raise
your hand all right thank you thank you
we have laura chapman okay unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in
okay uh is this mrs chapman yes i'm also a resident at 2015 poplar poplar street okay
you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do
okay are you are you in support of this oh yeah yes i just i want to i want to i want to further
explain why it is that high, how we installed the electric gate and why we chose that route.
We did get estimates for, just to explain our neighbor to that, we did get estimates for lower
gates. We did not know about this variance at the time of installing this. This was actually,
we went with this option because I do park my car back there. I do have a son, a toddler.
we had to go with, we felt we had to go with automatic so that I don't leave him in the car,
so that I don't leave him in the car come out our neighbors that have lower gates
come out. Our neighbors that have lower gates.
they all park their car in the in the alley get out open up their gate so it is a much
longer process and I felt an unsafe process for the fact that I do have my child in the car
we also chose we also went with the gate because my our cars were have been broken into multiple
times um so it really this is a safety for our family and we um i just wanted to kind of explain
that why it wouldn't go any lower all right thank you and again i apologize i didn't know i didn't
realize that the the the door had already been folded up i thought this was under construction
uh anyway anyone else care to testify in this case if so please raise your hand
no other hands chair thank you planning commission
good afternoon chairman members of the board this is ian litwin planning commission staff
the proposed parking space and garage door on george street are in character with the
adjacent properties therefore we have no opposition to granting the variance
uh did anybody hear me all right okay i got it yes here you're fine okay okay because i lost
visual for a moment uh mi2020-0003262015 poplar street my vote is yes my vote is yes
my vote is yes my vote is yes i'm going to go back to the stenographer we still have
One, two, three, three and a half cases to go.
Are you, I can't see you.
Do you need a break?
No, I'm fine.
Okay, then we'll go to break after the, this session's complete.
Fitzwater Street, next.
MI 2020-001-285-2118-20, Fitzwater Street.
Chair, I am promoting Sean Whelan. You can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in.
Hi, good afternoon, Mr. Whelan. Please identify yourself for the record, spell your first
and last name.
Yes, good afternoon, board members and Chairman Chico.
Sean Whalen, S-E-A-N-W-H-A-L-E-N, from Vintage Law, here on behalf of the owner and applicant of the property.
Thank you.
You swearing a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
And do you agree to waive the reading of his refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Also, have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents, proof of ownership,
proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal or referral, folders and plans five days prior to
this hearing? We have. Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter? Yes, we do. And yes,
we do. Thank you. Please proceed. All right. Well, I know this has been a long afternoon already,
so I will make this one short. I am presenting 2118 to 2120 Fitzwater Street. Some number of
years ago, this was combined into a single property. It's in a standard row of row homes
on Fitzwater Street, and we are simply seeking a variance to subdivide the property. The property
was originally and historically two separate parcels. It is a mid-block parcel, and so we
We have one refusal, which is that in this RM1 district, 1,440 square feet are required.
We will actually have two lots of approximately 1,125 square feet each.
That is, hopefully you can now see the refusal, and that is our only refusal.
Those lots, those undersized lots at $1,125 each would actually be two of the largest
lots on the entire block.
I'm sorry, Mr. Whaler, we don't have your exhibits up.
We're looking at your…
Sorry about that.
Let's try…
Do you have it up now?
thank you my apologies um just quickly the you can see the refusal here um one refusal as i
Just quickly, you can see the refusal here, one refusal, as I said, we're required to have 1440 square feet per lot.
We are evenly dividing our two lots and it will be into two 1125 square foot lots.
You can see 21st Street, Fitzwater here, and 22nd Street, Clymer Street is behind us and has a lot of very small lots.
every single lot on this block is undersized so actually none of them meet and most of them
are smaller than our block so to give you an idea
this is a close-up of our property again two standard rectangular lots they were conjoined
at one point used for front-loading parking with a sun patio and a one-story addition.
We've demolished the one-story addition and are now seeking to just subdivide this lot.
There's no construction associated with this application.
This whole project is in the RM1 zoning district and there's no issues there.
We have a letter from SOSNA of a vote 12-0 in favor. And just to give you guys some
feeling for this, again, here's the site plan. This is the existing home.
This right here is the existing parking pad that the prior owner used,
the gate and the one-story addition in the back that has been demolished now.
and again all we are doing is seeking to subdivide this previously consolidated lot back into two
lots. With that I would simply call the owner and my architect to adopt my testimony unless
the board has any questions for me. Let's get your owner and we'll take it from there. Thank you.
All right. Ms. Sunket you should see Stephen Rodriguez on the line.
uh he would have to raise his hand all right
okay he can unmute and be sworn in rodriguez please identify yourself with the record spell
your first and last name steven rodriguez s-t-e-p-h-e-n-r-o-d-r-i-g-u-e-z and the owner of uh
5th Bar Street.
We're going to affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you. Please proceed, Mr. Whalen.
Mr. Rodriguez,
as you already stated, you are the owner of the
project. Did you hear
all the testimony and representations that
I made to the board today? Yes.
Are they true and correct to the best of your
knowledge and belief? Yes.
Would you adopt
them as your own?
I would.
Thank you. Thank you. I offer Chairman Mr. Rodriguez up for any questions that the board
may have. Thank you. Questions from the board? No. No. Would anyone else like to testify in this
case? If so, please raise your hand. Yes, if I could just have Ms. Agatha Reister raise her
hand, she's our expert architect, just to adopt my testimony again. Okay, please ma'am identify
yourself spell your first and last name for the record? Agatha Reister, A-G-A-T-A-R-E-I-S-T-E-R,
with Landmark Architectural Design, 1325 Snyder Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, 19148.
We're affirmed to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. I do. Thank you,
Mr. Whalen. Thank you, Ms. Reister. Did you hear all the representations I made to the board today?
Yes. And are they true and correct to the best of your knowledge? Yes.
and would you adopt them as your own yes do you have anything further to add i do not thank you
and uh chairman and board members i offer both mr rodriguez and mr eister for any questioning
chairman i believe any questions from the board no anyone else like to testify in this case if so
please raise your hand no hand thank you planning commission good afternoon chairman members of the
board ian litwin with planning commission staff the existing lot is twice the width of the other
lots on the block the lots created by the subdivision are in scale with the rest of the
block therefore we do not have any opposition to granting the variance for minimum lot size
thank you 2020-001285 2118-20 fitzwater street my vote is yes
2118-20
Fitzwater Street. My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, everyone.
Thank you.
The next one up is MI2020-000944
1759 North Marshall Street.
Thank you.
I have I have no hands up. Okay, MI 2020-000944. I'm sorry, Chair. Okay. They have now raised
their hand okay good evening everyone sorry for that my internet was a little
still acting up uh no i promoted him to a panelist oh sorry about that
he's available for swearing in chair
i'm losing everybody i'll try uh sir spell your uh please give us your full name and address
spell your first and last name
i think i lost everybody no chair you're here mr broski okay are you available
i don't know if he's unmuted i know don't know what the problem is
cole are you available
let's skip over and go to the next what case in case he's having technical problems we can come
back okay next one it's uh mi 2020 dag 000 773 1739 wiley street
I'm going to leave and come back on.
I'm having some problems here.
And I don't have anyone with their hand up for this.
Alan, are you for this case?
Alan's for the next case, I believe.
The one we continued from earlier today, this afternoon, Cleveland Street.
I also have 1739 Wiley Street.
Number 17.
Yeah, Mr. Notkinson, do we have you listed as the attorney on this case?
Yes. Oh, did you call me?
Yes, we did.
1739 Wiley Street.
He's still on the oath.
Do you agree to waive the reading of its refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Also, have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents,
approval of ownership, approval of tax compliance, copy of the refusal or referral folders and plans
five days prior to this hearing? I have. Have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
I have. Thank you. Please identify yourself for the record. Good afternoon, Mr. Chair,
members of the board, Alan Nockamson of Nockamson, PC, 123 South Broad Street, Suite 1600,
I'm trying to turn on my video, but it's not letting me.
Thank you.
All right, so I'm going to share my screen.
So in front of you is a packet of materials which include eight exhibits.
The first exhibit is the property to 1739 Wiley Street.
This is owned by 1739 Wiley Development LLC.
This property is located in the Francisville section of Philadelphia.
The exhibit number two is a tax clearance certificate for the property,
showing that the property owner is in good standing with the city of Philadelphia.
Exhibit three is a notice of refusal.
So this is an RSA-5 property, and what we're looking to do is put a three-unit condominium here,
and we're not seeking any dimensional variances.
The only variance that we're seeking is a use variance.
And as you can see from here, it's not out of character for Wiley Street to have multifamily living.
for Wiley Street to have multifamily living. On these five separate occasions other than this one
on these five separate
applicants have requested from this zoning board variances to allow for multifamily use
and on those five separate occasions this board has granted it. I was here last year regarding
1724 Wiley Street which the board granted in favor of a two unit condominium. The reason is
And here's the application for appeal that we filed with the ZBA along with the project information form.
The reason why I believe it's not uncommon that in this part of Francisville that you would see multifamily use.
You'll see multifamily use here.
But you'll also see the fact that we're a block away from a commercial corridor.
This is Ridge Avenue.
So, you know, the neighborhood in general has been trying to encourage this commercial corridor
by increasing density within this block and just generally within the vicinity of this property.
If you look, here's a photograph of the property. We are the vacant lot. Here are pictures to the
right of the property and to the left of the property, and here are architectural drawings.
With me today is Sylvester Ocolo, one of the members of the ownership group.
Mr. Ocolo has developed a number of condominium buildings within the Francisville and Fairmont
area. His style, which this board has approved in the past, is a brick facade with a modern twist,
having as much light and air by way of big windows. There are three units in this building.
uh there is a bi-level on the first floor in the lower level and then each of these units also are
cut in half where they're bi-levels where there's a unit on the second floor that goes yeah let me
just uh let me stop share for a second it's just easier that way and let me try to well
technical difficulties um let me uh let me see if i can get that
Hold on. I'm trying to get escape. Okay. Let me share that one more time, and then I'm going to change the way you're going to see it.
How about we do it? Oops. Jesus.
Does that work better?
Do you see it better now, Mr. Chair?
Yeah. So it's just a different way of seeing it.
So, yeah, so you'll see that these are bi-levels, this one unit is a bi-level bedroom and then lower, excuse me, one unit where the first floor is, well, the first unit is on the first floor and the lower level.
And then the second and third units are bi-levels where there's a front bi-level and a rear bi-level.
And then
And we met with the
United Francisville
Civic Association
So, you know, to be honest
I thought we had a really good meeting
I thought it was productive
Yes, I can, hold on
Is that better or you want
A bit larger? A little bit more if you don't mind
Please
No worries
Is that better, Mr. Chair?
Yeah, but you've got to scroll down a little bit.
So I thought we had a really productive meeting.
I've been doing this enough.
I know when people are against something, when someone's for something.
And, again, we presented this same type of proposal to United Francisville last year in front of this board, and we received support from this board.
So one of the things that was a concern to me is that we did this through Google Meetup.
and the Google Meetup codes literally changed
like 10 minutes before the meeting.
So I send out a community notice
where you have certain information
and all of a sudden the Google Meetup information changed.
So we received the results of the meeting
which took place afterwards
and it was seven in support and 15 opposed.
And we know that we have a lot of support
in the neighborhood because Mr. Occolo
has developed a lot in the neighborhood.
there on Wiley Street, also on Ridge Avenue, so he has a following, as well as the fact that he's
been a, what's it called, a business owner in that neighborhood for over a generation before
being a developer. So when we saw that only seven people supported this project, we actually reached
out to a lot of the people that we know who were trying to get into the meeting, and we found out
that a lot of people were unable to vote. They were unable to get in the meeting. There were
difficulties with the Google Meetup. So we actually provided, we distributed a petition
and it was, you know, these 10 people who couldn't vote and were unable to vote as well
and we're unable to vote, as well as additional people. And you can see we're all on Wiley Street.
as additional people. And you can see we're all on Wiley Street.
Again, Mr. Ockalo has a good reputation in the community, as well as on this block because he
has another project on this block. So he's developed a good reputation as a developer
on this block and support within the neighborhood. So you can see we have a full page. We have a
little bit over here too, but we have like almost a page and a half of signatures, and I believe
there's like 25 signatures per page so we have well over you know almost 40 people who are or
maybe 40 people 35 people who are in support of this you know three unit condominium building
so again the letter is in the opposition because of straight numbers but we know that 10 people
try to vote and for whatever reason their vote wasn't counted so and that's I guess part of this
google meetup and zoom generation but you know we had people who were ready willing and able to vote
for us and then if you look at their letter that i'm sure the board has um even in the letter they
comment that some people are for multi-family you know they were just they want to a duplex
not a triplex you know and you know we beg to differ in that respect we believe that you know
given the history of the board on this block, that a triplex is reasonable under circumstances,
given if, especially since this lot is over 1440 square feet. So as you know,
as I pointed out, there's a lot of RM1 next to us. Hold on.
you know we're not that far from rm1 and we're not that far from the commercial corridor we're
typically from a planning perspective you try to have as much density surrounding a commercial
corridor to actually nurture that commercial corridor so in this day and age the fact that
we're trying to do a con a three-unit condominium building because mr okolo doesn't hold properties
he sells them the fact of his reputation in the community the fact that this board has
approved previously uh previous projects similar to this in the past uh we were and given the
support through this petition that has over you know well over 35 signatures of people on that
block and within the vicinity we would request that the board grant uh this requested variance
Counselor, do you have a picture of the site?
It's, yes.
It's a vacant lot, but I will hand, it's right here.
So, it's a 1,440 square foot lot.
So, we're not trying to squeeze, like, a use that would not be reasonable in their circumstances.
If this was an RM1 property, which I know it's not, we would, you know, we would be allowed four as of right. We're only asking for three on a, on a RSA five property, which is 1440 square feet where five other instances. Recently, this board has granted variances.
Thank you.
You have anyone, one, I have anyone you want to put on Mr. Markinson.
Yes. Mr. Ocolo, can you virtually raise your hand?
He's available to be sworn in.
Thank you. Sir, please identify yourself for the record.
Display your first and last name.
First name is Sylvester and the last name is Ocolo.
Can you spell that name, please?
I'm sorry, I didn't hear that.
Spell your last name.
O-K-O-L-O.
We're in the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Mr. Nakinson.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Ockalo, you heard everything I stated today.
And is it true and correct?
Yes, it is.
And do you adopt it as your own testimony?
Yes, it is.
Thank you.
Is there anyone, I'm sorry, any questions from the board?
no no anyone who wishes to testify in this case please raise your hand
chair we have mary jones from the council president's office
thank you good afternoon ms jones please identify yourself with a record
uh yes mary jones uh from council president daryl clark's office city hall from 494
Can I just swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and talk about the truth?
Thank you.
Please proceed.
Yes. Based on our communication with the RCO and our review of this project, the Council
Based on our...
President is supporting the RCO that this variance not be granted. There has not been
a hardship presented and the presence of other multifamily houses on the block does not mean
that there should be more if the community chose to zone the neighborhood as single family.
Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not putting words in your mouth, so it's not a question
of being a multifamily, it's more a question of remaining single.
because there's three units proposed so lesser units would not suffice correct
well the the rco did mention that they would prefer either a single family or a duplex
and i was able to reach the um the rco on the phone um they're not able to call into the
computer right now into the hearing. Thank you. Appreciate it. Anyone else would like to testify
in this case? If so, please raise your hand. Here we have Jennifer. Jennifer, you can unmute yourself
and wait to be sworn in. Good afternoon, ma'am. Please identify yourself with a record, spell
your first and last name, and give us your address. Sure. Hello, Chairman. This is Jennifer Tran,
j-e-n-n-i-f-e-r-t-r-a-n i'm the vice president of the coordinating rco united francisville civic
association um and i just wanted to reiterate do you swear and affirm to tell the truth the
whole truth nothing but the truth i do thank you please proceed um i just wanted to um reiterate
what mary jones from councilmember clark's office said regarding the um position that
our RCO has taken. You know, we have been holding virtual meetings since earlier this year due to
the pandemic. What Alan said about the meeting code changing prior to the meeting starting was
not true. We have been using the same dial-in meeting code since May of this year. And the
community as as shown does not support this project. There has been some mention and I'm not
trying to put words in anyone's mouth. There had been mentioned that fewer units might be
acceptable. Is that accurate? Yes from the community feedback it appears that a lot of the residents
who spoke up would prefer a single family or a duplex. This block was down zoned a few years ago
to single-family housing, and that would be the preference of the community.
Okay, thank you. Anyone else who would like to testify in this case, please raise your hand.
That's all, Chair.
Mr. Chair, a couple things. My associate, Clementa Amazon, did share with me a link,
a picture showing that there was an issue with the voting, and the link was changed.
So I'm just letting you know, because I'm very particular about what I say in front of this board. So it was not untrue. And then, Mr. Chair, you know, while we believe that three units are appropriate under the circumstances, as Mr. Chair, you know, heard from us, as well as from the coordinating RCO representative of Mary Jones, there has been some discussion about duplex or two unit condominium, and it's in their letter.
So if, you know, the Mr. Chair is disinclined at grant three, you know, we would propose a proviso for two.
Thank you.
Planning Commission.
Good afternoon, Chairman and members of the board.
Ian Lipman, Planning Commission staff.
In 2018, the community-led remapping effort in Francisville did not change the zoning for this lot.
It remained zoned for single-family development.
We do not believe the applicant has demonstrated sufficient hardship.
Accordingly, we oppose the granting of the variance for three units.
Thank you.
MI 2020-0007731739 Wiley Street.
My vote is maximum two units.
Yes, we'll provide them.
Yes, we'll provide them.
but yes, we provide so.
Yes, with proviso. Thank you. Mr. Nochamston, while you're there, we have that Cleveland Street
Thank you.
issue. Yes, Mr. Chair and Salette. I was just going to mention that Mr. Nochamston has submitted
the revised plans form. It would be revised plans three pages. That's all we have to do is vote it
with proviso correct correct okay MI 2020 that's 001488 774 South Cleveland my vote is uh my vote
is yes with the proviso uh three pages approved today uh yes for proviso yes for proviso yes
okay all right I think we're at the last one Marshall Street next one I'm sorry if I could
request that Mr. Cole Brodsky from the previous case is now available, if we could go to him?
That's Marshall Street, correct? Yes, Chairman, that's correct. Are you able to hear me?
Yep, that's where we're going. Wonderful. I'm so sorry my internet crashed right when it loaded
for me. No problems. My name is Cole Brodsky. Hold on, hold on, hold on. We're going to call
the case. MI2020-000944-1759 North Marshall Street. Please spell your, give us your full
name, spell your name and address. First name Cole, C-O-L-E. Last name Brodsky, B as in boy,
R-O-D as in dog, S-K-Y. And I am submitting application for 1759 North Marshall Street.
Do you swear in the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
Confessor?
Hey, 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?
I have.
Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
I have.
Yes, I do have a letter.
All right.
Please proceed.
Thank you, Chairman and Board.
I'm here to present my case for application for rezoning of 1759 North Marshall Street
from RSA 5 to RM1 with variants allowing for single room dwelling.
If my Zoom is a weird state right now, but if I can have control, I can share one of
my documents here with you all.
Here we go.
One moment.
okay so uh i don't think this will take too much of your time here so i am simply seeking rezoning
to a multi-family unit uh with variants to allow for a single room dwelling to allow myself to
use the interruption would you could you scroll down we can't see the
floor plan that's it thank you no problem so i am sorry about that this is it's been finicky for
me all day i'm seeking this approval to allow myself to receive a rental license to allow
myself to rent out these two bedrooms there will be absolutely no change in construction to the
house whatsoever i will also be living in this residence myself there will be no signage no
change to the population either the previous owner there was a total of three individuals living in
this home i'm currently the only individual living in this home planning to rent out those two
bedrooms again to a grand total of three individuals the entire third floor would be my personal space
with my uh here shown here on the third floor three different bedrooms one serving is my bedroom
another is just extra for storage the other is my office two bedrooms to be rented out are here
on the second floor with the larger bedroom being here at 158 and three quarters square feet
and the smaller bedroom here at 129 square feet and they will share this bathroom here on the
second floor and all the rooms and amenities here on the first floor and in the basement are to be
shared amongst us all. Part of the reason I need to interrupt again you keep saying two bedrooms
but I see six. Yes I'll be renting out too there's a total of six bedrooms in the home I'm only
renting out two hopefully there are three on the third floor which is completely just for myself
one is my personal bedroom one serves as my office here and one is just extra
where's the bed where's the kitchen kitchen is on the first floor here
okay so you go up to the second the second floor you're showing three bedrooms yes this one will
be rented. This one will be rented. This is just an extra bedroom for any instance that someone has
This is just an extra bedroom for any instance that someone has company that needs to spend the night.
company that needs to spend the night.
So it's a three-bedroom on the second floor.
Yes, but only two are planning to be rented out.
All right.
And then you're saying only two bedrooms will be rented out on the third floor?
No, no.
Or one?
None, none.
You're showing three.
I mean, unless I'm missing something here.
You're showing three bedrooms on the third floor.
Six bedrooms exist in the home.
Only two of these bedrooms will be rented.
The other bedrooms are being used for other purposes.
There will only be a total of three individuals in the home,
the same amount of individuals that were in the home before.
There will be no change to the house structure or to the streets whatsoever.
Part of the reason I am seeking this change of zoning and the variance
was that when this house was appraised, as you'll see on this report on page three,
or excuse me, page three,
it was originally zoned as RM1 on appraisal before I purchased the home
and confirmed to be RM1 when I purchased it
for the purpose of hoping to rent out these two rooms in the future.
uh that uh excuse me sir do you have a copy of the refusal yes yes i do
would you like me to to load that please yes one moment yes i was about to ask the same thing
one moment here i had i had all these loaded for you and then my entire system crashed i'm
very sorry just bear with me one moment here
And this is the notice of refusal.
Can you stroll up?
So I'm really
Hoping to show the whole form for you here
is this is this okay
enlarge it enlarge it
so i'm hoping to have this approved in order to get a rental license to
rent abiding by the law and to contribute tax revenue to the city and not be one of the circa
50,000 landlords that
are on record as not having
rental licenses and are renting out
technically illegally. I would like
to do this officially with approval.
Could you make it a little clearer?
It's quite readable.
I'm trying my best here.
I've got it zoomed in to 100%.
are you talking uh no i mean that's that's really all i have i'm asking my board member tom
yes it's a single room it's not rm1 that he's asking for it's a rooming house
um um seeking mr brekkah let him let mr holliman finish please you can't have more than four
related unrelated people tom this is sharon yes that's why it's it is refused as a single room
residence because it will not be a single family home it'll be um essentially a boarding house or
a rental of single rooms it's a little concerning the discrepancy between the number of existing
bedrooms and the number of proposed residents which you might be able to
to approach by doing a proviso limiting it to three residents
i know i'm just i don't know i keep seeing six bedrooms that's
there sir six bedrooms exist in the home but all six bedrooms will not be rented
there will not be six residents there will only be three people in the home is that including you
There will only be three people in the home.
Is that including you?
Same amount as individuals as before.
Literally no change to the building, no change to the number of people.
Perfect.
Questions from the board?
anyone else would like to testify in this case if so please raise your hand
no hands thank you planning commission
good afternoon chairman members of the board ian litwin planning commission staff this property
is recommended for single family development in the city's comprehensive plan and is zoned
accordingly we do not believe the applicant has demonstrated sufficient hardship accordingly we
opposed granting this variance. Thank you. MI 2020-000944-1759 North Marshall Street.
My vote is no. My vote is no. My vote is no. Thank you. That concludes the two o'clock
list it is now 4 52 uh we'll return back at 4 uh 4 10. um this is sharon if i could just ask that i
did i'm sorry 5 10 not me i'm sorry yes sharon um i sent the you a couple of emails on the uh
case that you'll be appearing first on the 330 list the add-on that's spark street
so if you could before before you resume if you could take a look at those thank you
all right 510 yes thank you
my name is frank de chico i'm the chair of the zoning board of adjustment
I'll be participating in today's hearing along with our board secretary,
Confessor Plaza, and board members, Mr. Thomas Holloman and Mr. James Snell.
Board Administrator, Tanya Sunkett.
Oh, sorry about that.
You all right?
Yeah, my little dog, she's all right.
Oh, okay.
Board Administrator, Tanya Sunkett, and board attorney, Sharon Saleta,
are also in attendance.
For those of you who haven't yet participated in one of our virtual hearings, I'll go through
some of the basics of what you can expect.
First, we will be administering oaths to individual participants prior to their testimony.
Second, for the benefit of anyone participating by phone, we ask that attorneys and witnesses
identify themselves prior to speaking or testifying.
Third, we'd like to advise everyone that this proceeding is being recorded and that by
participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded. Fourth, for anyone participating by
phone, if you wish to testify, you must raise your first raise your hand by hitting star nine
and then star six to unmute yourself. I'll repeat. For anyone participating by phone,
if you wish to testify, you must raise your hand by hitting star nine and then star six to
unmute yourself. Finally, to enter an appearance statement, call Google 267-270-5548 and leave
your email address and the address of the property at issue. I'll repeat that. To enter an appearance
statement, call Google 267-270-5548 and leave your email address and the address of the property
at issue with that said we can begin but before mr plaza calls our first case we'd like to ask if
anyone is requesting a continuance or withdrawal of an appeal listed for this afternoon's hearing
if so please raise your hand
i have james divine james you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in
Good evening, sir. Please identify yourself for the record, spell your first and last name, and provide us with your address.
Can you hear me?
I can hear you, yes.
I'm sorry. James Devine, J-A-M-E-S-D-E-V-I-N-E. I'm at 45 East Orange Street, Lancaster, PA. I am counsel for Pennsylvania.
adult and teen challenge and I am I need to swear you in sir do you swear in the firm to tell the
I need to swear you in, sir. Do you swear in the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you. Please proceed.
I am here on behalf of Pennsylvania Adult and Teen Challenge relative to our appeal pertaining to 329 East Worcester Street.
We have uploaded a packet. However, our RCO meeting was interrupted.
We have that in for a continuance.
Do you agree with that?
Okay, thank you. MI2020-001076, 329 East Worcester Street, W-I-S-T-E-R, is continued.
Thank you. Thank you. Any other requests?
I have on my list MI 2020-001145, 2159 North 21st Street as being continued. Any objection to that?
no hands no hands i know we have uh the add-on of 106 spark street but let's go with the regular
list and then we'll do spark street at the end okay mi 2020 dash 000 734 1542 north 59th street
Good evening, please identify yourself with the record.
First and last name, spell your first and last name, provide us with your address.
I don't have any hands up for this one.
Is someone here for this case?
raise your hand.
Guess not, right? Jason, are you... I see your hand up for this case.
Jason? Can you hear me? Yes, you have your hand up for this case?
Um, no, that's someone else who mistakenly got their name replaced with mine.
That's Miss Valerie McRae with her hand raised.
Miss McRae, are you here for 59th, North 59th Street?
I'm confused. I don't know how she's in as Jason. I don't understand.
hello hi ma'am uh you identify yourself for the record please yes valerie mccrae v-a-l-e-r-i-e
m-c-c-r-a-e
do you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth is nothing but the truth
yes sir you the owner of 1542 north 59th street yes sir all right confessor
Apologize.
Have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required document, proof of ownership, proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal or referral, photos and plans five days prior to this hearing?
No, sir.
I haven't emailed anything.
I've been really sick.
We're going to have to continue this case.
mi2020-000734 1542 north 59th street is continued confessor we're going to go and do
spark street i spoke out of turn we're going to count calendar number 39231 okay so 106 spark
street okay that's a case that we heard before yeah yeah we had we had some technical difficulties
and we uh continued it till today okay good stuff okay will the applicant for 106 spark street please
sign on
and her name is elizane barton
And her name is Elisane Barton.
Ms. Barton, you need to unmute yourself.
Yes, hello.
Hi, Ms. Barton, please identify yourself, spell your first and last name and provide us with your address.
Okay, hi, my name is Elisane Barton, first name E-L-I-S-A-N-E.
Barton
B-A-R-T-O-N
Ogons Avenue
Philadelphia PA
We're going to affirm to tell the truth
The whole truth, nothing but the truth
Please proceed
This is
We heard this before
No, no, we never heard it
Have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents, proof of ownership, proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal or referral, orders and plans five days prior to this hearing?
Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
Okay. Are you an attorney?
Please proceed.
Excuse me.
So, good afternoon to everyone.
I am currently seeking to get an approval to get a rental license to rent out my
house as a two-unit and it's a Zixon structure.
Let me see here. How do I share this?
Oh, share the screen. Let me click there.
So I'm gonna start with the pictures first.
of the property.
All right, here is the blueprint currently of the property.
Right here is just the first unit.
here oh sorry all right here we go basement right here do you enlarge that diagram please
all right all right so here i paid a contractor to turn the basement into
one bedroom apartment and here is the dining room kitchen living bathroom and close off the
area right here to the upstairs unit and right here is a bedroom and windows and then right
here is where the uh water heaters and stuff like that and then move along here
can you maximize your screen maximize it okay sorry
no go over to okay is it better now yes a little bit okay all right so going to the first unit
upstairs so this is the unit upstairs um it's a full house upstairs whereas the dining room is
on the second floor and kitchen over here in the living room and then you go upstairs you'll find
the bedrooms and the bathroom and the three bedrooms one back here the other one right there
and the front one is the master bedroom which is larger and stuff like that and then back here
is the driveway back of the house so you have the other units I mean the other house is back there
and there's a parking spot in the back and for the other unit to park all right and now let's
move along to the pictures of the inside of the properties I mean property sorry
and this is the kitchen for the upstairs. I'm going to do them one by one here.
I can, let me pull up the pictures first and then I can detail each one.
All right, so here is, I don't, you guys can see this, I don't need to enlarge it.
This is the front room, the master bedroom, it has like two closets, one is like a walk-in
and the other one right here is the open one, that's the front room upstairs.
And then here is the living room.
Here is the entrance when you walk into the house, steps, another closet here, and this
is another angle, the front door, windows, upstairs to the master bedroom, this is the
other closet I was saying, this is the walk-in closet here, still inside of the closet, spacious,
very big and then the bathroom remodeled pink I mean purple color I don't know why I have two
pictures of this one here and then this is the I'm sorry living room over here now the one back
there and upstairs we're going upstairs to the bedrooms the other bedrooms so this is the first
bedroom when you go upstairs up the steps and then this is the other bedroom on the side of it
now moving along to the other um in the kitchen this is the kitchen all right
bags and off now we're going to the basement where is the uh the one bedroom
i paid the contractor to turn into apartment
All right.
when was this remodeling work done this was done towards the contract 2017
the basement upstairs was just remodeled
I'm here.
I'm looking for the contract.
Approximately, you don't know approximately when the work was done?
It was done in 2017, October.
I'm just trying to see the exact date.
2017 okay okay all right it's back all right so going back to the basement
this is the current condition correct yes was it ever rented uh to family members yeah
so i think i have all the pictures pulled up for the basement
excuse me excuse me make it i can't make out on the diagram where's the
ingress and egress to the basement oh so the interior i mean the diet you have to come in
through the first floor no it's it has a separate entrance through the back where you park and
what go in so right here that's a doorway leads out to the back yeah this this is the door right
And the back is what, a driveway?
Yeah, it has a parking spot.
Do you have any photographs of that?
Yeah, I do.
Let's go to those exterior photographs.
Okay, no problem.
Here it is.
Not that one.
Where in the front?
Where in the front?
All right, so here it is. This is the back and the door to the back entrance and the
parking spot. It can fit two cars there, but it depends on how you park.
And there are other windows that I see in the basement beside these?
And there are other windows that I see in the basement.
Yeah, I was pulling up the pictures, so here we go with the basement.
And I can exit off of this here.
You already saw that.
And this is a shower.
All right, there go the windows.
The two windows in the back.
this is the the bedroom right here and right here is where the furnace and water heater is at and
then click it off windows are those windows the one windows you're showing in the right photograph
yeah the windows right oh there are there any other windows no that's not the same windows
that's the front window this is the back window that's what i'm asking so you have a front and
Yeah, yeah, yes. And this is just extra closet space right here. And this is the window you're looking at right here in the back. And shower, and kitchen, and dining and walk space, the little exit over here, living room, and
you're based you're asking us to legalize this duplex correct yes
more space and that's pretty much i believe i don't know if i'm leaving on any
i understand his opposition letter from the rco but before i get to that
questions from the board uh yes the the bedroom the window in the bedroom
how far up from the floor is it about
that window in the bedroom how far up from the floor let me see let me go back to the blueprint
that tells you
how far from what bedroom i'm sorry the bedroom in the basement uh-huh how far i didn't hear
the question again you have a window in the bedroom in the basement yes two
how far how far off the alpha grade level are those windows
from from the grade looking i don't know if you can see it right there right like three feet
no a little more than that maybe that looks like two three four five four six four three six
three three and a half the code is 42 inches
let me ask you this question were permits taken out when you did the work
well come to find out the contractor didn't pull any permit
he didn't um do that he just did the work that's that's the one of the issues tom who was done
without its single family his own single family was done without permits yeah i paid him to finish
what was there and he didn't pull permits he was supposed to from what i'm understanding now
thank you any other questions from the board
uh anyone else would like to testify in this case if so please raise your hand
no hands planning commission
this is uh ron bednar good afternoon please identify yourself
your name for the stenographer please first name ronald r-o-n-a-l-d last name bednar b-e-d-n-a-r
do you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do please proceed
this property is indicated for single family residential use in a comprehensive plan
we believe the applicant has not demonstrated necessary hardship regarding use requirements
of the code it's not consistent with the adopted district plan accordingly the planning commission
recommends the request for variance not be granted thank you and isn't anyone else so we ask you again
thank you and isn't anyone else I'll ask you again anyone else want to test wish to testify
in this case if so please raise your hand no hands and I understand it was a letter
of opposition from Councilwoman Parker's office is that correct Sharon yes there was I emailed
a copy to you if you are able to open that yeah I don't know the rest of the board get
a copy of that letter because there were some issues that I believe were raised at the RCO
meeting about behavior of prior tenants.
Yeah, that was the issue they were having with the prior people that was living there.
I just wanted, there was something else in that letter, if you bear with me a minute.
I believe that the RCO letter was, that the RCO vote was in opposition, but in the letter, they took no position.
Yeah, that's what confuses me. That's what I'm asking.
And I'm not sure if the councilwoman was basing her decision.
So what I'm going to recommend, I know we delayed this once before.
Excuse me, Chairman, we did, the RCO letter was forwarded by the Councilwoman's office,
so they are aware of it.
I'd like to hold this off until the board meets next Wednesday, November 4th at 9.30 a.m.
The record is closed, the board will render a decision next Wednesday, November 4th at 9.30 a.m.
okay thank you next one up it's mi 2020-001-095-3355 jasper street
no hands on this one
3355 jasper street no hands mi 2020-001095 3355 jasper street is continued
okay next one up mi 2020-001099 522 west burke street
Mr. Jin.
Good afternoon.
Good afternoon, Mr. Jin. I think you were sworn in earlier today. Am I correct?
Yes, I was.
Thank you. You're still under oath. Please identify yourself with the record and
up your volume a little bit, please.
Sure. It could be my headphone is not close enough to...
You're good. You're good now.
Great, thank you.
Zen Jin, Z-H-E-N-J-I-N, 1617 John F. Candy Boulevard, Suite 1838, Philadelphia PA 19103, here on behalf of the applicant.
This is, I'm sorry, do you want me to?
Do you agree to waive the reading of its refusal and stipulate to attackers?
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?
I have.
Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
Yes, I do.
Thank you.
Please proceed.
Thank you.
I'm going to share with the board the information relating to this case.
we have submitted as part of our package a refusal the community letter from south kensington
community partners photos plans tax clearance deed the copy of the application project information
sheet and hearing notice the refusal for this matter is based on the zoning of this property
being in a CMX2 district, we are requesting that the property be used exclusively for residential,
which is essentially a conversion of the commercial unit to a residential unit. By right,
you're allowed two residential units as well as a commercial unit. We're seeking a total of three
residential units instead of having the commercial unit on the first floor.
The CMX2 refusal indicates, of course,
that the first floor would have to be used
as a commercial unit for the first 30 foot,
as well as the three total units
would change the calculation for the lot size
to require 1440.
We're at 1249.50.
The property is located on the side of Burke Street, which has individual lots. And as of
The property is located on the side of...
right now, 520, which is the next door property, is a multifamily residential.
526 is also a multifamily residential without commercial. The in-buildings for the block does
have commercial and across the street, there are commercial buildings. However, as you
can see from the photograph here, these two buildings that are sandwiching us in between
are both fully residential. And again, across the street, while there is a large parking
lot with a, I believe, a cousin's store, these here, the smaller lots and the existing buildings
are also residential in nature.
So as far as the use as a residential property, we do not believe it's really out of character
with what is on the block.
We're proposing a three-story structure.
I will zoom in so that the board can better see the height in this case.
So, we're proposing a three story structure consistent with what's existing on the block
as far as height is concerned.
This lot does have a slanted rear, so the yard size is different, although the rear
yard does meet the requirement and so does the open space percentage.
So there are no real dimensional variances being requested in this case.
the layout of the property is pretty straightforward there will be a family room
in the basement dining room kitchen and bedroom on the first floor there's a storage space for
the back area where also you have the washer dryer and some of the utilities the second floor
is a two-bedroom unit and the third floor is a two-bedroom unit they're essentially identical
and design. The second floor unit does have a small balcony in the back for trash storage,
and the third floor has a small roof deck for outdoor trash storage pending trash day itself.
When we met with the RCO, it was done via Zoom. The RCO voted in opposition
because they argued that there is no hardship for what we're requesting.
the commercial space in their opinion would be viable even though it is in fact on a side of
the street that has no other real commercial activity and is sandwiched between two existing
residential properties. So you know I disagree with RCO's analysis of the hardship here I believe
given the current situation with small commercial spaces and also given the location of this
property being between two multifamily dwellings, to say that it would automatically be a very
viable commercial space, I think they're disregarding some of the reality of what is
there. So we again submit that this site being of the narrow width of your standard roll home size
with a conforming depth of the lot, we believe that it is not the best use to have a commercial
space on the first floor and we would ask for the board's consideration in granting this variance.
I'm happy to answer any questions from the board.
Do you have your client available?
Yes, I do.
Joe should be, Joseph should be here.
His last name is Matt Mazze.
I'm not very good at spelling it.
Joe, can you raise your hand so that...
Yes, I raised my hand.
Hi, good evening, sir. Please identify yourself with the record, first and last name and address.
Yes, how are you? My name is Joseph Gitterman. My address is 126 Gardner Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19116.
And I'm the owner of the lot and 522 West Berkshire.
Can you spell your last name?
G-I-T-S-O-T-O-M-E-R-M-A-M.
We're in a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Yes, I do.
Mr. Jin, thank you.
Joseph, you heard my testimony and representation to the zoning board regarding this case.
Can you verify that they're true and correct and adopted as your own?
Yes I do. Thank you. Thank you. Questions from the board? No. Anyone like to testify in this case
Yes, I do.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
please raise your hand. Chair, I have slow folks. Mr. Folks, good evening. Please identify yourself
for the record good evening chairman de chico and members of the zba my name is sloan fuchs s-l-o-a-n-e
f as a fire o-l-k-s office of councilman maria quinones sanchez room 508 city hall
19107 do you swear in the firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes sir i do please proceed thank you sir the applicants having met with the coordinating rco
and having garnered a letter of opposition, the councilman would also like to reaffirm her opposition of this various requests.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Anyone else who would like to testify, please raise your hand.
That's all, Chair.
Thank you.
Planning Commission?
This property is indicated for neighborhood commercial mixed use on the city plan.
The applicant has not demonstrated necessary hardship regarding requirements of the code.
Application represents an incompatible, non-conforming use, not consistent with our adopted district
Recommend request for variance not be granted.
I'm sorry.
If I could just interject a thought, Mr. Bettner, could you always announce your name and your
department please?
Got it.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The plan, I just want to be clear. Is the Planning Commission suggesting that the first
floor be used as a commercial, for commercial use?
We are indicating that that commercial use be retained, as it is, and that the zoning
not be changed. There's no there's been no proposed remapping for this as of yet so that's
our position. Yeah I appreciate I'm not being argument I'm just curious because it's like in
the middle almost in the middle of a block and surrounded by residential I don't know how
commercial is going to work out there. That's just my opinion obviously. Anyone else? Mr. Chairman?
Mr. Chairman? Yes, sir. Yes. Is there other commercial spaces on the block?
So there's a lot of empty lots is what I can see. I'm just
And then these two existing structures are residential in nature. There is maybe on the
very end of the block, I think there's a daycare on the corner property, which actually does not
face Burke Street, it faces one of the intersecting streets. And that's towards the lower end
of the block. There's actually a longer lot towards this end that does have a daycare
on the bottom.
You mentioned that there's a grocery store a block away. I don't know. The grocery store
is actually, so this is our side of the block, as you can see from this photograph. I'm sorry,
it's a little blurry. But if you look across the street, this is a residential, but this
down there in that part this is straight across the block from my client's property that's the
grocery store and their parking lot so the grocery store is about a block away yes thank you across
perk street and then another uh distance away yes one other question 520 and 526 they're
residential correct yes they're fully residential are they multi-family or single they're multi-family
You can see the meters on this one.
I did look at a record of 526 in the city records.
I can try to pull that up now if the board would like.
That's okay.
I just wanted to make sure that what I saw earlier was correct.
It's multifamily.
That's correct.
Yeah, I just don't see how commercials are going to work in the middle of that block,
but that's just my opinion.
All right.
Any other questions?
Anybody else have anything off?
Seeing none, calendar number MI2020-001099, 522 West Berks Street.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
Next one up, it's MI2020-001077, 3818 Aspen Street.
I have promoted attorney.
I have promoted attorney Mulvihill oh here we go and I can't wait to see what he looks
like Mr. Chairman drum roll please say the same thing I used to play the drums too when
I was a kid oh there he goes well now I'm taking guesses Mr. Mulvihill has an RCO meeting
after this hearing i'm wondering if he will be wearing the same hey it depends on what neighborhood
yes sir okay mr mobile hill i think you were on earlier today yes and you're already still
under oath so uh mr plaza you agree to wait to read in of its refusal and stipulate to its
accuracy i do also 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 I have although this morning I sent to Ms. Zuleta a revised sheet with a
proviso sheet as well indicating the location of rear access center for the revised plan
okay have you met with the RCO and have a letter we had a meeting last night at 5 p.m. I do not
have a letter from the RCO yet thank you please proceed yes good evening chairman members of the
board it is I Skeletor from Eternia here to present the proposal for 3818 Aspen Street
what we're proposing today members of the board is relatively straightforward as I share my screen
we now have showing on the screen the zoning packet today the refusal appeal of project
information form are at page one area zoning maps at page seven the deed for the property at eight
my client's tax clearance is at 15 zoning notification that are at 16. we have no rco
letter yet but i can report back on the meeting we held last night voters the property are at 19 and
plans are at 29. so members of the board what we have done in this instance is propose a new two
family dwelling or an existing single family lot the lot itself is currently vacant located in the
mantua area i'm showing now page 7 of 30 of my packet to the top you can see the site picked
out in blue from the zoning map from the city and below you see the aerial map from the atlas website
as well indicating that we are building next to proposing to build next to one vacant lot
which is off to the west, pardon me, off to the east, and then an existing structure to the west.
I'm going to proceed now, members of the board, to the photographs.
So I'm showing now, for the purposes of the record, members of the board, page 19 of my package,
showing the zoning signs that were posted on the property.
Going to page 20, we now see the adjacent structures that are existing.
Although it appears to be one large vacant lot in this photograph, this is actually two
separate lots, and our lot is to the right of this photograph, next to this two-story
home that I'm indicating.
I'm just going to show sort of a panoramic shot of photos of the surrounding block.
scrolling out at 27 page 28. Zooming out now what I'm showing is the original site plan
and the reason I'm going to this is because it shows our proposed structure looking to
the upper left hand side our proposed structure next to the existing home my architect Michelle
is on the line today. I'll have her raise her hand in a minute. But you can see that
although we are building three stories tall for which we did not receive a refusal, we're
doing our best to match both the porch line of the existing homes because these homes
are set back with small front yards and small porches. We include that in this proposal.
We try to keep the facade the same. We're using red brick. And we try to keep the second
story windows the same as well within an inch or two. The height of the property as proposed
is 36 feet tall so we're not even going to the full 38 as required by code
just moving to the next page members of the board i'm showing now the entire site plan here
you can see to the front there's a small front yard about 14 of the lot with an uncovered porch
that is matching the adjacent setbacks and adjacent porches of the existing home
home to the right of the property. To the left, as I said before, it's a vacant lot. I'm assuming
somebody will wish to build there in the future. Pilot House is set back from the front towards
pilot house is set back from the front towards the middle of the structure so it won't be visible
the middle of the structure so it won't be visible from the street.
from the street and then we have rear exit basement stairs in the rear yard the rear yard
itself is slightly smaller than what's allowed by code so we did receive a refusal for that although
we have all the required open area as required by code between the front and rear yard what i'm
showing now members of the board it was the bottom left hand side of this sheet which is just a side
view showing the front yard, steps, porch, three stories up. The five-foot setback is
required by code for the roof deck. A pilot house for access to the roof deck and the rear yard.
Moving on to the next page, members of the board, which is the final page of our presentation.
These are the floor plans. I'm going to start from the left, which is the basement. So we do
have bedrooms in the basement, members of the board, which is why we have egress stairs coming
out to the rear, leading to the rear common fire alley.
Bedroom 1 is to the front, closet space in the middle, along with the bathroom.
Bedroom 2 is to the rear, could also be used as an office, rec room, anything along those
lines.
But for the purpose of these plans, we are showing those bedrooms, again, including the
stairs in the back.
This is to the right of that on the first story, members of the board.
the second part of unit number one which is three beds three baths about 1500 square feet
give or take as you proceed up the front steps on the porch you go into a front door and hang
a right down that common hallway kitchen to the front dining to the middle living room behind that
bath and then a bedroom to the rear which again could be a den office anything along those lines
that has access to the rear yard for trash storage.
Proceeding up the common stairs, you'll get to unit number two.
Again, three bed, three bath.
It's slightly larger than the other unit
because we don't have to worry about the basement walls.
And the floor plan is basically the same.
Living and dining to the front, kitchen in the middle, bedroom to the rear.
Proceeding up the stairs then to the third floor of the structure,
bedroom to the front, bedding to the rear,
restrooms and closets in the interior.
to the staircase leading up to the pilot house roof deck for access to the exterior space for
that second-story unit. As stated before, the roof deck is set back from the front as required by code.
Trash will be stored in the kitchen and in the trash storage closet. Feedback from the community
meeting members of the board, and I had my notes in front of me from that, after this presentation
of this very same packet, there were nine, pardon me, ten people altogether in attendance, including
myself my architect and the representative from the council's office there was a total of six
votes three yes three no uh the questions asked had to do with whether we had spoken to the
immediately next door neighbor and at this point we hadn't yet but we intend to do so before
continuing construction um that's really all the questions that we had other than general questions
The plan is to rent out each of these units at around $1,300 per unit.
We did receive a copy of a letter from a council person's office indicating that they don't object to the multifamily, but they object to the height.
Members of the board, I understand that where you build a three-story home next to a two-story home, sometimes there are objections about that.
But in this instance, we did not receive a refusal for the height or for having a third story.
That would be permitted by right no matter what.
So I'd ask that if that is the only community concern
as expressed in that letter that we received,
that you take that into consideration
as not being an issue at zoning for this particular case.
As if we were-
Excuse me, this is Sharon Stiletto.
We did receive an email from Andrew Goodman
of the councilwoman's office this afternoon.
I don't know whether you were copied on that.
I did send it just now to the board members
if you're able to view it in your text messages.
Yes, that's the letter to which I was referring.
I know Mr. Goodman is in hands full right now.
So that's essentially all I have, members of the board.
If you have any questions for me, for the architect, she can raise her hand.
If you'd just like to hold this vote until we have a formal letter from the RCO itself,
I understand that that would be totally acceptable as well.
The letter didn't come through yet.
um but i think mr motherhill did i hear you say that you were going to have a conversation with
the next door neighbor well the question there was a question that was asked by the attendees
as to if we had had any discussions with the next door neighbor about construction things like that
and the answer that i had was we haven't yet because we're still at the zoning
part of the issue, even if there's concerns about COVID, normally I would go around the
neighborhood and talk to people as well, but I'm trying to stay in the office and in my
I'm trying to stay in the office and in my place as much as possible, especially with spiking rates at this point.
place as much as possible, especially.
But that's going to be a continuing discussion with the near neighbor.
And I ensure that everybody in attendance had all my contact information if they had additional questions.
So is it correct to say that the next door neighbor was not in attendance?
That is correct.
They were notified per the requirements for mailing, but I believe Sharon was not.
And this is Sharon again.
And if I can say that Mr. Mulvihill did accurately
describe the council person,
the councilwoman's letter or email,
it did not appear to object to the multi-family.
That was the issue, okay.
All right, anyone, do you have anyone else, Mr. Mulvihill?
No, members of the board,
but if you are going to take a vote,
I just would like to remind you
that this would be proviso one sheet stamped today.
thank you and if you're not going to take the vote if you're holding it for the letter i would
recommend that it be the record be closed except for presentation of the rco letter from the
applicant yeah okay is there anyone who would like to testify in this case if so please raise your
hand sure i have corinne or corinne you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in
good evening ma'am please identify yourself with a record spell your first and last name
and provide us with your address hi i'm corinne sap i'm a representative from the rco from
the civic association please spell your name for this c-o-r-i-n-e s-a-p-p we're in the firm to tell
the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do please proceed uh the uh representative was
correct when he said there was a three three tie uh we're still proposing the letter but i asked
the question uh for the community regarding had he reached out to the nearby neighbors not just the
one uh for uh fairness of covid for fairness of uh the mailing and just talking to some of the
other neighbors on the block, there was a delay in receiving the notice. I think you guys sent it
on the 15th, or when did you guys mail it? What was the date? I'm taking a look right now.
Yeah, so that was, go ahead. It was postmarked as, referring to page 18 of my packet for the
record members of the board, it was postmarked October 13th. All right, so it was on the 13th,
And some of the issues of why it was only six members at the meeting after speaking to people yesterday and today is the meeting was held at five o'clock, which is unfortunate that many people get off at five.
And normally our meetings are six. So that was an issue right now.
Now, since you didn't speak with the nearby neighbors and along with our goal in Mantua to to sustain the density and having a single family home in this area, since we actually down zone the area in Mantua to have all single family homes.
That's why that all those homes on that block are still two stories.
I know you can go up to three, but they're all single family homes.
so right now it should be continued and that's why it was a delay it should be continued along
with speaking to more the neighbors on the block even if it's by mail or social distancing to be
able to get that information from at least the adjacent neighbors. Mr. Mulvihill indicated he
would reach out to them. Right but we don't know what the issues are and concerns and right now
with the more than six people that I spoke with between yesterday and today, they're not here,
is to have it continue because it didn't seem like they would be for this project.
I object to that as hearsay and ask that it be stricken for the record, members of the board.
Staying, record system, yeah.
And in response, members of the board, briefly, referring to page 16 of my packet, which is now
on the screen, as you see, I put a very orderly letter together. I use bullet points and all of
contact information is included at least once. My email address is in there twice.
My contact information has also been on the orange zoning sign.
Referring to the reverse side of that letter that I send out, now at page 17 of the packet,
this is what I send on the reverse side with the Zoom meeting instructions.
The time and date of the meeting were set by the RCO and I had no control over that.
And I also include, as you can see indicating with my cursor,
my email and my phone number, and I tell everybody when they receive that, if they want to receive
an electronic copy of the plans, I am happy to send that to them. So I understand the concerns
about people not attending. However, I did not set the time or date of the meeting. We did present
this meeting. Neighbors weren't attending, so we can hope to continue to have a discussion with the
uh neighbors were in attendance and we can hope to continue to have a discussion with the near
near neighbors.
neighbors regarding this however i've made myself available since these were sent out
and i don't have control over the mail but they were sent out in the timely matter once we had
our date and time confirmed for this meeting as well thank you and i understand that but in
addition what is the hardship here there's no hardship to go outside of um it's kareem set
you're not allowed to ask questions of the attorney okay okay as you wish well to the
board there's no heart that was the other discussion there was no hardship there's no
hardship um um here to go outside of our plan and down zoning the area as we did in the mantua
community i'm sorry miss i didn't even interrupt you members of the board if i may respond mr
goodman from the council person's office did ask that question with me and i stated simply this is
an issue of affordability if a single family home is built here it's going to be a rental of
approximately 2600 per month versus two units that'll be rented at around 1300 per month and
that was the uh thought in putting forth a two family dwelling here for new construction with
the rise in construction costs being what they are
over the last few months.
And that was the suggestion for having these two units
versus just a single family home being rented at 2,600.
Okay, all right, anyone else?
Yes, Chair, I have Michelle.
Michelle, you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in.
I'm just, I'm representing the architect,
parallel architecture studio, so I'm just gonna have questions.
okay thank you we'll hold off on that anyone else no one else here okay uh planning commission
this is uh ron bednar with the philadelphia city planning commission
this property is indicated for single-family residential use on the city plan the applicant
is not demonstrating necessary hardship regarding the requirements of the code
application is not consistent with our adopted district plan nor the enacted 2017
matchua neighborhood remapping to recommend the quest for various not be granted
thank you uh i want to make sure i got this clear there's still some uh outreach that needs to be
done on behalf of the applicant is that correct correct mr moblehill members of the board we
are going to speak with adjacent neighbors with respect to construction schedules and all that
of course um the members at the community meeting present yesterday asked whether i had personally
spoken with any of the neighbors right and i stated no because i'm not going out and talking
to anybody right now and that's why we're here behind these screens at the moment instead of
sitting in the room so i understand those concerns that i've made myself open and available and i've
invited uh multiple times anybody to reach out to me with concerns they may have
I'm not sure what other outreach to the community the RCO would wish me to do other than sending
the letters, posting my signs, including in very clear language, all of my information,
and then having that meeting and making myself available to everybody who attends.
All right, Sharon, we don't have the letter. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, we have the email from the councilman's rep, but not a letter from the RCO.
Right. Okay. So, MI 2020-001077, 3818 Aspen Street.
I would suggest that this hearing be resumed.
uh we can give a special a certain date uh tanya you still want to use the fourth
um for just well i don't know excuse me for interrupting time i don't know if that'll give
enough time uh for any further discussion i know uh mr mobile hill is not going to go out
personally i understand that but i don't know if the rco representative could reach out to
some of the neighbors and have them contact Mr. Mulvihill to discuss the project.
I'm happy to make myself available. I will be here on 11-4 for hearings anyway,
so that date's a good date for me.
That worked on you?
Yes, that's perfectly fine.
All right, so MI 2020-001077, 3818 Aspen Street. This hearing will be resumed on
On Wednesday, November the 4th, 2 o'clock or what time?
Nope, we can do 9.30.
9.30 a.m., at which time we will consider any feedback related to the RCO's position and near neighbors.
we will consider any feedback from related to the RCO's position and near neighbors.
Thank you, members of the board. I put that on my schedule.
Have a good evening, everybody, and happy Halloween.
Thank you. Likewise. Stay safe.
Next one up. MI 2020-001078, 415 South 40th Street.
Board members, the attorney of record, Oleg Sokoloff, has requested a withdrawal of this
So MI-2020-001078-415 South 40th Street is withdrawn.
Is that the final case on our list?
It is.
Well, that was.
any other any outstanding business nothing else all right ladies and gentlemen all right everyone
have a good one good night thank you good night stay safe out there thank you report reporter
you're welcome stay safe thank you bye-bye thank you dpc zoom
Thank you.