front of the board this morning or this afternoon i am and would you agree that testimony was true
and accurate and would you adopt it as if you had provided it to the board yourself i would
we're happy to answer questions and again we do have the architect on the line if there's
technical questions as well questions from the board so so your basement your first floor units
there are two first floor units correct that have uh they're by level and they're they're full
bathrooms in the basement what's the what's the what's the use of the basement is that not a
bedroom that is not a bedroom uh mr johns that's intended to be either a home office or just a den
space it is not a bedroom on either and so the one so the one in the front has two full bathrooms in
the basement that is right am i reading this correctly that that is correct there are there
are full bathrooms can we bring the architect on if he can hopefully clarify that design
i look for logan dry background here yeah i hear background from somewhere
not not from here it's no it's fine it's stopped
and then the same and then in the front you've got a full bathroom
in the basement there and the wash and dryers in the basement
what's your architect's name logan dry all right
he's allowed to speak logan yep i could you please state your name and spell for the
stenographer sure logan dry l-o-g-a-n-d-r-y logan could you turn your video on too please
yep you swear or firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do please proceed council
uh logan did you hear board member johns's questions regarding the uh the lower level
design in terms of the bathrooms correct the uh the back unit there unit b has uh two full
baths in the basement just because um on the first floor there's not a bathroom so usually
like people use that basement as a gym space or what they tend to like a separate bathroom
from the one the bedroom might have um so you have a little bit more of a master type scenario
it's not on suite but you know the the person could have their own private bathroom in addition
to the public bathroom that would be used for the gym space and then the unit in the front uh again
i don't i don't understand what public gym space no no so so for instance like in the basement not
not not public for everybody to use but for instance like if somebody has a bathroom that
they want dedicated for their bedroom they can keep that bathroom separate and then the space
that's used in the basement is like a gym or an office space it doesn't necessarily have to be
using that same bathroom that would be you know sort of like the owner's uh bath um again it's
completely optional we just had the space for it so we stuck it down there we could remove it if it
was a issue but no i'm just i just it just that just seems uh odd when you when the when the
odd when you when the when the challenge is always uh dollars and cents that are two full
challenge is always uh
bathrooms would be put in a basement and it's almost like well if they wanted to convert that
to a a bedroom and kind of you know fool the audience they could that's the concern but right
and that's what i said we can certainly remove that yeah logan i i apologize for catching you
on the fly with this question because i don't know if you can answer this but is this layout
consistent with the one that was just built immediately next door as well at 3962 i'm not
sure about that just because we weren't the architect on that but i'd imagine that that
building if it had to fit i think what it was five it was six units in that one i'd imagine that one
probably had um a great deal of more uh bedroom living in the basement just to fit everything
but i'm not familiar with the plans because we weren't the architect on that one
all right and what it what's the uh what are you doing for trash
uh so the upper units the second and third floor of a vented trash closet uh the first floor unit
in the back has access to the rear yard for their trash and the front unit um we do a vented trash
closet there i know it's not shown on the plan but typically we'll build something like that
at the end of the kitchen right there or you know see a little bit of space from the bedroom closet
and what's the height of the basement uh the depth of the basement slab below grade
uh meredith do you have the plan on that i think the i think the depth is there
a section is there a section or elevation or something that shows
so logan i know you had provided updated
uh can you zoom i can't really read that there oh sorry that's fine yeah so uh it looks like it's
it looked like it's almost 100 below grade well it's it's about about a foot or so out of grade
but we we had to match the we had to match the zoning plans that the the other designer put
together so i mean when we build it we could certainly adjust it and pull it more out of
grade i think we're able to go another three feet or so before we before we trigger a need for a
revised permit we could you know do that what's your height what's your what's your what's your
building height 30 33 so I mean L and I has a has a provision where we could
change the height up to three feet more and as long as it's still within the
maximum height you know we could do that to get that basement a little bit
further out of grade which honestly they're yeah thank you probably they're
probably gonna look to do that just to match what was next door yeah yeah
Yeah, because, I mean, you know, eight feet below gray is lower than, you know, I make this comment all the time, but lower than the depth of a grave.
You know, the unit next door that you have in the picture is a much better condition where the window is almost fully above grade and you get, you know, you really get natural light on a day like today.
I imagine the people who have these basement apartments that have these or that are completely below grade are completely buried with snow, completely buried with snow.
on a day like today. So that's always a concern for me. Alex, are you still with us? I don't see
you, but are you still? Did the owner get muted somehow? Hello? Hi, Alex. Sorry about that. Yeah,
I don't know why I got muted. So Alex, I assume you've been on and listening to these questions.
So you you are also the you would also likely be the builder of this particular project.
Is that correct? I will not be the builder of that particular project.
But to coordinate the building, the front facade for the new hopefully for the new building will match 62.
So that elevation is going to be a little bit different to match the height.
and it's not going to it's it's it's sloped in the rear um so it's a little deeper in the back
than it is in the front but we had to regrade that um from the previous so the basement will
actually be much higher than eight feet um and then going back to the bat additional bathrooms
in the basement we've noticed from um just from feedback from the community
they prefer an additional bathroom because uh you know it's just a convenience but we try
they prefer an additional bathroom because
since the units are so big um and if you have company you know you don't want to have everybody
go through your bedroom to go to the bathroom so we all typically add additional bathrooms
where we can and for us it's an expense we don't mind to do extra just for the convenience and
comfortability to live uh we try to make it as as comfortable as possible for um for everybody to
live in these units and they're bi-level thank you other questions for the board okay um am i
looking at this correctly and going back to this whole thing with the bathrooms so these are bi-level
units yes there's so the uh rear the the first floor has the first unit is uh
okay there's bathroom there bedroom living room and then we're going down into this other level
is that what i'm seeing and there's the other bedroom i mean other bathroom and then
living room down there so the first floor has the master bedroom area and
then the basement has the den area slash office with the bathroom yes so where is
the bathroom where the bedroom is are we am I missing something here is there I
I say a living room.
No, there are two bathrooms in the basement.
There is no bathroom attached to the bedroom that's on the first floor.
Both the bathrooms are on the basement.
So if you're in the bedroom on the first floor, you have to go to the basement to go to the bathroom.
Oh, that's even worse.
To one of the bathrooms.
For the rear, but for the front, we have one in the front.
Sorry, I apologize about that.
I thought you were talking about the front unit.
Well, yeah, well, I'm still.
Okay, so that's even worse than my, you know, concern about wandering through the kitchen in the living room.
You got to go down to the basement to go to the bathroom if you're in that unit.
Is that what we're doing here?
Right.
And with due respect to the board, I think they've heard your feedback on this.
And I think that, Logan, correct me if I'm wrong, but based on this feedback, you would very much be willing to revise to provide a bathroom on that first floor.
And I want to add, too, like I want to know what's the hardship of having the four instead of if a three could accommodate that.
And my concern is that there is no type of storage space for the unit.
So if there's three, that basement could be used for some storage space for these units.
I hate to pile on, but I think taking what board member Gaston Graham and John said, I think, you know, while the second and third floor units are well laid out and they are generous, I think unit A and B are not.
i think there's a lot of logistical things i think the living room kitchen area and unit
a is really small i also think it's completely crazy that the front door opens and blocks the
refrigerator from opening anybody that's ever gotten a double store fridge knows that that's
like the absolute worst place and location to have a fridge so i feel like so listen to me
so that meredith no listen to me there's too many issues that have been brought up
i want to see plans that try to address these issues and i'm going to give this a resumptive
date of 4 28 26 at 9 30 a.m mr chairman if i can just very briefly my client is fully willing to
listen to me listen to me that's what we're going to do i have a lot of people sitting here
We just can't keep dragging this out.
So you have a resumptive date of 4-28-26, okay?
Thank you.
We're going to go on to the next case, and Meredith, it's yours.
All right, give me one second.
Number 7, MI-2025-005-602, 1729 Cotman Street.
unanimous support from rawnhurst civic association six total votes
okay okay um just state your name for the record meredith ferliger f-e-r-l-e-g-e-r right and
Meredith Ferliger, F-E-R-L-E-G-E-R.
Right. And could you identify your client and relationship to the property?
Yes, my client is Vatsal LLC, and that is the owner of the property as well as the applicant, represented today by Manish Patel.
All right. Our vice chair has a few questions.
Good afternoon again. Have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing?
I did.
okay and you have a host of a few use refusals so do you waive the reading and stipulate to the
accuracy i i do yes okay thank you you can share your screen up again thank you uh this property
before the board today concerns 1729 cotman avenue which is in the northeast and sits just at the
corner of front next street this is a very straightforward case as i think you will see
so i will be brief and can expand on any point should the board require additional detail
The exhibit packet includes 16 exhibits, and in the packet at Exhibit 15 is the letter of support
from Ron Hurst Civic. Starting first with the property overview, as you can see on the aerials
at Exhibit 10, this newly improved building sits just in a dense commercial and multifamily area
along Cotman Avenue, just a few steps from Northeast High. Just next to the property is
the country club diner with a gas station and pharmacy at the corner of glendale avenue
in the opposite direction is a strip of diverse one-story commercial uses that you can see here
such as a barber shop daycare and a few restaurant tenants from the photographs
at exhibit 16 again you'll see the three-story commercial building that was just recently
completed. This view from Cotman Avenue shows that it was improved as a commercial building
with large first floor glass windows with more traditional office aesthetics above.
From Frontenac Street, the building adjoins a multi-family complex along the rear.
I do have a few additional views. Let me zoom out. This first one looking towards Glendale,
where again, you can see the diner in the distance. This next view looked along Cotman
Avenue looking down Frontnac Street. And then we did also include photographs of the timely
posting on the property. Looking at the zoning map at Exhibit 9, you'll see that the property
is zoned CMX 1. Here is the crux of this case. As you can see on the next page, this property
was rezoned along with many others from CMX 2 to CMX 1 in 2022 after my client was already in the
process of constructing this building. The Planning Commission's district plan did not recommend the
rezoning and in fact recommends a higher density commercial classification for some of this area.
At Exhibit 5, I've included the original zoning plans that were approved in 2020,
authorizing an addition to the former Ukrainian Credit Union Bank building.
Although no signage was originally approved with this application,
you will see that a monument sign was clearly contemplated at that time
to be located at the corner of Cotman and Frontenac Street.
Even on the elevations that were included with the zoning application at that time,
the contemplated locations for building signage were identified on these elevations.
At Exhibit 11, the zoning permit dated December 23rd, 2020, is included, which shows that the uses were approved as business and professional retail sales, and on the second page was otherwise identified as vacant commercial space on the first floor.
You can see on the zoning permit that at the time it was zoned CMX2.
The building permit is shown on the next page and was approved January 27, 2022,
and the CO was issued just in September of 2025. Again, as you saw moments ago,
the remapping occurred almost a year after the building permit was already approved for this
commercial project. I did also include the approved floor plans at Exhibit 6 that I can
walkthrough if necessary. As you can see on the refusal at Exhibit 1, there are two categories
of issues that were created from this remapping. First, there are two use refusals. As the board
may know, CMX 1 restricts office, retail, and commercial services uses on the first floor
to no more than 2,000 square feet, and no commercial service uses may be on or above
And no commercial service uses may be on or above the second floor.
of the second floor.
This application, as I'll show you, includes personal service, medical, and office uses
throughout the entire building, since it is a commercial building.
The hardship here is quite bright, since the building was approved and constructed in accordance
with the then-CMX2 allowances, which contemplated a commercial use throughout the entire building.
Now, based on the CMX1 zoning, nearly the entire building would be rendered without
a permitted use.
This ultimately stems from L&I's practice not to approve uses at the time of the original
permitting for commercial projects, since most people at the time of their permits aren't
sure who their eventual tenants are going to end up to be.
I am not intending to go through this in extensive detail, but so the board is aware and we are happy to expand, I have included about 40 pages worth of slides showing detailed information about each of the tenants, which include administrative offices for the EZ Home Care Agency on the third floor,
Shagun Grocer, which is an Asian and South Asian grocer that will occupy roughly 3,000 square feet on the first floor.
Smile Dental, which is a sole practitioner dentist who will occupy a portion of the second floor.
And a beauty salon, which will occupy a portion of the third floor.
The final tenet and the basis for the other use refusal is a Subway restaurant, which will occupy roughly 900 square feet on the first floor.
Takeout restaurant uses are prohibited in the CMX1 zoning district.
Although not by right under CMX2, this takeout restaurant use would have been subject to receive a special exception under the prior CMX2 zoning.
In this packet, as I mentioned, I have detailed information about each of the tenants, including
hours of operation, trash management, and other pertinent details.
I should also have a representative from each of these tenant spaces on the Zoom should
you need any additional information.
However, given the incredibly unique nature of this particular hardship, I will save you