there's ample parking on the street um i get miffed when i don't have the parking spot right
in front of my house um because it's usually the case that neighbors each park in front of their
their own houses. So this is 4812 Trinity Street. This is just a sort of Google Maps pan panoramic picture of the area.
Here's 4814, and you can even see some of our construction in progress.
And then this is the other. This is the westward facing view of the block so that you can get a sense of the parking situation on the street.
So two factors that might also affect your decision about the use variant.
First, as we learned when we went to the RCO meeting, properties on the historical register are allowed to have an ADU without seeking a variance.
But because we live next door in the twin and not in the property itself, we're not able to to do that without a use variance.
And the second is that there are multiple other properties on the block that are converted into multifamily units already the houses are about 24 to 2,500 square feet, which is large.
It's listed as a 6 bedroom house and you know understanding is that they were converted into multiple units at a time when zoning was perhaps not as as strict.
So even though they remain RSA 3 properties on the books, they have multiple units.
So this is the RCO letter of support. We had a really lovely meeting with the Cedar Park Neighbors Zoning Committee, and all members were present, as well as a member of the 46th Ward Democratic Committee, and a couple of neighbors who showed up in support.
And we actually ended up spending a long time talking about the history of the area, because Kathy does historical research as an architect, and I ended up doing a lot of research for the property when we put it on the National Register of Historic Places.
So now we'll show you some photographs of the property. First, in its existent condition, both the exterior, although that will not change by the zoning variance, and then the interior.
And Leo will talk through some of the modifications we proposed.
But we wanted to show you some of the work that we've done in order to give you a sense of the kind of ethic that we're bringing to our project.
to our project um so these are images from um from a structural engineer uh who reviewed the
um so these are images from
property and as you can see there's extensive spalling uh of the brick um the brick was as if
you might know west valley brick is soft brick uh and someone decided to repoint it uh with straight
up cement, and so the brick is falling pretty badly. The porch is very dilapidated, and the roof,
as Ellen I noted, needed to be fully replaced. Here's a close-up of the porch with the footings
falling apart and the gutters, and here's the underside of the roof system of the porch. So
all of these were parts of the L&I Make Safe Permit. The house has a really beautiful
two-story wooden porch that was original to the property, but it was in pretty severely
dilapidated condition. And just a couple more photos showing the underside of the porch and
spalling in the back of the house. And then you can see the tiles. The slate tiles are just sort
is sliding their way off of uh sliding their way off of the roof um and uh these are some of the
some pictures of the property um taken recently in the past month as you can see um we've completely
replaced uh and repainted the underside of the roof um here's the inside of the porch we had
spindles uh there's a wonderful carpenter in west philly lieutenant who fabricated spindles that
exactly match the existence spindles um replace the porch with mahogany and we are playing around
with porch colors right now um here's a picture of the underside of the porch there we had to
pour new footings uh replace the brick and rebuild the screens for the porch here you can see we
replaced the roof um with slate and copper fittings uh and historically appropriate
um sort of historical commission approved um regular shingles for the porch um and we've uh
had the original windows redone um and we're working with the carpenter to uh weather strip
and weather proof and paint the window no i i i think everything you're talking about is wonderful
perfect but i think maybe you might want to talk about the do what we're about to do well that's
nice thank you i appreciate it great okay uh so uh i'll toss it over to leah okay so interior
plans and proposed modifications um so we'll just go floor by floor this is the first floor um the
only alterations to the layout are moving the entry door to the middle room from the um from
the hall to the kitchen so it currently is right here it's going to move right here the bathroom
only had a toilet so we're adding a tub and a sink and the house originally had a vestibule that
was removed at some point and so we're adding that back in instead of one door to the interior
however there will now be two an entrance per unit and we're working with lauren mariani mariani
carpentry who has extensive experience restoring west philadelphia victorians in particular
um and i'll leave it there though we do have more information if anyone wants additional detail
um and then here are some images this is the vestibule with the walls removed um which will
be added back in and the staircase um that will be partitioned um to allow for individual entry
and so um the the wall that you could sort of see would run right here on the outside of the
staircase enclosing it yeah um alterations to the second floor um we will enclose the staircase
while preserving the banister and add a kitchen in one of the second floor bedrooms and here is
a photo of the room designated for our proposed kitchen and then there will be no alterations to
third floor um and i believe that's that's it that so thank you for your time yep and then the
only other thing um we uh we uploaded originally the tax clearance uh for last year but this is
the updated tax clearance for this year okay questions from the board on the first floor
unit are you going through the bedroom to get to the backyard please tell me now
no uh so there's actually that that that second floor porch that i um i slid through some photos
of it so this is the kitchen it's the original kitchen and it has this large door right here
goes into a back porch which then goes into the backyard okay so this middle
goes into a back porch which then goes into the backyard okay so this middle room is the bedroom
this middle room yeah it's currently i think the dining room it'll become the bedroom
that'll become the bedroom okay and then this front space will be the living room the living
room yes so living room kitchen back porch rear yard okay correct um is there a basement um to
the property that will be redone as well and there is a basement the entrance is right here
and that basement that first unit will have access to the basement and will it what will
the basement be used for uh the first unit will have access to the basement it's a you know it's
a typical west philly um finished in that it has plaster on the walls but otherwise
is unfinished so it'll just be for storage. And I noticed that there's a space for cars in the
driveway. Is there also the intent to store trash cans, receptacles for each unit or where is trash
going to be stored? So trash for the units are currently stored in the driveway sort of alongside
inside the two buildings, and there's still room for cars with the trash there.
Question. So then the second and the third floor or one unit is that?
Yes. So the first floor is one unit, second and third floor is one unit.
Can we can we see that again? Please? Thank you.
so here's the second floor um and the entrance again is down on the first floor um and so you'd
come up the stairways uh and then this is a very large room this is another very large room this
will be uh this was the sort of i think master bedroom that we're making into the kitchen
this is the bathroom as it currently exists um and then back here is the enclosed uh
The enclosed porch it's a three season porch is actually large enough to be a small bedroom, but the entrance is from this this room right here.
And then the third floor as you walk up there's another three rooms, and then the bathroom as it currently exists.
I guess the one alteration that we are going to do is that we're going to put a stacked washer and dryer right here in the edge of the hallway.
all right thank you other questions yeah i have a question about the separation of utilities since
this is moving from a single family home to a duplex where will the utilities for the second
floor unit a second and third floor unit be located so that they have access yeah um so
we're working with our electrician right now um i think we'll put the panels uh up on the um up on
second floor the for the um and then um we're going to need to figure out how to um either to
do a a separate entrance into the basement uh in order to do and we have architectural plans for
that from our structure would that be through the rear of the property or through the driveway it's
through the rear because um there can't be any changes that are visible from the exterior
because it's on the historical register right okay questions from our attorney
hillary emberson um just two clarifications one um if you i don't know if this is the same
powerpoint that you submitted um previously but if not just please upload this so it's included
for the record um also did you say there was a drive this house has a driveway yeah so it does
have parking yes so um let me go to page three so this is the driveway between this runs from the
street all the way to the back of the two houses um and it fits three cars okay um that may be
something that you um that you may want to have documented since it says on here there's no parking
um and also the the access point where it comes from the front actually might generate you another
refusal so i i don't know i mean you could you could potentially get an amended refusal here to
to clarify that there's parking or you could do it separately but i think it it's possible that
it might generate another refusal but i just it was just noting the inconsistency on the refusal
we've been emailing back and forth without they're aware of the fact that we had the driveway
um but then because the original refusal had it on she couldn't take it off for this hearing
but she said actually there wasn't a reason to refuse because of the driveway so i don't
because of the driveway so i don't i mean we we can i mean i can ask for a corrected refusal we
can just hold this for a couple weeks and i can ask for a corrected refusal um that shouldn't
that shouldn't be an issue normally if they there's parking there and it's just not existing
parking it's not noted they can change that um but um yeah i'm not happy to do that um speaking
with willow jessa yeah i'll yeah yeah i saw she was the examiner on the refusal i i can reach out
to her supervisor for clarification on why that wasn't adjusted normally they will note that if
there is parking so all right so so we'll go through still right questions or comments in
the audience or the virtual audience there's no one here but so it's virtual audience i see no
he's at this time too planning commission amy boy by the planning commission the comprehensive plan
recommends no change in zoning to the current rsa3 residential single family zoning this property is
designated historic and it currently has parking the appellant has demonstrated that there are
unique circumstances that additional parking could not feasibly be added citywide vision
recommendation one point sorry 8.1.1 calls to preserve culturally historically and architecturally
significant buildings sites structures and districts the planning commission recommends
that the board grant their requested variances for two family and no parking right so hillary
will hold us for we want to give it a date um let's um next week is february second and third
would work third um yeah let's say let's say february uh hold on actually no i think it's the
fourth one second yeah february 4th yes february 4th and it's closed right everything aside from
aside from the um corrected refusal corrected refusal okay all right thank you very much thank you
yeah you'd
number six mi 2025 zero zero four four eight zero 100 east wyoming avenue ali and sarah johnny are
the owner applicants
Ali Janu will be rejoining us as a panelist thank you
hello sir could you please state your name and spell for the sonographer yes sir Ali
johnny a l i last name johnny j o n n y all right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole
truth and nothing but the truth sir yes sir so this application is for the proposed uses retail
sales of food beverage groceries in the first floor with two family household living above
within an existing structure whereas the proposed use retail food retail sales of food beverages and
groceries and two family household living are prohibited in the rsa3 zoning district
whereas no more than one principal uses allowed in the rsad rsa and rta zoning district there is a
letter of unanimous support from the 42nd ward seven total votes our vice chair has a few questions
for you okay good morning have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this
hearing yes ma'am okay and the chair just read your refusal so do you waive the reading of the
refusals further and stipulate to their accuracy yes okay thank you you can share your screen and
start your case. Okay. Oh, okay. So I co-own this property with my sister. Her name is Sarah Johnny.
uh this is a notarized letter um stating that she's allowing me to speak on behalf of her
uh in regards to the matter uh here we have the letter of refusal refusal we have we have all
your documents okay so should i start what i would recommend you do is go to your plans
and or your photos okay i'll start with this and and and why don't you basically tell us what
you're trying to do too okay sir um so when i me and my sister we purchased this property
and um it was it was already um zoned for mixed use here's the zoning the original one from 1958
if you look to the right right there where it says date um it was zoned for mixed use so it was um
Um, it was zoned for mixed use. So it was, um, the commercial on the bottom and then, uh, residential on the top. So this is how I purchased it. And then when I started doing some work, I got, um, a letter. So I had to go downtown to apply for a permit. And when I went downtown to apply for a permit to start doing some work, the guy, he said that I have to zone it.
So I said, okay, because I'm naive. This is my first project. I said, okay. And he ended up zoning it as a single family instead of what it originally was. So that's what got me into this mess. And I went in front of the RCO on October 16th. And I explained that to them too. And they saw what I've done already on that neighborhood because I actually grew up on this block.
this is the house right here that we're talking about i um i also recently purchased
this property and as you can see it looks way better than it did before and a lot of
people are happy in the neighborhood um but this is the property that we're speaking on today
as you can see the front of it
it's already right next to a chinese takeout restaurant and then directly across the street
we have a lounge and behind here we have a limousine service in the yellow building
and in this building right here that's the one that i own and we're starting to finish up working
on it. And then also there's more commercial space across the street here and there's more
commercial space right here. So it's in alignment with the layout. I also want to add, everybody is
really happy because this property was abandoned for a very long time, over 15 years. It's been
abandoned. So now that we're finally, somebody's taking ownership of it, we're going to make it
look really nice and it's going to be beneficial to to the outlook of the neighborhood because
right here on wyoming avenue if you're coming down this is where it begins to start like the
whole wyoming so this is like the face of wyoming almost and this house right here has just been an
eyesore for the longest time so i actually i grew up in this house over here right behind the one
with the bricks that's where that's where i was born and raised so i'm very like uh invested in
this community and um also let me show you guys this this is uh oh yeah this is the letter of
support you guys have this this is the inside um this is the uh second floor let me yeah this is
the second floor how it looks in the inside when i got the house there was a squatter in there
and it was like a hassle to get him out but we finally got achieved it and everybody was happy
because he was bringing drugs to the neighborhood and everything guns and stuff um here's more
pictures of the interior sorry i'm breathing heavy uh here's the second floor bathroom
this one here is a picture of the second floor front kitchen this is this was already in there
i didn't do anything this was already there and this is the second floor rear if you look through
that window right there that's that's where the backyard is um if we go through with it i want to
make a passageway back here so that whoever's in there have an access to the back because in the
back is where we're going to store our garbage and here's the second floor efficiency
and also the house is not it's not designed as a single family i have um the layout it's right here
so it's not even designed like if you're on the second floor you can't get to the first floor so
it's not originally designed as a uh as a single family uh home um if we look at the blueprints
here uh this is the basement all the way on the left the top is going to be the front of the
building so it's uh the basement is just going to be utilities only and then this is the retail
space in the middle this is where the the front of the building is on the top of the page and uh
this is the corridor right around here in the middle and more retail space the whole first
floor is just going to be commercial and the last on the right side of our page here we have the
plans for the apartments that are going to be on the first on the second floor so it's a bedroom
bathroom washer dryer next to the bathroom and then we have the small kitchen and a small living
area and almost a mirror of the layout for the back side and to give you guys an idea if you
And to give you guys an idea, if you guys are thinking, hey, that looks a little bit too small for two apartments, look at how long the building is.
You guys are thinking, hey, that looks a little bit too small.
So that way you guys can get an idea.
The doorway will, right on the left of the doorway, it's going to be like the middle section.
Like right around here, it will be divided.
Are you going to have an entrance in the front there?
I want to.
Yeah, originally there used to be one, I believe, because it looks like this brick here is not the same as the other brick, if you notice that.
So I think there might have been an entranceway that was there and it was just covered up.
But I do plan on making an entrance in the front.
This way the commercial can have their own entrance.
And then I was going to have this doorway just be utilized for the upstairs apartments.
and if uh we're going to talk about the garbage uh remember earlier we do have a doorway for the