Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Good afternoon, everyone.
My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing the meeting of the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustments.
With me is our Vice Chair, Ismael Shahid.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our Board Member, Cheryl L. Gaston.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our Board Member, Tanetta Graham.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our Board Member, Michael Johns.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
And our board member, Taya Nguyen.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also present is Hillary Emerson, our attorney, Ian Haggerty, our executive director of the
zoning board, and our zoning board administrator, Lakeisha Dandy.
Please be advised this meeting is being recorded.
Your participation in this meeting indicates your consent to be recorded.
The video will be posted on the ZBA website approximately one week following the meeting.
This meeting is being held in person with remote capabilities, meaning that individuals
can participate either in person at the hearing room in the one parkway building or remotely over
zoom when you are recognized to speak by the board please state and spell your name for the court
reporter and then wait to be sworn in if you're in the hearing room you must speak into a microphone
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remotely please turn on your camera and unmute yourself when you're recognized to speak once
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Any concerns related to hearing operations should be directed to the ZBA Executive Director at phillip.gov.
Before we begin, our Executive Director, Ian Haggerty, has an important safety announcement.
Okay, thank you, Chair. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the ZBA Hearing Room.
The safety of our attendees here is our top priority, so I just have a couple of quick safety announcements.
If there is an emergency for any reason, please pay attention to announcements that come over the loudspeaker.
If there's no announcement heard, then please listen to the directions of the ZBA staff or security personnel.
The main exit is through the double doors at the rear of the room.
If an order is given to leave this room for any reason, the nearest stairway is to the left outside the double doors.
Just follow the red exit signs.
If an order is given to evacuate the building for any reason, we will have a rally point at Love Park.
That's the park just across Arch Street from the front entrance to this building.
Please remain there so that we can account for everyone in the room.
And as a reminder, restrooms are located just across from the elevators, and there's a water fountain just outside those double doors to the right.
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you.
Let's look at our schedule for this afternoon.
Number two, MI 2024, 005-361-2512 to 13 Island Avenue.
This case is continued attorney moving party.
Number three, MI 2024, 005-841-4010 Palmetto Street.
This case is continued until 2.26 at 2 p.m.
Number 4, MI 2024-006-752
MI 2024, 006-752-4518 Old York Road.
This case is continuing until 7-9-25 at 2 p.m.
Number 11, MI 2024, 006879, 2400 Washington Avenue, SOSNA, South of South Neighbors Association, has requested a continuance.
Mr. Mattione?
sorry i represent the applicant are you from sasta yeah please come up all right and i sent
in a letter as well i don't know if you received the mr chair we do we do all right so um mr
mattione could you please state your name and spell for the course now michael mattione m-a-t-t-i-o-n-i
do you swear we're a firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do sir
thank you so much jonathan adler j-o-n-a-t-h-a-n a-d-l-e-r do you swear referring to
tell the truth told truth and nothing but the truth i do sir um you requested the continuance
uh i represent the south of south neighborhood association that rep that requested the
continuance today correct please give us your comment as you tell me why you want to continue
Sure. Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members of the board. I'm here today representing the South of
South Neighborhood Association. We're requesting a continuance for 2400 Washington Avenue for the
following reasons. Number one, last summer SOSNA made a request of the Philadelphia Planning
Commission to extend our boundaries to the south side of Washington Avenue. That request was
received in a timely fashion but was not processed as a result we were not notified of this project
until after there was a community meeting held by the point breeze coalition that community meeting
was attended to my knowledge by 15 or so members of the community none of whom live on the north
side of washington avenue this is a project that covers approximately three acres involves the
creation of a surface parking lot with 150 or so parking spaces a considerable amount of retail
the creation of 30 residential units this is a project that will have significant impact on the
traffic in the area on the quality of life for people who live nearby
Projects of a much smaller scale on Washington Avenue have been subject to numerous community meetings that are widely advertised, that are coordinated by our organization for projects on the north side of Washington Avenue, including near neighbors, members of the greater community, to our organization having one community meeting with a little over a dozen participants.
And then I will stipulate that there was a second meeting with a few members of our organization that took place on Zoom within the last two weeks.
We would like to have the opportunity to fully inform our constituents of this significant, significant project that is requesting a series of variances, not only to have a meeting with our greater community, but also organized neighbors who live on the north side of the 2400 and 2500 block of Washington Avenue, as well as the 2400 block of Kimball and Carpenter,
so that they are fully apprised of this project
that, again, will have a significant impact
on their quality of life.
Thank you.
Counsel?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Absolutely.
I did send in a letter as well, and I believe you got it.
First of all, SOSNA, I know that they asked
to include this property in their boundaries,
but that has not been granted.
So we properly noticed,
we had a meeting with the Planning Commission
back in November.
We then called the council president's office,
it's his district,
He told us who the coordinating RCO was.
We coordinated with the coordinating RCO, sent out the appropriate notices, as was given to us by the city, held the meeting with the coordinating RCO, and several other RCOs, by the way.
It wasn't just the Point Breeze CDC.
It was Washington Avenue property owners and several others also received notice.
Sent out all the notices.
We had the meeting.
The community supported it nearly unanimously.
We then received a call from the council president's office and asked if we would, as a courtesy, have a meeting with SOSNA.
We agreed. We had the meeting that was asked.
we had the meeting that was asked there was even a request for a follow-up by uh richard gliniak
There was even a request for a follow-up by...
from sasna followed up with him gave him the information he requested moved on today and
they've known about this for a while today they put in a request for a continuance they could
have requested a continuance a long time ago when they requested a meeting we agreed and we had the
meeting and this is outside of their boundaries again it's it's outside of their boundaries
um we're here we had the proper meetings it was in their in their letter they admitted
that we followed all the rules that we did what you're supposed to do gave all the appropriate
notices and you know we're here to proceed because we followed everything that we could
proceed we can't read their mind you know we can't come up with something out of thin air and say oh
there's somebody else that might want to meet with us when we followed all the rules as to who we're
supposed to meet with. With respect, counsel, we submitted a letter timely to the CBA over a week
ago. We're going to go on with the case today. When I open it up for comments from the audience,
you can give your state your concerns about the project. With respect, Mr. Chairman, I have no,
I take no personal opinion on the project. Thank you. I have no skin in the game, as it were. I'm
simply trying to represent the interests of my community and and their their their interests
are simply not going to be uh heard uh in this case uh because we listen to me we believe they
did everything they should before this meeting we're going to go on with it today come back
probably about 25 minutes half hour we're going to call your case okay thank you thank you thank
you too for coming in. Excuse me, Chair. We also have a Hannah by the name of Brianna Wakefield.
Well, the council president's office. Sure. And they have been promoted to panelists.
Hi, Brianna. How are you? State your name and spell for the stenographer.
Brianna? And I'm good, Mr. Chair. How are you today? Sure, sure.
And my name is Brianna Wakefield.
I spell that B-R-I-O-N-N-A, last name Wakefield, W-A-K-E-F-I-E-L-D.
And I just wanted to say that, Council President.
Hold on one minute.
Hold on one minute.
Do you swear we're affirmed to tell the truth, told truth, nothing but the truth?
I swear.
Please proceed.
Yes, Council President Johnson would object to continue us today.
I understand.
We've already ruled the case will go on today.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Go ahead, please proceed.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
State your name.
Ori Feibush.
Oh, sure.
O-R-I.
I'm aging ungracefully.
I apologize.
O-R-I, F as in Frank, E-I-B-U-S-H.
Right.
With O-C-F-R-E-L-T.
Yeah, sure.
Do you swear or affirm that tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do, yes.
your comments about this case? Sure. I own a couple of properties in the immediate area,
most specifically 1936 Washington, 2101 Washington, 2201 Washington, 2235 Washington,
and most proximate, I am equitable owner at 23rd and Washington. I have standing and should have
been given notice, but was not, not through any fault of counsel here. The way the Planning
Commission's website works is they take the property address in question here 2400 Washington
and they put a point directly in the middle of the property and then they go 500 feet out.
It should be from property edge to property edge and it's just the function of how the computer
operates here and so properties that are well within 500 feet that have a direct and immediate
impact. I'm moving my office to 23rd in Washington. I have 61,000 square feet. We'll be 200 people
working here, it really has an impact. I love the idea that his client is looking to invest in the
area, but there are some meaningful considerations that just have not happened. And I was completely
unaware of this development here. And had the computer properly given a list of affected
properties, we would have been notified. I would have had counsel here. I would have had an
opportunity to present a case here. And there's just no remedy. Just holding the case open or
anything else would not possibly give us the needed relief. I will just share that for the
properties that I took through zoning across the street, for 2101 Washington, I had 47 meetings
with the community. At 2201 Washington, it was 32. This is a seminal project that will have enormous
impact for a host of different individuals. And all I'm hoping for is a reasonable and short window
to have a meaningful conversation and dialogue that just can't happen in good faith within the
and dialogue that just can't happen in good faith within the the confines of this room here i
the confines of this room here.
i understand your concerns we're moving on with the case thank you sir thank you
sure you you want to talk about a continuance i just
sure go ahead go ahead please if you would
would you please state your name and spell for the courts first of all good afternoon
My name is Albert Littlepage, A-L-B-E-R-T-L-I-T-T-L-E-P-A-G-E.
I'm here to...
Hold on.
Do you swear or affirm that tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
So I'll help you guys.
Please proceed.
So I am here to agree with you that we don't want to have a continuance on this particular property.
Today, I come here and I represent six RCOs who participated in this particular RCO meeting.
Also, one of the participants was Mr. Donatucci, who was a long-term business owner in the community who supported this project.
I think one of the things that you see and may see here through some of the testimony today, just as the first gentleman said, he doesn't have any skin in the game, but he came to speak against a project and asked for a continuance.
SOSNA is an exclusive club in our community.
And if you talk to Mr. Feinberg, since he just spoke, he said that they didn't have any notification.
But if you read his blog a month ago, he spoke on this particular project.
The reality of it is that they seem to want to have an exclusive club and want to come and extend their boundaries so that they can continue to tell us how to operate on the north side of Washington Avenue.
But when they talk about the projects that they have done in the community, one thing you will notice that they've never, ever sent us any notification to participate in any of our meetings.
But when they asked us, could they meet with us to speak on this project, we opened our doors to them.
And when we went on to Zoom, you know what the members of the organization, you actually received a letter from the gentleman today.
They asked us, why were we there?
Why are we there?
Because this is an exclusive club.
I believe they want you to have ID to walk in their neighborhoods.
So I agree that we shouldn't continue this.
The community has spoken.
And I think that you have spoken.
So thank you.
Thank you.
The case is not continued.
We will hear this shortly.
Thank you.
At number 13, MI 2024-006-896-2600 West Montgomery Avenue,
case is continued to 7,925.
Are there any other requests for continuance?
I see no hands.
And number seven, MI 2024-006-823-5329, North 13th Street.
This is the first listing, no exhibits.
Natasha Watson is the listed applicant.
Ivory and Elizabeth Jones are the listed owners.
Are they present?
Natasha Watson has been promoted to panelist.
She's on the screen.
Hello, I am present.
Yes, my name is Mrs. Braynetta Wallace.
I am actually the property owner for 13th Street.
That was my grandparents' home.
Hold on a minute.
Hold on a minute.
Please state your name and spell for the stenographer.
Sure. It's Raynetta Wallace. That's R-A-Y-N as in Nancy, E-T-T-A, last name Wallace, W-A-L-L-A-C-E.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
So help me God.
Are you the owner of the property?
This is the first listing. We have no exhibits.
That's correct.
All right.
So this case is going to be continued.
And before the next case, call the office.
We'll make sure you know exactly what you need.
So this case is continued till 7, 9, 25 at 2 p.m.
And thank you for calling in.
We also have another Natasha Watson.
That may be the actual applicant as well as Emmanuel Wilkerson from the
council district's office.
hi could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer
natasha
yes i'm sorry natasha um watson n-a-t-a-s-h-a w-a-t-s
Watson, N-A-T-A-S-H-A, W-A-T-S-O-N.
Do you swear or referring to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Are you the applicant?
Yes, I am.
We do not have any exhibits.
The case is going to have to be continued.
What do you mean by the exhibits?
Like all of your paperwork, everything that you're supposed to have here within five days of the case.
We don't have anything from you.
i've turned in everything that was supposed to be turned in we we don't have anything there
ma'am please contact the zba office and they will help you
get everything together that you need for your next hearing date
okay that's it pay for uh um expedited so i don't have to wait till july yeah i think
you should talk to the expediter that you approached, okay?
Or you hired. Is there anyone else
warm for this case? Ms. Watson, you can
discuss scheduling with the ZBA staff as well.
Are you here for this case?
Come on forward. Chair, we have Emmanuel Wilkerson on
that Zoom.
Hi, Mr.
Could you please state, woman,
could you please state your name as spelled for the
court stenographer? Yes,
Emanuel Wilkerson, E-M-A-N-U-E-L,
last name W-I-L-K-E-R-S-O-N
with Councilman Anthony Phillips' office.
I just want to make sure for the record that
the Councilman's office is in opposition of
this development.
Hold on a moment, Mr. Wilkerson.
Do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth, the whole truth? I'm just jumping to God.
my apologies. No, no, you don't have to do. Please proceed. I do. Yes. I just want to make
sure that the councilman's office's opposition for this development, and then also that you
receive the exhibits from residents of the North 13th Street petitions. I want to just make sure
that was submitted. Mr. Wilkerson, I believe there's a woman from the 13th Street standing
in front of me. Thank you very much for taking the time to call us. We appreciate it. And could
you please sit down and state your name and spell for the stenographer. My name is Michelle
M-I-C-H-E-L-E. I'm sorry, Mr. Chairman, I cannot hear the witness. Sit down and try to get closer
to the bike. Michelle M-I-C-H-E-L-E, last name, two letters, E-L, pronounced eel.
okay do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
um please please get the mic close to you and um this case is continued and so it's going to come
at another time but if you want to make a short comments about it it's fine but it is going to
come at a later date yes okay i just wanted to say that the residents on north 13th street
strongly oppose. They've sent me with the six-page petition for all of the people who
oppose this. I'm the abutter to that property. We are the contingents to that property. My
husband and I have been living here since 1997. We know that we're connected to that
property and we strongly disagree strongly disagree and we actually think that we have a
lot of older citizens it was hard we got them in the library today the ones that could come
and we don't know if we can gather everybody again like that but this is going to be it's
put off until july but thank you very much we appreciate your comments and we'll take note of
Thank you. Ma'am, I just wanted to note for you and, excuse me, for you and the neighbors, we did receive a copy of the petition and your letter and exhibit. So we do have everything on record. So if people are not able to attend a hearing, the next hearing, we do have all of your information and regions for opposition on file already.
so thank you thank you thank you for coming down we appreciate it um we're going to go to our
add-on list i'm sorry chair we have one more hand neighbors of 5300 north 13th street
i i think the case is continued and that the there will be another hearing on the 9th of july
thank you very much um we're going to our add-on list we have one case
MI 2024-000-593-29-East Mount Erie Avenue, TA-27907.
I vote yes with proviso.
I vote yes with proviso. Her refusal dated 8-22-24. Revised plan, one page, stamped by ZBA, February 19th, 2025.
Her refusal...
My vote is yes with proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with proviso.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with proviso.
Hi, Owen, my vote is no.
Thank you. We're going to start our regular list. Number eight, MI 2024-006-828-1741 South Street. Alex Goldberg is the attorney.
There's a letter of non-opposition from the Center City Residence Association with proviso.
i'm mr goldberg could you please state your name as spelled for the court sonographer sure alex
goldberg a-l-e-x-g-o-l-d-b-e-r-g you swear referring to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth i do could you identify your client in the relationship to this property
sure my client is lazaro's dining room which is the tenant of the first floor of 1741 south street
halima's dairy is here as the representative of of lasaro's dining and our vice chair has a few
questions good afternoon council do you have you agree to waive the reading of refusal and
or stipulate to his
do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal or stipulate to his accuracy
i do we got we got a new refusal relatively recently i believe that was included in our
submission materials so thank you having emailed in all the required documents and exhibits as
needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing yes thank you council
please proceed shoes okay um so should be there we are um again my name is alex goldberg i'm here
with Halim Azdari, who's the representative and owner of Lazaro's and the tenant specifically for
1741 South Street Lazaro's dining room. This is the right side, which I've noted on the screen
of Lazaro's. This is not exactly a unity of use because the 1741 and 1743, which is not
a subject of the zoning appeal, are owned by different property owners, but have the same
tenant and have been operating essentially the same business um since 2009 um lazaro's is an
institution on south street it's been there since 1999 and uh this zoning appeal it you know was
initiated um due to violations that were resolving uh hopefully um uh essentially based on the fact
that 1743 south street has active zoning for eat-in and takeout um 1741 did not so we're seeking
those uses. Although, as you'll see in my presentation materials, really 1741 is just
essentially the seating for the operation and sort of where the takeout boxes are being made and
where his drivers hang out when they're waiting to go on call. So just go through my presentation
materials. We have a letter of non-opposition from CCRA, the coordinating RCO. My understanding
is that the council president's office is on the line to offer their non-opposition as well.
The zoning permit that's shown in the file is for 1743, which references that approved
eat-in and take-out, which we're mirroring here at 1741.
Zoning maps, photographs, including photographs of the interior.
Architectural plans showing a basic floor plan of both sites to give you an understanding
of how the business operates.
The meeting notice, the application for appeal, the lease, which is active until 2028 with
options to renew as well as a certificate of tax clearance here's a notice of referral again this
is a special exception which carries a different legal standard than a variance that special
exception applies to the takeout portion of this only the sit down portion is as of right
again as i mentioned as you'll see in the photos this is really just seating for the the operation
of lazaro's here's that letter of non-opposition from ccra we met with them last month it was a
well-attended meeting as it always is for ccra we don't have a vote count which is typical
but we do have non-opposition from the rco they didn't have any major concerns they just wanted
to understand the hours of operations and the trash pickup schedule which i'm happy to go through
during this hearing. Here's a zoning permit for 1743 South Street that was obtained specifically
Here's a zoning permit for 1743 South Street that was obtained specifically to legalize an existing flat wall sign, but I'd point your attention to the second page, which references a luncheonette, which is not a term in the zoning code anymore, but it does reference the eat-in and take-out use that we're sort of mirroring here, although this is not exactly a unity of use.
we're trying to sort of permit this as if it was this is a cmx2 property obviously along a
prominent commercial corridor of south street just near the corner of south and south 18th street
the photographs this is the front of the property in its current condition
the left side is 1743 the right side is 1741 here's the zoning notice poster
here it is in 2007 again this business opened in 1999 um at the time you know as far back as i
could go on google street view you can see is 2007 where it was just the left side business
was doing well i presume permitting was was okay for 1743 um expanded over sometime between 07 and
2009 to sort of occupy both of those spaces and that the business has kind of been the same ever
since here's to the right of the property on south went to the left trash storage is in the rear
we have commercial trash pickup currently we're happy to agree to proviso for that commercial
trash pickup it happens uh six days a week if i'm not mistaken every day except sunday
so trash is well taken care of it's stored in the rear there's no puncture of the party wall
here between the two properties but there is access between the two rear yards the trash is
in these rollers that you see on the screen and they come through the 1741 side to the front of
the property there's no breezeway or anything so that's how the trash makes its way from the back
to the front here's the interiors this is the 41 side just seating and you'll see it in this photo
here you know there's boxes back here where the boxes get folded for the for the takeout pizza
here it is on the 1743 side where the kitchen is where the food is being made where there are no
tables there's just coolers a counter an atm and just standing room there it is from the inside
looking out plans and drawings excuse me so the right side is the ground floor of both properties
1741 is the one with all the tables again there's a there's a bathroom in there there's storage in
the rear the left side is the kitchen area there's doors in the rear that both access a walk-in
refrigerator and the trash storage area the basements are just for storage use also not
connected underneath um and and you know there's no use for any customers down there whatsoever
before i go to this notice i just want to mention the hours of operations monday through thursday
11 a.m to 8 45 p.m friday to saturday 11 a.m to 9 45 p.m sunday noon to 8 45 p.m he's got six
employees two at the counter three doing grill and salads two making pizza and one in the basement
doing dishes and prep and four drivers and again trash pickup every day except sunday between the
hours of 6 30 and 7 30 a.m the rco meeting notice is here we met on january 28th at seven o'clock
with ccra it was emailed out shortly thereafter to 141 properties in total this property is right
across from a pen hospital which it serves i think is a big reason for its success the mailing list
the proof of mailing you have an application for appeal this you know my apologies should have been
an application for special exception appreciative that it was accepted in that form the lease to
the property you can see lazaro's dining room in the top left corner the owner of the property is
not here today but is supportive of this business on the next page you'll see that the commencement
date was 2018 the the term of the lease is until 2028 with automatic renewal
and the proof of tax clearance showing no taxes are at this point i'd like to ask my client to
adopt my testimony please yes my name is halim asdari could you just get a little pull the pull
towards you a little closer that's right please state your name and spell for this my name is
I'm Halim Asdari, H-A-L-M, Asdari, A-S-D-A-I-R-I.
I'm the owner of Lazarus Pizza.
No, still can't hear him.
Is the button pushed?
It is.
All right.
Get it a little closer to the thing.
Pull it all the way towards you.
that's it okay my name is halim as dairy h-a-l-i-m as dairy a-s-d-a-i-r-i i'm the owner of the pizza
That's it.
My name is Halim Asdari, H-A-L-I-M.
lazarus pizza 1743 south street right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing
but the truth yes council please proceed um halim did you hear my testimony today yes and was it
true and correct yes and would you adopt it as your own testimony yes thank you questions from
the board are there any bathrooms in the 1743 property i don't believe so are there bathrooms
on the left side 1743 where are those bathrooms 1743 yes can you expand at what else is happening
in the basements there's a prep area okay any other questions questions or comments from our
attorney not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the audience
chair we have a dominic long with the hand raise a woman and i have someone in here too mr feinbush
could could you sure sure mr mr feinbush just for the record just for the record state your name
and you've already been sworn so please proceed i'm the immediate property uh owner jason 1745
These guys have been great neighbors for over a decade, and I couldn't be more supportive of their application.
Thank you very much for your comments.
Do we have someone on that virtual audience?
I see no hands.
I'm sorry.
Their hand is raised again, Dominique Long, and they have been promoted to panelists.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
I'm with some shoes that fit me, Alyssa.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for this one?
Yes, my name is Dominic Long, D-O-M-I-N-I-C-L-O-N-G.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Mr. Long, are you a neighbor?
No, I'm calling him on behalf of the Second District Office of Council President.
Okay, thank you.
Please proceed.
Yeah, I just wanted to let everyone know that he's in non-opposition to the project.
thank you chairman and good afternoon david vecto f-e-c-e-a-u with the city planning commission
do we see anyone at all we keep hearing voices cutting in
okay good good please do you swear we're referring to tell the truth
excuse me this is the reporter it appears that the chairman is cutting in and out hello
that's fine sir okay please proceed thank you sir mr chairman and board members the
comprehensive plan recommends no change to the cmx2 commercial mixed-use zoning at this location
the appellant has shown their proposed takeout restaurant will have no detrimental impacts to
the neighborhood beyond what might be expected the city planning commission recommends the
board grant her post special exception for a takeout restaurant. Thank you. MI 2024 006 828
1741 South Street. I vote yes with proviso. Her amended refusal dated 129-25. Uses limited to
first floor and basement. Michael Johns. My vote is yes with proviso. Cheryl Gaston. My vote is yes
with Proviso.
To that agree, my vote is yes
with Proviso.
My vote is yes with Proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Thank you.
We're going to go back
to 2400 Washington
app. Mr. Mattione.
so mr mattioni you've already been sworn could you just state your name for the record please
sure michael mattioni m-a-t-t-i-o-n-i could you identify your client the relationship to this
property 24th street properties llc and they're the owner of the property and my dang the principal
is here our vice chair has a few questions sir good afternoon council do you agree to
Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
way the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy. Yes.
He meld in all the required documents and exhibits as needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing.
Thank you, counsel. Please proceed.
Thank you.
Where's the screen share?
To share the screen, I was...
It's not up yet to share the screen.
there we go thank you we see it again um michael mattione and i represent 24 street properties llc
the owner of the site at 2400 Washington Avenue and I have with me my dang the developer Carolina
Payne our architect is also here today and as you can see up on the screen we handed in the tax
clearance refusal we have support letters from the Point Breeze Community Development Coalition
they're the coordinating RCO and the Washington Avenue Property Owners Association and other RCO
in the area we also have the support of the North of Washington Avenue Coalition although
this is outside of their RCO area. And we also submitted the zoning site plan, renderings,
street site plan, landscape plan, sections, floor plans, photographs, prior zoning permits for this
property, information regarding surrounding properties, proof of mailing of the notice
for the RCO meeting that was on January 28th, I believe, and a deed. And what we're seeking are
are several variances for an adaptive reuse of this long-standing former industrial site into
a mixed-use residential and commercial site, similar to what was approved by the Zoning Board
in 2008. So this has got a long history of these uses. This proposal is different than many others
that have happened recently on Washington Avenue. This proposal is an adaptive reuse
of the existing structures, which some of them date back to 1890 rather than demolition
and building new structures, which has been the case with most of the new development on Washington
Avenue. As you can see, we have three, basically three buildings are all interconnected, but three
buildings that have been here for a very long time and go back to the industrial past of the street.
These structures exist mainly on Ellsworth Avenue and 24th Street and not a lot on Washington Avenue.
Again, the bulk of the property, boarding on Washington Avenue, is vacant and will be repurposed into a parking lot for the proposed redevelopment.
And again, if you were to build on the front part of the property, you wouldn't see the buildings that are being adaptively repurposed.
So it would defeat the purpose of saving the existing structures that are already there.
in 2007 the owner applied for and in 2008 received approvals for a mixed-use development
consisting of a supermarket nine commercial spaces on the ground floor seven new retail
spaces on the second floor with a sit-down restaurant and banquet hall also on the second
floor and offices on the third through the fifth floors because the one part of the building is
five stories tall. In addition, there were 125 parking spaces that were all approved
back in 2008. This is a similar proposal. However, instead of offices in the five-story
part, we're having three floors of residential uses.
And, whoops.
see here's the zoning site plan and you have a two-story structure
the five-story structure a new infill small little two-story structure and again the other
two-story structure along with the parking lot
and the floor plans show in the parking lot supermarket inside parking for the residential
uses, food court, I'm sorry, commercial uses and other commercial uses also on the first floor. And
at the corner of 24th and Ellsworth, a residential lobby, which will bring life to the community over
there. On the second floor, you have a mezzanine for the supermarket offices. These offices all
have windows that look out on Ellsworth Avenue. And in here, you have a food court and a sit-down
restaurant. On the third floor you have 10 residential units.
On the third floor, you have 10 residential units and an outdoor roof deck area for outdoor
space for the residential units.
There are 30 total residential units, 21, and just the fourth and the fifth floors mirror
the third floor other than not having a roof deck.
There are 30 residential units, 21 one-bedroom units, nine two-bedroom units, seven one-bedroom
and three two-bedroom units on each floor.
In addition, the parking lot will be renovated and brought up to modern standards with landscaping
as required by the zoning code and stormwater management where none exists now.
Again, this is a former industrial site.
It can't be used for industrial purposes anymore.
They've tried, and they couldn't do it, and that's why in 2008 they got the approvals that they did.
For some other reasons, they were unable to build at that time.
The community will benefit by having services provided, including a supermarket, commercial spaces, restaurant, food court, and residences.
It's because of all the other new residential uses being developed on Washington Avenue, which I'll get to in a minute.
So, again, this area, it's Zone I-2, Washington now is in a state of change, several new developments on Washington Avenue, which, again, have become mixed-use commercial on the ground floor and residential above.
When you look at the refusal, you will see that we got refusals because of just uses.
The residential living is refused.
Retail sales of food, beverages, and groceries is refused.
That's a supermarket.
sit-down restaurants refused, vacant commercial space on the first floor is refused. The only
thing that's not refused is professional offices because they're permitted in the I-2,
and we got a refusal because we only have three loading spaces where six are required.
So if you go to across the street, you can see 2201, 2101, 2401, and 2501 are all
substantial mixed-use residential and development, mixed-use and commercial development with
commercial development on the ground floor and residential units all above. Some of these
projects, 2401 and 2501, have actually had the zoning changed to IRMX, but 2101 and 2201 have
I2 zoning, just like this property. This property has been vacant since 2004, basically. They use
it for storage, but it's really not a use. In 2008, they would have gone ahead, but the recession
hit, and they had some other problems. Starting with 2101, you have 247 residential units.
You have 90 residential units in 2201. In 2401, you have 82 residential units, and in 2501,
you have 97 residential units. Again, since 2004, there have been use variances granted for this
property to allow the adaptive reuse of the property. That's what's different about this
one. All these other projects are all brand new construction. This is trying to take the existing
industrial buildings that are there and repurpose them rather than tear them down and build new.
And again, if you were to, some people are going to say, well, you should have buildings up on
Washington Avenue. But if you do that, then you don't have the ability to see the existing
buildings and it would be blocked and it would almost defeat the purpose of
trying to do an adaptive reuse of the existing structures.
so when you look at this the layout location and existing structures on the property combined to
create an unnecessary hardship to the land that supports the development of the property as
proposed property has unique features it's got a large open air parking lot five-story existing
structure they create hardships for the possible uses permitted in the i2 zoning class these
permitted uses are no longer feasible the requested variances are the minimum required to make use of
the property. The one- and two-story provisions, I'm sorry, the one- and two-story portions of the
property are proposed to be used as commercial or office, consistent with the commercial and office
uses on Washington Avenue. The upper three floors are proposed to be residential structures,
and that's also consistent with the other new construction on Washington Avenue, where you have
residential units above, and that's this part of the building. The top three floors will be
residential. The rest will be commercial or office, restaurants, commercial, retail, supermarket.
The grant of the variance will be in harmony with the zoning code as it provides for an
orderly adaptive reuse of the property. The grant of the variances will not substantially
The grant of the variances will not substantially increase congestion, but permit the use of the property in a manner that benefits the public by adaptively reusing the long vacant structures.
increase congestion, but permit
The grant of the variances will not impair light or air to the surrounding properties as no changes in height or bulk is being proposed.
The grant of the variances will not overly burden public facilities, but will allow for the orderly development of the property consistent with surrounding uses.
It will have less burden on public facilities than some permitted I-2 uses would have.
The grant of the variance is consistent with the comprehensive plan for the area. The comprehensive plan recommends IRMX zoning. If the property was zoned IRMX, no variances would be required for this adaptive reuse of the structures as proposed, as all the proposed uses would be permitted by the right.
the grant of the variances will not create any environmental damage and will likely lessen the
risk of environmental issues compared to a vacant site and the property will have stormwater
management where none exists now reducing the adverse environmental impact of stormwater runoff
from the site as none presently exists so for all of these reasons we believe that the requirements
have been met and that the requested variances should be granted
so what i'd like to do is call on my dang
could you lean forward could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer
good afternoon everyone my name is my first name is m y last name is dang d-a-n-g
you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
absolutely please proceed counsel thank you mr chairman and my did you hear my statements
and are they true and correct
yeah let's sort of kind of figure out and if they don't have that i'm
i'm sorry this is the reporter i'm not hearing anything now
neither am i michael try yours hello
i can i heard that okay okay all right are we back again mr johnson yes i i hear you now yep
thank you okay um i think we are are they true and correct yes and do you adopt them as your
testimony yes i have no further questions from ms dang questions from the board uh yeah i have a
couple questions um the supermarket is 20 26 000 square feet um is there a proposed supermarket
vendor at this time she does not have a a proposed vendor at this time it would be it's premature
according to talking to the client she didn't speak for so she's here but she said it'd be
premature to be out trying to find somebody when it's several years before construction would be
completed assuming this were to be approved right right that's the size of like a alde's or something
like that 26 000 i believe correct there's some additional space on the second floor for offices
and stuff like that will there be parking for the residential units on site there is
specific parking for the residential units let me find
there is an indoor parking area right here stack parking 27 spots for the residential units
that's that's that's good for this part of the neighborhood for this community um i do want to
make a comment i am a proponent of adaptive reuse i think this is a great um project um that
utilizes the existing buildings. We hardly ever see that. And these days, everything's always
brand new and fully fills up the site. So the fact that the developer took the opportunity to
really create a new use for an old, potentially historic building, I think is a good thing.
Thank you. Other questions from the board? Have any tenants been identified?
And then I guess, what's the plan for marketing and tenant leases? Just because this is a lot of uses on one site, to not have anybody identified.
Because it's so premature, we don't know whether we're going to...
I'm sorry, this is the reporter. I cannot hear you.
Okay, we'll take care of it. Get closer to the bike, please.
well she was gonna say yeah it's premature I just asked the architect
she said it's at least two and a half years for construction so to try and
sign somebody up now to and for two and a half years out it's very difficult
particularly how commercial leases go but okay and then is so you said the
buildings are connected so I'm just trying to understand like if I'm in the
residential parking lot how do I get to the residential lobby
parking lot how do i get to the residential lobby or apartments may have the architect come up
because it's easier for sure have her sworn in sure good afternoon do me a favor try to get
closer to that particular mic and to talk loud if you can please state your name and spell for
the stenographer carolina c-a-r-o-l-i-n-a last name pena p-e-n-a do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. Please proceed, counsel.
So the question was, what do you get
from the residential parking lot into the lot? So there is a
dedicated hallway from the parking.
You go down to the basement into the other side
and up the elevator or stairs. Okay. And then the basement,
is it mostly going to be for circulation and storage? Correct.
Hi. And then just walking through, last question, around the sort of refusal, could you walk me
through the one-story addition? Because I know the two-story addition is on the residential side.
The one-story addition is the residential parking structure? No, it's an infill of the space in
between buildings, the large building that houses the supermarket and the L-shaped building of the
residential. So it's the part that fills in the L? Yes. And then the second story
addition is going to be up on the third floor? No.
So it will line up with the second floor of the
existing second floor of the L-shaped residential building. Got it. Okay.
I have a question. What is the square footage of the one bedrooms
and the two bedrooms? It was about 700
square feet for one bedroom and about 900 square feet for two bedrooms.
Questions or comments from our attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from people in the audience?
Mr. Feinbush, you've already been sworn, just for the record, state your name and then proceed.
Sure. My name is Ori Feinbush, O-R-I-F-E-I-B-U-S-H.
Please, please proceed.
I'm here in both my individual capacity as well as the principal of OCF Realty, which has a new office being developed at 2200 Washington, which runs from 22nd to 23rd.
My concerns for this property are largely limited to how it'll interact with the public realm.
There's really two distinct differences that haven't been covered between this development and every other development that's occurred.
Number one, this is the only development that is being proposed before any tenants have been found.
Every other example, the commercial tenants have been located, and then the development was effectively built around them.
And the reason that matters is there's a whole host of parking requirements, circulation requirements, loading requirements that without having visibility of who that tenant might be would potentially have a very significant effect and an adverse reaction on the community.
The second is that, and they go hand in hand, this is the only development that has proposed curb cuts along Washington Avenue. Every other new development that has been proposed managed to ensure that the curb cuts were on the numbered streets to keep cars, trucks, and other vehicles from crossing through the bicycle lane, from crossing through the traffic there, and effectively working to maintain all of the circulation on the lower density streets here.
And here you have an opportunity on 25th Street where you could encourage and focus both ingress and egress into the development and reduce a lot of the risk to bicyclists, pedestrians, and other vehiculists on Washington Avenue.
And so there's no objection to residential.
There's no objection to retail.
That's all generally a positive step in the right direction for Washington Avenue, and that's very much consistent with the future of Washington Avenue.
The concern here is that this specific project as designed will have an adverse effect on anyone that's going by Washington Avenue between 24th and 25th Street because you're going to be taking all of the circulation of this property, both the residential proposed and any future retail proposed.
And we don't know who those tenants will be, what their hours will be, what their requirements will be, loading or otherwise, and dumping that all into the public realm where you have bicycle lanes, pedestrian lanes, and all kinds of other activity.
And it's no secret that Washington Avenue is one of the least safe streets that already exists in Philadelphia.
And so I'm in opposition, specifically as it relates to the ingress and egress on Washington Avenue.
I would temper my opposition if all of that circulation could be moved to 25th Street.
And with that, I appreciate the time.
uh and with that i i appreciate uh the time uh thank you awesome happy otherwise all thank you
Thank you.
I'm happy otherwise.
Thank you.
i just want to make a comment mr chairman why don't we do this you get several other people
why don't you save all your comments to the end that you could sum it up or is that okay
okay that's fine and thank you mr fine thank you for your time for sure next witness please
hello my name is nicholas feeling to do me a favor get closer to the mic you're probably
gonna have to speak a little loud is that better yeah it is very good thank you say your name
My name is Nicholas Feely, N-I-C-H-O-L-A-S-F-E-A-L-E-Y.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
Yeah, I'm on the north side of Washington Avenue.
Please proceed, sir.
I'm the chair of the SOSNA Vision Zero Committee, and the committee is overall against the project.
We like the adaptive reuse and everything, but we're concerned about the conflict points with pedestrians and cyclists from the large parking lot.
and all the negative externalities that you know large surface parking lots create you know they
create long-term liabilities for cities you know and it become a strain on the budget in the long
term um and yeah but this just our concerns most of the committee members they're all
they are all against this project objection just because of the parking and well you're you're
against the project right yes personally as well but i am i am a fan of the adaptive reuse i think
it's a great building structure they're great right thank you very much i just want to make
an objection to sasna testifying at all since this is outside of there i understand but we'll
take him as an individual but i understand your point next witness please
good afternoon could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer yes my name is
Annette E. Randolph. Annette. A-N-N-E-T-T-E. E for my middle initial. Randolph. R-A-N-D-O-L-P-H.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
And your neighbor?
Yes. For 66 years.
Only 66 years. Okay. Please proceed.
Thank you. I live on 20th and Ellsworth, and I am the third, fourth generation to my home. I am with the same telephone number with my great-grandmother. Never changed it. My husband is military. We are military 20 years. After my husband retired, we came back home.
And so we're used to seeing different things. But what I think about this project, I think it's a wonderful idea. It will bring jobs to the community. There is plenty of parking as far as the bicycle lane will be there. It will not do any effect on anybody coming down there.
I work in the V.A. I come down Washington Avenue every morning, seven o'clock.
I am there 24 seven. I am also the one that stood out there to help Washington Avenue to continue to be the traffic that it is doing right now.
I have a petition right here with 15 names because of the weather that approve of this project.
I think it would be a wonderful idea to have that environment, and especially where people
get jobs, or a place there that people can, I think I'd say a hall or whatever, if people
get married or whatever reception is.
And I think it would be very, very nice.
We don't have that in that particular area.
It's been many, many years.
And I just, you know, and over across on the other side, you know, and it's nice there as well.
Why not have that facility over there?
I think it would be wonderful.
And I hope everybody would.
Thank you for taking the time to cut that.
We appreciate it.
Mr. Littlepage.
Mr. Littlepage, just for the record, state your name.
You've already been sworn in, sir.
My name is Albert Littlepage.
please proceed. So I think Mr. Annette said one of the things that I wanted to bring up was that
it would create jobs and one of the things as a long-term South Philadelphia resident this property
has been dead for too long just too long and the reality of it is we need some energy we need some
life there and I do agree with Mr. Feinbush you know as as he's presented before us but sometimes
like some like is building on 1400 point breeze they didn't have a tenant but they still built
and then eventually they found the tenant.
Well, that's the same situation that we may be looking at
as this project begins to develop.
And so I have every confident that Ms. Maya and her team
could work to get this project started in the right way.
But I believe that the attorney and Ms. Maya
I believe that the attorney and Ms. Maya are open to any suggestions, as we met with Sasa.
are open to any suggestions as we met with SOSA.
They did have some very good points about repurposing this project, putting it together for the community, and also creating jobs in the community.
So they did have...
We can bring all the people you want, but people have to have changed the better quality of their life by having jobs, good quality jobs.
And these construction jobs will be valuable to us, as well as the employee jobs that will be on the property.
So we look forward to this property being built and developed, and we hope that everyone can get along and move forward with the development of the project.
Thank you for allowing me.
Thank you very much for your comments.
Is there anyone in the virtual audience?
Yes, Chair, we have Morgan Rodriguez.
Hi, could you please state your name and spells for this sonographer?
he's coming back in as a panelist okay
hello hi could could you please state your name as bell for the court stenographer
Hi, Morgan Rodriguez, M-O-R-G-A-N-R-O-D-R-I-G-U-E-Z.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Are you a neighbor?
Please proceed.
So I am also the chair of the South of South Neighborhood Association.
I'm also a neighbor north of Washington Avenue.
I'm here to say that I oppose this project.
It's not an appropriate use for this site.
This project has the ability to directly harm our constituents, especially those living in Innovator Village, which is directly across Washington Avenue from this project.
And to our knowledge, many of them are not even aware of this project.
Per the Philadelphia 2035 project, which establishes the vision for the city of Philadelphia,
it recommended that commercial zoning along Washington Avenue support pedestrian-oriented
commercial uses within these neighborhoods and direct development of auto-oriented commercial
uses to existing locations along the edges of the South District. This project proposes 152
parking spaces directly accessed via Washington Avenue. This is anything other than a pedestrian
oriented project. And I do also have concerns about tenants not being identified. It leaves,
you know, the ability for these spaces to be vacant. Thank you. Thank you. Is there anyone
else in the virtual audience? Yes, Chair, we have Brianna Wakefield, who's been promoted to panelist.
How many more hands do you have?
okay and good afternoon again mr chair hi mr wakefield you've already been sworn just for
the record state your name rihanna wakefield please proceed yes and i'm here to testify
council president johnson does support this project thank you very much for again taking
the time to call thank you next hand please
we have the next hand
yes chair we have
she's coming
the panelist. Okay.
How could you please state your name?
Ms. Shacomba, you're free to speak. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to be promoted to panelist
chair. Okay, could you please, could you please go to the next hand? Sure, we have Sean Darrow.
Sean Darrow, you're free to speak. Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the
stenographer. Sean Dara, S-H-A-W-N-D-A-R-R-A-G-H. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes. Could you turn your video on, please? Yes, sorry.
Sean, are you a neighbor? I am. Are you in favor of this project or against?
against at the moment um would like to see some more information um so i live on the
uh i live on in between um ellsworth and federal on 24th i've been here about
in between Ellsworth and Federal on 24th. I've been here about 10 years, 11 years.
That corner has been dark. And so I guess this project in some ways will help in that way.
I guess my concerns that I haven't really heard much information about because of the amount of
commercial tenants would be trash removal and deliveries. That 2400 block of Ellsworth is
already blocked very frequently by the flooring company trying to get through there. I mean,
I have three kids, so we spend a lot of time on that corner. So where is the trash being removed
for the grocery store, most importantly, and also the commercial tenants? I'm assuming it's
probably going to be Ellsworth. And then also just like the delivery trucks for the grocery store
and the other tenants that are in that building. Thank you very much for calling us. We appreciate
it. I see the council's going to have a chance at the end here to comment. I think he's going
to cover what you just said. Thank you. Next hand. Chair, we have a calling user. Please unmute.
Hi, Tiffany Green, Concerned Citizens.
Hi, Tiffany, could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Tiffany Green, T-I-F-F-A-N-Y-G-R-E-E-N.
Tiffany, could you put your video on?
No, I'm on the phone.
Okay, good.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Tiffany, do you favor this project or against it?
I'm favoring for this particular project.
The reason being is because of the fact that this particular area lacks the businesses.
A lot of the residents in this area for a long time have had to travel long distance, like the Oregon Avenue, all the way around Grace Ferry, to just shop.
We have a lot of seniors who live in the area and disabled people who, for this particular project, would allow them to shop and not have to travel real far like that, you know, where they've had to travel at this point.
Also, there's only 30 residents, mainly our group has opposed any residential on this side, but because there's only 30 and the developer has agreed to participate in the Philadelphia Voucher Program, which we hope to have more communication with them about that, we think that that is a good thing because we do need people who are of a lower income, well, income, you know, need help with their income to have places where they can live at.
And also we're hoping that to have further communication, like Mr. Littlepage said, to also maybe to connect them with maybe the African American Business Association and Black Enterprise for businesses, minority businesses who might want to participate once the construction is over with.
So that's why we see this as a positive project on Point Bree's side.
I just want to say for the record that we fought very hard against the IRMX zoning, doing the zoning code, because we know that we turn into a buy-write, and it's important for people to have voices on this particular side, since we were not invited to any of those talks regarding the – I'm sorry.
Well, you know, we weren't invited to those particular bills, meetings regarding RMX for 25th and 24th, as well as Broad Street.
So we think at this particular point, you know, that's a point that we wanted to make.
OK, Tiffany, thank you for calling. We appreciate it.
One more hand left. Two.
Yes, Chair, we have Madeline Shacombo.
Hi, could you please state your name and unmute yourself, please?
Okay, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
My name is Madeline, M-A-D-E-L-I-N-E, Shikumba, S-H-I-K-O-M-B-A.
Hold on, hold on one minute.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
My name is Madeline Shikumba.
I'm president of the North of Washington Avenue Coalition.
We are on the northern side of Washington Avenue.
We fully support this project.
Oh, thank you.
We feel as though that this project is necessary.
We have been fighting against these thaw buildings that have been blocking people's light on our side, but they've been successful in getting it passed.
We like the design.
We like the fact that she's bringing in jobs.
Most of the jobs brought on our side are on the market, supermarkets, and nothing else.
We have now a project that we're fighting to maintain as an I-2, which is at 16th and 01 Washington Avenue.
The developer doesn't really want to build I-2 there.
He prefers to put more apartment buildings.
We are tired of apartment buildings.
They do not bring jobs.
We need jobs.
We need jobs, and we keep telling them that we want jobs.
And we keep telling them that we want jobs.
I am the co-
I am the co-coordinator on the northern side of Western Avenue.
We share the position of coordinator with SOSNA.
As I pointed out in the past, SOSNA is more influenced by development
than they are influencing, as far as we are concerned, protecting the neighborhood.
We are fighting this one on the I2.
will be fighting for its existence
as opposed to the developer who is
fighting not to really build it.
Okay, so we are opposed
to it. And also, as far as Washington Avenue,
we like the idea. We
fought to keep Washington Avenue
Washington Avenue. We did not want all
these bike lanes and stuff on Washington Avenue
because it
interferes with what Washington Avenue
was originally designed for, and that was
for I2 and businesses.
We're not required for pedestrian.
I mean, they got the other streets to go to.
Why do they got the other streets to go to?
Ms. Shacumba, we understand where you stand,
and we appreciate very much you calling us,
and we're taking everything you said into consideration.
Last hand, please.
I have a...
I see no more hands, Chair.
What's that?
I see no...
Wait a minute, Chair.
Mr. Mationi, could you wrap up quickly some of the things you heard
and where you stand?
Certainly.
with respect to the parking lot and we met with streets department streets department approved
the two means of ingress and egress on washington avenue the other street that it fronts on is 25th
street we already have the loading coming in and off of 25th street the trash is picked up off of
25th street which was a second question so the streets department determined that we needed to
have two rather than one means of ingress and egress on washington avenue and that's for public
safety they said we asked about only having one and they said if you only have one that's not
adequate for fire and other emergency vehicles to get into the site so we needed to have two and
they said they have to be on washington avenue 25th street's not wide enough and it already has
conflict with the loading being off of 25th street and the trash being picked up off of
25th street so that's why we have the curb cuts on washington avenue that's what streets department
recommended that we do um with uh and i believe those were the big comments you mentioned trash
to me yeah trash is also at the same place the loaning spaces are okay good great yes all right
thank you planning commission thank you chairman and good afternoon david pecto with the city
planning commission chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning
at this location from I2, medium industrial, to IRMX, industrial and residential mixed use.
The zoning for this part of Washington Avenue dates to 1985. IRMX would allow the proposed
uses without a variance, and the proposed uses match the character of other recently built
developments on Washington Avenue. The City Planning Commission recommends the board grant
proposed use variances for multifamily dwellings, retail sales of food, beverages, and groceries,
sit-down restaurants, and uses as allowed in CMX3, commercial mixed use, and the proposed
off-street loading variance. Thank you. MI 2024-006-879-2400 Washington Avenue, I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes. Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes. Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
ION my vote is yes
Ishmael Shaheed my vote is yes
Thank you
Thank you
Yeah I'm going to go
I'm going to go to number one
MI 2024
005 266
1201 Unruh Avenue
Alan Nockmson is the attorney
Thank you
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.
also could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer yes alan knockamson a-l-a-n
last name knockamson n-o-c-h-u-m-s-o-n do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth i do could you identify your client the relationship to this property
uh yes my client is 12 oh excuse me my client is sharon johnson um i'm going to refer you to
um i'm going to refer you to our vice chair but my understanding of this case after talking to
or a vice chair, but my understanding of this case.
our council this will be here and hold that is correct we need to do an amended refusal based
on the parking changes as part of the project all right our place chair has a few questions
council do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and whisper to his accuracy i do have you
emailed in all the required documents and or exhibits to proceed with this case five days in
advance yes we have thank you all right share the screen
all right so this is 1201 unruh avenue uh this is a corner property um currently legally being
used as a duplex it has a history of being a duplex plus some commercial use i think as
the last commercial use was some type of office ultimately like what we're trying to do today
after much uh reflection by my client is merely to swap that previous commercial space into a
residential space to make this a triplex so it took us a while to get here and um i believe that
the community comments really pushed my client in the right direction so during our presentation
will first review the notice of refusal, then we originally had a proviso form in here to
try to, you know, get us to a vote today, but I agree with counsel that this is probably
more appropriate to have amended refusal and we'll seek authorization from the zoning
board after today, and then the board will vote after that we have received that amended
refusal.
But it's good to have the proviso form in here because it explains some of the modifications
we're proposing as part of the project today.
We have correspondence from the Community on the Rise group.
That was a coordinating RCO.
It's a letter of opposition, unanimous opposition,
but it was for a different type of project.
We did try to meet with the group
after we made these modifications,
which I think are more reasonable in nature
and should be approved by this board.
But I just want to let you know,
we did try to have another community meeting
to kind of show them how we're changing the project.
Then we have the property history.
Again, you're going to see that this property has multifamily use currently as a duplex,
but it also has that third unit there, which we're merely looking to swap out.
Then maps of the area.
Again, we're a corner property.
So even though we're an RSA 5 property, you'll see that we're not out of character to its
previous use and hopefully future use.
uh then photographs of the property in the surrounding area um our original plans and
drawings my client tried to be very ambitious with this project um the community looked at it
and said no and i would happen to agree that that ambition was a little bit misplaced um and you
know they're definitely downgrading that use and i think a triplex is more for the appropriate use
under the circumstances we're not increasing the amount of units we're just swapping out that
commercial space for residential space, which makes sense under the circumstances. Our RCO
meeting notice. So we did have a pre-community meeting with the community. They had a site
visit. Don't know why this happened, but my client, for whatever reason, didn't let them
into the property. But there's nothing to hide. It's just, I guess maybe there were tenants in
there. He didn't want them in there. I don't know why. We did have one community meeting,
which was very well attended, and they expressed their opposition to have what was originally
the proposal was three residential units and two commercial spaces, and then basically expanding
that building structure in a way which was out of character with the neighborhood. Again,
we tried to get another community meeting when we talked to our client and stated a more reasonable
use would be three-family dwelling. Our application for appeal that we filed on Sharon's behalf,
our deed to the property showing that she owns the property, and then our certificate of tax
clearance showing that she's in good standing with the city of Philadelphia regarding her real
estate taxes. So notice the refusal. This is a lot to digest here. By doing the modifications
to the project. The only refusal we have left is three family dwelling in that we're an RSA 5
property. But again, if you look on the public record, there's a rental license for two residential
units. So we're not going from one to three, we're going from two to three. And again, that third
unit was previously in office. So, and again, that third unit is completely above grade. They have,
we actually introduced more windows to the, to the, to the residential space to make sure they
have light in there but the entrances are separate and above grade uh so again you know mindful of
Uh, so again, you know, mindful of, of that and then our proviso form.
of that and then
So this again, it's just a cheat sheet of how we changed the project.
We removed the front side and rear additions again, out of character to the neighborhood
where my client was proposing.
Um, we increased the gross floor area of the first floor dwelling units.
Originally, um, the, well, two, there was a two car garage there in the rear.
and my client eliminated that two-car garage and what they're proposing to do is put two parking
pads in front of that there's a curb existing curb cut already there and just so you understand
we're not having an entrance where those that garage is if that's another form of egress with
two doors where we added windows there's a side entrance which was where the commercial entrance
was before. So that's, you know, so we have actually three forms of egress for that additional
unit. We removed the one interior accessory parking space. Actually, there was two. This is
going to be the second amendment of this project. And then we added one accessory surface parking
space in the rear. Really two, you'll see. And then this is our revised plan. Again, we'll make
that submission separately to L&I. We'll get an amended refusal. You'll see one refusal, which
has to do with the three-family living. And then here are the parking pads. They are, as of right,
for compact parking, 16 feet by eight feet, two of them. And then you can see here from, you know,
the community input of when my client was trying to put three-family dwelling and two commercial
spaces that did not go well and um there was much opposition but if you really look at the letter
like the letter you know uh was we don't like the commercial space we think that that would be out
of character we don't like to build the addition we think that would be out of character um they
did mention that you know they didn't like the multi-unit aspect of the project but it's already
a duplex. We're asking to include one additional residential unit. And this was a three unit
building for the longest period of time. We're just swapping the commercial space for the
residential space. And then I just wanted to give you to show that, that at one point,
this was two family dwelling. And actually here is considered an ice cream shop and candy store.
So where I grew up, like this is where that's what you, not, I didn't grow up in Philly. I grew
in new york but this is kind of what you would see you would see this kind of like lower level
use where you have residential above and you have this lower level use it's kind of like more but
like a neighborhood feel that was that this was that type of property and then here you can see
we have a rental license for two units again we're not going from one to three we're going from two
to three and then we're a corner property here um again not out of character even though this is an
rsa5 property to have multi-unit use just generally um here we have a long history of that
and then photographs of the property here um you know again the residential units above on the
first floor and second floor would have an entrance entrance through unru and then we'll
go see the side on summerdale this is the separate entrance on summerdale and you can see there's
windows are ready and everything's above grade. So, um, but this is where the old commercial space
was. And then you can see here in the back, there's existing, uh, curb cuts, like a common
driveway in the back. We're looking to eliminate these park, these parking garages, and we're
going to put two doors and windows in the back. So there would be enough light in there on the side
and on the rear and everything's above grade. So there's multiple forms of egress for this,
this unit and then this is en route to the right of the property to the left of the property
sommerdale to the right of the property until left of the property and then um the orange notice
posters as well something's weird with i guess how we saved it uh and then the orange notice
poster that's the front door for the uh lower level unit and again we didn't change that in
anyway maybe there's a new front door but um that's been in existence forever and you can see
there's windows along the side as well that had a wider angle shot before and then our plans and
drawings um what we also introduced which was not there previously uh was a window well uh towards
uh the front of the property as well because you know we're going to have lower level use
we wanted actually so now there's four ways to get out of here you can have the side door which
you saw which is existing we're going to have in the rear we're going to have two doors where the
We're going to have in the rear, we're going to have two doors where the garage doors were.
garage doors were
And you'll see that with more windows.
And then also here, there's an egress well as well.
And so you understand this was the original use of the look at the project.
But this is what we originally were trying to do, just a one-bedroom, one-bath.
What we did was, and you'll see that later on, and this is very involved.
my client i think was very ambitious on this project and you know we we're getting all rid
of all this so um you know sometimes the community saves a client because i don't know financially
that would make would have made sense but um as you can see here here's the parking spaces the
compact parking spaces the parking pads here's the egress well here oh and you know and here's
existing you know front door but you got one entrance or exit another one front door and then
you'll see in the rear we added more windows in the back this is where the the parking uh garage
was where you added additional windows and two extra doors just i you know again he wants two
doors but also added more windows um where the egress well is as well and then this is just our
floor plan again above grade you walk this side entrance you have a living room the kitchen and
the bathroom you can see there's windows here there's a window here there's the egress well
here with a window here and then you have like you know you have a kit your kitchen here and
one full bath here one full bath here laundry facility here and then two bedrooms again with
two additional windows, and then each bedroom has its own exits just for emergency purposes.
RCO meeting notice, we met with the community on November 7th at 6.30 p.m., only one meeting.
Every time we send out the notice a few weeks beforehand when we mail it out and get proof
of mailing, we also email it to the coordinating RCO and relevant parties. We sent that to 138
addresses. These are the addresses we sent it to. Proof of mailing to those addresses.
or application for appeal that we filed on Sharon's behalf,
along with the original notice of refusal,
which was even more refusals,
and we only have one refusal now for use.
E-tip property showing that she owns the property
and the certificate of tax clearance.
While it shows a balance, there is none
because that's not due to March 31st of 2025.
With that being said,
i would ask that sharon uh virtually raise her hand uh she's i believe in the virtual audience
sharon
hi i see no sharon with the hand raised
yes do we see anybody else sharon john i know john i know her husband
is online, too. I don't know if he's with her.
I see it. Sharon Johnson
will be promoted. Thank you.
She has been promoted.
Could you please state your name
and spell for the stenographer?
Sharon?
can you hear me hello can you hear me yeah is is sharon there no i'm her husband uh okay i'm
representing uh my wife sharon johnson okay could you please state your name and spell it for the
stenographer my name is lancelot johnson l-a-n-c-e-l-o-t johnson j-o-h-n-s-o-n do you
swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth? I do.
Mr. Nockmson? Yes.
Lance, you heard everything I had to state today
about your zoning matter.
Yes, I did. And is it true
and correct? Yes.
And do you adopt this in your own testimony?
I do. Thank you.
Questions from the board?
Yeah, I have a question.
So the repairs to the third unit,
are they already done?
Question one. And then the
RCO has claimed that they were already rented out that unit as a triplex.
So my understanding, and I would ask, I would defer to Lance.
Lance, has the work been done on the property to date for that third unit?
Which work are you referring to?
Is the third unit a residential unit at this time?
And then have you rented that out?
No, no.
The unit is vacant.
There is no one living there.
No one living there is only being used as storage right now.
It's only being used as storage right now.
And I would like to highlight that.
And the work is to be done.
Obviously, when it goes to a triplex, there has to be a lot of work done, not just on that particular unit, but throughout the building.
And I was going to highlight that.
By going from two units to three units, he's going to have to sprinkler the building in order to get the CO.
And I let all my clients know that.
so there's actually more protective measures in a way to go from two to three units something to
be mindful as the zoning board can you tell me you said that this had been approved for
two family how and when when was this um so if i'm going to share my screen again there's
a history of this but i also have a rental license which shows two units as well when uh let me go
it's it's it started in 2005 i don't there is no inactive date to it so it's it's an active
rental license right here well they knew we purchased the bill we what no they do have to
renew it every year but it's currently active and then i pulled from the city records that
i i can't see but i think it's like 1978 this went from a two-family dwelling to a two-family
dwelling with an ice cream shop which is when it looks like here in 1978 okay and you're saying
that the rental license is from 2005 it starts in 2005 it's up it's up on the screen right there
but i can't oh okay i i mean okay sorry okay yeah i have it on the screen okay all right um
yes to me please
oh thank you do we know the last time that it had been utilized as a commercial property
i i would defer to lance um it looks like this was purchased in 2024 is that correct
no it was it was it was it was purchased in 2000 2004 2004 i'm sorry i have the wrong
and and we have never used it uh as you know i i think the the the uh commercial aspect of it
predated us uh you know we we have not used it in that that manner yeah but but again going to the
to that lower level unit or space that's not connected in any way to the residential space
right you know i get that it has a separate door i was just wondering like when was the last so
they haven't used it as a commercial space and then could your client walk us through
their plan for that commercial space like what type of food what are they oh there is no commercial
we just want to make just an apartment we just want to make just an apartment it's going to be
a triplex we're getting rid of all the commercial all of the commercial all the commercial gone
like all we want to do is swap out make that space into a residential space right yeah so
yeah i think that's what kind of confused because i was confused for a minute because you long time
explain in the past and it's really it's just they wanted to do a bunch of commercial stuff
they didn't decide to do it they're doing just three residential units it has access directly
out to the side of the street it's already there that's right closing off the garage making it
bedrooms and it's a fairly decent layout and they've got direct access and probably the ceiling
heights and they're right off the streets i don't see that that's a big issue yeah i believe it's a
over 900 square feet, maybe 1,000 square feet to take that
garage space. Or two bedrooms, that's right.
And they do have the door directly out to the street, and they do have the
windows right there to the living
room, and they've got windows and everything for the bedrooms because they're closing
off the garage. And they're in the corner.
That's right. What is the hardship to them
just using it for the two units why do we need to have this third unit in the basement well
because the third unit there's no access from the interior for that for any of the residential units
it's a standalone unit it's just had a commercial history and it's not been used since 2004 for
anything i think the community was upset to have any commercial use there and you know we're looking
to have the residential use solely there and again how it if it looks like a duck and quacks
like a duck it's a duck and that is a separate entrance it's not like we're creating it out of
thin air it's not like we're you know you see sometimes people will take the garages and add
It's not like we're, you know, you see sometimes people will take the garages and add doors and then they have this wonky thing where they're like, OK, the entrance is in the back.
doors and then
No, we have that for emergency egress purposes. Plus, we're a corner property. So we have, you know, this is a separate unit. It's just what do you want to do with that?
And I think in terms of eyes on the streets, it makes sense. Otherwise, it's actually a security risk to have a separate door where it's like a whole unit in itself.
so thank you one more question so is the are the parking spaces going away as well
there's gonna be we're making them parking pads so the parking pads is still ideas to have three
compact parking pads two two okay and then can we explain the hardship around not having the rear
yard i don't think anyone has a rear yard there like it's again if you look at driveways in the
back all the way everyone uses it for their parking so the pictures here and
and i think the rest of the block i'm just looking yeah it's strictly at the refusal being
for rear yard yeah if you look here again it's probably not the best angle but our next door
neighbor is using it just like how we want to use it i mean most people who have garages don't use
their garages as garages they use it to store their stuff and you can see here they're the
next door neighbor is using it he's using his driveway as parking pads which were which we
would be using it that way too questions from the audience questions from the virtual audience
i see no hands oh i'm sorry chair i hear a hand up by emmanuel wilkerson will be
Yes, I'm promoted.
Hi, could you please state your name?
It's spelled for the stenographer.
Yes, can you hear me, Mr. Chair?
I can.
So sorry.
I'm sorry.
My sound's going in and out, but this is 1201 Unruh, correct?
It is.
Yes, I'm just here to testify on behalf of Councilman Anthony Phillips to testify that
the councilman is in opposition of the proposal all right and mr wilkerson you were sworn earlier
today yes sir right thank you for taking the time to cause um planning commission
thank you chairman and good afternoon david effecta with the city planning commission
chairman of board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa 5 residential
single-family zoning at this location the appellant has revised their proposal to remove the proposed
commercial spaces and to cure the dimensional variances this is an entirely residential block
face the appellant proposes to change a former basement commercial space into a residential space
bringing the property closer into conformance with the residential zoning the city planning
commission recommends the board grant or proposed use variants for three dwelling units thank you
No, we're going to hold this until we have an inventive refusal.
Now, Mr. Nakamura, let me just tell you the schedule I have here.
I have six cases left on this 2 p.m. group.
What I want you to do is step down.
I'm going to bring two in.
And then bring you back two, and then the two on the phone will go last.
I appreciate it.
Thank you very much.
Number, let's see here.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair, on 1201, here and hold, are we bringing that back for resumption on the amended refusal, or are we just opposing the record closed except for the amended refusal?
I think it's closed except for that and comments from the attorney, if he wants, right?
Well, I don't think he'll have comments on the amended refusal, but okay.
It's closed.
Okay, all right, thank you for the clarification.
All right. So we're going to go with number nine, MI 2024-006-839-6101 North Broad Street. Meredith Trego is the attorney. There's a letter of non-opposition from a concerned community association.
counsel could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
uh yes my name is meredith trego with ballard spar my name is spelled m-e-r-e-d-i-t-h
trego is t-r-e-g-o do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but
the truth i do could you identify your client the relationship to the property sure i am here
representing archwell health llc who's the lessee of the property at 6101 north broad street the
property is owned by rtec1 llc and ng 19 lp our vice chair has a few questions good afternoon
counselor do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy
we do have emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this
we do have emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this
kids, Bob.
case five days in advance of this hearing yes sir we have thank you counsel please proceed
thank you I will go ahead and share my screen
um thank you chairman and members of the board we're here today for a request for a special
exception for the use of a property as a group medical health practitioner office which will be
located in an existing building in a cmx 2.5 commercial mixed-use zoning district i'm joined
today by my client mr seth dickey who's the associate vp of market development for archwell
health um as well as okay um as well as potentially uh dr moten um who is a senior market medical
director for archwell health she'll be um joining us if she can our exhibits filed with the board
today include everything that's required um included here on this exhibit list um including
our tax clearance certificate for exhibit uh in exhibit two our proof of mailing for our neighbor
notices in exhibit eight our proof of posting in exhibit nine we are also aware that the rco the
acca who's the coordinating rco for this project submitted a letter of non-opposition last night
turning to exhibit three for our referral this is as i said a application for a group
medical practitioner use, which is in the office use category. We note that no zoning plans are
required. This is simply a use application, and this is a special exception in this zoning district.
We do want to note, we met with the community on January 9th, and we'll note up front that their
letter of non-opposition did include three provisos, so we'll just address those. Those
provisos were that the premises not be used as a drug treatment or a drug rehabilitation facility,
that trash will be stored separately in the dumpsters located behind the building in a locked
bin with commercial pickup, and that medical waste will be stored inside the building with
private collection. We have no issues with these provisos. This is our course of business
as a matter of fact anyway, and we're happy to agree to these provisos on any granting of the
special exception. I'm going to go now to exhibit 10, which is our zoning map. As I noted, this is
a CMX 2.5 district. We point out that the property is located on the North Broad Street commercial
corridor with other commercial properties. And looking at some excerpts from the zoning code
in this district, CMX 2.5, this is a special exception. We know that a sole medical health
practitioner is by right, but the group practitioner category puts us into a special
exception. As we will show today, we will meet all the requirements for a special exception
because this will not create any detrimental impact on the health, safety, and welfare to
the community that might exceed or that would exceed what might normally be expected from a
group medical office use. We just want to briefly talk a little bit about Archwell Health.
R2A Health provides primary care services to adults age 60 and over.
They have an average patient age of 72.
R2A Health services include primary care provider visits, lab work, preventative health screenings,
social work visits, nutrition education, care management, cardiology, telehealth visits.
There is a growing need for doctors and other medical professionals in the country, including
in Philadelphia, specifically for the senior population. Approximately 10,000 to 11,000
Americans will age into Medicare each day. R2L was founded in 2020, and it currently has 52
locations throughout the country. It's planning to nearly double that by the end of 2025.
At full capacity at most locations, including this location at 6101 North Broad, we anticipate
roughly 35 full-time staff members. That includes physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners,
medical assistants, as well as other support staff. Archwell also looks to the community first
for hiring and does like to try and fill as many positions of its care team as it can from within
the neighborhood. Facilities, including this one at North Broad, they are purposely located close
to transit and are designed with a focus on accessibility for seniors. The office will be
The office will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
open from 8 a.m to 5 p.m monday through friday and
And in addition to primary care services, Archwell does provide some ancillary services, such as nutrition education.
Their facilities are also designed to include a modest activities room that can host group activities that promote health and wellness.
Things such as fitness classes like Zumba or chair yoga, as well as other types of health fairs and educational components like that.
It's anticipated that this particular location will schedule roughly 8 to 10 patients per hour,
with an average appointment visit lasting between 40 and 50 minutes per patient.
R2L Health can provide some triage and urgent care services to existing patients,
but that's not their typical model.
It's primarily appointment-based primary care.
R2L Health, we note, does not provide any kind of drug rehabilitation or treatment
at this location or any of its locations.
I'm going to turn to our exhibit 13,
which shows, there we go, an aerial map of the site
with the building and the surrounding parking lot.
This location is located in the Fern Rock neighborhood
of Philadelphia at the intersection of North Broad Street
and Spencer Avenue.
um the existing one-story building is a former ready uh pharmacy and is uh contains roughly 14,000
square feet so we have some images of the site this is a view from north broad street
view from north broad and spencer avenue the view of the south and eastern um facades of the building
from spencer avenue this is the west elevation the north elevation the east elevation which
is essentially the rear of the property and the south elevation we also have included in exhibit
14 some site photos of the interior as i mentioned this is a former rite aid it has been vacant for
a little over a year and then moving to our site plan most of the work that will be done will be
done to the interior of the building we note that while this is an application for the use only we
you know just for informational purposes sort of want to share the site plan and some of the
improvements that will be done so this location has approximately 63 parking spaces those will
remain the same there'll be a little bit of restriping of the ada spaces just to better align
those spaces we're just shifting them essentially from where they are so that the curb onto the
sidewalk sort of meets the ada large space between the spaces a little bit better otherwise the
parking lot will remain the same. The dumpster location is in the rear of the property. That
will be contracted with private commercial pickup. It will be locked between pickups
and for use solely by Archwell. The interior of the building will be fit out with offices
as well as patient rooms, its activity room and a reception area. And on the outside of
the building, most of the work that will be done will really be limited to new signage
on the building as well as new windows and doors so those will be retrofitted just to kind of spruce
up the building give it a fresher look and here is our anticipated again this is not part of this
application but just for your information the the typical signage for archwell and then lastly
we've included some sample interior photos of what offices typically look like
And I think that's it. I think I'll note that the grant of the special exception for the group medical health practitioner use will not create a detrimental impact on the health, safety, and welfare of the neighborhood, exceeding that which we might normally expect from this proposed use.
In fact, the grant of the special exception, we believe, will help improve the health and well-being for the neighbors by bringing accessible health care for seniors to the community.
And I would like to call my client up to adopt my testimony.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Seth Dickey, S-E-T-H-D-I-C-K-E-Y.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Mr. Dickey, can you just please tell us about your role with Archwell Health?
Yes, I'm the Associate Vice President with Market Development, so I oversee the end-to-end process from design and construction and the end to go over to our operational leaders.
Thank you.
You have just heard what I said.
Can you affirm that what I've said is true and correct and adopted as your own testimony?
questions from the board yeah does your use include pickup and drop-off service
Questions from the board.
Yeah, does your use include
I didn't I'm pretty sure if I heard that for residents I mean for your clients
patients sure I'll let mr. Dickey take that question sure most I should say
most if not all Medicare plans do include some type of transportation for
members so we do ride-share partnerships for sure so you'll have vans parked out
in the parking lot when you're not using yeah but it would be more you know like a minivan type of
situation and do you know how many you anticipate having so i'm not sure does archwell health have
its own van or i believe you just i believe they contract with other um private providers of that
service um like health there's a septa has its own service care transit no i know some some of
these services have their own fleet of vans and sometimes they take up all the parking
Apologies for the confusion, but yeah, we don't have our own bus.
Thank you for the question.
And what's the breakdown in terms of services between dental providers and regular medical
practitioners that you're going to have on site?
Did you say dental?
Oh, I don't believe.
Yeah, so it's just medical service.
It's just primary care, medical.
So no, we wouldn't refer that out.
And then what are the hours of operation?
From Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5.
Any other questions?
Questions from our attorney.
I'm sorry. Do you have, I guess, like some kind of patient rooms where they can gather or they can have meetings or they can have, do you have like different services on site for these patients, which you said the average age is like 72?
sort of like activity room or something sure yeah so we have a very well done uh reception
area with a cafe and then um like meredith said kind of a modest activity room where we would do
cooking classes nutrition classes chair yoga okay that type of stuff yes all right thank you
questions from our attorney hillary emerson not at this time questions from the audience
questions. Sorry, we have a person with the iPhone. Charlene will be promoted.
Hi. Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Can you hear me? I can. Could you state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Hi, my name is Dr. Charlene Moten, M-O-T-E-N, Charlene, S-H-I-R-L-E-N-E.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Hi, Dr. Moten, thank you for joining us.
We actually thought that you were in mid-flight.
We weren't sure that you were available.
So thank you for logging on.
If you would like, can Dr. Moten adopt my testimony as well?
most certainly. Dr. Moten, have you heard what I said today and can you affirm that what I've
said is true and accurate and adopted as your own testimony? I can. Great. Thank you. Is there
anything else you'd like to add? No, I agree with everything that you've said so far. I do want to
share that, yes, we do contract with Ride Health utilizing SEPTA and ensuring that for those
patients with mobility issues, they do have transportation to the site.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Planning commission. The next will be
Tracy Williams.
We had somebody in the audience?
Yes, Tracy Williams. Hi, could you please state your name as spelled
for the stenographer?
hello hi could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
okay tracy williams t-r-a-c-e-y williams w-i-l-l-i-a-m-s right do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth okay could you put your video on please
I'm trying to turn in.
It's not coming on.
You all have it.
We see.
Thank you.
Are you a neighbor?
Please proceed.
I live in the 6,000 block of North 13th Street.
We were not aware of this facility.
Archwell helped coming in.
We just were made aware on Thursday.
We oppose it.
We oppose it. The RCO, I don't know who they met with. No one has met with us. I've spoke with residents on 12th Street. I've spoke with residents on Park Avenue. I've spoke with residents on Camac Street. We were not aware of Archwell Health. It's not necessary because Oak Street Health is less than 500 feet away.
The RCO.
I don't know who they met with.
No one has met with us.
that does the same exact thing and does have vans they're connected to the eye institute
and they do the same exact thing for seniors we have a lot of medical facilities we would like
another uh pharmacy in the area thank you counsel you have any questions um sure we would just like
to note that the um uh coordinating rco was assigned by the council person um which is a
the ACCA which is a concerned community association we mailed our notice letters on
November 25th a second letter on January 21st and January 21st in accordance with the address
list provided by the city we held our RCO meeting on January 29th 2025 and posted the property the
same day okay could you tell me who attended your meeting now can't continue yes we we met it was
NOT A WIDELY ATTENDED MEETING, THERE WERE ONLY A HANDFUL OF FOLKS ON THE CALL, BUT WE
DID NOTIFY. WERE THERE RESIDENTS? I BELIEVE THEY WERE RESIDENTS OR MEMBERS
OF THE RCO. OKAY, WELL, THE RCO THAT YOU'RE SPEAKING
OF IS ON OAKHAS AVENUE. IT'S NOWHERE IN OUR VICINITY. AND THE MINIMUM IS EIGHT BLOCKS
away so none of the residents in the vicinity were notified we found out thursday when someone saw the
big zoning notice on the front door no one was notified okay and i did and i did contact council
the legislative person there is out and no one said they would be they said no one was available
from councilman phillips office to attend
yeah i believe that's correct that nobody from the council office attended
um i apologize that you didn't receive a direct notice um we we use the the city's notification
website to identify the properties that get direct mailings and uh we coordinate with the rcos that
are well i'm on council's direct mailing and i'm less than a thousand feet from this property
okay um we're going to move on we're going to move on thank you miss williams thank you very
much and thank you um anyone else in the virtual audience there are no more hands planning
commission thank you chairman and good afternoon david vecto with the city planning commission
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the cmx 2.5 commercial
mixed-use zoning at this location. The appellant has shown that a group practitioner will have no
detrimental impacts on the neighborhood beyond what might be expected. The City Planning Commission
recommends that the board grant a proposed special exception for a group practitioner.
Thank you. MI 2024-006-839-6101 North Broad Street. I vote yes with proviso, interior storage
of medical waste, commercial trash pickup.
My vote is yes with Proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with Proviso.
My vote is yes with Proviso.
Ishmael Shahi, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Council, stay there.
We're going to do the second.
Thank you.
Right.
So number 10, MI 2024-006-848-6201 Germantown Avenue.
Council, you've already been sworn.
Just for the record, could you state your name?
Yes, my name is Meredith Trego with Ballard Sparr.
Could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Yes, we are here representing Archwell Health LLC, who's the lessee of the property at 6201 Germantown Avenue.
The property is owned by Derrick's Enterprises.
And our vice chair has a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to either read another refusal or stipulate towards accuracy?
We do.
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
we have. Thank you, counsel. Please proceed. Mr. Chairman and members of the board, we are here
today with a request for a special exception for the use of a property at 6201 Germantown Avenue
as a group medical health practitioner use within an existing building in a CMX2 commercial mixed
use zoning district. I'm joined today by Seth Dickey, who is the Associate VP of Development
for Archwell Health, as well as Dr. Sherlene Moten, who's joining us by Zoom, who's the Senior
market medical director for R2L. Our exhibits filed with the board include everything that's
Our exhibits filed with the board include everything that's required, including our tax clearance certificates in Exhibit 2, our proof of mailing for neighbor notices in Exhibit 8, as well as our proof of zoning notice postings at Exhibit 9.
required, including our tax clearance.
We're also aware that a letter of support was recently provided by the 59th Democratic Ward to the board.
Turning to Exhibit 3, this is our referral, which is for a group medical practitioner use that is within the office use category.
Again, we emphasize that this is for a use change only. No zoning plans were required for this use application.
We do want to note up front, we did meet with the community on February 10th. That was our second meeting.
We had an earlier meeting in January that had almost no attendance due to weather, a snowstorm that day.
And so we rescheduled it for February 10th via Zoom.
And we will note that the community did provide a letter of support with provisos.
We just want to go through those provisos up front.
First, the community requested that we consider installing additional trees and landscaping at the site.
Excuse me, Ms. Trago, do you mind, do you have a copy of the letter you can pull up onto the screen?
Oh, sure.
Because I'm not sure that we received that.
We don't have it.
Oh, okay.
That was not.
So this was submitted.
I thought it was submitted to the board as well.
But this letter was a letter of support with three provisors.
So the first is that the, I'll actually, I'll discuss the second one first.
So a request that we improve the landscaping at the site.
We are happy to do that.
provided our lease allows us to, and there's no conflicts there. Again, we're a lessee at this
property. We do not own it. But as we mentioned in the prior case, we want to make this an
attractive site. Archwell wants its patients to come to a very attractive and welcoming place and
wants to have a good look within the community. A second request, which is the first one listed
here is that we remove a structural awning from the building. This was an awning that was
part of the Rite Aid drive-through when it was a former Rite Aid pharmacy. And so they've requested
that we remove this just, I guess, for aesthetic purposes. However, this awning is actually,
it's not, you know, a fabric awning. It's a structural component to the building. So even
aside from issues related to the budget for altering the structure like this. We do not have
the authority under our lease agreement with the owner to do anything to the exterior of the
building. We're only allowed to make changes to the interior. So this was a request that we
unfortunately are not able to comply with or say that we can fulfill. So we do have to object to
that request. And then lastly, they had a third request that Archwell Health allow nearby residents
use their parking lot at night and on the weekends when the facility is closed. We note off the bat
that non-accessory parking is not actually a by-right use in the CMX2 zoning district, so
you know, just right away we'd have to come back to the board for that anyway, but even more
importantly again we are subject to a lease with the owner of this property um we have the right
to use the parking lot for this site for our patient use and for our activities but we do
not have the authority to grant use to nearby residents or other nearby property owners so
again that is a request that um we would like to object to and uh are not able to you know comply
with. So from that, we would like to just move on to the zoning map in Exhibit 10. Again, noting that
this is a CMX2 property. This property is on the Germantown Avenue commercial corridor and in line
with other commercial properties in this part of the neighborhood. This is a request for a special
exception. The group medical practitioner use is a special exception in the zoning district.
And again, note that solo practitioner uses are permitted by right.
And as we will show today, this particular application does satisfy the standards for a special exception because we will not create a detrimental impact on the health, safety, or welfare of the neighborhood exceeding that which might normally be expected from the proposed use.
In fact, we would argue we would improve the health and well-being of the neighbors by providing important and necessary medical care to seniors in the community.
Again, just going through Archwell Health business model.
So Archwell Health provides primary care services to adults ages 60 and older.
They have an average patient population, patient age of 72.
They provide services such as primary care provider visits, lab work, preventive health screenings, social work, nutrition education, care management, and cardiology telehealth visits.
They provide services such as primary care provider visits, lab work.
There is a growing need for doctors and medical professionals across the country, including in Philadelphia, specifically for the senior population as approximately 10,000 to 11,000 people age into Medicare each day.
Archwell was founded in 2020 and has 52 locations nationwide currently with plans to expand to
nearly 100 by the end of 2025.
At full capacity, this office anticipates having roughly 35 full-time staff, which includes
physicians, nurse practitioners and nurses, medical assistants and support staff.
And again, Archwell looks to fill these positions from within the community as much as possible.
Facilities, including this one at 6201 Germantown, are purposely located close to transit and
are designed with a focus on accessibility for seniors.
The office will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
And in addition to their primary care services, Archwell provides some ancillary services
such as nutrition education and then has a modest activities room to host things such
as health fairs and exercise classes, nutrition classes, and the like.
It's anticipated that this location will schedule 8 to 10 patients per hour, with the average appointment length lasting roughly 40 to 50 minutes.
Archwell can provide some triage and urgent care services to existing patients, but we note that it does not provide any type of drug rehabilitation or treatment services at this or any other location.
I'm looking to Exhibit 13, which is a site aerial with Germantown Avenue and East Topplehocken
Street. This is located at the corner. The layout of the existing parking and drive aisles will
remain almost unchanged from the existing condition, which includes two drive aisles
from East Topplehocken and one drive aisle off of Germantown at the western edge of the parcel
right here the proposed site includes 50 locate 50 parking spaces including two ada spaces and
the only changes being made to the parking lot are just a shuffling of the ada spaces to better
align them with the curb cut into the sidewalk to get up to the building the existing dumpsters
are located in the back of the property and will remain there for use by archwell health
for general office waste and will be locked between weekly pickups with a private commercial
trash pickup provider. Medical waste will be disposed of in a secure location within the
building, and Archwell Health will again contract with a private service for medical waste pickup.
Looking at our site photos, we have some photos here of just from Germantown and Topolhocken.
Again, another view from Topolhocken. This is an existing Rite Aid which we mentioned.
a view from germantown avenue the west elevation south elevation east elevation
and the north elevation and then some interior photos as well
this former right it has also been vacant for roughly one year
turning to exhibit 15 with our site plan the again the layout of the parking lot will remain
roughly unchanged and then a sort of a floor plan which will include a small activities room
and then doctor's offices and patient rooms and other supporting spaces
in exhibit 16 we include some images of our proposed signage which is not part of this
application but just to give you a sense of what we anticipate the building to look like when
it's completed. We will also be swapping out the existing windows and doors with new windows and
doors to spruce up the exterior of it. And then again, replacement signage for the pylon sign
that exists there today. And then lastly, we've included some sample photos of the interior
of archwell spaces. The grant of the requested special exception for the group medical health
practitioner will not create a detrimental impact on the health safety and welfare of the neighborhood
exceeding that which might normally be expected from the proposed use and in fact we believe it
will help improve the health and well-being of the neighborhood by bringing important health
care services to the senior population um thank you members of the board uh we'd like to just
call up our witnesses to adopt our testimony just state your name because you've already been sworn
Seth Dickey, please proceed counsel.
Thank you.
Mr. Dickey, can you please, have you just heard what I said?
Can you affirm that what I've said is true and accurate and adopt it as your own testimony?
is there anything else you'd like to add at this point um would in regards to the three provisios
Is there anything else you'd like to add at this point?
Would, in regards to the-
um i would just like to say the community was very engaged and we appreciated their feedback
um and certainly appreciate their support moving forward um would like to say that we will guarantee
that the landscape will be beautified and we will make sure it's attractive place for the neighbors
and our patients um and unfortunately right now we will not be removing that drive-through awning
and cannot share a parking.
And lastly, Dr. Moten,
if you'd like to adopt my testimony as well.
Dr. Moten?
She's still on.
She come back?
Do we see her hand?
She's still on.
I think we're okay.
Okay, great.
Can you hear me?
Oh, yes.
Just state your name.
You've already been sworn in.
Yes, I am adopting your testimony as my own, and I do agree with both you and Seth.
We would love to be able to honor those provisals, but we are a lessee and unable to honor those.
So we would like those excluded. Yes.
Just for the record, state your name.
This is Dr. Charlene Talbert-Moughton, Senior Market Medical Director for R2L Health.
Thank you very much. Questions from the board.
Yes, I just wanted to touch back since the community seems to be really concerned about curb appeal.
Have there been any thoughts, even preliminary thoughts about how you might be able to address some of their concerns without putting in things that are permanent?
We do think that the landscaping is a great way to address this.
i can go back to the site aerial at this particular location there is a good bit of
space between germantown avenue and the existing parking lot and building that has existing planting
beds in it that are you know quite robust in terms of size and so we think you know really
the ability to improve the landscaping there will do a lot in terms of curb appeal anything else
Yes, a question. Doctors, nurses, you're affiliated with what hospitals, and do you have doctors, nurse practitioners? Who do you have providing the medical care for the proposed patient?
Sure, we have both, so medical doctors as well as nurse practitioners, and we are not affiliated with the hospital system.
Okay. Thank you.
Questions or comments from our attorney? Hillary Emerson.
I just would concur that unfortunately I don't believe any of the provisos that have been
suggested are enforceable, maybe for the reasons that Ms. Trago already explained. Thank you.
Thank you. Questions from the audience? We have a question for Charles Richardson.
Charles Richardson has been promoted. Good afternoon, Mr. Richardson.
i'm here hi hi mr richardson just for the record state your name it is spelled for the stenographer
certainly charles richardson r-i-c-h-a-r-d-s-o-n office of councilwoman cindy bans room 508 city
hall do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do please
question uh for you mr chair or to hillary what were the improvisos that were granted for
the borough street property uh commercial uh trash pickup and um storage of uh interior storage
of medical waste okay which they already said that they'll do that's fine uh councilwoman has
no opposition to granting the variance thank you for calling we appreciate it anyone else in the
virtual audience there are no money planning commission thank you chairman and good afternoon
david vecto with the city planning commission chairman the comprehensive plan recommends no
change to the cmx2 commercial mixed use zoning at this location the appellant has shown the
proposed group practitioner will have no detrimental impacts on the neighborhood
beyond what might be expected the city planning commission recommends that the board grant or
proposed special exception for a group practitioner. Thank you. MI 2024-006-848-6201
Germantown Avenue. I vote yes with proviso, interior storage of medical waste,
commercial trash pickup. The requested provisos for this application were...
The requested provisos for this application were.
I mean, he testified he was going to do it.
Oh, OK.
Right.
Sorry.
Oh, it's OK.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with provisos.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with provisos.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with provisos.
Taya Nguyen, my vote is yes with provisos.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with provisos.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you for your time.
Alan Knackerson is coming back in as a pen.
I think we can start.
so mi2024-006-801-8541 bustleton avenue alan knockerson is the attorney mr knockamson you've
already been sworn you just state your name please alan knockamson um could you identify
your client the relationship to their property yes uh jordan miss rocky who's in the virtual
audience and i would say we have a a recommendation of unanimous support from the ron her civic
association and a letter of non-opposition from council member o'neill i i do see a little note
here from our council you may be missing a refusal required accessory off street parking
the property's owned rsa3 so i think they missed they may miss a refusal for parking on there
so i'm just noting that for the record that's okay okay yep all right
good afternoon counsel do you agree to weigh the reading of the refusal or stipulate to exact
i do have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits as needed to proceed
with this case five days in advance of this hearing yes thank you counsel please proceed
thank you um someone else is sharing um i mean i think meredith is still sharing
I think can I stop that
we can take her off right we can take her down right
yes I was trying to change her role but it's not working for me
all right here you go
all right so these next two matters are pretty straightforward
no you had a long day let's keep it no no no wait a little couple a few more
when you're done well i see mr masters waiting there for three the 330 list i mean oh well if
mr masters is waiting i'm gonna go slow all right 85 41 bustleton um i feel like this is legalization
day with corner properties um this is a corner property that has been a two unit in the past
one residential one commercial i sound like a broken record i am i am swapping out the commercial
use for residential use and it's not out of character we have a few exhibits typical exhibit
packet no notice of refusal letter of support not only from the coordinating rco but the district
council member also has a letter i believe of non-opposition property history again showing
multi-unit use uh redfin listing which pulls from the public records which ironically says this is
a multi-family property we're not saying that it is but it shows public record maps of the area
photographs of the property and the surrounding area we have interior photos of one of the units
our plans and drawings we we we create based on you know what we understand is the site conditions
or RCO meeting notice, along with proof of mailing of that notice or application for appeal
or deed to the property and a certificate of tax clearance. Again, at the conclusion of my
presentation, I would ask that Jordan virtually raise his hand to be sworn in. Notice refusal.
This is an RSA3 property. All we're looking to do is legalize this two-family use. Jordan
took over this property actually from his mom or his parents, and it was this way when he
you know when he took ownership of this property so all he's trying to do is legalize this so he
can get a rental license for two family dwelling and you know as council stated there should be
probably be a refusal for parking as well uh we met with the community it was a you know well
attended meeting uh unanimous support nine members of the of their rco board voted in support of this
project again because of that support the district council member has no objection to the granting
in the variants. Property history, again, showing that it's been, you know, a dentist
you know a dentist office this resident of this commercial unit it's actually even been a synagogue
office, this resident of this commercial unit. It's actually even been a...
at one point so um there's separate entrances so again the corner property similar to what we saw
the last one we're not trying to squeeze all the use into one entrance or all the entry points
into one front door there's multiple front doors again you can see here from the public
record that redfin pulls for whatever reason it does indicate that this is a multi-family
structure, even though it's not. Maps of the area. Again, we're a corner property right here.
Photographs of the property. The second floor unit is going through Busselton. The
first floor unit has not the best picture, but you'll see a separate pathway to the first floor
unit which is on mower and then this is the rear of the property on mower street as well
and then there is some type of uh driveway of some sort uh that has been closed up over the years uh
by you know by previous uh property owners proof of posting for today's hearing both on mower as
well as bustleton avenue bustleton avenue on the right of the property again this is a commercial
corridor so it would be out of character really to have this as an rsa3 property there's a shopping
strip across the mall bustle tintel left of the property as you can see here there's even
multi-family use here i would assume that these are apartments mower to the right of the property
again not in like you see more apartments you see like again um you see some non-single-family use
here mower street to the left of the property interior photos not the best photos these these
are occupied units so we want to get in and out not disturb the tenants try to keep some privacy
as well so we just asked one of the one of them the the tenants to like let us in just so you
have an idea of what's in there
plans and drawings pretty straightforward uh the first floor unit this is essentially the one we're
trying to legalize um it has a separate entryway on lower streets you have a dining room a living
room in the kitchen you see windows here as well as here and then you have three bedrooms again
based on what we saw of the photographs there's windows across here there are no windows in this
side because this is a party wall um the second floor unit that's where you come in from busselton
has a door front door here common uh dining room kitchen living room windows here there's a separate
door on mower street so it's a separate form of egress and by the way there's a separate form of
egress too for the first floor unit in the rear because everything's on grade and then we have
bedrooms two here a bathroom and a laundry facility rco media notice we met with the
community on january 23rd at 6 30 p.m this is our proof of email showing that we gave it to the
community groups showing proof of mailing of that community notice that we sent to 77 addresses
proof of mailing to those addresses or applications for appeal that we filed on jordan's behalf
along with the notice of refusal in the project information form
the deed to the property showing that jordan miss rocky is the owner of the property
and then finally the certificate of tax clearance again to be repetitive even though
that shows there's a balance. It's not due until March 31st of 2025. I'm going to unshare
my screen. I would ask that Jordan virtually raise his hand and be sworn in.
Who is she, Jordan?
Yes, Chair. Jordan is coming in as a parent.
Thank you.
Hi, Jordan.
Can you hear me?
I can. Could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer?
Name is Jordan Mizrachi, spelled J-O-R-D-A-N, last name M-I-Z-R-A-C-H-I.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Jordan, you heard everything I had to state today about your zoning matter.
Is it true and correct?
Or do you adopt this in your own testimony?
Yes, I do.
Thank you.
Alan, just out of curiosity, are there other properties up there like that?
Well, as you saw through across the street, there was a shopping center, but there was also apartments along Busselton Avenue.
along bustleton avenue right okay questions from the board where's the trash stored um i would
Questions from the board.
i believe that the both do both units i guess the jordan correct me if i'm wrong i think the
trash is stored for the first floor unit in the rear yes the first floor in the rear and the uh
Second floor should be by the gate, by the side entrance.
Yeah, there's a side yard here, so they store it out there.
And can you flip through the exterior photos again?
And these are two three-bedroom units.
I think that...
On your plan, your show.
Let's see.
One, two.
Oh, that, yeah, my...
Well, okay, it's the two-bedroom second floor and three bedrooms on the lower floor.
Yeah, and then our firm did confirm.
We did go through Google Street View even today just to confirm where the windows were.
So we have exterior photos of that.
Well, you see here, just showing windows in the front for the second floor unit.
i'm concerned about the the lower level yeah you had a bad photo of that low level yeah i remember
correctly you can see there's like a there's a cover going in the door yeah but but here
there's another one yeah no i know i'm just saying for the rear here are some more windows
is that that goes to where does that go to what space does that door go to um let me just confirm
in a bedroom yeah i believe that's the bedroom but i don't want to state let's see that would go
to this is the those are the windows for the kitchen area and then so that's
so these ones are the pair of the glass block that's right and then again these
are existing conditions and then we saw windows
along here here here and i think that's the extent of the window hard it's kind of hard to
see yeah not the best photo but we did i had my team actually look at it maybe they didn't add
those photos and i asked the question because you know having legitimate windows that you know
or egress windows out of the bedrooms are an issue and it's hard that's above this is above
grade right here this is all above grade but you've got this area here which is not quite no that's
right that is that is correct that is not above grade right so so so that's why i wanted to see
the you know where they happen all right thank you yeah but there are windows like i believe
there's one window right here my team confirmed too no okay thank you other questions from the
board. Do you know the rough estimate
of the square footage of each of the bedrooms?
I don't
think our team looked at that.
I know
I don't
think we looked at that. I don't think we
measured that out.
Other questions?
Questions from our attorney,
Hillary Emerson?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions from the virtual audience?
planning commission
thank you chairman good afternoon david effecta with the city planning commission
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa3 residential
single-family zoning at this location this neighborhood was rezoned in a community
supported map change in 2012. this property has a documented history as a synagogue approved by
variance in 2001 and a dentist and physical therapy office prior to that the proposed dwelling
units will bring the building closer into conformance with the current zoning and the existing
property configuration precludes the provision of an accessory off-street parking space the city
planning commission recommends that the board grant a proposed use variance for two dwelling units
and just in case we get an amended refusal for not providing an off-street accessory parking space
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I actually want to respond to board member Wayne's question. So I'm looking at my notes. The occupied area is 1,221 square feet. So, you know, it's a pretty large building structure.
Perfect. Thank you.
So MI 2024-006-801-8541 Busselton Avenue, I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes
Tywin, my vote is yes
Ishmael Shaheen, my vote is yes
Can I play with you?
Number 14, MI 2024-007-266-1753-55, South Ringgold Street.
Alan Nockamson is the attorney.
There is a unanimous support from the Point Breeze Community Development Coalition.
Applicant also provided two form letters of support from neighbors on the block.
Mr. Nockmson, just for the record, state your name.
Alan Nockmson.
Could you identify your client in relationship to the property?
His name is Kwame Barnea.
Good afternoon, Counselor.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits as needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, I have.
Thank you, Counselor.
Please proceed.
we have m clark business uh oh you know what i am i am wrong so the principal is kwame
of the of m clark business you're right okay no you're right i'm not right yeah
yeah all right uh so this is the third property i'm corner property i'm legalizing this is
actually third one for you today right third one for me today mr goldberg legalized the pizzeria
today um so 1753-55 south ringold street it's in the point brie section of philadelphia
this is something the board saw a few years ago to make it into a form for unit dwelling
except the previous owner uh decided to add a floor on top of that and not get any governmental
approval and got foreclosed upon and it's been vacant for a few years and it's been an eye sore
to the community so my client decided to take this project on and legalize this first by getting
zoning and then obviously getting the building permit but a very interesting situation all right
notice of refusal we have a letter of support from the point breeze community development
a coalition unanimous support my understanding is is that the council member is in non-opposition
to this project letter of support from nearby neighbors uh we have the zoning permit you know
for this you know for family dwelling which will also show in the notice of refusal as well
that this board approved this rsa5 property as four units uh aerial view of the property kind
showing you what we're dealing with here um and it's just a structure that just needs to be
finished up which my client is hoping to do by way of this various process maps of the area
photographs of the property or plans and drawings or rco meeting notice or application for appeal
or deeds of property and certificate of tax clearance uh i also have bruce cheatham who is
the architect's representative here as well as the principal of the corporate entity that owns
of property who will be sworn in at the conclusion of my presentation notice of refusal so we actually
have two refusals first is we're trying to legalize what the board previously approved
which was a four-family dwelling which you can see here as well uh that this was approved in 2020
by way of proviso no bedrooms in the basement to be fair about it we would agree to that proviso
no bedrooms in the basement to be consistent with what the board previously approved um and the
second uh variance has to do the fact where we have a non-conforming building structure and all
we did was build well we didn't do it someone else built on top of it and so like it's just an
extension of a non-conforming use uh and so that's why we're asking for that's why that refusal exists
letter of support again the the community uh was overwhelmingly in support of this project
i believe it was unanimous um nearby neighbors 1750 south ringgold and i can't read this but
looks like 1750 i can't read this it's i believe next door but i could be wrong i think 1759 south
ring gold um zoning permit again showing allowing this for to be used as a four-family dwelling
right here per zba proviso no bedrooms in the basement and here's the zoning permit
aerial view of the property this is a built structure the bones are there we're just trying
to legalize the zoning to get the building permit and finish up the project it has been an eyesore
in this community for many, many years, that's what we were told. And they unanimously enthusiastically
supported the approval of this variance request. And again, what happened is, it looks like
and again what happened is it looks like two structures it's really one well yeah it's just
four family dwelling with you know two units in each structure essentially photographs of the
property again this is existing my client didn't do any of this and you know again they're not a
bad actor they're just trying to clean this up and you can see this is the old remnants of the
church building. I think there's a site, an elevation, which kind of shows you what the
old church building looked like. Right here, you can see this is the old building structure.
And without city approval, the old owner just put this building on top of that. So again,
we're going to have to go through this whole process in terms of building inspections as such.
So, you know, and my client's willing to take that burden on.
And then in terms of the use, we have two bi-levels here.
We have one, you know, and think of them as two duplexes.
You have a living room, a kitchen and a dining room.
You have a bedroom here.
So each of those are one bedroom, one bath.
And then there's a lower level where it's just an open floor plan.
And then, you know, going up a flight of steps, you have, again, a living room, kitchen, dining
room. This is one bedroom, a bath, and then you go up another flight of steps, two bedrooms and
two baths. RCO meeting notice January 27, 2025. We went with the community at 6 30 p.m. We gave
them proof of mailing of that notice a few weeks beforehand via email, showing that we mailed it
229 addresses these are the addresses the planning commission gave us these are the the proof of
mailing certificates application for appeal that we filed on m clark business's behalf
along with the nose of refusal and the project information form deeds or property showing you
know that we represent uh you know m clark and that they own the building or the property
and filing a certificate of tax clearance.
They actually paid their taxes in full early.
I would ask that Kwame virtually raise his hand and be sworn in.
sir who is his hand hello thank you hi sir could you please state your name and spell for the
stenographer yes uh dominic long d-o-m-i-n-i-c-l-o-n-g you swear or affirm to tell the
truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do please proceed counsel yeah dominic you're
an authorized representative of m clark business is that correct oh i am so sorry no no i'm not
I am from the second district council person.
That's what I thought.
I didn't think that was my client.
Well, while you're on, sir,
why don't you give us your testimony?
Mr. Long?
You scared of me, John.
I know.
Mr. Long?
Kwame, can you go unmute yourself?
Sure. Am I audible?
Yes. Yes, sir. We see your name. Could you put yourself on the on the screen, please?
Thank you. Could you state your name and spell for the stenographer?
So my name is Kwame Banya. It's K-W-A as in Apple, M as in Mary, E as in Eric.
Banya is B as in boy, A, I like Robert, N as in Nancy, I-E-H.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Yes, I do. Please proceed, counsel.
Kwame, you heard everything I had to state today about your zoning matter.
Yes, I did. And is it true and correct?
It is correct. And do you adopt as your own testimony?
Yes, everything is correct. Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No questions. How much of this is currently constructed?
It looks like the building, the shell of it is.
Kwame, you're the one who purchased this.
What are we looking at in the interior of the property?
So all the framing is done. Electrical, I mean, was done. So we just need to really re-look at the framing to make sure that everything is fine and complete plumbing and electric, just because it's been sitting for a while, we can't rely on that.
So all the framing is done, electrical.
We have to go back and reassess everything and probably redo that. But the structural part of the building is done. Yes, thank you.
And then to be clear, this was not fully new construction.
This was additions that were put on top of an existing church building.
One-story church building.
That is correct.
I mean, if you look at it from the outside, if you just look past by,
you're thinking this is a completely new constructed building, and it's not.
It's like, again, if you look at the elevation,
it shows what the existing building was and what was built on top of it.
And then to the knowledge, has anyone talked to the property owner at 1751?
Have there been any other impacts of the non-permitted construction that already occurred that hasn't been updated since 2020?
Do we know of any effects that it might have had on any adjacent properties?
Kwame, have you reached out to the adjacent property owner about this project?
Yeah, so we got the signatures from them, and I don't think that there's any sort of harm at this point to anybody. So those were the signatures that I got, that I gave you.
And then is the plan still to consolidate this into two individual lots with OPA? Because I see there's a previous zoning permit to split it into two separate addresses.
um i think that is the case i i don't want to speak to that but i believe that there was
a consolidation of these to make it in well if it's a consolidation it's not gonna be two
separate addresses just making sorry but make it into one yeah i think that's how into one address
but it looks like two duplexes but yeah i mean all we're doing is just getting this approved
again just for the use and then to legalize the top part of the property that was not done legally
you know i get i get what we're trying to do i'm just trying to walk through order of operations
yeah no i looked at that today i understand what was previously zoned i think my concern i'll just
put it on record is that almost none of the construction here was done with any permits
like literally it was pulled with a minor alteration permit for a single wall and there's
now four units there that have
not been permitted, and so I do
just want to put that
concern on the record. Well, and everything
is going to have to be re-blessed, or
blessed by L&I. Correct.
That's a good thing.
questions from the board?
Questions from our
attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Virtual audience?
Yes. We have calling you
User number two will be promoted.
Hi, Tiffany Green, Concerned Citizens Appointment.
Hi, could you do me a favor?
State your name because you've already been sworn.
Right, Tiffany Green.
Hi, Tiffany.
Please proceed.
It was an issue with this property initially.
The initial owner had some financial issues, but as well there was issues regarding, like I think one of the commissioners just said, in terms of not following proper procedures and stuff like that.
So I don't remember this actually being passed.
I know it came through RCO meeting.
We had concerns in terms of him trying to get some government support or whatever.
So I say all that to say that according to the owner and the lawyer, that these are supposed to be four individual properties, I mean, four individual apartments.
In one building, the owner and the son is supposed to live in that.
That's why we agreed to the changing of the RSA 5 over to the apartments.
It stated that they would live in there.
The other apartment, we had a concern.
We wanted to know if they're going to be affordable units because this area here is mainly a low and moderate homeowner area.
Initially, when the project came through, a lot of the neighbors were not supported by the project.
So my point I want to put on the record that he did agree to participate in the Philadelphia Housing Voucher Program.
We are still talking with the Planning Commission in terms of proviso because we believe that can be tracked.
So we want him to make sure that he will put on the record they agree to participate in the Philadelphia Housing Voucher Program, and that him and his son will live in the other property.
And that him and his son will live in the other property.
And I'm also asking, and I'm not sure if this is proper or not, that if him and his son does not live in the property, then that property can be brought back to RSA 5.
And I'm also asking, and I'm not sure.
Because we don't want to be told one thing and then a couple of years go by, they're not living in there, and then surrender out as a market rate apartment.
So I know I'm asking a couple of things here.
Excuse me?
I said thank you for your input.
All right.
so i just hope we can get some confirmation on that commissioner thank you okay thank you
other anyone else in the virtual audience no more hands chair planning commission thank you chairman
and good afternoon david effecto with the city planning commission chairman and board members
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa5 residential single-family zoning at this
location the zoning in this neighborhood dates to 1985. this property received permits for a lot
line relocation in 1980 to combine two lots then a use variance for four dwelling units in 2000.
a substantial amount of work appears to have been built without the benefit of permits through no
fault of the appellant the city planning commission recommends the board grant the proposed use
variance for four dwelling units and minimum rear yard depth and rear yard setback and we will note
for the record the proposed provisos mentioned by the caller are both unenforceable thank you
thank you very much um so mi 2024 007 266 1753 to 55 south ring gold street i vote yes
and can we add a proviso that a co be required i i think i i think it i i thought of that michael
but i think you would see it it is required it is going to happen anyway okay they they can't get
into it without a CEO. In fact,
Mr. Notkinson is shaking his head.
Yeah, you're absolutely right. I think
we're going to have to resubmit for a building permit.
I mean, we are, because there's no
building permit that exists, so
we have to, and we want
to get the tax abatement.
But yes, Michael, that'll be taken
care of.
Thank you.
Let's get the rest of the vote.
My vote is yes, Michael Johnson.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is no.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
my vote is yes
thank you
chair I'm going to recommend a five to ten minute
break for the board and staff
we have a five minute break we have two cases
left and then we have a few cases
on the
number six
MI 2024-006-806, 8100 Germantown Avenue.
Eric Bottson is the attorney.
There's a letter of support from Cheston Hill Community Association,
a letter of support from the Cheston Hill Business Association,
a letter of support from the property owner next door,
a letter of support from ACCT,
a letter of support from two neighboring businesses.
we're good
do we see council very good thank you good evening mr chair good evening we're sorry
sorry we're so uh run a little later here but uh could you please state your name and
spell for the court sonographer? Absolutely. Eric Bodzin, E-R-I-C-B-O-D-Z-I-N of blank Rome.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do. Could you identify your client, the relationship to this property?
Yes. I am here with my client, Howard Nelson, who is the CEO and president of Doggy Style Pets,
doing business as KH Investors, LLC, and the tenant of this property.
Okay. Our vice chair has a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to weigh the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
Good afternoon. Yes, I do.
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits as needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, I have.
Thank you, counsel. Please proceed.
Wonderful. I'll pull up my screen.
Good evening again. I am here with Howard Nelson, as I mentioned, who is the CEO and president of Doggy Style Pets,
regarding the ground floor pictured here of 8100 Germantown Avenue. Doggy Style Pets.
of 8100 Germantown Avenue. Doggy Style Pets has been before the board several times over the years
regarding this use, and so we will be brief in walking through what is this 10th location
of Doggy Style Pets, now the city's largest local and independently owned pet store.
As you can see here, Doggy Style Pets already has a permit at this location for both pet retail and animal services.
The singular and very narrow refusal here is for Doggy Style Pets application for the overnight keeping of, quote, two dogs for adoption in the Care and Supervision of ACT, which is the city's animal care and control team, which is partnered with Doggy Style Pets to run this adoption program two dogs at a time for the past decade.
resulting in 13,000 new homes for pets across the city. Again, this is a very narrow permit
application for two dogs for adoption in the care and supervision of the city's animal control
provider, certainly minimally modifying of the code and the previous approvals for this property.
Here is the zoning and vicinity map. This is a unique corner parcel of the Germantown Avenue commercial corridor adjacent to a block of row homes within the otherwise commercial and somewhat inactive middle segment of Chestnut Hill's Germantown Avenue corridor, right where Abington Avenue runs through to Pistorius Park.
Howard has been working with the supportive Chestnut Hill Community Association and Business District to keep long hours at this location, seven days a week, to promote walkability here.
His business has looked into customer data, and about 80% of customers for this kind of neighborhood-centric dog store live within five to 10 minutes walking distance.
And so the goal is to keep long hours and make this a regular part of neighbor's routine in efforts to activate this portion of the Germantown Avenue commercial corridor.
Here is an aerial from the east, and here are street-level photographs from each direction,
starting with the north-facing direction in the top left corner of your screen.
Here are interiors as required of the site and posting photographs.
Minimal fit-out is required to get the store up and running,
and the upper floor, as I should mention, have already been previously approved for two-family
household living. Here is the ground floor plan. It's an open plan with the retail entrance on
Germantown Avenue on the commercial corridor. And then on the Abington Avenue side is the
residential and pet services entrance. When you walk in, you'll find the sales floor in the front,
uh spotlight with track lighting outer walls merchandise with slat wall pegs and shelves
uh inner parts of the store feature tables shaped as dog bones um and pet friendly bakery goods
clothes and other accessories what makes uh howard store really successful is um having a very broad
wide swath of amenities. And neighbors often ask and make requests for certain amenities to be
held by the store. Towards the middle of the store, near the elevator, that's where those two
dog adoption rooms will be located. Two rooms, one for each rescue dog. I'll go to the next slide,
which shows a photo of exactly this kind of setting. The way that pet adoption works with
doggy style pets and the city's animal care provider called ACT is that ACT provides
comprehensive physical and behavioral health care upon rescue and continuing through the adoption
process. Then after a highly selective screening process, ACT and doggy style pets coordinate meet
and greets to find the right home for each pet using their website to minimize the actual amount
of time each pet spends in the store. And finally, as I mentioned, new dog owners submit adoption
new dog owners submit adoption fees that go directly back to the city's animal control
fees that go directly back.
and rescue program to rescue more animals across the city. I'll go back to the floor plan in the
rear. You have your grooming tables. That's nose to tail grooming already permitted as animal
services. And you have a delivery and residential entrance onto Abington Avenue with commercial
trash and recycling in the rear regularly serviced. Of note, Chestnut Hill Community
Association was particularly complementary of Doggy Style's trying true waste management
program for both pets and humans. For pets, Doggy Style utilizes airtight storage containers and
scented bags, which Doggy Style encourages customers to pick up even if they don't have a
purchase. You'll see in their good neighbor policy. And then for humans, Doggy Style does
their own deliveries from a local warehouse and recyclable containers to minimize both waste
and third-party delivery. The only deliveries coming in and out are food once a week during
normal daytime hours. Here is that good neighbor policy I mentioned. It's really important, as
Howard can elaborate if helpful that each employee is trained to be a promoting dog adoption and all the great work that the store does in the community.
One of the neighbors in Chestnut Hill asked, how does this kind of model today compete with online delivery services of the world like Chewy?
And this is it. It's 80 percent of customers walking from five to 10 minutes away as part of their daily routine because the employees greet each dog or cat or pet owner with specialized recommendations and care.
And that's certainly reflected in the support letters for this proposed use.
It's also why the store is proposing to maintain long hours, nine to eight, six days a week, and then 10 to six on Sundays.
They host yappy hours for neighbors, ask neighbors to stop by any time, as you can see in this policy, without purchase for countertreats or parking coins, you name it.
And the last thing I'll note is that doggy style takes really serious efforts to promote security, to keep this active corner active and safe, LED lighting through day and night hours, state-of-the-art cameras, and a security system that is centrally monitored.
I'm happy to go into more detail, but I will share the community support letters and then close with a brief summary.
This is a letter of support dated February 10th, 2025, from the Chestnut Hill Community
Association, which coordinated local RCOs to host four noticed and advertised public
meetings on December 17th, January 9th, January 21st, January 23rd, with support from each
of those meetings from their Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee, the Development Review
Committee, and Board of Directors.
Here is a support letter from the Chestnut Hill Business District.
Here's a support letter from ACT, which is the city's animal care and control provider,
highlighting, quote, Doggy Style Pets' extraordinary partnership at other locations approved by the city.
Here are other neighbors' support letters.
You have Alphont Wissahickon, George Woodward Company.
and I should note
the founder of
Elfant, Wissahekin
came to each of the
meetings with a really wonderful story
about his experience at the Spruce Street
location. Howard,
the CEO, and all of his employees
know his adoptive dog to this
day and I think the best way
to sum this up as Robert
put is this is truly a win
win win. It adds a good well run
business to location, creates activity for other nearby businesses because it's part of this
walkable routine, and creates community building through the adoption program.
To summarize, I'll pull back up the image of the property. Grant of relief we submit for this
10th location is consistent with prior approvals for this beneficial use. This two-dog limitation
under acts care and supervision is minimally modifying. It is not adverse, but in fact
beneficial to the community as evidenced by the support before you from the Chesson Hill
Community Association, Chesson Hill Business District, and your neighbors. For all these
For all these reasons, Mr. Chair, members of the board, we respectfully ask for your support for this application and thank you for your time this afternoon.
reasons, Mr. Chair, members of the board, we respectfully ask for your support.
Howard Nelson is here to adopt my testimony.
Thank you.
And he's been promoted to panelists, Chair.
Thank you.
sir hello hi could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
sure it's howard nelson n-e-l-s-o-n do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and
nothing but the truth i do uh please proceed counsel thank you mr chair good afternoon howard
Hi, Eric.
Good evening.
Can you confirm that you've heard my testimony and description of the application this afternoon?
I can confirm, yes.
And this information that I provided, is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge?
Yes, it is.
And would you adopt and affirm that testimony as your own?
Yes, I would.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
um council hillary um do we have to identify the location in the building
i believe oh let me see if this was the one i know there was one that referenced it in the refusal
give me one second
okay uh this one does reference it on the ground floor so we don't need to
add it here. Just leave it. It's specific on the refusal. Yep. And it's limited to
2,000, less than 2,000. Questions from the virtual audience? I'm sorry, questions from
the board. What did you say the hours of operations? The hours of operation are 9 to 8 Monday through
Saturday and leave 10 to 6 on Sunday. Is that right, Howard? Yes, 10 to 6, yes. And the
THE ANIMALS AREN'T STORED ON SITE FOR ANY PERIOD OF TIME OR FOR HOW LONG.
THE ANIMALS ARE KEPT, TWO DOGS KEPT OVERNIGHT ON SITE.
GOTCHA. AND THE STAFF ARRIVES TWO HOURS BEFORE OPEN AND TWO HOURS AFTER CLOSE.
SO THE AND THEN THE DOGS SLEEP IN SLEEPING QUARTERS AFTER THE STAFF LEAVES.
OKAY. THANK YOU. OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD?
questions from our attorney not at this time mr chair um nothing in the virtual audience
planning commission uh chair we do have a virtual uh charles richardson okay good afternoon mr chair
um as usual you're here very late but uh just seems like just state your name for the record
Sure. Charles Richardson, Office of Councilwoman Cindy Bass.
Please proceed.
Okay. The Councilwoman has no opposition to granting this variance.
All right. Thank you very much.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chair Bergman, and good evening, David Vecto with the City Planning Commission.
Chairman and board members, the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the CMX1 commercial mixed-use zoning at this location.
This property has a documented history as a daycare on the first floor.
the provision of care for pets is not substantially different from the previous use the appellant has
shown the proposed use will not injure the use of adjacent properties the city planning commission
recommends the board grant the proposed use variants for animal services boarding and other
services thank you number six mi 2024 006806 8100 germantown avenue i vote yes
Michael Johns, my vote is yes
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes
Taya Nguyen, my vote is yes
Bushmel Shahid, my vote is yes
I just want to comment on the Planning Commission's comment
that not substantially different than the
I said to somebody here, boy, I hope the parents don't have anything to say about that one, Michael
I've watched Little Kids before, so I kind of agree.
All right, David.
David, it's okay.
I hope you guys have some cameras or something to watch when nobody's there.
Thank you.
So, number 12, MI2024-006-888-623-North44th Street.
006-888-623-NORTH-44-STREET.
Myrith Ferliger is the attorney.
There's a recommendation of opposition from the West Belmont Civic Association,
and a council member, Gauthier, has a position of neutrality based on revised plans.
Good evening, Mr. Chairman, members of the board.
Could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Sure. Meredith Ferliger, F-E-R-L-E-G-E-R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client and the relationship to this property?
Sure. My client today is 623 North 44th Street, LLC, represented by member Michael Matlin, and that entity is the owner of the property.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
to that good evening council do you agree to either read another refusal or stipulate to
his accuracy i do have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed
to proceed with this case five days in advance of this area i did on on both respects yes
thank you council please proceed thank you uh good evening mr chairman members of the board
as the board is aware this case in front of you concerns 623 north 44th street in the city's west
Belmont neighborhood. You have an exhibit packet which contains 15 total exhibits that we do
request be moved into evidence at the conclusion of today's presentation. Among other reasons that
I'll discuss today, the primary basis of today's request is that my client purchase this property
in 2022 as an RM1 lot that would have permitted the application before you today. Almost one year
to the date after it's purchased, the lot was rezoned along with many others in the area to
RSA 5. Given that this lot has not had a structure on it since prior to the 1940s, this rezoning
effort has rendered any buy right development on this lot impossible. Tax clearances included at
Exhibit 2. At Exhibit 3, you'll know here that the deed shows that this applicant purchased the
property on February 17, 2022. As you can see here on the zoning map at Exhibit 5, although the
property was rezoned to RSA 5, this property sits on a block that served as a point of division
between the new RSA 5 and RSA 3 and the retained RM 1, actually RM 1 and 2, on the opposing side
of the street. By way of context, I have also included aerial images at Exhibit 9. Let me zoom
in a little bit for you there. 623 North 44th Street is a corner property right at the corner
of Wallace Street. So up here to the north is 44th and then perpendicular is Wallace. With this first
image, you will clearly glean the context of this particular block, which only has a couple of
structures as you can see here. To the west are both a senior housing apartment complex with over
100 units, as well as a nursing home on the opposing corner. You'll also notice that there
are large twin structures further down the block here there's really two sets of them which were
developed some time ago by pha to the rear is a school run by the archdiocese fronting wallace
street are predominantly single-family homes moving along to the photographs at exhibit 15
you'll see that there are only two other attached structures on this block.
The blue is a single-family home.
Immediately next door, the yellowish-beige structure,
the last registered use of this property, according to L&I, was as a three-family dwelling.
Although members of the RCO seem to indicate at the meeting
that its current use may actually be as some kind of a boarding house.
I was not able to verify online whether it is a triplex or some kind of a boarding house.
On the vacant lot in question, you'll notice in this image that this lot has not only been vacant
for nearly a century, but has recently struggled with some trespassing activity as well.
From the corner, again, you'll notice the PHA-developed single-family homes further down the block.
From the corner, again, you'll notice the PHA.
Next is another view from Wallace Street, where, again, you'll notice the dense tree cover across the street that really insulates this side of the street.
You'll see that apartment complex across the street a little bit better in this next image here.
While 44th Street is mixed in terms of use and structure character, Wallace Street, as you can see here, contains predominantly two-story, single-family homes.
We have also included photographs of the zoning posters, which were timely posted on the property.
The original zoning plans that were filed with L&I and were presented to the community are
included here at Exhibit 6. Revised plans are shown at Exhibit 7 that were modified directly
in response to concerns that were expressed during the RCO meeting. Originally, as you can see here,
the proposal was for a four-unit dwelling, which was predominantly oriented towards
Wallace Street. That design would have had two egress wells on Wallace Street, as well as two
pilot houses and two private roof decks. Admittedly, the original design was contrary
to the Planning Commission's determination on the plans that 44th Street should be the primary
frontage. As revised at Exhibit 7, the proposal before the board today is for three units,
consistent with the last registered use of the immediately attached structure.
A front porch that is consistent with the two adjoining structures is now also designed.
one pilot house has been removed as well as all of the egress wells on wallace street
you'll see on these zoning plans that a trash storage area is designated in the rear behind a
fence that can be efficiently accessed directly from wallace street the structure has been designed
to align with the front setback of the adjoining structures on 44th street and further matches the
height of those structures at only 30 feet high and three stories. On the next image, actually,
and again, you can see here in the two-dimensional, the porch that I mentioned. As you can see here
on the next page, we have included a rendering. Of course, corner properties have the unique
benefit of providing ample light and air to residents that interior properties cannot provide.
The applicant also intends to work with Parks and Rec to add street trees that are lacking from this corner, despite the newly constructed sidewalk.
And that was also something that the community had requested during the meeting.
Floor plans are included here at Exhibit 8 and include three large units.
The first floor and lower level are over 2,000 square feet and include two-bedroom, three-bathrooms.
The second floor unit is a unit of 881 square feet and is three bedrooms, two bathrooms.
The third unit is on the third floor, which is just under 1,100 square feet and includes three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and access to the private roof deck.
All units have in-unit washer and dryers, ventilated trash storage areas.
These units are large, covered in windows, and are designed for families, which is something that's often expressed by the West Belmont community.
Now, as I mentioned, with respect to the community, we presented the proposal to West Belmont Civic Association back in November.
They expressed concern about the four-unit design and layout, as well as a general preference for single-family homes.
Following that meeting, not only was the proposal redesigned to accommodate the suggestions given at the RCO meeting, but my client was also further able to secure a petition of support from 23 nearby residents who were unable to attend the RCO meeting.
I've included that petition at Exhibit 14.
With the four that voted in support at the meeting, that represents 27 expressions of support for this project and only nine expressions in opposition.
In addition, as Chairman mentioned, the council person's office has expressed a neutral stance given my client's sincere efforts, as she indicated, to establish consensus, particularly in.
as she indicated, to establish consensus, particularly in light of the underlying
circumstances of this case. With respect to the application, we did receive one refusal for the
proposed multifamily use in the now zoned RSA 5 zoning district. Should the board be inclined to
grant the request today, we'd ask you do so with a proviso for revised plans one page, as well as
maximum three units. As I referenced, this case presents a hardship on multiple grounds.
Most importantly, and as mentioned early on, the applicant purchased this property with the
specific goal and intent of developing a multifamily project. The applicant's investment
in this lot was specifically based on the then-by-right three-unit dwellings. This board
often asks applicants if they did due diligence to determine how a lot is zoned prior to a purchase,
and in this case, that due diligence was done, an RM1 lot was purchased, and about a year later,
that was changed. That remapping bill is included in the packet here at Exhibit 10.
As the board may be aware, when a remapping is introduced, no advance notice is provided to
affected property owners. Accordingly, it was not until this bill became effective around February
of 2023 that the applicant even caught wind of what had transpired, fundamentally frustrating
its investment in the property without recourse other than seeking the relief requested before
this board today. This was actually the same argument I presented to the board for another
property on this same stretch of 44th Street just over a year ago, which the board granted for a
very similar three-unit project. It is a fundamental prejudice to a property owner,
such as Michael, to have his expected investment squashed by a rezoning for which there is zero
due process provided to any owner to challenge, let alone to even have notice. Furthermore,
more, despite the rezoning effort, the area surrounding this property remains a mixed
compilation of single-family, multi-family, and even some commercial uses, such as the school,
which begins a mere 90 feet from this property.
The fact that the rezoning line was drawn essentially down this street accentuates the
hardship facing this property. As I mentioned earlier on, directly across the street is
extremely dense with over 100 units, plus a nursing home. While we were unable to verify
the exact current use, directly adjacent to this property is either a triplex or a boarding house.
The only single-family homes developed on this block recently were done so with significant
subsidy. The only new developments on this block have been for similar triplexes at 709, 733,
741, 753, and 755 North 44th Street. 607 North 44th Street is also a multifamily dwelling.
Similarly, even beyond North 44th Street, the only instances of recent new developments have been
for similar multifamily dwellings. Prior to my client's ownership, this vacant lot was subject
to significant blight and repeated visits by L&I to cite the then-owner for lack of maintenance.
In addition to the history of vacancy and blight, the intervening rezoning of the property,
and the overall consistency of this proposal with the surrounding character of the area,
the board has ample evidence to find this property suffers a unique hardship warranting of granting relief.
Excuse me.
The applicant further submits that the proposal represents the lease modification to provide relief from the requirements of the code,
given again that the entirety of this proposal would have been permitted by right at the time the applicant purchased the property under the prior RM1 zoning.
The density is well in line with the character of the surrounding area and results in extremely spacious, well-appointed units designed for families, which is a design feature the community often requests when reviewing multifamily proposals.
The proposal will not contribute to congestion in the area. As you may have noticed as I walk through the photographs, the block still has ample parking on each side of this street.
This property, like so many others in West Philadelphia, benefits from ample public transportation in close proximity.
The variance will not impair light and air or harm the neighbors. No dimensional variances are requested, and the proposed structure is below, significantly so, the allowable 38 feet and only three stories to better harmonize with the existing attached structures on this block.
The variance will not impair light and air or harm the neighbors.
This proposal will fulfill the intended goal for the reactivation of this property set in motion when the applicant purchased it in 2022 and will result in the first structure on this lot in just about 100 years.
Simply put, this application will ensure this lot sees a modest development that history has shown will be impossible if relegated to a proposal that is by right under the current RSA 5 classification.
In addition to these reasons, we submit that the proposal complies in full with all of the standards outlined at Section 14303 8E of the Code, as is more thoroughly outlined in the Memo of Law I submitted to the Board at Exhibit 11.
At this point, I would ask Michael Matlin, if you're in the audience, to hit the little raise hand button at the bottom.
do we see him
okay thank you
excuse me chair I'm sorry
they're being promoted to panelists
thank you
you're more than welcome
hello hi could you please mr matlin could you turn on your video
hi could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer my name is michael m-i-c-h-a-e-l
matlin m-a-t-l-i-n do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but
the truth? I affirm. Please proceed, counsel. Thank you. Michael, have you heard all of the
testimony and evidence that I offered in front of the board today? Yes, I have heard. Do you agree
that that testimony was true and accurate, and would you adopt that testimony as if you had
given it yourself? Yes, I agree. Thank you. We're happy to answer any questions. Meredith,
did the RCO change their views if you made the changes? You know, Mr. Chairman, I did follow up
with them to let them know that the changes were made. Without holding another meeting,
the chairman of the RCO group, he didn't feel comfortable updating his letter.
Right, right, right. Questions from the board.
Yeah, I have a question about the hardship. So I understand that the zoning changed after you
purchased the property. I think that's just the risk you take as a property owner when you
purchase something. And given that this is a vacant lot, I would like to know what's the actual
hardship from putting back a single family home on this lot. Well, it's not a matter of, respectfully
so, it's not a matter of putting back. We're talking about a lot that the last time there
was a structure on this lot was, according to city maps, possibly around 1910. And since that
since that time, there has been no single family home developed on this lot by any of the prior
owners. It's been vacant. I mean, I get that we have established that 100 years ago, there might
have been a multifamily property on this block, that it was once zoned multifamily, and that it
is now not. My question is that given there's millions of properties in this city, they change
statuses all the time, what's the hardship for complying with its current status right now,
today in 2025, moving forward? Well, again, I mean, the character of the area is very much
relevant towards the board considering the hardship. And the fact that the property owner-
My question though is like, at base, what is the hardship? I can understand context. I can
understand history, but what is the hardship that prohibits this from being a single-family home?
Unfortunately, economic realities. I mean, we don't, you know, as I pointed out in my presentation,
the only new single-family homes that were developed on this block were done so by PHA
with subsidy. So unfortunately, it is a situation where absent that type of public subsidy,
the the value of selling a new single family home in this area is not going to support the
cost in construction and although that is not the primary hardship because you know much of the case
The primary hardship, because, you know, much of the case law dictates that the board not
law dictates
rest its decision predominantly on an economic hardship, when you consider that in addition to
the fact that, A, this property owner purchased it with the expectation and the right to develop
a multifamily structure, and in addition to the character of this area, all of that together
goes to establishing a hardship, especially given the length of time that it has
not been developed in accordance with any form of classification.
Understood. I mean, I will just point out like there's process to change the zoning in this
neighborhood went through an extensive community planning process. So it's not like this was like
a surprise and it happened overnight. So there was ample time should a developer wanted to do
multifamily that it could have been applied for while it was still arm one. So I don't know.
Right now, I think to like argue this is a hardship to me feels like a little bit of a
stretch. And I think too, um, the second and third floor plans are really, really tight. Like there,
it is not a comfortable multifamily unit. And I have reservations because of that.
So, I mean, just in terms of the rezoning effort, I mean, again, that, respectfully speaking, there is no notification provided to property owners. So it's not as simple as suggesting that a property owner can insert themselves into the rezoning process and to suggest that, you know, they can weigh in.
unless they are in tune to you know everything going on in the city that is not something that
is publicized um quite widely so it is often as it was in this case that property owners don't
find out until that that process has been completed so um you know i certainly i certainly
absentee property owners absolutely don't i think if you don't live in the neighborhood
and you're not a member of the neighborhood,
yes, you might not be aware.
But I think to state that the city process
and notification of rezoning is not public,
I think it's a bit of a stretch.
Again, my personal opinion.
All right, we're going to move on from that issue here.
Does anyone else have something from the board?
So would there be a problem allowing the RCO
to respond to the new plans?
Like, can we try to see if they can get
some type of input with the new plans?
i i think we we can certainly consider that um you know again we we did go through and you know
the the property owner did go out into the community and did secure significant petitions
of support um you know we're we're happy to give that give that a try if if the board would like
that but i mean again the the petitions of support were really signed by people who very likely would
not attend a second meeting um as you know again they they already sort of weighed in here so i'm
not i'm not sure if that's going to necessarily change anything but certainly if if that is the
board's prerogative to ask that of the applicant um you know we can certainly do that okay let's
see what other input we have. Anybody else on the board? The only other comment I guess I have to
make is the issue around the basement, of course, because it's fully underground. That's a concern
for me because it looks like you'd have pretty much a zero-step entrance into the unit. So
that's problematic for me. So I don't know that I can support that.
so it was designed to ensure that there's some flexibility but it's not meant to be a primary
living space um this unit really is is quite large on the first floor and the living space
is really meant to be on that first floor so uh again it's meant to provide some flexibility just
in terms of storage or you know again the whole idea here was to try and design these four families
so um you know it's really just meant to be a flexible space it's not meant to be any form
of primary living space okay that's it but based on the plan it's literally 100 underground
understood questions from our attorney
gree emerson not at this time mr question from the uh of the our audience
Yes, there. We have someone with the first name.
Excuse me.
hello hi could you please
hi sir could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
hi man you could call me kelly k-e-l-l-y
last name a-l-e-o-n-g do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the
truth yes please proceed are you a neighbor i live directly behind the proposed building
okay um two things that property was was a lot however it was owned by the house that was adjacent
to it which a single family to my knowledge lived in i've been in this area since 2003
so that family had a peach tree on that property on that lot
and also a couple other fruit trees.
They maintained it well, and when they sold the property,
I guess they broke it up into two pieces and sold it.
So the property was not vacant and disregarded.
It was well taken care of.
And also, across the street is St. Agnes,
which is a totally different zip code of 19139.
19104 ends at 44th Street.
Directly behind the property is a church.
The school is on 43rd Street on the other side of the church. And this area is primarily single homes. And that's the way the community, which I live in, wants it to be.
We have multiple buildings on Fairmont Avenue between 44th Street and 43rd.
We have three new apartment buildings here, which is fine.
On Brooklyn Street, which I have family members living on, we have a total of three apartment buildings now.
And those were zoned before the change, which is fine.
Now they're proposing a new building, which is not what the community wants.
we want single family homes
and that's what we prefer
that's what we voted for
we do not need more apartment buildings
in this area
it's a very small area
the streets are tight
there is not much parking
because we have a lot of residents
with multiple cars in this area
so you're adding
if I understand it properly
nine bedrooms
is that correct
well I think it's
three units I'm not sure
three units
the two floors are three bedrooms
it's nine bedrooms
that's absurd
it's absurd we don't need that
we don't need that unless it's low
income and then you're
introducing temporary associates
or temporary
people in the neighborhood which
do not value the neighborhood
and you don't know what kind of
how much garbage they'll produce
what kind of hygiene
they have none of that
we voted for single family homes
sir I think we understand your position
Meredith you have any questions
I don't
have any questions for him
is there anyone else in the virtual audience
planning commission
thank you chairman and good evening david vecto with the city planning commission
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa5 residential
single-family zoning at this location the city rezoned this neighborhood in 2023 and a community
supported map change the prior zoning of this block face was rm1 residential multifamily
there is no unique physical condition of this 1325 square foot lot that would prevent it from
being used in strict conformity with the zoning code the city planning commission recommends that
the board deny the proposed use variants for three dwelling units thank you um we're going to hold a
vote on this we'll take it back to the mr chairman can i suggest that the applicant take this back
to the rco and and hold a resumption hearing so so here's here's my recommendation we're
going to hold this for two weeks in that two weeks if you get a response from the rd r rco
fine um but what i would like to do hillary is close this other than a possible response from the
rco and the applicant is able to respond to the rco that's right you i mean you could you could
respond to it but um you know there's going to be a discussion on the board but i'm just saying if
Um, you know, there's going to be a discussion on the board, but I'm just saying, if you wanted to get something from the RCO, fine. And we'll take this, what's two weeks? What's the date of that?
you wanted to get something
March 5th, I believe.
March 5th. And we'll vote on this at, uh, 2 p.m. Is that right?
2 p.m. March 5th. Okay.
Understood. Thank you.
Thank you.
Is there anyone in the audience whose case has not been called from the 2 p.m. list?
Good evening, Mr. Chair. This is Jason Hand. I do not see any hands at this time.
Thank you. We're going to go right into the 330 list.
Good afternoon. My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing the meeting of the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment.
With me is our Vice Chair, Ismail Shahid.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our Board Member Cheryl L. Gaston.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board Member Tanetta Graham.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board Member Michael Johns.
Present.
Board Member Taya Nguyen.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also present is our attorney, Hillary Emerson, our executive director of the zoning board, Ian Haggerty, and Lakeisha Dandy, our zoning board administrator.
Please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and your participation in this meeting indicates your consent to be recorded.
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Before we begin, our Executive Director, Ian Haggerty, has a safety announcement.
Thank you, Chair. Good afternoon, everyone.
Thanks for your patience today as we work through this list.
As you probably remember from my earlier announcement, if there is an emergency, the fire alarm will go off.
you'll be listening for instructions through the fire alarm system. If you don't hear any,
please listen for announcements from our staff or from building security. The main exit is through
the double doors at the rear of the room. Follow the exit signs to the left for the stairway.
If we do end up having to go outside for any reason for it to be evacuated, we will rally
at Love Park and please stay there so we can account for you. As a reminder, bathrooms are
across the doors from the elevators in the main hall,
and there's a water fountain just to the right outside the double doors.
Thank you, Chair.
So let's look at our schedule.
Number two, MI 2024-006-112-120 Shores Lane.
Cases continued until 8-13-25 at 3-30.
Number three, MI 2024, 006-122-814 Brighton Street.
That case is continued to 813-25 at 3.30.
Is there any other requests for continuance?
Number four, MI 2024, 006-137-67 North 63rd Street.
Janice Ferguson is the listener owner
It's a pro se
This is the first listing and we have no exhibits
Janice Ferguson
Janice Ferguson.
Good evening again Mr. Chair
Good evening again, Mr. Chair.
This is Jason Handel will be your calls to session.
Ms. Ferguson has been promoted to panelists
and she will be back in shortly.
I was just going to say, Mr. Chair,
we did receive a request,
a late request for continuance on this case.
I'm here.
Hi, could you please state your name
and spell for the stenographer?
Yes, it's Janice Ferguson.
J-A-N-I-C-E
F-E-R-G-U-S-O-N
Right. Do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes. Ms. Ferguson, do you
want a continuance for this case?
Yes. All right. Thank you so
much for staying on the phone to tell us that.
So, MI
2024-006-137-67
North 63rd Street. This case
will be continued to 813-25
at 330. Thank you
very much thank you and number seven mi 2024 006 161 1434 west venango street
man property holdings is the listed owner applicant no exhibits first listing
you see anyone jason
um yes winston masters or rather winston manning they have been allowed to speak
winston man please unmute and wait to be sworn in
mr manning
he can't come in please unmute i'm not sure if he's the apple hello hello can you hear me yes
Mr. Manning, could you please
spell it for the court stenographer?
Winston Manning,
W-I-N-S-T-O-N,
Manning, M-A-N-N-I-N-G.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole
truth, nothing but the truth? Yes.
Mr. Manning, you're the appellant in this case?
All right. Mr. Manning, we have no
exhibits. This is the first listing.
I submitted them.
I have exhibits also that I
could present.
um mr manning um is it true that this property is owned by an llc uh that is correct okay you
will need to be represented by an attorney before the zoning board so we could not proceed today
even if we had received your exhibits but we did not receive them may i get a continuance yes yes
you're going to get a kid so mr manning this case 1434 west venango street will be continued to
8 13 25 at 3 30 p.m is that the earliest you have available that's what we have sir
all right then thank you all right thank you
number six mi 2024 006 154 53 26 baiton street steve masters is the attorney mr masters
please state your name and spell for the stenographer
good evening mr chair members of the board steve masters s-t-e-v-e m-a-s-t-e-r-s
you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do um could you identify your client in relationship to the property
my client is right here uh ross hennessey and he is the owner of the property and i will note that
have unanimous support from the 12th war democratic committee they do list a proviso but uh our vice
chair has a few questions good evening counsel do you agree to wait to read another refusal or
stipulate towards accuracy i do agree have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits
as needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing yes we have thank you
council please proceed okay um i need to get you promoted let's see if i share my screen
great there it is amazing to be here after five years of universal
although we have seen you a lot in the last five years i mean yes you have we've seen you a lot we
just never in person. That's true. We are here today to legalize a communal house use,
and we're going to focus a bit in a short while about what this aspect of group living is all
about. This property is a 4,000 square foot building with seven bedrooms and five bathrooms
building with seven bedrooms and five bathrooms along with one bedroom and bathroom in the
along with one.
carriage house on the property for a total of eight bedrooms there was no there was no enforcement
action brought against this property but mr hennessy wanted to just put his property into
proper alignment with the zoning code the people who live in this property are living
as any other single-family dwelling,
but there are more people that are unrelated
than are allowed for our zoning code with single-family,
what the definition of single-family is.
This project went before the 12th Ward for the RCL meeting,
and there were, I believe it was 19 near-neighbors
who all appeared and voted strongly in favor.
There was no, not only was there no one voting against,
but there was not a crossword
or any kind of misgiving at all.
The people who live in this house
have been just a stellar
and an amazing asset to the neighborhood,
which was just attested to by all of the neighbors.
So it's a wonderful place.
And that is confirmed by the unanimous support of the RCO and the neighbors.
Let me put to, are we, oh, I'm still sharing, but I'm not.
Great, all right, exhibit one is our referral.
We're not asking for a variance here,
we're asking for a special exception.
Group living is a special exception approval
in the RSA 3 Residential Zoning District.
Exhibit 2 are the petitions that were brought around
by Ross to his neighbors explaining
that there are seven off-street parking
spaces that are for the use of all the
housemates in the house. There's no change at all
to the building or the current tenants, and it's just to legalize. We have
31 petitions of support out of 66 total addresses. So that's a very impressive showing of support.
I wanted to highlight, though, two of the letters that were sent in for support in addition to the
petitions. One of them is from Lindsay Stokely, who says in her letter in the highlighted section,
the house itself functions somewhat like an organized family. Each person or couple has
their own room in common areas like the kitchen, living room, dining room, and yards are shared.
Everyone adds their touch. There are regular house meetings, systems for communication and chores,
and often regular sharing of meals and other expenses. In an increasingly isolated world,
this type of living provides community and connection. I lived with people who spent 10
years or more there, and I made lifelong friends. The next letter that I wanted to just call your
attention to is from Amanda Staples. She says that when she moved to the neighborhood, she lived at
5318 Bainton, and that was where Ross Hennessey lived before he moved into the other communal
house next door. 12 of us carved out a life together in that enormous house, enjoying our
private spaces, coming together in common areas, sharing food together, celebrating milestones
generally existing as individuals with a strong sense of mutual care and support. Other friends
have moved in on the block in the years since, and together we've created a sort of village,
really a semi-shared lifestyle centered around the notion that none of us are alone, that pooling
resources, financial, emotional, spiritual, practical, makes us more resilient and enriches
our day-to-day lives. Why am I highlighting these passages? Because what I want to focus on now is
the proviso that we are suggesting to the board and why we don't support the proviso.
suggesting to the board and how and and why we don't support the proviso uh the the the temporary
zoning uh proviso that um the council member bass um is proposing with with the rco so uh
this um this page is is it doesn't seem like it's there it is okay i guess there's a little lag time
Our proposed proviso is to ensure the neighbors that this group living will never become anything other than what it is now, which is communal living use.
So we are excluding explicitly fraternity, sorority, personal care home, and temporary overnight shelter uses.
Those are all specified as subuses under group living in the zoning code.
and we want to limit it to a group of persons living as a single household unit using housekeeping
facilities in common. And why we are using that exact language is because of the next section
here, the zoning code's definition of family is a person living independently or a group of persons
living as a single household unit using housekeeping facilities in common. It goes on to add in that
definition, but it can't include more than three persons who are unrelated by blood,
marriage, adoption, or foster child status, or are not life partners. Now, the courts have been
looking at this question over time. We've had an evolution in our society about who is part of a
family, who can get married to who. When the zoning code was made in the 1930s, and then even
updated in 2012, we still have had an evolving notion about it. Rathkoff's Law of Zoning and
Planning is one of the major treatises for zoning, and I'm going to be talking about a Supreme Court
of Pennsylvania case called Albert versus Zoning Hearing Board. First, they quote from Rathkoff,
And they say, many courts have used the so-called functional family standard by considering whether the group who's living in this house possesses a family-like structure of household authority, functions as a relatively stable and integrated housekeeping unit, and whether the living arrangement is consistent with or likely to impact negatively the residential character of the neighborhood.
That court, our Supreme Court back in 2001, said that when they looked at this definition of who is a family, we conclude that in order to qualify as a single housekeeping unit, a group of individuals in a single household must not only function as a family within that household, but in addition, the composition of the group must be stable sufficiently and permanent so not to be purely transient.
What this Supreme Court case was talking about was that it's going beyond the definition
of people who are married to each other with children.
There was a court case before that where there were foster kids who weren't considered part
of the family because they weren't biologically related to the parents and they weren't officially
adopted.
And the court said, no, they're being treated like a family.
In this case, and Ross will testify shortly, this house acts as a family much more than
many other families that would always be considered a family where just because people are married
and have a family doesn't mean they actually are connected in any kind of positive way.
It just happens that hopefully that happens more often than not.
In this case, we believe that this really does constitute the definition of a single
family house and putting a temporary variance on something that is essentially a single
family house is a complete overreaction, we believe, to a situation where 100% of the
community loves this house, loves this project, and they're just an asset in many, many ways
to the community.
So let's look at the photos.
We had photos.
uh ross took photos and it wasn't necessarily um uh some people weren't weren't um this is
candid photos they're they're not they're not staged in terms of being completely pristine
um ross will you show us uh tell us what we're looking at here oh yeah sure so why don't you
state your name. My name is Ross.
Spell it for the stenographer, okay?
Thank you, Tim.
Keep right from the mic.
All right. State your name and spell it for the stenographer.
My name is Ross Hennessy,
R-O-S-S-H-E-N-N-E-S-Y.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, told truth, nothing but the truth?
Great. Do you swear
or affirm the tell the truth, the whole truth,
nothing but the truth? I do. Please proceed,
I do. Please proceed, Steve. Sure. Ross, what are we looking at in this first photo?
Steve.
This is the third floor bedroom. It has a sort of L shape. So it has like a little living room.
And then we'll see the bed. The next photo, I think. This is the bed here.
No, that's his couch. Oh, OK. Keep going.
There we go. Excuse me. I'm sorry. This is the court reporter. Could you please keep your voices up a bit? Thank you.
you just got to get closer to the mics oh okay sure
is this a different room no that's the third floor bedroom okay sorry if i took too many photos here
all right
this is a second floor bedroom um there's a there's a couple a partnered couple and this is her studio
uh and then they have one of the larger master bedrooms together
what kind of a studio is that uh she's an artist that makes fabric art mostly um but also dances
it still can still can barely hear you
is it me or ross i think it's just kind of stay close all right yeah and and this is just one of
the one of the bathrooms on the third floor again um that one is no that's the second floor okay
one of the second floor bathrooms what are we looking at here um also in a bedroom
oh that actually there's the care this is the carriage house sorry okay so this is in the
carriage house um the bathroom also yeah the bathroom was okay and then the bed is on a loft
above the first floor living area
This is Joey from the...
This is the carriage house.
It's still the carriage house, okay.
And this view is...
They have like a large
front porch and then you walk in and it's
living room and kitchen kind of area.
This is the carriage house.
That's the front of the house.
That's the side of the house with the
parking lot.
There were all the parking spaces right here.
and this this um structure here
um that's the carriage house from the from the backyard okay and this is the rear porch of the
main house sorry there's just a lag so oh okay yeah that's the the rear porch of the main house
okay there's actually two porches there's a screened in porch on the right and then there's
an open porch on the left okay yeah there is a live time
how many people live here there's um there's seven of us in the main house and then there's a
there's a couple that lives in the carriage house so nine total right essentially one one per bedroom
plus the what's the total square footage of the property four thousand square feet that's the
kitchen i actually yeah the kitchen is sort of designed to both host you know people hanging
out and and cooking and at the same time it flows pretty nice for a shared kitchen
this is um the living room
this is the main staircase there's actually two staircases
in the house that's the the grand staircase i guess
that's the first floor foyer when you walk in all the bicycles are stored there and
that's some of the art on the right that i was saying that she makes oh okay
Steve, I think we don't have to identify
every room.
There's a musician who has a lot of great
music.
There's a lot of art that goes on in this house.
I'm sorry. You said there were seven people in the main
house and how many in this carriage house?
There's one couple that lives together in the carriage house.
What's the largest amount of people that lived in the house at one time?
This is the most that's ever lived there.
Is there any more you plan on moving in?
And are there children in the home too?
There was when it first started.
when it first started uh it was it was a two couples with kids that started the house um
It was two couples.
but they uh bought the house next door to it and so they moved into that um so right now it's all
people without children and you share one kitchen one yeah one kitchen well there's a kitchen in the
carriage house too so i guess so there's two kitchens you're saying there's yes one kitchen
in the main house one kitchen in the in the carriage house only the people that's living
in the carriage house is using the carriage house though right or is it correct folks coming over
okay no the people that live in the carriage house it's sort of a separate it's like their
separate house is a unit of itself i don't know how to i don't talk about that we we we describe
it as it's all it's all one shared okay shared house so so we're not it's we're not saying it's
a separate unit the the people in the carriage house spend no they spend time in the main house
You just said they don't go to the carriage house and utilize the facilities that's inside
of the carriage house. The people in the carriage house come to the main house. Nobody else used the
carriage house and the carriage house has a restroom and a kitchen. The carriage house has
a restroom and a kitchen. And no one else used that but the folks that lived there. Am I correct?
That is correct. But it's one lease. It's not a lease as a separate unit.
yeah okay i guess a couple questions i have one uh is mr hennessy living in the house currently
yes yes and have you lived in the house continuously the whole time so that there's
two communal houses side by side okay there's also a large farm um that is attached to it
i lived in the other house next door um i had to sell that one and then i moved i moved into this
house um and i've been there four years five years i want to say and how long have you owned it and
how long has it has i guess how long has it been operating as a group home since 2011 since 2011
okay um and then for the other people that live in the house what is the structure that ties them
to the property are they on a lease are they paying rent they do pay rent um but we don't
have any leases no leases so sort of like honor separate contractual agreements yeah so when
people move in uh the people that live there will like interview new people potentially and then
they'll decide together whether or not um this person should should move in or not um and then
uh yeah that's that's how it's happened what's the process if there's an issue with someone that
moved in um there has been people where as a community everyone else has decided that someone
was a bad fit and they have been asked to leave and they've left they've just like there's never
been any issues no squatters no no no need for ejectment there there's is there a regular meeting
yeah we meet once a month um and have for i don't know 14 years i guess at this point so sort of
like a community agreements everybody so just like honor code lives it's a communal house
everybody gets that part but that doesn't mean that but they act they act communally and in in
how they govern themselves and then are there any like rules or requirements for the people that are
staying in the house like chores or how they participate that has evolved over time currently
there's a chore chart that people fill out when they do chores and but you know it's had all we've
had all sorts of models over the years to try to find the best way to share to share chores we also
do a once a week work day I mean once a month work day on the house and then once the weather
gets nicer there's a big garden in the back that is also a once a month like common work someone
elected the lead person that makes the decisions or um nobody's elected i guess i have a little
extra sway as the longest member and as the property owner um but i i you know i'm a i'm a
quaker and i believe in consensus um and so i i practice that in the house so you do realize that
the city's definition of
this is
you can't have more than
can you speak up just a little
I said you can't have more than
three people unrelated by
blood marriage or adoption
and a property so
that's why you need
some kind of
variance
approval for
maybe not variance if they're calling it
special exception. This is not your usual model for what you would call group living either.
living either exactly which is why we wanted to distinguish with that court opinion
Exactly, which is why we wanted to distinguish with that court opinion.
that this is really but you this is really a single family dwelling with with an expanded
definition of family that sounds that sounds nice but the the opinion you're citing to
is from what 2005 2004 2004 and the definition that the city adopted with respect to
what is considered to be a family, okay, came into effect after that. And the city's
statutes, the zoning code is like a statute. It has the force and effect of a statute.
So it does, but this is about the definition of family and the Supreme Court has precedence over
the zoning code when it comes to a definition.
They might if they had said this.
Yeah, if they had said this before.
You know what I mean?
The city came up with their definition of what is a family,
and that hasn't been challenged.
And this case is not an appeal against Sal and I.
It's not about the interpretation of the code.
So we have to focus on the special exception and what L&I is deciding to characterize this as, and whether you meet the special exception standards.
So we are asking for the special exception, but I wanted to emphasize the newer understanding in the courts of what a family is to highlight that it makes no sense to put a temporary special exception in this matter.
i i mean i i know it's getting late so so tell me why you think councilwoman bass is wrong
uh i think that she well we'll hear from charles richardson in particular but i want to know what
i mean because i think i mean i i understand both sides yeah i do but i mean if he leaves
or sells to somebody else the person that comes in is not like him he's he's really tough to deal
with for the whole thing the zoning state with the property it does it does but what what has
been happening more often is that if if someone like ross would would sell his house and someone
would buy it they would try to put multi-family apartments and they would break it up um many
houses in germantown who that are these mansions they've been breaking them up and so what we're
doing here is preserving the architectural heritage and and also the communal um the
the communal what the communal yeah but the architectural heritage could also be preserved by
getting the building landmark there's other ways to do that so i think like to put that in place
i think everyone can understand and appreciate an expanded use of the word family i think
specifically what i think chairman bergman was trying to ask you is what's the pushback around
what councilman bast has decided because it's it's not based on any evidence whatsoever it's
purely subjective conjecture and and and that shouldn't be the basis for a special exception
there has to be something tangible some reason why there's some why there's something because
this is that this is a permitted use as long as we have a special exception yeah i think and yeah
so there's literally since since it started and there are other houses on the same block
this has just been a positive um positive yeah i'm not saying it's not right all i'm saying is
so you what you're objecting to is every five years you'd have to go back and get that again
right right and no one does that for a single family house and it's really the same um so
it's just if you had it could not be the same so i think the difference of this instance
is that you are asking us to judge the continued permanent use of a property based on the seven
individuals that live there currently we might agree with mr hennessy and his his housemates
current version, right? Nobody's questioning their familiarity to each other. I think the
question is what happens in the future? What stops this from being something that could be considered
more nefarious in purpose, right? There's nothing that could stop this house from any of those
other uses under the current definition if it's granted in perpetuity. We're asking for a proviso
that takes out all those other options and just leaves in... Your proviso does not address a
brothel, your divisor does not address
a cult, there's multiple things that
could happen in the same group
setting under that definition. A brothel?
I'm just saying.
Under the vague
definition. I don't think
there is a brothel section
in the zoning code.
Let me bring this back in.
I think you...
I guess my concern
is, this is
If this is considered a special exception type use, they run with the land just as variances.
They run with the land just as variances.
Right.
Right.
I've never, I don't know of a temporary special exception as opposed to a temporary variance.
I've never, I don't.
I mean, I don't agree with the concept of a temporary variance.
We've had long conversations about this.
But I would just say, let's say you had a single family house with people related to each other.
and let's say some of the young people in that house are are more or less juvenile delinquents
and they're terrorizing the neighborhood there's no recourse there you can't say well we should
have put a temporary temporary special exception on this house i understand these people i understand
listen i understand everything you say yeah um what i want to do is take this back to the
executive session so we can have a a conversation about okay where we stand with this and and i
don't you know i'm not saying where i am either way and i think that hillary will be part of the
conversation we'll talk about the law and things like that uh and i'm and i'm not so that's where
i think okay i'm gonna be with it i do want to get my testimony absolutely could you why don't you do
all right ross um you've been sitting next to me the whole time you've heard um the testimony that
i gave do you believe do you do um believe that it was true and accurate and do you adopt it as
your own yes i do um and the the final argument is that um we we urge you to to give us a special
exception without without limit because there are no negative impacts of the special exception on
the surrounding neighborhood in fact this is one of the biggest assets that this block is filled
with these with these communal letters yeah letters yeah so thank you and i'm gonna see thank
Thank you.
Hillary, can we hold this for two weeks?
If you'd like, Mr. Chair, we can hold this.
Why don't we hold this for two weeks?
We'll vote on it that Wednesday in two weeks at 2 p.m.
It's Wednesday, March 5th.
Do you want the Planning Commission's testimony, or are you going to wait on that?
Yeah, why don't you do it?
Sorry, take the public and the Planning Commission, so then we can close the record.
Questions from the public?
um yes mr chair i have charles richardson with the hand raised
mr richardson
are we coming back in as a panel shortly
i'm just laughing myself mr chair so so mr richardson you so you know since i've been here
this is the latest you've been here.
Yes, sir. This is true.
We're past 630. This is the latest you've been here,
sir. This is true.
Could you please give us your word?
State your name, because you've already
been sworn, and give us your words of wisdom.
Charles Richardson, Office of
Councilwoman Cindy Bass, room 508
in City Hall.
I have on the phone with
me, and he's on speaker right now,
Mr. Ted Stones,
who is the chair
of the 12th Ward
RCO. I had a conversation with him yesterday.
Well, first I talked to Steve, and I needed to find out what was going
on with this, because I had questions.
And when I spoke to Ted Stone
a little later on, the question came up as to, okay, so
and they actually were trying to push for
the special exception to expire if the house was
sold or anything along those lines, which can happen because of the fact that it doesn't work
that way. But I did speak to him further and let him know that he could ask for a temporary
special exception because of the fact that we don't know what can happen. God forbid that
Mr. Hennessey passes away or anything along those lines. Where does the house go? And then
you know what about these people and then number two well ted do you have anything to say real
quick before i finish up mine so i would have to swear him in okay
hey mr chair could you state your name please
i i can't hear it theodore stones he said
i'm trying to get it up as loud as i can but it's not it's not going up um i think i think
I think what we should do is we've heard your testimony.
And I got something else.
I got something else, too.
All right.
He's taking rent.
He's accepting rent.
And from what Mr. Stone has told me a little bit, because he found a letter.
Somebody wrote a letter of support, but they wrote that he takes in $400 to $600 per person.
There is no rental license on this property at all.
no licenses no permits no nothing it's just you know it's it's it's it's like
No licenses, no permits, no nothing.
It's like he's running a rooming house there and just benefiting from that and then calling it what he wants to call it.
This is just, it's egregious.
And, you know, I just can't, I was going to do non-opposition, but at this point in time, you know, we're going to go opposition to this.
because they don't want to accept something that would have helped them out
and something that the community wanted.
Not so much that, you know, and Steve has brought in all the subterfuge with regard to, you know,
the law, this, the law, that, let's call it what it is.
It's a glorified rooming house at this point in time.
And if somebody else took it over, nothing would stop them from being able to turn it into a rooming house.
All right.
Mr. Richardson, thank you for staying late.
We appreciate it.
Do you have any questions for him?
i don't have questions but i'll give you a chance to respond all right mr richardson thank you very
much mr hennessey lives in the house this is his house you can't have a rental license when it's
your own house your own there's no other units in the house this is this is one house and it's
a family of people who are unrelated to each other and he lives there so that it's not eligible for
rental license it's a rooming house i will i think what we'll do is you know we'll uh okay
um so like when i go on to eclipse to sign up for a rental license the first question asks do you
live here and if you put yes it says you can't get a rental license okay thank you uh for your
comments we will do this what was it hillary the fifth planning oh thank you chairman i appreciate
it all right thank you chairman uh and board members uh good evening david fechter with the
city planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa3 residential
single family zoning at this location the appellant has shown the proposed group living
will have no detrimental impacts to the neighborhood beyond what might be expected
the city planning commission recommends the board grant a proposed special exception for group living
thank you very much thank you thank you and we'll vote uh 2 p.m that day okay okay thank you all
All right. Thank you. Mr. Hennessy, thanks for your attention.
Okay. So number one, MI 2024-002-278-415 South Bend, Pell Street.
Jennifer Benzillo is the attorney.
We'll be coming back in as a panel shortly, Mr. Chair.
can you hear me jennifer i can good good afternoon good good evening i should say and
sorry it's so late could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer
Jennifer Bazzidlo, J-E-N-N-I-F-E-R.
Last name is B as in boy, A as in apple, Z as in zebra, Y, D as in David, L as in Larry, O as in Oscar.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
This is a resumptive hearing, so we'll get right into it.
And here's what we believe the updates we're looking for from you now are.
A letter of non-opposition based on revised plans.
Yep, we got that.
Right.
Updated two pages submitted showing tile to cover part of the existing stucco.
Remaining stucco will be to be removed and replaced with metal fencing.
Correct.
Right.
Provided photos of interior courtyard and wall on Van Pelt Street.
So here is, this is the, let me start with the interior courtyard first.
So here you can see the interior of the courtyard.
It really functions as the backyard for these residents.
We have like little seating areas, some grills, the bicycle storage area.
We also have the, this is the mail area.
I know that was being asked about, as well as the vestibule where the packages are dropped off.
And then the front wall is right here.
This is the wall that separates the other two buildings on Van Pelt Street.
I know you would ask for measurements of those. It's 11 feet 8 inches to the top of the cornice line on this, and then when we factor in the railing, we're at 14 feet 8 inches, and what we are proposing on the other section of Van Pelt Street here would be a total of 12 feet, so significantly lower than the portion that separates the other two buildings.
I can go into more detail if you would like.
And you post it again, am I correct?
Correct.
Here's the postings on both sides on Van Pelt Street.
And I'm blanking on the other side of the building, but it's on both sides.
I'm blanking on the other side of the building, but it's on both sides.
Is there anything else you want to add?
Is there anything else you want to add?
I just want to say that, you know, I do have this nice now side-by-side image.
Hold on one second.
This is what was there.
This is what we're proposing.
So they're very, very similar.
It adds about two feet of height and upgrades those metal railings to add the extra security for the building,
for the residents living inside here
and using that space as their kind of outdoor living space.
And the CCRA is in non-opposition now,
mostly because their biggest concern
was about the aesthetic look of what we were proposing.
And we're now proposing these nice ceramic tiles
that kind of blend in.
So all we're really doing is taking what was there,
that existing brick wall.
We're adding a layer of block,
which is going to be covered by these ceramic tiles.
that block is necessary, not just for security purposes, but also to anchor the new railings.
Because if we tried to drill into the old brick, it wouldn't really secure those railings.
So here we have a project that we've worked together with the neighborhood extensively to come up with their ideas
that now is aesthetically pleasing and meets their standards, as well as providing extra security to the building.
So I think we're in a really good spot here now to ask for approval by this board.
Questions for the board?
Questions or comments from our attorney?
Ms. Bazidlo, are there revised plans?
Because I saw what I thought was a new set of plans for this submission today, but I did not see a proviso form.
The only change is that we added this rendering with the tiles.
okay so then there should be the two pages of revised plans then so we would just need a
proviso form okay update that okay because i don't think there's any changes from like materially
from i didn't change it because it would i would think i would write the same thing but i'm happy
i'll get that to you this evening all right let me let's just make sure is we want to hold the
vote on that no no we can adopt it that we have the two pages of revised plans right here we just
needs we just need the proviso form sent in correct okay
questions or comments from the audience i want to make sure center city is not on
mr chair i do not see any hands raised planning commission
thank you chairman and board members uh good evening david pecto with the city planning
commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rm1 residential multifamily
zoning at this location the city rezoned this neighborhood in 1975 the appellant has not shown
that they would suffer an economic detriment if they were required to install a code compliant
fence the city planning commission recommends that the board deny the proposed dimensional
variance for a non-compliant fence thank you mi2024 002 278 415 south van pell street
I vote yes. Revised plans, two pages, today's date, 2-19-25.
Michael Johnson, my vote is yes, with Proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes, with Proviso.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes, with Proviso.
Taya Wood, my vote is yes, with Proviso.
Shaheed, my vote is yes, with Proviso.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you. Just one quick question. Hillary, would you like me to email that to you or submit it through the form, the additional proviso plan?
If you wouldn't mind doing both, that would be very helpful. Thank you.
Okay, great. Just want to follow procedure. Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Number five, MI 2024-006-143-7601 Thuron Street.
Ariel Rose Gold is the attorney.
There's a letter of support from the 50th Ward Executive Committee.
Applicant provided four form letters of support from neighbors.
One from the block.
Mr. Chair, they will be rejoining as a panel shortly.
Ariel gold. Yes. I cancel. Hi. Hi. Could you please state your name and spell for the course
sonographer. My name is Ariel Gold, spelled A-R-I-E-L-L-E-G-O-L-D. Do you swear or affirm
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yeah.
Could you identify your clients and the relationship to this property?
My client is Lawrence Canty and Barbara Canty, and they are the owners of this property.
And our vice chair has just a few questions.
Good evening, counsel.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits as needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
yes thank you please proceed and share your screen okay i will good evening
chair and members of the board thank you for hearing this i um we need you to share your screen yes
give me one moment
There you go.
It's coming up now.
Oh, good.
So I am here representing 7601 Thuron Avenue.
One of the property owners is in the audience here too, Mr. Lawrence Canty.
We are seeking to legalize a fifth unit in 7601 Theron Avenue, which is a legally operating quadplex operating under a non-conforming use variance.
I'll go through the notice of refusal.
We met with the 50th Democratic Ward and received a letter of support and letters of support from numerous neighbors close by.
The property is located in an RSA 5 multifamily zone district.
However, we believe that it is not out of character for the neighborhood.
So I'll show you the zoning map, photographs of the property, architectural plans and drawings, the RCO meeting notice, the application for appeal, indenture, and certificate of tax clearance.
The architect, Nicholas Noel, was here, but he had to leave.
Hopefully that's not a problem.
I could try to get him back on if you would need to speak with him.
This is a notice of refusal.
So we are seeking to expand the non-conforming use by 30 percent, wherein the code is only allowed for non-conforming use to expand by 10 percent.
In 2020, a family member of the property owners died and in haste to make room for that family member's widow, they converted one of two pre-existing garages into one bedroom unit for her to reside in.
She still lives here, as do most of the tenants that have occupied the property since 2009 when they purchased it.
They haven't raised rent prices.
So they did not realize when they were converting the garage into a unit that they were exceeding the allowable expansion.
And now they're seeking to legalize it and provide some security to their family member and tenant who lives in that unit.
uh we met with the 50th democratic ward on january 28th they provided a letter of support
there are also near neighbors this one is from the property with the lot right adjacent to 7601
theron avenue at 7600 forest ave um saying that they support this um change in use
and then others from down the street and around the corner also sent letters to the board
expressing their support. And also in order just to get the neighborhood more informed and to
increase participation at the RCO meeting, Mr. Canty posted on Nextdoor to just let everyone
know what he wanted to do with the property. He received overwhelmingly positive reactions,
a lot of views, a lot of comments. So he's really trying to make this a community-supported thing.
I'm just going through it quickly in the interest of time.
I know we've all been here pretty late.
So this is 7601 Thuron.
Right on the next block, you have two other properties with 24 units and eight units,
both operating under non-conforming use variances and a bunch of multifamilies surrounding the property as well.
So we don't believe that this would be like stick out like a store thumb in the neighborhood.
We think this would conform well with the neighborhood.
These are just pictures of the properties with multiple units in them.
uh 7535 theron avenue has eight units that one's right down the street and only a bit larger in
7535 Theron Avenue has eight units.
That one's right down the street.
lot size than our property is um the zoning map just shows that we're strictly in an rsa
five district however there are numerous multi-families in the area council could you
show us the garage that you created the unit is that what we did right we created yeah that's
that's coming up in like a few more slides okay um this is just showing that it's right by the
commercial corridor of tom ham mall and tons of public transportation properties right here
um this is the front of the property this is the other pre-existing garage it parks two cars inside
in one car in the driveway this is the part that was converted into a unit it has um space for two
cars to park in that driveway and each unit only has one car so there would be no there this is
and this is the unit that was converted from the garage into the unit bedroom this is another unit
in the property, washer and dryer for use, hardwired alarm system, exit signs, smoke
alarms. These are pictures of the zoning hearing notice posters facing both frontages that
the property has sides on. Architectural plans and drawings. This is the aerial view of the
one-bedroom apartment that used to be the garage. You could enter in through the vestibule, or it
also has its own private entrance. These are floor plans of the properties. That's a little
bit more blown up here, so I'll show you this one. This is the layout of the unit that we're
looking to legalize. You enter through the vestibule, hallway, one-bedroom with a kitchen
and a bathroom. All the other units on the property are mirror images, so I'll just go
through one of them where you see living room, kitchen, one bathroom, and bedroom.
This is the RCO meeting notice that was mailed out on January 16th
To 110 near neighbors, proof of mailing, our application for appeal, the deed showing ownership, and lastly, our tax clearance certificate.
And that concludes the presentation.
okay is your client here yes why don't you have your testimony adopted
okay um mr canty could you please raise your hand um it's the button at the bottom of the screen
and when he took this over from whoever it was already done or he he who who did the garage
you over? He did it in 2020. Okay. All right. Mr. Canty? Yes, I'm here. Could you please state
your name and could you please put your video on? Yes, I'm trying to do that. Sure.
trying to video
all right well Mr. Canty please state your name and spell for the stenographer
video okay one second please
okay Mr. Canty could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer
Yes, my name is Lawrence Canty, L-A-W-R-E-N-C-E, last name Canty, C-A-N-T-Y.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Hey, I'm Mr. Canty.
You heard my representations to the board today, correct?
Yes, I did.
Are they true and correct to the best of your knowledge, information, and belief?
Yes, it is.
and would you adopt my statements as your own testimony yes i will questions from the board
yes um so i have a question about that fifth unit what is the square footage of the whole
apartment and then what is the square footage of the bedroom the square footage of the apartment
is 645 square feet. Mr. Canty, do you know the square footage of the bedroom? The bedroom?
Mr. Canty, do you know the square footage of the bedroom?
The bedroom is possibly 20 by 15.
The room is 20 by 15. That's huge.
Can you go back to the floor plan?
That would be a huge bedroom.
It also doesn't match the floor plans.
and it's just the garage that's being converted and that's being converted
it's already been done we're seeking to legalize the garage and the laundry room
uh the laundry room is um legal we're just seeking to legalize the conversion of
the second garage into a unit
and the garage was originally a single car garage um it was originally um a two-car garage
and the plan of the of what's there now since it was already done
i'm sorry what was your question the plan a plan of the you know the garage is now
oh yeah i um i can go back to that but that was included in this i probably went through
it too fast because i was trying to save time for everyone um so it looks like it's 17 feet
um across across so the garage would only be 20 20 feet or so deep so you go can you go back to
the detailed floor plan plan yeah so there's no plan so there's no plan of the proposed change
there was there's a plan that was turned it was the third floor plan she went to it it didn't
have dimensions on it which is why i asked okay it's the next one yes this one yeah but that still
has the garage this is um one of the garages and this is the garage on the other side michael
okay to the right is what he redid so the there was a garage on the other side yes yes you know
I'm just, I was trying to get, so just from like basic estimation, um, one, that bedroom
does not have a window, which is not co-compliant, but it looks like it could also not be code
compliant by square footage.
Um, it's 600 and the whole unit is 645.50 square feet.
According to your plans, if it's 17 feet wide, that makes it 37 feet long.
that means that that bedroom is gonna be it's gonna hit somewhere between seven
and a half and nine feet wide to still make enough space for the hallway in the
bathroom it's it's close to like without knowing the exact dimensions there is a
world where it could be below the minimum square footage for a bedroom
because it cannot include the closet and it would still not rectify the fact that
it does not have a window. Hillary, like the other
cases, he'd have to get a CO.
So, I mean, it's already four
units, but I mean, they probably, I'm not
sure exactly how that works if you're just adding one additional unit when you're already in
that occupancy classification, but we could certainly require
a CO. I don't know if this is something where they would require a building permit to legalize
in any way in that case then there would be a co but i'm not entirely sure i think the other
question is is that unit already fully sprinklered because the sprinklers were like it looks like the
sprinklers were installed before that basement i mean before the garage was converted so if we
get approval from the board we're going to comply with the sprinkler requirements for the property
maybe we just haven't yet because it hasn't been legalized
any other questions yes where's trash being stored for all the units
um right outside uh in the driveway at the property line right here trash enclosure
is there currently commercial trash pickup for the rental units
yes i believe mr candy you pay an additional fee to the city for the commercial trash pickup
correct that's correct
questions or comments from our attorney
questions or comments from our attorney
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
yes mr chair i have a hand up from nick noel they have been allowed to speak
hi nick could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer
okay they're coming back in as a panelist message okay
nick yes i'm trying to unmute yeah this is nick noel
Hi, could you spell your name for the course stenographer?
Yes, my name is spelled N-I-C-H-O-L-A-S, Noel, N-O-E-L.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Are you a neighbor?
No, I'm a lead designer for MyFect, and I was trying to get on to help with some of the questions that your panel asked.
Okay, all right, how big is the bedroom, large?
Yeah, so the bedroom is 133 square feet.
And how about the apartment itself?
The apartment itself is 621 square feet and some.
Any other questions for Nick?
821, actually.
Yes, and we do, we are going to, because we are trying to legalize this building,
we are going to have to do some additional drawings and so on to get it up to code,
as far as windows and things like that, sprinkler system so that we can get a permit.
get the work done, and also have L&I issue a CEO at the end of the project.
Yeah, when you do that, I would recommend you look at your layout, too, because based on all the doors that you have, you can't put a sofa or a chair or anything in that living room.
Yeah, so we're going to look at all of that.
we're going to look at all of that um anybody else in the virtual audience planning commission
thank you chairman and good evening david facto with the city planning commission
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa5 residential
single family zoning at this location this property has a documented history of four
dwelling units with ground floor parking approved by variants in 1963. the appellant converted a
garage into a dwelling unit without the benefit of permits the city planning commission recommends
the board deny the proposed use variants for expansion but non-conforming use by more than 30
hillary can we proviso a building permit we can say that a certificate of occupancy is required
It will be a condition of the zoning permit.
And Ellen and I will, so we can say that a condition of occupancy is required.
That will be a condition of the zoning permit.
Ellen and I will determine what sort of building permits are necessary.
All right.
MI 2024-006-143-7601 Thorne Avenue.
I vote yes.
Say it again, Hillary.
Certificate of occupancy required.
Certificate of occupancy required.
My vote is yes with proviso.
Taneta Graham, my vote is yes with proviso.
My vote is yes with proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Erickani, and thank you, counsel.
Thank you.
Is there anyone else in the audience whose case has not been called?
i do not see any further answer mr chair thank you very much uh thanks everybody
thanks for hanging in there back with us the whole time i do appreciate what you do
thank you all um sorry i'm gonna get us in the paper y'all no problem have a good night all right
Thank you.