ZBA Hearing - November 6, 2024

I just would like to be able to list it as a two-property dwelling, have a certificate

of occupancy for a potential buyer who will want to live on the first floor potentially

and put that property up for sale.

as like i stated we are both retired now and would just like to um you know get right so so

let's let's let's let's go over this a minute so how long have you owned the property i think we

bought it in 2005 so we've owned it for over second floor the second floor was always an apartment

well my husband fixed it up so yes after he was finished renovating it it became an apartment

i got the renter renter's license and then he ran he ran his business out of the first floor

well he didn't really yes he not really ran the business that's just where his guys would meet

every day yeah yeah right his materials and equipment so then he retired yes and then he

fit the first floor out as an apartment yes he did then he found out you needed zoning to do that

right when we were um i'm sorry go ahead right you found out you needed zoning to do that you're

here today to try to get a multiple family is that right a two-family dwelling yes yeah right okay

Is that right? A two family dwelling. Yes. Yeah. Right. OK. All right.

all right question

Questions from the board. So the original renovation was just done.

There was no zoning or anything done for it. I'm assuming. Right.

When we purchased the property, my husband did some work, you know, to make the second floor nicer.

So, you know, it was very, very old. Was it already laid out as an apartment?

No, I don't believe so. I believe back in the day, I don't know, maybe in the 80s or the 90s, I think there may have been a store on the first floor. I don't know. I was never really around there. I just know when we purchased it, it was sort of a shell. It was really decrepit.

And, you know, since then, we did all of the exterior finish work to it, all new siding and stucco and pavements.

And, you know, we did a lot of renovations to make it look nice and keep the neighborhood nice.

We've always had a good, you know, all the people in the neighborhood were always very friendly and respectful.

So he fitted up.

Did you have a rental license for the second floor?

Yes, sir.

Still have a rental license for the second floor.

Correct.

All right.

But but when your husband retired. Yes. I think Michael was trying to say you just redid the place on the first floor without getting permits or anything. Right. Yes. Yes. He didn't add anything. It was already there. There was a bathroom. There was a saying, you know, an operating kitchen. Like I said, I think it may have been a store back in the day. So, you know, he's retired now, has all this time on his hands. He just started tiling and sheet rocking and, you know, he started to do that.

And then after we did that, we thought, okay, so now we're both retired, let's sell this property.

And that's when I found out through my realtor, because there was a young couple interested in it, I needed to have it.

I think we understand.

We got it.

Thank you.

Any other questions from the board?

Questions or comments from our attorney?

um just briefly mr yes just briefly mr chair i just wanted to to clarify for miss zammer um so

what you are requesting here is a variance um if if this is granted this will not change your

zoning your property will still be zoned cmx1 but you will be given permission to use it as a

two-family dwelling um zoning changes can only be done through legislation through city council so

I just wanted to clarify that for you. Thank you. Thank you very much. I really wasn't sure

of the proper wording if I was requesting a variance or a rezoning. I wasn't quite sure

what I'm asking for. I just... Okay. All right. Okay. All right. So questions or comments from

the virtual audience? Yes, Chair. I have a hand up by the name of Chris Lynn. They have been

allowed to speak and could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer thank you mr

chairman my name is chris lynn first name c-h-r-i-s last name lynn l-i-n you swear or firm to tell the

truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do are you a neighbor i know i am an attorney

with council president johnson's office sure and sure please proceed sir thank you mr we're just

to offer a standard support of this project.

Okay, so you're in favor of the project,

the council president.

Thank you very much.

Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?

Chair, may I ask what's going on with the basement?

You most certainly can.

There's nothing going on in the basement.

I still have some tools down there.

Really, that's just about it.

um you know upon if we sell the property my husband would probably have a yard sale or garage

sale to offload some of the tools would there be first floor access uh for the to the basement from

the for the first floor unit or no no the only access to the basement is the belco doors in the

ground on the ground okay thank you thank you thank you um planning commission so ron bednar

Our city planning property is indicated for commercial mixed use on the city plan.

Given the site's physical condition, we recommend the request of advance be granted.

MI 2024-004-085-1600 South Taney Street, I vote yes.

Michael Johns, my vote is yes.

Gerald Gaston, my vote is yes.

Tanada Graham, my vote is yes.

Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.

Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.

I have your votes.

Have your votes.

Okay, we're going to go to number.

Thank you all very much.

Thank you so much.

Sure, thank you.

So number seven, MI 2024-004-130-3700 to 40 Kensington Avenue.

Sean Ward is the attorney.

Letter of support from Juniata Park Civic Association.

Sean Ward will be rejoining

us as a panelist.

Mr. Ward. Mr. Chair.

Okay. Could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?

Yeah, Sean, S-H-A-W-N, Ward, W-A-R-D, Esquire, attorney for owner applicant.

You'd swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?

I certainly do.

Our vice chair has just a few questions, sir.

Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to wait the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?

I do. Thank you.

Have you emailed in all the required documents that's needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?

They weren't five days in advance, but they've been reviewed by council and they've since been accepted.

And we have again with again with with some supplements.

Not not everything was available at the time of submission, but they have since been submitted.

And I confirm our council that we're good to go.

Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.

OK, Chair, can you see my screen?

We can. We can. We're fine.

Excellent. Excellent. I am here on behalf of Ludlum Properties, LLC, the owner of 3700-40 Kensington Avenue, listed for today at 330.

I submit my typical exhibit packet. A1 is the notice of refusal.

The application was for the adaptive reuse of a former warehouse on Kensington Avenue for a use permit for multifamily household living consisting of 64 units

at the second and third floor levels in the existing structure.

It resulted in two refusals.

One, the use is not permitted in the I-2 Industrial District.

Again, representing that this is an adaptive reuse of a former industrial site.

And whereas there's no industry on Kensington Avenue anymore.

The second refusal is for parking.

It requires 32 spaces, whereas none are proposed.

I would point out that when you see the site plans and aerial photographs, this building is the subject of a larger parcel where there are actually two parking lots on site, but the parking lots aren't dedicated to this specific use and they would be shared.

But it resulted in a refusal because we are not providing the 32 required spaces.

Accordingly, we seek a use and dimensional variance today.

A2 is the ZBA Application of Appeal, A3 Project Information Form.

A4 is the Proof of Ownership, which is the deed.

At the time of submission, we were pending the agreement with the Revenue Department.

That has since been approved and submitted to Board Council, which has been reviewed.

I do have a copy if the Board wants to see it on my PDF here today.

Okay. A6 are the zoning floor plans and renderings of the proposed dwelling units.

A7 are photographs of the posting, subject property, street views, aerial views.

At the time of submission, I was waiting for the letter from Juniata Park Civic.

That has since been submitted and reviewed by board council.

And I would point out that that letter also references that Harrogate Civic was in attendance at the meeting

and joined in the support.

A-9, if submitted by district council,

I would ask that that be marked as A-9.

I don't know if, I haven't received a copy,

so I don't know if they submitted or not.

A-10 is the relevant zoning history.

2003, a use permit for wholesale distribution and storage.

You know, it was a warehouse.

But, you know, we now seek to convert

the second and third floor into residential dwelling units.

So we have our let me let me go out of this for a second.

OK, so we have our notice of refusal.

I would point out that the refusal says you have two zoning refusals,

but I only see one listed.

So, uh, you know, I'm, I'm not quite sure where that, where that lies, but, um, we have

So, you know, I'm not quite sure where that where that lies, but.

our application for appeal project information form.

My transmittal letter, the deed.

Okay.

Uh, there was a $26,000 balance due on the property, um, uh, that has since been rectified

with a payment agreement, which was, uh, approved today, uh, again, submitted to council.

The building itself is an L-shaped building consisting of, right now, vacant warehouse space, and we are looking to subdivide into various residential dwellings.

Again, so this would be an aerial view of one of the studio units or the kitchen, living, dining area, a rendering of what that unit would look like.

additional renderings

again this is the property

on M Street

and Kensington Avenue to the left

this is a view

I believe from Kensington Avenue

no I'm sorry this is probably M Street

this was a zoning

permit issued in 2023

a change of use

to wholesale distribution and storage for a warehouse.

Then we have the full zoning history from Zoning Archive.

If anybody wants to see any specific documents

with regard to the zoning history,

that's, you know, I'd be more than happy to share.

Here is the property in purple.

Again, Kensington Avenue running from bottom left

to upper right.

Erie Avenue running across the top

and then M Street coming down from the top to bottom.

Here is the aerial photo again. I'm going to blow this up for you.

This is the building here. Again, it's L-shaped as depicted in the floor plans.

This was my supplemental submission with photos of the posting.

Street views as you can see the the elevated train the L is to the right. This is the Kensington

Avenue side. Another view from Kensington Avenue. This is what is existing in the building right

now. Again it's just a vacant warehouse space to be converted into dwelling units.

this is the letter from juniata park dated november 4

uh they held the meeting it was uh voted 14 yes with none opposed and again they referenced that

that harrogate civic was present uh included in the meeting

um very quickly

just so the board can see it

this is our approval of the uh payment agreement with the city dated uh well

dated november 8th but i don't know where that came from uh uh but this this is the payment

agreement uh as approved by the uh revenue department so uh that's basically the uh sum

substance of the application i do have do you have do you have drawings on what it's going to look

like i didn't see that how are you going to lay it out oh yeah hang on a second let me go back

um all right i gotta move this let's put that at the bottom um

second there we go

Yeah. So basically, again, it's the L-shaped building as referenced in the overhead aerial photo.

And we're going to subdivide, you know, the floor space into individual dwelling units.

And there's a total of 64.

They would include studio, one bedroom, two bedroom, and then obviously utility space with washers, dryers, and things of that nature for the tenant spaces.

The typical, as noted here, you'll see this would be your typical studio layout.

and then we have the photos

Adam, curiosity, what's the square footage of that studio?

out of curiosity what's the square footage

of that studio layout

uh

studio what's out of curiosity

uh 521.7

square feet okay

you know and that's that i mean

you know when it comes to a studio that's you know

that's a pretty good size and then

we also have

this would be the