Technically the Chinatown Development Corporation
was in non-opposition
and the Callow Hill Neighborhood Association
was in support of the granting of the special proviso.
So the provisos that they had you can see here were indicative. They wanted to make sure that
we were soundproofing both of the upstairs spaces we agreed that we had. They wanted to make sure
there were no complaints about trash. Again the first floor of this building is
uh you're you're freeze up you're frozen location at the property um and they just
wanted us to make sure that we would continue handling it the way we had and we have commercial
cleanup um they also as you'll see in the pictures they wanted to reduce noise on north 11th street
which is uh cowhill street has no residential location um
Callow Hill Street has no residential addresses, but North 11th Street does have a few further
down the block, so they asked that we use our Callow Hill Street entrance and exit for
the building, which we had no problem with.
So going to, here's, the property is right at the corner of North 11th Street and Callow
Hill Street.
it is right across the street from the elevated rail tracks the rail yard is not far away
right across the street is a large dh and trading commercial lumber yard and construction facility
and this as you can see is a large warehouse and industrial use area it is located in an
IRMX district, and therefore is allowed by right, as I stated. Here are some pictures. This is
the main entrance of what you'll go upstairs right from there, and the two facilities will be
here. Here's an image just to show this is an alleyway right to the east of our property.
That's where we have regular trash cans stored. We've never had any kind of dumpster or anything
like that so it's never been an issue again we have commercial trash pickup that has been uh once
a week or in an as needed basis if there was some big event um you can see here we're you know again
the building's not changing four stories just like everything else right across the street is the uh
the rail yard here um here's the access to the trestle in at the other end of our building
um and again this is this is basically what we look at right across the street so
just an extension of the trestle in so this is not going to be an extension of the trestle in
it is uh run by the same owners but they are looking to do two smaller more intimate uh cabaret
and cocktail areas up there um and i will show you you actually got right where i was going
So here's a floor plan of the Trestle Inn. All the access usually comes right here off of
Callow Hill Street. You have the existing bar in an open room here. You know, hopefully when
coronavirus is gone we can finally start having these neighborhood bars open back up again.
In the back you'll see a small lobby ADA lift and a set of stairs. That will take you up to
the second floor you'll go through the hallway this is the first event space for about 50 people
and then there will be another cocktail lounge at the front this is north 11th street and this
is callow hill street on the third floor will be an accessory office space for the owners of the
building who will operate you know they will own both the second floor and the first floor but they
will be operated as separate entities, not meant as overflow space. And this was just some of the
highlights, which is commercial trash collection. They're going to maintain the same public hours,
which are Wednesday through Saturday, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. No one had any issues with that. We've
installed new sprinklers, new outdoor lighting, security cameras. And, you know, not to belabor
the point but for all these reasons we felt and the community agreed that there were no adverse
impacts to the community and that certainly the proposed use that is presented today was no more
burdensome to the community than any other similarly situated use as would be proposed
and acceptable under a special exception so with that i will stop and i'll happily respond
any questions that the board may have otherwise i will just present uh one of the owners uh mr
ian cross yeah please bring on your owner and then we'll receive these questions all right
miss sunkett if you could just uh bring mr ian cross into the if you can ask him to raise his hand
Oh yes
He's available to unmute and be sworn in
I don't know, can you hear me?
Yeah, I lost the visual
So sir, would you please identify yourself
Name and address
Yes, my name is Ian Cross
Of 339 North 11th Street, Philadelphia
Do you swear to him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Please proceed.
Yes, Mr. Cross, you are the owner of the property, correct?
Yes, that is correct.
Yes, that is correct.
And you will be in charge of the operations of the building?
And you will be in charge of the operation?
Yes, that is correct.
And you heard all of the statements and testimony that I presented already today?
Yes, I did.
And was everything true and correct to the best of your knowledge and belief?
And would you adopt all of my testimony as your own?
All right.
Thank you very much, Mr. Cross.
uh chairman i would uh offer mr cross or myself for any questions from the board otherwise
we would rest our case thank you questions from the board no no anyone would like to
testify in this case if so please raise your hand no hands at this time thank you planning commission
good afternoon board peter bernard for the planning commission
peter please i'd spell your full name for the record and uh swear you in
p-e-t-e-r b as in boy a as in apple r as in roger n as in nancy a as in apple r as in roger d as in
dog you're swearing for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes please proceed
this property is indicated for industrial commercial mixed use on the comprehensive plan
we do not feel this will have a negative impact on the community accordingly we have no objection
to the granting of the special exemption thank you let the record also reflect that there's a
letter of non-opposition from councilman scruller mi-2020-000284 339 north 11th street my vote is
yes my vote is yes my vote is yes thank you confess we can go to number one i lost the
visual i'm going to turn off and get back on but if i lose you just proceed okay no problem uh
mi 2020 dash 000 846 93 herman street
The attorney is Henry Clinton Clinton.
Hi Mr. Clinton, you're still on the oath from this morning.
Please identify yourself with the record and proceed.
My name is Henry Clinton, Queen Memorial Building, 1313 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia P.A.
19146.
Thank you.
Confessor.
Do you agree to waive the reading of its refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Also, have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents, proof of ownership,
proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal or referral,
photos and plans five days prior to this hearing?
Yes, I have, Mr. Plaza.
Also, have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
Yes, I do.
Thank you.
Please proceed.
Ms. Sulky, can I share my screen?
Yes, you can, Mr. Clinton.
can everyone see the cover sheet yes we can may i ask that you maximize your screen
better perfect thank you thank you miss honkett uh this is my appearance stage
statement table of contents exhibits A1 through A11. The deed indicating that my client who was
on the call, John Belieu, owns a property through his entity. The architect is also on the call,
Rustin Olver. This is zoning notice notification to the neighbors. This is the refusal. Refusal
concerns mainly the use of the property and the parking, which I'll get into later. This is
proof of our mailings, mailed out 144 letters to various properties in the neighborhood, tax cert,
application. This is the zoning map indicating the odd shape of this particular lot and I'll
tell you why that's important as we move on. We also have a letter of support from the Faith
Community Development Corporation whom we met with on two occasions. Here's a letter of support.
they do ask us to coordinate construction between this project and another project which will be
heard during this session on the same street they also ask us to make sure that we stage the
construction of these two projects if we're approved for both projects and then also they
and then also they ask that we make sure that we contact the neighbors and the near neighbors
I ask that we make sure that we contact the
concerning the roof deck that is on the property and we've agreed to all three of provisos
here's a letter of support no opposition at all
here's some photographs of the property this is an aerial view
shaped somewhat like an L.
It's a corner property.
From what we've been able to tell,
it's been vacant for a long period of time.
Overgrown in some parts.
And here it is again.
What's important here is
this is the property at 93 Herman.
And all the properties
that are in blue are multifamily.
There are some that are for family dwellings
here across the street.
there's some that are two, but it's kind of a blend of single families, which are in the brown
color, as well as multifamily, which are in the blue. And that's why when we met with the community
group, they understood that there were multifamily in the neighborhood. These are the floor plans.
This is the elevation. The elevation was well-received because of the brick,
typical red brick that we see in Philadelphia
and some panel areas above.
Basically, we're asking for a four-family dwelling
in a three-story property.
There's no issues with height.
The refusal, which I'll go back to and explain,
indicates that required parking is four. We have two-car parking for this project.
Also, the LNI examiner pointed out the open space area. We believe that since this is less
than 10%, it's a diminuous variation from the code. And on the setbacks, you really can't set
back the house from the front of Herman Street nor from the side because it's a side lot and to set
the house back eight feet you really have a lot that's buildable at 11 feet which really is not
feasible. So I'm welcome to go through the floor plans with Ruston if the board so desires but
what i would like to do is is have my client adopt my testimony and then
close very briefly are any questions concerning any aspect of the project
not that i'm aware of let's get the your architect on and then we'll uh or your
either the owner or the architect wherever you want
thank you mr chairman mr bill you were you on the call
yes hey inc hi john how are you john have you heard my testimony today hold on henry let's
get his full name please and swear i'm in sure yep uh my name is john bolew
your last name please b-e-a-u-l-i-e-u we're in the firm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing about the truth? I do. Mr. Clinton, please proceed. Sure. John, you were on this Zoom call
during my presentation, correct? Yes. And if you had the opportunity to testify, would you have
adopted my testimony as your own and as true and correct? Yes. Thank you, John. Mr. Chairman,
this is a residential area. We are in harmony with the bulk of the block on Herman Street,
the 100 block the community supports the project they believe it's viable that it will take away a
long vacant lot that's overgrown we believe it's also in harmony with the code and with that i ask
that the board look kindly upon this application thank you any questions from the board no no
anyone would like to testify in this case if so please raise your hand
here we have charles richardson from the council person's office
good afternoon mr richardson identify yourself with the record you're still under oath from
this morning good afternoon mr chair charles richardson from the office of councilwoman
cindy bass room 312 city hall councilwoman offers support with the adoption of the provisos as
indicated by the rco thank you sharon i didn't get a chance to read through those provisor anything
in there that we could um i just scrolled through the exhibit packet and the tab for the rco letter
is empty henry mr clinton could you please pull that up again sure thank you
there's there's page one can you see that sharon yes
you mentioned something about another project which i don't believe we can
yeah remember you mentioned something about another project which i don't believe we can
is enforceable by us but is there anything in there mr chairman just by way of uh
full disclosure we have another hearing today on the 100 block of herman so when we present it
to the the address is 100 herman so we yeah i saw that 93 we also presented 100 so the community
group did one letter addressing both projects and Ms. Love was concerned that if we're building on
one, you know, use the other for staging and don't do both at the same time because they don't want
Herman Street congested. Okay, understood. All right. I think the first two provisos, because
they relate to the construction process, should probably be a private agreement between the
applicant and the neighbors. Number three. Well that one Sharon. Yes the deck. Yeah we I mean
we presented twice and maybe people in the audience didn't I guess fully understand that
there was a roof deck so on this particular one the request is that we make sure that the adjacent
and properties are aware of the roof deck and we will do that okay all right and the roof deck did
not generate a refusal it's by right it did not miss the letter thank you thank you thank you both
anyone else who would like to testify in this case if so please raise your hand
no hands at this time henry before i read this off uh i think in the interest of time just stay
there we'll do your next case all right okay all right so uh mi-2020-00084693 herman street my
vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes thank you very much
do you want me to move to 100 which one is the next one