those vacant abandoned buildings um on the block 1855 van pelt also sealed up abandoned and then
next to that are two properties 1853 50 and 51 that are uh existing houses to the south of that
we have a series of four or five vacant lots and then when we get to 1843 van pelt we have an
existing triplex similar to what my client's requesting here uh two existing houses next to
that to the south um several vacant lots and then we get to one one uh single family house that was
new constructed in the past couple years and at the previous meeting the planning commission
indicated that's evidence of viability of single family housing and i'd submit to the board in
advance that based on the characteristics of this block and the current interest rate environment
that the multifamily nature and the blatant abandonment does create a hardship on this block.
Farther to the south at 1823 Van Pelt, again, is a property approved for a duplex.
And farther to the south at 1813 Van Pelt is another abandoned building and the property at 1809, another partially sealed building.
And then in the background, going to the east, there's another abandoned building the next block over to the east.
The last photo at photo 10 is just showing the plethora of parking available in this block due to the blatant abandonment.
The Exhibit 6 is the zoning plan for the subject property.
The first page is just showing the meets and bounds of the existing lot.
It's 16 feet 6 wide. There's a 4-foot shared alley at the rear of all these properties on Van Pelt, and its width is 75 feet in depth.
Looking at the actual page two of exhibit six, on the top right is the rendering.
My client's looking to fill in the blight on this block in the vacancy with three residential properties that would have the similar cornice line in keeping with the property that exists at 1814 that they're going to rehabilitate into a triplex.
So we're looking to do a row of three properties at this location at one time.
And as I mentioned, those variances were previously approved two months ago.
The zoning map, zoning plan, I should say, allows for we'd be matching the front steps of the property at 1814 for access to the structure for all the residential units.
We have the option of adding trash storage to the front if necessary.
The floor plans have interior trash storage, I'll just show you.
So that should be unnecessary, but it's there if the neighbors, if the community needs it
and the owner needs additional storage.
The rear of the property is pulled off the property line on the south side to create
a court, I'll call it, a side yard to allow for ingress and egress to the backyard for
the first floor unit.
And it is a full, it's a dimensionally compliant building with an 11 foot, nine foot rear yard.
So it's a sizable structure with a sizable rear yard.
The floor plans were requesting three units.
The first unit is the first floor and basement area.
The basement is mainly utilities and storage.
There's small living space down there,
but the first floor unit is a two-bedroom, one-bath unit
with full kitchen, living room, dining room.
And as I note on the side of the property where there's a court,
we created a deck to create access to the rear yard for the first floor unit.
That also allowed us on the second and third floor units
to create a deck for the second floor unit, which is a two-bedroom, one-bath unit, to allow for
outdoor space for the second floor unit, along with an outdoor trash storage closet. And this
is a design that we worked with the community, Strawberry Mansion community, and the 32nd Ward
on our previous project, that they wanted trash storage for each unit, and ideally outside the
property in a secured environment. And this is the design that they like, and my client
is a fan of as well. It's a good compromise. The third floor unit, again, it's two bedroom,
one bath. We have a smaller deck at the third floor for that outdoor trash storage. And then
at the rear, there's an additional deck space for the upper unit. So all units have outdoor space
for the upper unit. So all units have outdoor space as part of the design. And the ground
as part of the.
floor unit ends up approximately 1,175 square feet. And the upper two units are about 700
square feet each. So we create a good quality, sizable living space on a block that desperately
needs investment. And in support of my references to the existing conditions at Exhibit 7, I've
just included the zoning archives for the other multifamily uses on the block, including 1814 Van
Pelt that was recently granted and 1816 Van Pelt that was recently granted by way of variance.
And as I mentioned, the other properties, 1832 Van Pelt, 1823, 1843, 1850 are all multifamily
properties on the block. With that, I'd submit to the board that the hardship is the existing
conditions of the property and the block, it's blatant abandonment. And under the Valley View
case law, this would and does constitute a hardship that justifies the grant of the variance.
And with that, members of the board, I would request that Ariane Tamalari, if he's on to
raise his hand, if he could adopt my testimony and ask him some questions.
Mr. Ariane, if you're in the audience, please raise your hand.
And I see no hands, Chair.
Counselor, you're also the court.
We will take your testimony.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Chair.
No, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Good morning, Chair Bergman.
David Fechtow with the City Planning Commission.
Mr. Chairman and board members,
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the residential single-family zoning at this
location. There is no unique physical condition or circumstance of this property that would
prevent it from being used in conformance with the zoning code. Planning staff are aware of
eight buildings on this block that have permission for multiple units dating from between the 1930s
and the 1950s, in addition to several newer developments. The rest of the block contains
single-family homes and vacant lots. The Planning Commission recommends the board deny the use
variance for three dwelling units. MI-2022-007-254-1812 North Van Pelt Street, I vote yes.
Thomas Holland, my vote is yes. James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is no. Thank you, counsel. Thank you. We have your three votes.
Hillary, we ready to go on the other one?
We can try, Mr. Chair.
He indicated he emailed his information in, but I have not seen it.
But if you can show it on the screen, that would be sufficient.
Let's go back to number six, MI 2022-007-137-454 Delmar Street.
Sam Elias, please come back on.
Mr. Elias, can you please raise your virtual hand?
Mr. Elias?
I will promote Mr. Elias coming back in as a panelist.
please unmute yourself and wait for the chair
mr elias
mute yes sir you you've already been sworn could you please turn on your video so we can see you
uh i'm trying my chair i'm not sure how to do that here on my phone
on your phone yes because it was uh
Mr. Elias
Hi we see
I'm mute
Mr. Elias is that you?
Yes sir
Okay all right
You've already been sworn
This application is for a multifamily household living
Three dwelling units on the same lot
With all other uses as previously approved
And there's no signs on this
The proposed multifamily household living is prohibited in the RSA 5 zoning district.
Our vice chair has just a few questions for you, sir. Yes, sir.
Good morning, sir. Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits
needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing? Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Okay, thank you.
Okay, thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
Please proceed and share your screen.
Share my screen.
Can I...
This is the letter that I sent to the neighbors.
I'm sorry, I'm just using my phone
because the app was not opening on my...
And this is the letter that I posted on the property.
And these are the documents that I just sent,
like about five minutes ago.
Is there anything else that I need to?
Yeah, well, why don't you tell us what are you trying to do?
Tell us what you're trying to do.
Well, the property was zoned as three family dwellings.
And I learned that the previous owner before he passed away,
he turned it to single family because he was going through hardship.
And when we bought it, we just wanted to put it back.
two three family uh dwelling uh we didn't change anything into the structure we didn't put anything
photos of the property uh i uh just a second
this is the like a view from the outside
and this was originally zoned for three yes sir and and he he lost the uh the zoning and
reverted back to an RSA. Is that right?
Correct. He was going through hardship
and going through cancer and he lost the other house.
He didn't want to lose this one. That's why he put it just on paper.
Does the property, are the utilities
separated? Yes, sir. Do you have pictures
of the meters in the back? I don't.
But they are, it is separated? Yes, except
for the water is not. All right. Yeah, I understand.
and the property is already separated inside
with separate three units?
Separated three units
and there is no access from one to another
and they have their own entry.
And do you have a picture of the entries?
I don't.
Well, show us the property again.
So this is the property.
Right.
And how do you get in the front?
You go there, right?
This is the first apartment.
Right.
Right. And this is the other house, the other door. Right. That's why you're there.
Right. Go to the second and third. Right. And is that an addition back there? Is that what that is?
That's here? Yeah. What's that? Yeah. That's an additional room that was there.
That was already put on the property. Yes. Right.
okay um tell me what the rest of the block looks like uh well next door is um um uh three families
how many what is it sir uh the next door the house next door is a three-family house
right and plus the street is three-family house uh like two more uh maybe three down the block
Okay. All right. Why don't you move your hand a minute. All right. Questions from the board?
No, Chair. No, Chair.
All right. And what's the name of the RCO you went to?
I'm sorry, I said it again.
The name of the RCO you met with?
It was the Ruxborough RCO. I forgot her name. I cannot recall her name.
all right and hillary we have the letter um we don't we don't have a letter uh mr mr elias when
did you meet with the rco it was uh back in january okay january all right we do have a hand
raised i don't know if this might be someone from the rco mr chair um but mr mr elias we have not
um received we see i see the posting photo in the letter um please make sure you email those
to the emails provided to you in the Q&A
because we did not receive them the first time.
I'm sorry.
You're saying she needs the letters
and she needs everything sent to her, okay?
Yes, we didn't receive your first email.
You had indicated in the Q&A
that you had emailed the posting notice
and a copy of your mailing,
but we didn't receive them.
So we're asking you to resend them
to make sure you sent them to the correct addresses.
And those are in the Q&A on Zoom.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Chair.
No, Chair.
Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments in the virtual audience?
Yes, Chair.
We have a person, last name Wilkes.