All right. So I looked at the city's record. There's no permit of record for non-accessory parking for 601 Addison Street. Would that surprise you?
It was used for parking prior to me purchasing, so I assume the precedent was there to use it. No neighbor ever made comment about us using it for parking.
I have no further questions.
Thank you.
You have anybody else? Yeah, alas, very brief witness. So his name is James Bonney, and I want to say it's no relation. It's spelled differently. But if he can be called, it's B-O-N-N-E-Y. And I may even be mispronouncing it.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell it for the court reporter?
Hi, yes.
James Bonney, B-O-N-N-E-Y.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, yes.
You see, counsel.
Thank you.
And I'm going to call you James so as not to confuse with any last name.
So did you hear everything I said earlier?
Do you agree it's accurate?
And would you adopt it as your own testimony?
Yes, I do.
Okay. 606B is the second condo in the 606 address. And I'm showing it on the screen. You walk down this little footpath and there's your welcome mat on the west side of this building. Is that correct?
Yes, that's correct.
Okay. And you signed the petition in opposition to the variance. Is that correct?
Correct.
and in your over the past 15 years your house has changed hands multiple times and finally in 2019
you purchased it is that correct yes okay so I'll just give you the floor um James and please
explain to the board and you know why you're opposed to this variance okay great thanks Paul
um so I'm in opposition because I think this would change the nature of the street it's currently
pedestrian only there are signs for no parking um i think it would be um a negative change for
one residential unit to have um i guess access as priority over general neighborhood and public
pedestrian use on the street i think it would be um i guess a poor decision to change the
the use and the priority of who this street is for in that regard. It's also a very narrow
street. I think it could pose some safety risks if a vehicle is regularly driving up and down
Waverly. For structures in proximity, it's a concern because of the very narrow carriage
with of the street um and also i think as a vehicle enters and exits it's hard to see them
coming because of how narrow this is for pedestrians on sixth street as they're crossing
waverly i don't think they would expect to see a vehicle coming from such a narrow street um
so there may be uh some some opportunities for risk in that regard um
let's see. I think also Alan mentioned it wouldn't make sense for the current owner or
a future owner to try to park a larger vehicle that this street could only accommodate turning
radius for a compact vehicle. But I think we all know people love to do things that don't make
sense. So I think those are my points. Okay, thank you. I have no further questions. Thank you.
You're muted.
You're muted.
Sorry.
Sir, you own 606 Waverly Street, Unit B.
Is that correct?
That's correct.
And that's part of a two-unit condominium, correct?
Yes, in a dwelling that's historically in two units.
And did you know that when this condominium was formed,
it was by way of a variance request to take this RSA buy property into a two-unit condominium?
I did not know that, but this building has historically been two dwellings.
No further questions. Thank you. I have one more question, if you don't mind, Mr. Chair.
James, is it correct that you don't have any parking? That's correct. I have no parking. I
street park okay and same thing with um the condo in front of you that's correct as well okay thank
OK, thank you very much. Are you done, Mr. Pony? Yes, I am. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
you very much are you done mr yes i am
All right. If you if you have like statements you want to make at the end here, I have a 1230 turnaround so I can take one minute.
Mr. Knocklinson. Yeah, I can take I can do very quickly.
All right. Why don't we start with you, Mr. Knocklinson?
Yeah, so what my client is trying to do is legalize or have a legal parking spot at the rear that was approved by the zoning board almost 19 years ago.
They're not changing the character of this neighborhood because there's often parking throughout the neighborhood.
But the individuals who are against this project, each one of them have some serious issues, you know, that go beyond their opposition to this project.
It's almost do what they say, not as I do for most of them, where they don't want off-street parking.
They think it's dangerous, but they have a dangerous off-street parking, which is much more dangerous.
You have individuals who are illegally using off-street parking and other parts in the neighborhood.
What we're proposing is reasonable under the circumstances, has been approved by this board over 19 years ago.
So we hope that this board, especially as my clients age out, they need this parking.
you know when you know 2007 when that condominium increased the density from one unit to units they
had no objections when they lived there they're asking for a reasonable use of their property in
the rear and we would hope that the board sees that thank you thank you mr chair um very briefly
first really and foremost there's absolutely no hardship um demonstrated and that could and
should be the end of the case. But second, the board approved the variance 19 years ago because
of conditions very different than today. What was once a dingy street with a rear neighbor who
reached an agreement with the applicant. Now we have a really gorgeous street with a whole new
set of owners who've really improved the properties dramatically. And they're all
very much opposed to this. So, you know, we don't come to this lightly, but given all of the harm
and damage or impact, negative impact, that's why we've, you know, pretty firmly come out in
opposition to this. I will say, and especially as someone who represents neighbors a lot,
I think it's inappropriate to dig into each of their backgrounds and find out whether they have
a variance on their house or not, that the law doesn't look at any of those things. This is
about 606 fine, whether there's a hardship and whether there's impact. I can tell you that all
the neighbors and the applicant are all fine, upstanding, law-abiding people. They're all just
trying to do what they think is right. And I do say that not just for the applicant, but for the
neighbors also. So thank you for the board. Thank you. Thank you. Are there questions from the board?
No, Chair. No, Mr. Chair. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Yes, Chair. I have Alex Goldberg with his hand up. Proceed, Mr. Goldberg.
That was actually... Okay, good. Good. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, right. Thank you.
anyone else in the virtual audience i see no hands chair planning commission
good afternoon mr chairman and thank you david effecto with the city planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning of this location to residential multifamily
the proposal is to modify the rear yard and wall to allow for a single parking space
all refusals are related to this parking space the provision for an undersized parking space
access by Waverly Street is not a common condition on this block. The applicant has not shown that
an economic detriment will accrue to the property if these variances are not granted. There is also
no guarantee that a future owner will have a compact vehicle, and a full-size vehicle would
likely block the right-of-way. So the City Planning Commission recommends the board deny the proposed
variances. Thank you. What I want to do is take this to next week to the executive session.
I really want to make sure that the board members have a chance to look at all the issues that were raised today before we make a decision.
So we will vote on this next Wednesday at 930.
next wednesday at 9 30 and thank both of you for your for your presentations okay thank you for
And thank both of you for your presentation.
your time thank you thank you right is there anyone in the virtual audience whose 9 30 case has not
been heard i see no hands here okay my hand just went up sorry pardon me my hand just went up um
it's the rochelle khan who was that
do we hear earlier we we continued her case earlier mr chair because we had received no
exhibits and um the council office had indicated that no rco meeting had occurred okay good all
right i just want more information about what the next steps would be i did reach out to my rco um
The two different ones that were listed, and then I hadn't received any information back since.
All right, so you'll have to have the meeting and then get all your paperwork together and make sure you can always call the office to ask where you stand, okay?
All right, thank you.
Is there anyone else?
I see no hands, Chair.
Okay, thank you, everyone.
See everyone at 2 p.m.
Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this afternoon's meeting.
With me is our Vice Chair, Ismael Shaheed.
Ismael Shaheed.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our Board Member, Thomas Holloman.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
And our Board Member, James Snell.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also present is Hillary Emerson, our Attorney, and also our Executive Director, Tanya Sumter.
Here's our virtual format.
Be advised, these proceedings are being recorded.
The video will be available by contacting tanyasunkett at phila.gov.
For the benefit of our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you're participating by phone and you wish to testify, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.
to an appearance statement, call 267-270-5548. Leave your email and the address of the property
in question. And finally, the question and answer box on the screen is not for comments or testimony.
All comments should be directed to our Executive Director, Tanya Sung. Let's look at it,
the continuances we have for this afternoon number 13 mi 2022 007 643 1872 conlin street
that case is being continued so anyone has any comments relative to that case it's being continued
good afternoon i see no hands chair are there any other requests for continuance
yes chair i have a stan smith jr with a hand up okay
mr smith please unmute yourself and wait for the chair
i could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
my name is stanford smith jr um right you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and
nothing but the truth.
Your case is
6016 Bingham Street?
So we have
an incomplete exhibit
package that was submitted.
Correct.
And also we're waiting for a letter from the
Longcrest Community Association.
Right?
The one that
I mail out?
No, we're waiting for a letter
from the RCO.
Oh, OK. So we're going to continue this case, right?
Yes. Yes. But but the next listing, it's going to be marked must be tried.
I understand. OK, that's fine. Thank you, sir. So am I 20, 22, 004, 487, 6016 Bingham Street.
The case is continued. Mark must be tried. And Mr. Smith, thank you for calling in. We appreciate it.
all right thank you i appreciate all right we're going to go to add ones
excuse me mr chair um we also had a request on number give me one second a number 11 um
from council for the applicant um that's um mi-2023 i'm sorry yeah yeah that's okay
MI 2023-000358, 1845-47 East Latterley Street. That case is continued. Is there anyone has comments relative to that case?
Is there anyone who has comments relative to that case?
I see no hands, Chair.
Thank you.
Thank you, Hillary.
We have one more, Mr. Chair, that came in late.
I don't know.
It looks like they may be here.
Strawberry Mansion Community Concern submitted a request for continuance for 90 Rochelle Avenue.
I don't know if it's on the list.
that's number nine okay um if we just bring on council for that as well as strawberry mansion
briefly discussed that would be great okay thank you mr knockamson
uh and also mr toner
that's uh
that's not strawberry mansion is it hillary it should have been 1830 diamond street i'm sorry
yes it's 1830 diamond street my apologies all right but still alan knockamson just not
sorry i see it that's number 14 okay number 14 mi 2022 007642 1830 diamond street alan
knockamson is the um attorney mr knockamson and also is the 32nd ward here
or or i'm sorry strawberry strawberry mansion yes
they give alan one minute yeah he just lost his internet connection just uh
We're fine. We're fine. We're good. Yes. And if we need to, we can come back to this request.
Should I promote Strawberry Mansion Community?
Sure. Okay. Thank you.
They would just need to be allowed to speak. You don't have to promote them to panelists.
Okay. They're allowed to speak now. Thank you.
Could you state your name, please, and spell it for the court reporter?
Good afternoon, Chairman Bergman.
My name is Bonita Cummings, and that is B-O-N-I-T-A-C-U-M-M-I-N-G-S.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
We're waiting for Mr. Knockerson to come on.
Before you testify, I'm not going to try to get him on first.
He's having a hard time with his internet.
Thank you.