I think that this is good to find commercial space.
It's been configured as such for well over a generation, and it's been used that way for many generations.
We're just trying to legalize specific uses that we hope tenants will come in here.
This used to be a cleaners.
This used to be a cell phone, like a sales place.
And then this has been a hair salon for the longest period of time.
And then you can see this in 2015 as well.
So this is when I think this was a cleaner's cell phone place.
And then you can see that this has been a hair salon.
And then this is North Park to the right of the property, to the left of the property.
As you can see here, that's the Alney train station on Broad Street.
West Alney to the right of the property, West Alney to the left of the property.
Our plans and drawings, again, more so the first floor unit.
We have plans we can always review the residential aspects, but here's the hair braiding, hair salon place.
Here's the office. And then here's the retail. Those are three defined spaces.
We're not changing the configuration of them. Our RCO meeting notice.
So the ACCA, the coordinating RCO, asked us to provide a more tailored community meeting notice, which we gladly did.
We sent that notice to 49 properties.
These are a list of the properties.
This is proof of mailing to those properties.
Our application for appeal that we filed on Miranda's behalf, or she filed it and we took over.
The notice of refusal.
And then finally, our deed showing that she owns the property.
And then finally, the certificate of tax clearance.
I'm going to unshare my screen.
I would ask that Miranda virtually raise her hand and be sworn in.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell the court sonographer?
Good morning, everyone.
My name is Miranda Welch.
Hi, could you spell your name, please?
That's M-I-R-A-N-D-A, last name Welch, W-E-L-C-H.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Yeah, Miranda, you heard everything I had to state today about your zoning matter.
And is it true and correct what I stated?
And do you adopt it as your own testimony?
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
questions or comments from our attorney hillier emerson not at this time mr chair
questions or comments from the virtual audience
mr chair i have a hand raised from sandra broadest i have allowed them to speak
sure uh good morning good morning could you state your name and spell it for the court
sonographer sure it's sondra s-a-n-d-r-a broadest last name b-r-o-a-d-u-s do you swear or affirm to
tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes i do hi please proceed um i am um
the chair for ACCA, the coordinating RCO for this property. We did meet with this applicant
and representative from Mr. Nockmson's office on Monday. We have been following this case,
I say almost a year now, six months for sure, because the original refusal
suggested about five different uses, which was then amended to three, which was amended then
to a more general language that concerns us. The property, 5601 North Park Avenue,
is directly across the street and shares the intersection with the very, very busy and
infamous Broad and Not Only transportation hub where thousands of people commute on a weekly
basis there. And the block itself, 5601,
And the block itself, 5601 North Park Avenue, is a residential block where the small and long-term families that have been there, that remain there, have been ACCA's eyes and ears for the Broad-Nalney Corridor for over a decade.
They've been very helpful and instrumental in other matters regarding Broad-Nalney issues.
Our concern is this. One, the property has a long history of commercial use because it's directly within the realm of the Einstein Hospital area of businesses.
And so the commercial use has, in fact, been mostly doctor's offices.
And then it stabilized for years as two units, which were a shoe shop and a cleaners.
Those uses were pretty much safe, comfortable, and non-assuming to the residents as well as the Broad Nolny Corridor.
Over the years, directly across the street from this property is the hub of drug sales, nuisance bar, and open prostitution, and it is not safe after dark.
And so our concern is not just for the neighbors that live on Park Avenue, our concern is for the thousands of people that have to commute back and forth along that corridor after dark because they take the public transportation, both the bus lines that run up and down, and also the subway.
So, whereas we are comfortable with, we prefer two units, but we would like a commitment of a limit of three, we need those uses stipulated, and we feel as though that third revision of the refusal kind of muddles that it doesn't specifically state that it will be limited to three units.
we realized and that the long-term neighbors tell us they remember when the property was converted
from two to the various units that are in there. We do not want it assumed that multiple businesses
can operate in that space simply because it is not clearly stated. Also the applicant seemed
as though they were, she was in agreement with us that certain types of businesses were suitable
and certain types of businesses were not. The whole entire corridor of the, I mean, the whole
entire block up the street is a lot of food services and things like that. There's always
problems. There's, so we would like that the businesses to be unassuming and not causing
any additional traffic, especially after dark. We went through the internet and pulled up
clothing stores and hair salons and even offices throughout the 19141 area, and they all pretty
much close by 7 o'clock, and notably, especially the hair salon. The hair salon is on the internet
advertised as they have closing hours advertised at 6 o'clock. And to be honest, hair salons,
especially after dark, are always getting held up. Those of us who frequent them know that there is
a danger and that corner is especially dangerous. We feel as though seven o'clock is a fair time
and a safe time for the businesses, the people that patronize the businesses to close. Because
the property is broken up into what we counted as four rooms, we want it clear that four rooms
does not mean that four businesses are allowed, that we want clarity that there are three
businesses. We ask that the trash be professionally picked up. There has been a lot of work on the
part of ACCA and the neighbors, especially on that block, working with Sherrell Parker
to keep Broad and Olney clean. They have a certain, a special task force of cleaning folks
that come through there. So we don't want these commercial uses to add trash to
on the avenue at all.
We want them to get professional commercial trash pickup,
commercial trash pickup, not just put the trash out on Olney Avenue on trash day.
not just put the trash out on the avenue.
I don't think that that is appropriate.
And just trying to make sure I remember everything that we asked for.
But our main concern are the hours, the uses, and the stipulation of the number of units.
We want that clarified in the zoning that is provided for that property.
I'm sorry. I was like, when I have, can I have an opportunity to just respond quickly? Why don't we see if there's anyone else? All right. Miss Brodus, thank you for your interest in your time. Anyone else in the virtual audience?
I do not see any further hands, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Notkinson. Yeah, I just want to quickly respond to Sandra. We have no objection to limiting it to three units. We have no objection to the prohibited conduct or uses. Again, I don't know if it's necessary, but I'll defer to the board, but we have no problems, you know, specifying in terms of proviso in that respect.
We have no objection to stating on the record and via proviso for commercial trash pickup.
In terms of the hours of operation, again, we would prefer to have 8 p.m.
Like originally, we would prefer to have 9 p.m.
But if we can, you know, I know Ms. Brodus wants 7.
I'm hoping the board can say to 8 o'clock.
Just again, because people are like Ms. Brodus stated, there are people in the community who use the broad and online line.
And taking public transportation, leaving work at five, it just makes it tight and hard, especially when you're dealing with, like, for instance, a hair salon to get properly serviced during the workday.
But we defer to the board in that respect as well.
Thank you.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Meg Kavanaugh for Planning Commission staff.
The comprehensive plan recommends a change from the existing zoning, RSA-5 Residential Single Family, to CMX-2 Commercial Mixed Use.
The proposed use is consistent with the CMX 2 zoning and with the longstanding use of the property.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant the use variances with proviso for indoor trash storage.
Thank you.
Hillary, do you have a sense of where we want to be here with proviso?
Yes, Mr. Scherr.
So we could certainly, I believe the Board could certainly indicate a maximum of three commercial spaces.
And Mr. Notkinson, just to clarify, the refusal dated 3-18-24, that is the most current refusal.
Let me take a look.
So again, yes, we took over this file and we wanted to make sure that the refusal made sense.
That's why there was an amendment.
Let me just take a look to see the date that I have.
Let's see.
Okay, it is. The one that I presented to the board is March 18th. That's my understanding of the recent one.
Okay. All right. That's what I have. So we have a refusal dated 3-18-24. We can obviously set a closing time for the commercial uses. And then the commercial trash pickup to be from the rear of the property. Planning has also suggested interior trash storage as a proviso.
In terms of the uses that were mentioned that the community would not like to see, they are uses that would require, because of how the property is zoned, separate zoning approval and are not something that could be done under the current zoning approval.
um there was a question about um smoke smoke shop or tobacco sales um that is governed by
the health department um they determine whether whether those sales can occur or not so i don't
think the board um necessarily has jurisdiction there but like i said anybody who would like
wants to sell tobacco products has to go through the health department in order to get uh the
proper permitting for that so any any other questions mr chair no no we're fine mr chair
can i just interject about the trash so the trash you know again we have no problems with the
exterior trash and that can even extend uh you know to the residential i would say though that
If it was interior trash, I think these, you know, I don't think it's appropriate for commercial space, especially to use.
Um, I think these, you know, I don't think it's appropriate for commercial space, especially the uses that we're requesting. We're not asking for any type of food in the premises or stuff like that. So we would strongly ask that, you know, the trash be stored outside, uh, even for the commercial unit. But if the board feels so inclined to store the trash on the inside, I would say that should be limited to only the commercial unit. Again, the residential unit is not the subject of this appeal.
thank you um and question mr chair yes with respect to the uh commercial spaces and how they
might be used while it's true can we what what is there a way and i guess it's not you mr chair
But, Hillary, is there a way that we can say that, you know, they need to get a separate approval, mind you, for the commercial spaces?
So the way this refusal is written, it lists four specific uses that would be approved if the board were to grant this approval.
so if there are any other and the property is currently zoned rsa5 so if there are any of the
uses any other commercial uses are would require zba approval okay yeah yep all right oh so sorry
sorry sorry i'm sorry but there's so going down to three but you said there were four uses that
were approved but if we're if we if we do a proviso for three what does that mean i think
I think they can pick from the fork.
That's right.
And two of the uses involve retail sales that couldn't occur in the same commercial space.
That's what I was going to say, that we wanted a wide enough net for the retail space.
So our intention is to have one retail use in one space, office use in another, and then legalize the hair salon in a third.
Gotcha.
All right.
So MI 2023-006-841-5601 North Park Avenue, I vote yes, with proviso.
Refusal dated 3-18-24, maximum three commercial units.
closed by 7 p.m.
Interior trash stored for commercial units
and commercial pickup.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with provisos.
We're not doing anything about the hours.
I'm sorry.
It's 7 p.m.
Didn't I say that?
I said 7 p.m.
I'm sorry.
No, it's okay.
All right.
Then Cheryl Gaster, my vote is yes with provisos.
Senator Graham, my vote is yes with proviso.
Taya Nguyen, my vote is yes with proviso.
James Snell, my vote is yes with proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you, Mr. Nockermson.
Thank you.
Is there anyone in the virtual audience whose case has not been called?
there are no hands chair all right thanks everyone see everybody at 2 p.m thank you
see y'all later
my name is good afternoon everyone my name is bill bergman and i will be
sharing this afternoon's meetings with me is our vice chair ismail shaheed
he's here our board member james snell president mr chairman our board member
cheryl l gaston present mr chairman our board member tenetta graham present mr chairman board
member michael johns president mr chairman and our board member tya win also present
Also present is Hillary Emerson, our attorney, and our Deputy Director for Planning and Zoning, Kathleen Grady.
Here's our virtual format.
Proceedings are being recorded.
With your participation, you agree to be recorded.
The video will be available by contacting Kathleen.Grady at phila.gov.
For a court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you're participating by phone, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.
To enter an appearance statement, call 267-270-5548.
5-5-4-8. Leave your email address and the address of the property in question. And finally, the
Leave your email address and address the property in question.
question box on the screen is not for testimony. All comments should be directed to our Deputy
Director, Kathleen Grady. Let's look at our schedule for this afternoon. Number three, MI 2024,
0-0-1-8-6-7-1112 Roy Street. That case is continued.
Number six.
MI 2024, 0-0-2-1-2-0-9-6-3 North Lawrence Street. That case is continued.
Number seven.
MI 2024-003-404-6915 North Broad, case there's a contingence request from Oak Lane Community Association.
Is Wayne Oliver in the audience?
Do we see Mr. Oliver?
All right, so MI 2024-003-404-6915, North Broad Street, that case is continued.