Thank you.
I'm going to go ahead and share some information with the board
so that we can look at the case itself.
So I have up before the board the letter,
I'm sorry, the cover letter,
which shows that we submitted refusal,
community letter, photos, plans, and related documents.
This application is straightforward.
And in fact, this area has a lot of such applications,
which is that this zone this area is zoned cmx2 however majority of the block particularly 7th
street 8th street is actually either vacant or currently residential if you look at the photographs
our lot is sitting next to what is an existing multifamily and on the other side of the this is
the lot in question and then on the other side of the whoops i'm sorry i expected more photos
my apologies. On the other side of this property actually is another new construction, which is
also multifamily. When we met with the RCO, which is APM, a meeting was held and all attendees at
the meeting were in support of the idea of waiving the requirement for a commercial space for this
particular property because it is kind of sandwiched between two multifamily residential
and the rest of the block has no active commercial at this time 7th street at this location actually
is pretty close to germantown avenue which does have commercial um it is a commercial quarter and
does have commercial activity it just hasn't quite reached this area of 7th street uh majority of
this area in fact is um less developed and even the street on the other side of the street it is
actually, I believe, back to more residential properties, not commercial, with a lot of vacant
lots also mixed in in the area. As such, the community actually supported waiving the commercial
use. We basically are asking what would be normally a two residential unit and a commercial
to be changed to a total of three residential units in this case. The plans are shown here.
this property it does have a easement alleyway which will be something that is shared theoretically
with the neighboring property however it is going to be pretty tight because the other property is
built already you can see in this photo again we're actually sandwiched between two multi-family
residential development at this time the floor plans basically lay out one unit on each floor
with the basement being for utilities
and basically open storage space.
The bedrooms are with two bedrooms each,
three units in total
with a large living room kitchen area in each unit.
The trash storage is available behind the property.
There is space and there's again,
a easement access way,
although it's probably gonna be difficult to use that.
what my client also did is have a small roof deck placed for the upper unit so that they could
always put the trash here and then the first floor unit obviously has direct access to the rear yard
through the side and even the second unit could access because there is a alleyway theoretically
there is an alleyway I'm not sure how wide it's going to end up being as I'm not sure the other
property left enough of the easement, but there would be an access way to the rear as well. So
even as a CMX use, if there was a commercial unit on the first floor, I don't believe the trash and
other situations would necessarily change, and it would actually increase potentially the amount of
traffic and parking that would be on the block. As such, the community did support our request for
as variants, and we would ask the board's favorable consideration in this matter.
Thank you.
Do you have a witness?
I believe my client should be on the line.
Let me, if you can give me one second.
My apologies.
Joseph, are you there?
Joseph, are you there?
Thank you.
It should be Mr. Gitterman, Joseph Gitterman.
If not in the interest of time, Mr. Jinn, as an officer of the court,
would stipulate that your client would be adopting your testimony?
Yes, I would stipulate as such.
Thank you.
Any questions from the board?
Anyone else would like to testify in this case?
If so, please raise your hand.
Joseph Gitterman has his hand raised, sir.
I will allow him to speak right now.
Sir, please identify yourself.
Spell your first and last name.
Yes, how are you, everybody?
My name is Joseph Gitterman, J-O-S-E-P-H,
And the last name is Gitterman, G-I-T-E-R-M-A-N.
And do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Thank you.
Mr. Jin?
Thank you.
Mr. Gitterman, you heard my representation and testimony before the zoning board relating to this case.
Can you verify that it's true and correct and adopted as your own testimony?
Yes, I do.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Anyone else?
No. Mr. Mason, Planning Commission.
Yes, this is Mason Austin, representing the Planning Commission.
Do we have a firm to tell the truth, if nothing but the truth?
Thank you. Please proceed.
Great. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman and members of the Board, while the lot is designated for multifamily residential in the comprehensive plan, it is zoned for commercial mixed use.
However, subsequent to the publication of the district plan that designated this lot for multifamily residential,
the council office has embarked on a strategy to strengthen this segment of the commercial district.
In support of those efforts, the staff of the Planning Commission recommends against the granting of the requested variance.
I'm sorry to catch that last part.
Recommends against the granting of the requested variance.
There's both sides of it. All right.
i uh mr chairman i did speak with uh miss jones at the councilman's office and i think you will
see that in this situation this particular property is difficult to put a viable commercial
but yeah i agree i i agree that's what i was getting at yeah no disrespect the planning i just
i agree uh okay mi2020-001831 2209 north 7th street my vote is yes
my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes
is the next case is the next case thank you is the next case the add-on case with uh mr patterson
or do we go to market street mark i don't know i have a market street is next
if you could call the add-on for mr patterson that would be great thank you
Okay, great. Calendar number 0916, 2616 South 8th Street.
The attorney is Ron Patterson, and I think he's reporting on the status of an agreement with the neighbors.
South 8th Street or 18th Street?
18th Street.
Is it South 18th?
I believe it's South 8th Street.
the original hearing was on
December 2nd
yeah I thought it was South 18th Street
18th and Oregon
okay Mr. Patterson
can correct that then thank you
this is the one they had to work out
some arrangements with Dr. Nocella
or somebody next to her I believe
is mr patterson available mr patterson is available i'm promoting him to panelists right
now thank you very much jason
hey thank you mr patterson name and address for the record please
good evening ron patterson 1835 market street philadelphia ppa 19103
do you swear or affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do do you agree to wave and stiff yes i do and you're here for the
status of the agreement yes yes thank you so yes last wednesday on the second at 2 p.m we had a
hearing a full hearing and we concluded the hearing um they're uh at the hearing the
a full hearing, and we concluded the hearing. At the hearing, the immediate neighbor
attorney interjected and wanted to ask if we could reach an understanding and an agreement,
because we share a lot, line, and easement. And so the board graciously let us have a week
to talk about it and negotiate, and we did come to an understanding and an into agreement. And I have
I sent a letter confirming to that effect, as well as the neighbors from attorneys from
Verne Anastasio's office, Harry Cook.
He has a letter from him confirming that, as well as a letter of support from Ms. Nestico,
the adjacent neighbor.
So we're all good.
So that's an agreement between both parties, not a proviso, correct?
That is correct.
Yes, it's a private agreement.
We can vote this now, correct?
That's correct.
MI 2020-0916, 2616 South 18th Street.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
Thank you.
Great.
Thank you for your consideration there.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Calendar number 1767-2222 Market Street.
Mr. Bob Kerlis has his hand up. I will allow him to speak right now. And Mr. Alex Clore as well.
You can promote Mr. Kerlis, too. He's the attorney.
Promote him to a panelist.
He's now a panelist, ma'am.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome.
hi mr careless can you put your name and address on the record please and spell your last name
uh good evening robert careless c-a-r-e-l-e-s-s cozen o'connor 1650 market street
philadelphia pa 19103 do you swear or affirm to tell the truth and nothing but the truth
i do do you agree to wait the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
i do have you submitted all the exhibits proof of ownership proof of tax compliance refusal
referral photos and plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing and have you met
with the rco and do you have a letter i do on all accounts you may proceed thank you yes your screen
is up that's great uh good evening everyone i'm here before you today with respect to the new
professional office building for Morgan Lewis under construction at 2222 Market Street.
The application that we've submitted requests a special exception for the accessory use of two
outdoor areas as roof decks on the 13th floor and 19th floor that I'm indicating on the drawing
and are highlighted. As confirmed by L&I, our drawings satisfy the criteria that's set forth
section 146045 with respect to the dimension of the decks. I'm showing you the drawing for
the 13th floor deck. Market Street is here, 23rd and Ludlow. The occupiable area of the 13th floor
deck is 85 feet long, 25 feet wide. For the 19th floor deck, which is where I'm indicating,
The occupiable area is 136 feet long, 27 feet square feet wide, excuse me.
Showing you pictures of the surrounding area from perspectives looking east and west.
The top picture is a perspective from 23rd and Market looking east.
You can see the large parking lot to our north. On the other side of Market, the 23A
condominium building is to our south here. This is the proposed area in the
Google image where the parking lot is. The 238 condominium building, again to
our south, is approximately 118 feet in height. Our proposed deck on the 13th
floor is at an elevation of 198 feet or 80 feet above the 238 building. Further,
our neighbors at 23A have sent a letter of support to CCRA, our RCO, in support of our
application for this grant of a special exception. This letter references a community benefits
agreement. That agreement contemplates the decks and provides if the use would be limited to
accessory uses to the office building and no nuisances would be permitted. That same covenant
That same covenant is found in our lease with Morgan Lewis.
is found in our lease with Morgan Lewis.
We did meet with CCRA on October 27th to discuss our application.
Following the public meeting portion of CCRA's zoning meeting, the zoning committee voted to not oppose the application,
provided with a proviso that there would be no amplified music on these decks after 7 p.m. on weekdays.
We respectfully requested that CCRA reconsider that proviso and amend it if it felt that
a proviso had to be suggested, such that the language be in line with our CVA, at least