packet uh a1 is i'll read through the uh summary first a1 is the notice of refusal an application
for a lot line relocation to create two lots from one lot lot a is the existing single family
dwelling fronting on belgrade street lot b would be for the proposed erection of another single
family dwelling facing miller street resulted in two refusals for a lot size 1441 square feet is
required whereas 1364 is proposed for each lot with a difference of 76 square feet which i would
hope the board would agree is de minimis in nature a2 is the notice of refusal as you can see this
case has been around for quite a long time the refusal was originally issued january 10th of
last year and due to covid and other issues uh it took us this long to get to the board
next would be the application of appeal
the project information form
this is a copy of the deed uh dated 2014 for the property
photographs as you can see this is the original posting i do have some updated photos of the
reposting properties to the left again single family homes one containing a all street parking
space in a garage property to the to the right uh or around the corner now i'm sorry this is
the rear of the property with the the zoning posting this is the rear yard obviously it's
in not such great shape, but that would be taken care of once the new construction is
underway. Property to the left. Again, this is the letter of Port Richmond Civic. As you
can see by a vote of 30 to 1, they supported the project. Councilman School's office issued
letter july 9th non-opposition to the project and uh the only zoning history on this was uh
the single family dwelling with a private uh two-car garage in the rear with regard to a6
is the zoning plan it's not very legible i have a better copy but this one has as you can see
zoning plan. It's not very legible. I have a better copy, but this one has, as you can see,
the required review stamps. So looking at a PDF copy of the plan from the engineer,
you can see the property has the single-family dwelling on the Belgrade Street side with the
garage all the way to the rear-facing middle street. Obviously the proposed lot line would be
directly in the center of the property to create two equal-sized lots, one facing
Belgrade and one facing Miller Street. A13 is a petition of support signed by
numerous neighbors approximately, I would say about 30. The new photos, I took
these over the weekend just to make sure we had some fresh photos. As you can see
on the railing the copy of the posting other copy the poster properties to the
left properties to the right new construction going up directly across
the street street view and this is a facing north back up the Belgrade
Street tax clear wasn't wasn't available at the time I did my exhibit packet so
here is a updated copy and that is it if the applicant was available he would
confirm my testimony but as an officer of the court I hereby submit that it's
true and correct to best our knowledge information and belief and given the
wide-ranging support of the project I would ask that the board grant the
requested variant. Questions from the board? No. No.
anyone else who wishes to testify in this case if so please raise your hand at this time
no hands at this time chair planning commission uh this is mason austin representing the planning
commission the property is designated for a single family residential in the comprehensive plan
the variance requested is minor and result in lots that are of comparable size to many of this
on this block therefore the planning commission has no objection to the approval of this variance
thank you very much calendar number three nine six six six two eight four six belgrade street
my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes thank you very much mr chairman and
members of the board and have a great day don't have a calendar number but the property address
is 956 east erie avenue rachel tanya or sharon have a calendar number for us i do i have a meeting
item number, it is MI-2020-000438. Thank you.
Rachel, you've been promoted to panelists, so you can share your screen, and you've already
been sworn in. Thanks. Hi again, Chairman Members. Hey, Rachel, you agree to waive the reading of
refusal and stipulate to attack your city yes thank you uh so we are here for the project
located 956 east erie i'm going to share my screen um so you can see a site um let's see
this is the site uh as you can see it's a large industrial building that
It's about two city blocks, I Street, Erie Avenue, G Street, and it is an I2 property.
It's designated as I2 on the zoning maps.
This is the site plan for it that shows the makeup of the existing structure.
we are focused here on unit H and I believe unit D so what we're no unit H and unit G so what
we're proposing here is to use unit G and unit H one as active recreation for a rec center an
active quote-unquote active recreation to be able to provide some indoor sports
and a rec center for youth and for the other unit to be provided for assembly
the other unit to be provided for assembly entertainment for a paintball center this is an
entertainment for paint
existing industrial site that has been renovated significantly over the years to provide for
different uses that contribute to the community and provide amenities and resources it is owned
by shift capital i have maria sour beer from shift capital here as well so i'd like to bring
her up have her put her name on the record and have her just sort of explain their use of the
site again it's an existing structure and i2 that doesn't provide for many uses besides light
industrial and we're asking for a variance for indoor sports and rec center quote-unquote active
recreation and paintball center for assembly and entertainment so that we can continue to
revitalize this building and provide uses that benefit the community and the
area we also have mava the architect as well if there's any questions about the
site plan in particular tanya do you see maria sour beer on the line yeah she's
available to unmute herself. Hello, can you hear me? Yeah. Please state your name and address for
the record. Spell your name, please. Maria Sourbeer, M-A-R-I-A, Sourbeer, S-O-U-R-B-E-E-R,
1617 South
11th Street, Philadelphia PA
Very firm to tell
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Okay, Maria, I just
wanted to, have you heard
my testimony and do you adopt it as your own?
Yes, I do.
Was there anything that you wanted to add
as far as the community
meeting? Maria attended the community meeting
with the Juniata Park Civic Association
and we have a letter of support she uh handled that meeting herself so um i don't know if you
wanted to put any sentiment on the record uh sure yeah i was uh impressed at the turnout for the
meeting there were you know 25 30 people there making the most of the covet era you know holding
an outdoor meeting and they were um really animated and in support of seeing some uh revitalization of
this property. It's sat underutilized for quite some time, and so having new feet on the ground
and activity there was something that really interested them, and we're excited to work
towards that effort and occupy the building. So here's the letter of support from the Juniata
Park Civic Association in favor of our proposal, and they look forward to sort of a continued
relationship with uh shift and and the revitalization of this structure um with that said
sort of the hardship just to reiterate is just that you know i2 provides a lot of limited
industrial and the uses that we're providing are uh assembly and entertainment and active
recreation both not permitted in i2 under the zoning code answer any other questions that you
may have questions from the board no no no anyone else wish to testify in this case if so please
raise your hand sure i have slone folks from the council person's office mr folks yeah
good afternoon chairman de chico zba uh board slone folks office of councilwoman maria can
Leonis Sanchez, Room 508, City Hall, 10107.
We're in a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Yes, sir.
Please proceed.
The applicant has met with the local RCO and has garnered a letter of support.
Therefore, my office is offering a letter of non-opposition.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Anyone else who wishes to testify in this case, please raise your hand if you haven't already done so.
No hands at this time, chair. Thank you. Planning Commission.
Hello.
Hello, members of the board. This is Mason Austin from the Planning Commission.
The property is designated for industrial use in the comprehensive plan and the site's
characteristics and locations will support a use consistent with its I-2 zoning designation.
However, given the council person's support and the community support, the Planning Commission has no objection to the approval.
Thank you.
MI 2020-000438956 East Airy Avenue, my vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
my vote is yes thank you thank you okay calendar number mi-2020-000-772-1905 spruce street
Thank you.
Thank you.
Knockimson.
There you go.
All right.
Good afternoon, Mr.
Chairman.
You agree to waive the reading of its refusal and
stipulate towards accuracy?
The only objection I have,
if you notice in the notes section,
2019, there's a reference
to an accessory parking garage
for one car. It's not
in the description for what we
applied for in the notice of refusal.
So that's my only objection.
Alan, I apologize.
Earlier, I forgot. We didn't swear you
in earlier. Swear in front to tell the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth? I do.
Thank you. Sorry to interrupt.
No, no worries.
Yeah, so that's the only objection I have.
That pre-existing use is continuing past this application
where we are using the accessory parking garage for one car.
So that's my only objection.
That should be included as part of this appeal.
This is Sharon Saleta.
So, Mr. Nothamson, if they were to approve this,
if the board were to approve this,
they should add a proviso stating existing one car garage to remain is that correct that's correct
thank you uh so good afternoon uh members of the board uh again my name is alan occamson and i'm
and i'm going to share my screen
Alright, so I handed you a packet of materials which include eight exhibits.
The first exhibit is the D to the property showing that 1905 Spruce Street Associates
LLC owns the property at 1905 Spruce Street.
After that, I have a Certificate of Tax Compliance showing that the property owner is compliant with their obligations to the City of Philadelphia.
After that, Exhibit 3 is the Notice of Refusal.
As you see, the Notice of Refusal is dated June 15, 2020.
We're in the RM4 zone.
This property has been in front of the Board as recently as last year.
There was a variance granted allowing for professional and office use on the first and second floors of this property.
What we're looking to do today is convert the third and fourth floors of this property as well to business and professional office use.
You'll see the application for appeal that we filed with the Zoning Board of Adjustment, as well as the project information form that we filed.
And you'll see that this is, you know, an RM4 property and everything surrounding it as well as RM4.
You'll see that, you know, even though this is an RM4 district, there are commercial uses sprinkling throughout this part of Philadelphia.
And you'll see pictures of the property, interior and exterior pictures.
This property actually has been profiled in Philadelphia Magazine,
so it's a very handsome property inside and out.
The owner of the property who recently purchased the property is Albert Ciardi,
who's a well-known commercial litigator in Philadelphia
who's looking to move his entire law firm from one commerce square
to the entirety of this building.
And then you'll see the floor plans.
Again, it's for a law firm.
We did meet with the Center City Residence Association, and you'll see there's a letter of non-opposition.
The only proviso is that we must use the property solely for a law firm or, you know, for attorney use or other legal service use.
And that's the entirety of my presentation.
uh this you know just as background as the board knows the history of philadelphia this is not
uncommon for a law firm uh to have space on spruce street or on locust street uh in this part of
philadelphia it's actually you know back to the future in a lot of ways where you have uh many
times you know more boutique law firms instead of going into the high rises on market street or on
on Market Street or on Broad Street would go to these, you know, these properties on Spruce Street
Broad Street would go to these, you know, these.
and Locust Street to just have their space in one building. So it's not uncommon. We met with
Senator City Residence Association and they agreed with it. I actually have Albert Ciardi, who's the
principal of the corporate owner of the property. Mr. Ciardi, can you virtually raise your hand
so they can see you and then I'll just have him affirm and adopt my testimony.
He's available to speak and be sworn in.
Mr. Sciardi, can you state your name and address for the record?
Are you on mute, Mr. Sciardi?
he's not on mute