released into the atmosphere so when the tanker comes um i know we just think tankers hold liquid
liquid inside but actually when they drop the liquid in whatever vapors are in the tank it'll
suck that out wherever like pressure balance i'm not a physicist but it will push all the vapors
back into the tanker and then that tanker will take it to whatever refining facility it's going
to and they'll dump the vapors there and they'll do whatever with the vapors that they do okay
all right thank you other questions yeah i have two quick questions my first question is um i know
there's some um vehicle looking at the picture on the right i mean the left that um there's some
some history with vehicles in this site do you know has this are the tanks in the ground currently
Or has there been a history of any
tanks in the ground?
There was a gas station right now.
I think it was a gas station many, many years ago.
I don't know the date it closed, and I
don't have, like...
So you don't know if the tanks are still there?
I don't want to lie. I can't lie.
I have no idea.
But if there were, though, they would be removed, yes?
If they were, it would be removed.
It would be, like, so whenever you close,
same thing like the guy casey was on here like so he has like his license to remove it so you have
to do all this paperwork you know you removed it then you test the soil and then if the soil
is contaminated then they have to do this whole cleanup to remove all the contaminated soil and
put clean soil back so that was okay so there may be possibility that that would have to happen if
you guys go in and discover that there's tanks in the ground i don't like for the dep rules whoever
removed it probably did all of that already like it's like they have to get the ground
doesn't always have that doesn't always happen but if it did not mr sandu you would go through
that process is that correct yeah totally yeah say like i don't know like say someone like fly
by the night guy did it which i don't think that's what happened but it did remove the tanks
right it is common i mean i have several gas stations that closed down years ago and we
found in tanks in the ground in my neighborhood and my last question is what is the plan for
what the way the pedestrian is going to maneuver on this site like everything is car oriented so
where how is the pedestrian going like to the convenience store to get a cup of coffee
without having to bump into cars or whatever should we bring uh kevin back on for that
yeah kevin can take it and then to that if there is something if we test the soil and it's no good
We'd be happy to clean it up.
Of course.
Vern, if I remember before Kevin testifies, the question I asked him was that the main issue is that the main danger is pedestrians on the highway and walking on the sidewalk.
And I think he agreed with that. Am I correct?
That's the major. You asked if that was one of the, you know, concern to make sure that there's an our plan.
All right. So why don't we let him answer again?
Yeah. And our plan increases pedestrian safety far more than what's there now.
But yeah, I'll be happy to have them back home, Kevin.
Yeah, I think the question from the board member related to pedestrian connection from the sidewalk to the convenience store.
There's no specific, you know, crosswalk on site for that movement.
They would need to most likely enter from the from the Fifth Street driveway area.
But if if that's, you know, preferred to delineate a crosswalk area, you know, we can certainly do so.
And one can be done with with with paint.
oftentimes it's white paint and crosswalk in some gas stations is that correct correct yeah thank
you which which is standard okay um questions for our attorney
no questions at this time mr chair i just want to move in i want to move into evidence the 273
page binder including letters of we have all your testimony overwhelming letters of support
that we've also collected in petitions.
I understand there you have some opposition's petitions and letters.
If you look at those carefully, less than 2% are of impacted neighbors.
So thank you.
All right.
So I have every hope of finishing this today.
And so I'll let you know what we do is we usually give people two minutes to testify.
two minutes to testify what we try to do in the beginning is give it a little bit more to build a
What we try to do in the beginning is give it a little bit more.
base for both sides and they can do it i do notice that the front rows seem to be the popular seats
that people uh went to so i'm going to start in the first row i'm going to start on the left
or who wants to testify no the front row first yeah yeah all right yeah i know
thank you good morning good morning good morning could you please state and spell your name for
the stenographer uh good morning chairman bergman um bergman i'm city council member dr anthony
phillips uh rep is proudly representing as a public servant for philadelphia's nice where
or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth absolutely start sir
Yes, thank you. Chairman Bergman, I want to just iterate something that's really important. Earlier, the attorney for the developer that is being represented today mentioned that there is a council member and there is a community that is very passionate about their neighborhood, obviously so.
I want to iterate that this community of East Oak Lane and the surrounding community of Alony and Marbles Park Gardens is not only a passionate community, but they are also a civically engaged and aware and a very keen community.
Passion often just subjects it to we're just fervor.
We just like to yell.
We like to be excited.
No, we're a lot more than that.
We study and we understand what's best for our neighborhood. So let me be very clear. This is
not about just this idea that we do not want a gas station in our neighborhood for the sake of not
having a gas station. This is about neighborhood preservation. The community is not opposed to
development. They are opposed to development that disregards their safety and their quality
life. Across two community meetings we've had regarding this issue in East Oak Lane, there were
141 votes cast, recorded, and only one in support. I attended the community meeting, listened to
residents, and heard the applicant's presentation. To the contrary of what the attorney said,
the attorney opened up with introductions of their firm and the applicant, and then the attorney
proceeded to say, if there's something that needs to be, if I don't say anything and provide you
a presentation today, who here today would be in support of this development? No one raised their
hand. Who here would be in opposition to development? Everyone in that room raised their
hand in opposition. I proceeded to say, at this point, there's no need for us to have a conversation
about this development because this community has already studied this and they understand what they
want. So therefore, I'm in opposition because I do what our community wants, not what I want.
Now, personally, I won't be long here, I don't want this development. But my job as a council
member is not to do what I personally want. It's to do what our neighbors want. And our neighbors
have cited for too long that you cannot introduce fuel pumps, underground storage tanks, and
additional vehicle traffic into an already congested intersection and simply declare
there will be no additional impact. That requires evidence, not assurances. The intersections
already accommodate septibuses and nearby bus stations, school buses, and pedestrians. We also
have to consider that in addition to St. Helena's, that's right across the street from this gas
station where there's school children. There's a school a couple blocks down the road called
Finletter. There's another school down the street called Lowell. We are greatly concerned at the
impact of children congregating at this gas station, causing what we have seen across the
city of Philadelphia, issues of congestion when it comes to children after the school bell ends.
The intersection already accommodates septibuses. As I noted, the traffic analysis raises additional
questions, particularly regarding the reported 60-second bus stopping periods. What happens
when the bus stops longer, passengers with disabilities need additional time, or children
are crossing while vehicles enter and exit the gas station? These are real safety concerns for
our neighborhood, and they should not be dismissed. Residents have also raised serious questions about
underground fuel tanks potential groundwater contamination neighborhood security and the
concentration of existing gas stations the applicant has discussed cameras lightings and
improvement to the property that's nice as we've seen those happen a lot of places
That's nice. As we've seen, those happen a lot of places. Those measures may be helpful,
those measures may be helpful
but cameras do not prevent traffic accidents and landscaping does not eliminate environmental
risks. In that community alone, there are five other additional gas stations in that community
within the proximity. So while the attorney has described the property's previous condition as a
mess, improving a property does not automatically make every proposal appropriate. Our residents
should not have to choose between a neglected property and a development that introduces new
concerns. Therefore, I respectfully urge this board, and I know this board has a level of keenness as
well, not just passion, as this attorney has mentioned. I stand with this community and I
ask this board to please reject and deny this proposal for good. And I hope that every community
member who's here with us today from St. Helena's and throughout East Oak Lane can really attest to
how this particular issue will have an incredible impact on their quality of life. Thank you. Vern,
do you have any questions? None whatsoever. All right. Thank you, sir. Thank you so much. Next
person. Why don't we stay with the, you want to go, go ahead. Come on. Sure. Come on.
Yeah, sure.
If you would, try to keep it to two.
Good deal.
So, please state and spell your name.
Thank you.
My name is Joe Duffy, J-O-S-E-P-H, and D-U-F-F-E-Y.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
And, sir, you're a neighbor.
I am a neighbor.
Please proceed.
So, I'll first start by saying I'm a neighbor by my definition.
I live 350, 320 feet from this property.
The council just said that 2% of the people who signed the petition are affected.
I would be part of the 98% in his definition of not affected
because I'm outside the 250 feet range from the property.
However, I walked to that CVS, and I've been a member of that church for 44 years.
And to say that I'm an unaffected member is offensive to me.
And to say that this is not about suppositions,
and to allow him to put that supposition into this court order,
is offensive to me so i'd like to say as a 44-year resident living 350 feet from the property
i'm joined here by over 30 or 40 of my neighbors who strongly oppose i haven't spoken to one
neighbor who's in favor of this project in addition we've submitted a petition of over 520 signatures
of people who are affected by this community and in the definition of council are not affected by
this count this hearing okay the traffic i do respect and i have 30 years of experience in
petroleum business. I understand tanks are underground tanks. We don't have an opposition
to underground tanks and safe tanks. We have an opposition to the traffic patterns being created
by this proposal. And it's not a supposition, it's their evidence that they would introduce
33 people per hour onto and off of that property. That's their evidence. That's not our opinion.
The current property of a retail car dealer lot is an eyesore for the last 30 years on that property.
but it had three to four hundred cars a year coming on and off that property
because it was a car dealer lot you couldn't park on the lot the only cars going on or off
that lot were cars that were sold so it's a completely different scenario to say that this
would be a better thing in addition to the bus routes three 550 children that go to that school
a couple thousand members of st helena's parish and the many customers at the cvs across the street
all of whom we walked to CVS to get to the store.
This presents a significant, overwhelming negative impact on our community.
And I'd like to just save a few minutes' time for my fellow colleagues and neighbors.
Thank you.
Hold on.
Vern, do you have any questions?
None whatsoever.
I'm going to withhold everything until I just do a brief closing, okay?
Sure, okay.
To make it easier.
Next person.
Who wants to come next in the front row?
Thank you very much.
All right.
could you please state and spell your name for a stenographer yep hello my name is uh
mitchell furantini bergman m-i-t-c-h-e-l-l-f-i-o-r-e-n-t-i-n-i-b-e-r-g-m-a-n
wow that's right my cousin or something i mean i've lost cousin uh do you swear or affirm to
tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do mr bergman could you um try to hold
it to two minutes i will i'll try to take it as to the point as possible um there's a few things
They talk about evidence and like what's been submitted in facts.
One of the facts is the engineering letter that the applicant has submitted themselves.
I just want to say that they are not just asking for a gas station.
They're also asking for a list of waivers because they know that this lot is not appropriate.
So this list of waivers declares that the lot it does not meet size requirements for proper delivery.
so this list of waivers declares that the lot it does not meet size requirements for proper delivery
or for buffer zones between residential areas as well as the parking landscapes and what to do so
they know that this is a problem and they've actually submitted it themselves okay so i just
want to submit that that the lot is too small for what they're trying to do also chicago and cities
similar to philadelphia are banning things like this and lots that are directly abutting residential
properties you can see there are four residential properties directly connected to this of which
their own of which their own plans show that there will be less than 10 feet of space between a
fueling gas station and a residential property right there is absolutely nothing in the vicinity
that even comes close to doing that they all have setbacks of several hundred feet within the
vicinity the only one that's different is this one okay okay the buses that come in and out i'm not
sure the traffic study took into account that there is a septa depot that accounts for u-turns
i have video as well as like a little slide here that i've submitted that shows the bus making a
turn we heard from about the dk yep so you can see that the bus here specifically the bus is trying
to make a turn and blocking both lanes of fifth street this happens all the time okay and it is
exactly where they propose to have the entrance for that. All right. Here is an example of a gas
station for a Conoco. Now, would you say that this is an addition to the neighborhood or a
subtraction to the neighborhood? Now, so this clearly shows, this is right here, this is within