The recording has begun.
Thank you.
okay chair we're at 26 attendees you can begin when you wish thank you good morning my name is
bill bergman and i will be chairing this morning's eba hearings with me is carol tenary our vice
chair present mr chair ismail shaheed our board secretary here mr chair thomas hallman our board
member. Present, Mr. Chairman. And James Snell, our board member. Present, Mr. Chairman. Also here
is our executive director, Tanya Sunkett, and our attorney, Hillary Emerson. Before we begin,
here's our virtual format. Be advised these proceedings are being recorded. By participating,
you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded. A video will be available by contacting
tonyasunkett at phila.gov. For the benefit of our court sonographer, we ask attorneys and
witnesses to identify themselves before testifying. If you are participating by phone, if you wish to
testify, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute. To enter the period statement, call
267-270-5548 leave your email the address of the property in question and lastly please note the
question answer box is not for testimony or comments any comments should be directed to
our executive director tanya sunken so let's look at continuance with continuances for this
morning's hearings. Number 7, MI 2021-005-076-5217 Morris Street. That case is continued. Are there
any comments or statements relative to that case? I see no issue. Are there any other requests for
continuances for this morning's hearing? Mr. Chair,
this is Hillary Emerson. For Morris Street,
the request for continuance was that it be attorney moving party.
Thank you. Are there any other requests for continuances?
Chair, we have someone with the last
name Tager. I'll allow them to speak.
Please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
My name is Shanti Tager, spelled S-H-O-N-T-I-T-A-G-E-R.
Wait one minute.
Wait one minute.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
And what case do you want to talk about, Sarah?
610 East Locust.
610 East Locust.
okay is that this morning's hearing yes that's number nine on the list mr chair
okay proceed sir uh so my name is shanti tagger i'm with whistler pearlstein llp um here this
morning representing the applicant for uh 16 east locust um i'm sorry sir are you here
can you i kid are you want to do are you requesting a continuance i am and i was hoping to get some
other information from the board i'm taking over this case extremely late from another associate
here's what we're here sir here's what we're going to do we'll continue the case you can contact our
office and they will try to assist you okay and will you be able to give me a date that it's
continued out or would that be provided you'll have we'll be in contact with you on what the
date will be okay okay all right case number nine mi 2021 zero zero
Case number nine, MI 2021-005-069-610 Locust Street.
Case is continued.
Any other requests for continuance?
I see no hands, Chair.
Thank you.
We have a last.
Sir, I'm sorry, this is Tanya.
Charles Richardson just raised his hand if we could allow him to speak.
Yes, I just allowed him to speak.
Sorry about that.
Hi, Mr. Richardson.
Good morning, Mr. Chair.
State your name and spell for the court reporter, please.
Charles Richardson, Office of Councilwoman Cindy Bass, Richardson, R-I-C-H-A-R-D-S-O-N.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
What case do you want to talk about?
So 2049 Shelton Avenue, I have the appeal number, I don't have the MI number, ZP 2021-01-3006.
um my understanding is that the um rco has never been contacted by the applicant
wait wait 2049 i see it yeah that's number one okay and uh 52 17 morris street i understood that
the um i continued that already you continued that already and then locust was just done by
the by the gentleman that was just on okay next so i i do i'll have to check i'm going to call
2409 2049 and we'll we'll we'll figure out where we stand when i call okay thank you sir all right
any other requests for continuance
chair we have someone with the last name Rodriguez okay please unmute yourself and
please wait for the chair yes hi hi could you state your name and spell for the court
reporter, please? Yes, my name is
Ervin Rodriguez, E-R-V-I-N
Rodriguez.
Could you spell your last
name for us? Yeah, R-O-D-R-I-G-U-E-Z.
Right. Do you swear
for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth? I do.
Number, case five?
42, 43, 24
Frankfurt? Yes, we'd like to
require continuance. Okay.
thank you thank you what number was that mr chairman number five number five thank you
any other requests
i see no hands chair we're going to the add-on list number one mi 2020 001309 109 pleasant
Street. I vote yes with proviso per amended refusal dated November 3rd, 2021.
Carol Tenere, I vote yes with proviso. Thomas Holloman, I vote yes with proviso.
James Snell, yes with proviso. Ishmael Shaheed, yes with proviso.
Thank you. Number two of the add-on list. MI 2021 0032314 on Wall Street.
I vote yes to reconsideration and rehearing.
I was not present for that hearing.
Thomas Holloman, yes to reconsideration and rehearing.
James Snell, vote yes to reconsideration and rehearing.
Ishmael Shaheed, vote yes to reconsideration and rehearing.
Going to our regular list. Case one, MI 2021 005068 2049 Chelton Avenue. No exhibits at this time.
Jamara Lee is the applicant.
Chair, there's no hands raised at this time.
That cases continue to be marked must be tried.
Case number two, MI 2021-005-068-2412 North 13th Street, Joseph Consul Attorney.
Letter of support, 37th Ward, RCO.
chair we have scott mattis matt i'm gonna allow him to speak i'm not sure if he should be promoted
I'm going to allow him to speak. I'm not sure if he should be promoted at this time.
at this time okay
Okay. Hi, good morning. Good morning, Mr. Chairman of the board.
Are you an attorney?
Yes, Scott. Yes, Scott Madison. I am Joe Consul's partner.
Okay. All right. State your name and spell it for the court reporter, please.
Sure. Good morning, Mr. Chairman of the board. My name is Scott Madison, M-A-T-I-S-O-N.
And I represent Smart Invest Real Estate LLC.
do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes i do our vice chair has a few questions for you um can we pause this is tanya may we
pause so we can allow him to be promoted thank you i'm sure he's coming back and there's a panelist
good morning can you hear me
yes carol we can okay i'm wondering if he can the attorney yes i can hear you all thank you
okay great do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
yes i do have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance
a copy of the refusal or referral photos under plans of the property five days in advance of
this hearing and have you met with the RCO and do you have a letter? Yes, everything was submitted
five days before except for the tax clearance certificate. There are no outstanding violations
and as much as I enjoy the new tax system the city is using, it's caused a hiccup with the EIN
being on an older account on the old system and the new and we've been working even up through
yesterday afternoon with ms brooker i believe from tax clearance that to get us a certificate
but unfortunately they can't provide so we're hoping we can put on the presentation the board
can hold a vote and then we can submit the certificate as soon as that comes in but in
the packet you'll see that there's no violations no outstanding taxes that's fine
and as the other questions yes the in the packet the rco we met the rco in the letter
submitted and that was concluded with in our packet any other questions from the board or
shall i proceed mr chairman sure proceed oh thank you um so today my client my client is
the property owner smart invest real estate llc and on the call today should be um mr
Mr. Madison, could you present on the screen now?
Could you?
I'm sorry.
Share screen.
So, to the board and now displaying our exhibit packet, which contains the refusal, the letter of support from the RCO, and pictures of the interior and exterior of the property,
and the other required documents. The property today is 2412 North 13th Street. It's on the
13th Street block that runs between York and Cumberland Streets. And it is a 673 square foot
lot zone RM1 residential multifamily with an existing building. And we're seeking to legalize
the two units in the property. And per the refusal, the foot put in the property only supports one
unit. Therefore, a variance is required to legalize the second. All the properties on this
block and the surrounding blocks are all zoned arm one, except there's a large industrial lot
across the street. And the evidence, the evidence is, you know, clear intent of the city council to
have these properties be multifamily properties. This side of the block the property is on is
pockmarked and it's abandoned and boarded up. Buildings on the other side of the block on the
back end is a very large lot zone I-2 and that was from 2012 and it was approved for 259 dwelling
units, but even as today, it sits as a huge vacant lot with no evidence of any upcoming
construction. So we believe that there's compelling evidence that there's a need to activate
and beautify these blocks and fill them with residents of the city. The LLC purchased this
property in June of 2020, and at the time, the property was already set up for two units, and
the LLC believed they were buying a two unit property. The previous owner had the property
The previous owner had the property since 2008, and although there's no evidence in the file if they ever applied for a two-unit license.
since 2008.
Immediately after the purchase, they all see that both units were rented out.
The first unit is a one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit, and the second unit on the upper floor is a two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit.
and there's a basement, but that's not used for living space. And these pictures in front of it
for the board that I'm presenting are from the actual time of purchase. And as you can see,
the interior is attractive, very well maintained. We met with the 37th Ward RCO on January 10th of
2022. Their letter mistakenly says 2021, but it was just a few months ago. The meeting was well
attended and we receive their vote in support and a letter of support from the RCO is included
in the packet. So we believe the property should be granted the variance for the reasons just set
forth. And at this point, I'd like to ask my client to raise his virtual hand and adopt my
testimony. Can Mr. Zou raise his hand?
Sir, please unmute yourself and please wait for the chair.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Yes, my name is Hua Jun Zhou. Last name is Z-H-O-U.
Okay, could you spell your whole name, please?
H-U-A-J-U-N-Z-H-O-U.
Thank you. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Please proceed.
Ms. Zia, did you hear my testimony just now regarding 2412 North 13th Street?
Yes, I did.
Okay. And do you agree with what I said and adopt it as your own?
Yes, I agree.
all right um thank you the board unless there's any questions questions from the board
no mr chairman no mr chairman
questions from the virtual audience
i see no handshare planning commission morning chair bergman ian hegarty for the philadelphia
city planning commission last name is spelled h-e-g-a-r-t-y do you swear for him to tell the
truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes sir i do proceed thank you good morning board
members uh the comprehensive plan recommends a zoning map amendment on this block from rm1
to rsa5 single family zoning um owing to the predominant single family nature of this block
the clear intent of the zoning code is to link the number of permitted units to the size of the lot
which in this case is less than 700 square feet. The appellant's hardship claim is not supported
by unique physical circumstances of the lot. The small lot size is not unique and the refusal is
directly related to the size of the lot. We believe it was the responsibility of the appellant to
research the prior legal use of the property at the time of purchase and so we believe the existing
non-conforming use is a self-created hardship. City Planning Commission recommends that the
board deny this variance. MI 2021-005-068-2412 North D'Artee Street. I vote no.
Harold Tenere, my vote is no. Thomas Holloman, my vote is no. James Snell, my vote is no.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is no. Thank you.
MI 2021-004-760-2403-Carpner Street.
Letter from Sassna in support.
With proviso, that is not enforceable.
Sarah Walsh.
Yes, hello, I'm here.
Hi. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Good morning, Sarah, S-A-R-A-H. Last name is Wash, W-A-S-C-H.
Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?