You've been sworn.
Thank you, Chairman Bergman.
Adam Laver, L-A-V-E-R.
Adam Laver, L-A-V-E-R.
Good afternoon, Chairman.
Hal Shermer, S-C-H-I-R-M-E-R.
Thank you.
You've been also sworn.
Mr. Laver, we're going to start.
You've been sworn.
Our Vice Chair has a few questions for you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Good afternoon, Mrs. Tanara.
Good afternoon.
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with all of the required documents consisting of proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal 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, to all, Mrs. Tenere.
And pardon the interruption, I see that Mr. Reuter seems to have his hand written.
Okay, and I'm not waving and stipping on this, correct, Mr. Bergman?
What's that?
Do I waive and stipulate on this because it's an appeal against Illinois? Correct. So I do not do that, right, Tanya? Right. Okay. Correct. Thank you.
Actually, if I may, pardon the interruption. Leonard Reuter, R-E-U-T-E-R, Senior Attorney for the City of Philadelphia. First, I want to apologize. Our network is extremely slow today, so I've turned off my camera because it'll just freeze up, so I won't be on camera.
But, and Mr. Laver can correct me, I believe he has questioned two of the refusals, but not all of them. So I think it's partly waiving a challenge on some of the refusals, but not two of the others. And I'm just here for those two particular, those two particular refusals that he has questioned.
I don't believe he actually formally filed an appeal against L&I, but I'm essentially just going to be here to address those.
But I believe the main refusal, which is against the use, he is accepting the accuracy of that, but Mr. Labor can speak for himself on that.
Chairman Bergman, members of the board, Mr. Reuter is correct.
There are two refusals noted on the September 22, 2021 notice of refusal that we believe
were issued in error, which I brought to the attention of the department but did not get
a satisfactory resolution on.
The two refusals that we take contention with are as follows.
minimum accessory off street parking spaces listed as required as 203 spaces
and minimum front yard setback listed as required as eight feet. Regarding
minimum accessory off street parking, we have set forth that under the zoning designation of CA1
And net leasable area is how the department should be making calculations concerning off-street parking.
And we actually obtained an opinion from the department stating that the residential apartments, which you'll hear about in a moment or two, do not count towards net leasable area.
So we believe that the 203 spaces and, in fact, the entire refusal is issued in error on that particular matter.
and regarding minimum front yard setback there is no minimum front yard setback within the ca1 zone
don't mean to distract the board we're prepared to move forward but it was very important to state
that on the record with that if the if the board doesn't have any questions on that issue i'm
prepared to proceed mr chairman so this is not this is this is not an l and i complaint this is
not an official L&I complaint yet it's not an official L&I so this is just you're going to
have your hearing today relative to the other issues around it yes that's that's correct
I'm prepared to proceed chairman okay um if I could then just ask for just a little bit
of clarification on that uh Mr. Laver if you don't mind if I ask Mr. Laver a direct question
No, sure.
Are you, I mean, I think you are still intending to address the two refusals that you disagree with.
Is that correct?
Yes, of course.
All right.
I just want to be clear.
So, you know, so if you're not seeking, I mean, are you seeking a variance in the alternative for those?
Yes, of course.
okay all right just so that's clear clarification sure
All right.
Just so that's clear.
Thank you for the clarification.
i've uh shared my screen and up on the screen you should see an aerial view as as i begin
and i beg the board's indulgence for being a little bit more verbose than i would normally
like to be but i i'm sure the board understands with uh opposing counsel involved uh that is a
prudent. Adam Laver of Blank Rome on behalf of Hatch Real Estate. Hatch Real Estate is a
Philadelphia-based and Philadelphia-focused real estate development company, which was founded by
brothers Seth and Matt Shipon. Seth is with us today. Matt was here during the important task
of working with the community over the last two and a half months, and he left for his honeymoon
this afternoon. So Seth is with us, Matt is not. Seth and Matt are the equitable owners,
Mr. Chairman and members of the board, of the former Comer Paper property at the corner of
Germantown Avenue and Washington Lane. You can see the property bounded with the red line marking
the uh the perimeter of the property and here is a view along germantown avenue with washington lane
in the left of the uh photograph also with us today is architect gabrielle cano of cano design
and we have submitted uh a exhibit package with 15 exhibits as well as a revised proviso plan
submission which is in the board's possession and has been reviewed by counsel for the board
this case concerns the proposed reimagination of a neglected corner property along germantown avenue
seen in the photographs before you placing the property into context for a moment
as the board knows germantown avenue stretches from north philadelphia through chestnut hill
it's one of the oldest streets actually in the country. Here's another photograph of Germantown
Avenue looking across the street. Germantown Avenue is often referred to as a microcosm of
our city. It is home to many sites of historical significance. The Deschler Morris House where
George Washington once lived, the Johnson House which you can see right across the street
from the property, which was a station on the Underground Railroad, and the Cliveden where the
Battle of Germantown took place. I should mention as we're looking at this photograph showing the
Johnson House right across the street that we have a letter of support from the immediately
impacted neighbor, the Johnson House, in the exhibits that we'll see today. Yet with the
presence of these historical resources the avenue has also changed over the years in former times
the city planners believed that germantown avenue and the surrounding neighborhoods might see a
redevitalization through car centric commercial use and indeed this particular property is zoned
CA1, auto-oriented commercial. So in this photograph before you, the subject property I'm
indicating with the hand icon, CA1, but you also get a sense of several other properties that have
that car-centric focus. A gas station across the street, a self-storage across the street,
a Rite Aid with lots of parking, a setback, not so much of a pedestrian-friendly environment.
Here's another photograph also where the subject property is here where I'm indicating to the left
with the hand icon. You see the gas station, the self-storage, the Rite Aid, etc.
The zoning code states that the primary purpose of auto-oriented commercial zoning is to accommodate uses, often in the physical form of shopping centers and other destination-oriented uses, in which a large percentage of customers will arrive by automobile.
Although there is a place for auto-oriented zoning, time has revealed that a dynamic, diverse Germantown Avenue is not that place.
Imagine, for example, members of the board, Chestnut Hill's walkable section of Germantown Avenue, changed by immense shopping centers and parking lots.
This neighborhood deserves the same as Chestnut Hill or any other neighborhood.
And that is why here I have excerpts from the Philadelphia 2035 vision for Philadelphia's growth.
I have excerpts from the Philadelphia 2035 vision for Philadelphia's growth and development
from the Planning Commission. Together, the Philadelphia City Planning Commission and the
RCOs, including all of those represented here today as official RCOs, crafted the 2035 vision
for Germantown North rezoning mapping, recommending, as I've highlighted at the bottom,
cmx2 for most properties along germantown avenue including the subject property and removing that
failed auto oriented zoning designation so here we have as part of the philadelphia city planning
commission's materials which were just revised in late october and publicly posted in the pink
color where my hand icon is ca1 is the subject property that's existing i'm going to go to the
next and you see that the subject property becomes red cmx2 in line with the cmx2 that dots along
germantown avenue the cmx2 that promotes a mix of healthy commercial and multi-residential the
residential to support the commercial that is deserved and needed along germantown avenue
So with this important background in mind, Seth and Matt designed their proposed development to meet the goals of the neighborhood's 2035 vision.
And I want to say that, again, not just the Planning Commission, but the stakeholders were involved.
I know that we have opposition, some opposition, but it's important to mention this.
Additionally, late last year, or mid last year, I should say, April of 2021, the Shiphans met preliminarily with Councilman Bass, and following that meeting, further refined their proposal with input from the district member prior to applying for zoning.
And what you're going to see in just a moment is a result of those meetings.
So here we are. We have this one-story property, which has been significantly underutilized, vacant for four years, listed for sale for 2017.
This is not in line with what the revitalization calls for.
Here you see a view looking towards Germantown Avenue, subject property on the left.
in place of the derelict existing property compatible new construction is proposed you see
photographs of the neighborhood around here and i bring these up because what uh is being proposed
respects the historic johnson house across the street as well as a mix of eclectic homes mixed
commercial and residential use and yet it's slated to coexist with the gas station across the street
the self-storage, the rated parking lot, all within yards of the property.
Unfortunately, there are those who have steadfastly opposed virtually all aspects of the project on
principle based on the underlying zoning designation of the property, CA1, and have been opposed
completely to multifamily residential, waging a concerted and absolutely shocking, belligerent,
jarring effort to halt the development. So an insistence on an outmoded zoning designation
is not practicable. It's at odds with the collective wisdom of the Planning Commission
and the neighborhood. Let's move to the proposed development. This is the proposed conceptual
rendering of an otherwise functionally obsolete structure. It's a tremendous opportunity,
which has been recognized by near neighbors. Among others, there's a community benefits
agreement in place, and we have scores of near neighbors and the coordinating RCO and
others that are on board. The proposal calls to design this multi-use project to CMX2 standards
in line with the Germantown North Rezoning effort to erect the four-story mixed-use building
that you see before you i'm going to zoom in just a little bit more so we see it better
germantown avenue at the front washington to the left calling for 47 residential apartments
accessed off of washington lane so where the icon is to the left the red brick denoted entrance off
of washington lane accessory parking beyond also off of washington lane with 41 parking spaces
for 47 apartments.
Side note, under CMX2, no parking would be required.
Here along Germantown Avenue,
strong ground floor retail commercial is proposed,
Approximately 4,000 square feet to support the strong, walkable Germantown Avenue.
approximately 4,000 square feet,
to support the strong walk-on.
And the larger commercial space has been designed with commercial-grade venting through the roof
to accommodate a potential future restaurant tenant, which was desired by some in community leadership.
Here we have the zoning.
Again, you can see the CA1 where the site is, the red CMX2 surrounded.
Consider that underlying zoning.
The map clearly shows CMX2 all along Germantown Avenue in the nearby vicinity.
The current zoning designation is a relic.
It's a mistake.
The refusal is the heart of what the board is considering.
Number one, and I'm going to take these in order so that it is as clear as possible.
Residential living is prohibited in the auto-oriented district. The application before
the board calls for 47 residential dwelling units, as would be permitted in the CMX2
zoning district, which has been identified for this site. We are not seeking to maximize potential
CMX2 density either. We are seeking to work with the community and to put forth a reasonable plan.
Additionally, we are committing to 10% on-site affordability at the moderate income level
as documented in a fully executed community benefits agreement.
Two, we discussed at the outset the refusal concerning minimum accessory off-street parking.
Forty-one parking spaces are proposed. Refusal states that 203 parking spaces are required, which I'm sure in the Board's review, it seems very unusual to see a refusal like this.
Well, zero parking would be required under CMX2, which is present along Germantown Avenue in the near vicinity.
Furthermore, the zoning examiner incorrectly issued the particular refusal.
There is less than 4,000 square feet of net leasable area proposed, being the commercial ground floor.
That would amount to approximately 12 parking spaces under the current zoning, not 203.
We are providing 41.
Even if it is determined that variance relief is needed on this issue, based on the constraints
of the site, the amount of parking being provided, the efforts to meet the city's comprehensive
of plan, we expect that this is appropriate. Next, maximum occupied area calls for 60% of the lot.
79.68% is proposed. This is an existing non-conforming site. Furthermore, by providing
additional parking in response to the community, a de minimis variance is appropriate to meet the
greater community needs. Maximum height is the next refusal. We're almost through.
38 feet is permitted within the commercial auto-oriented zone. 45 feet is proposed.
The 45 feet proposal is designed to meet CMX2 standards as proposed in the 2035 plan.
This is a minor deviation in height within existing districts to accommodate, again,
the prevailing desire for the parking that we're providing and the fifth uh refusal
minimum front yard setback is purportedly eight feet there is no required minimum front yard
setback in ca1 but furthermore as the photographs that i shared with you show
uh in very few instances do you actually see that type of setback in the community
So, in perspective, the CMX2 zoning district that's recommended by the plan would permit this proposed development. Numerous other existing CMX2 sites along Germantown Avenue would permit the development.
In partnership with our architectural team, and at significant expense, efforts have been made to improve the proposed building, provide off-street parking, add vibrant residential communities surrounding Germantown Avenue, additional residents to support and patronize revitalized commercial along Germantown Avenue.
I'd like to move to the proposed floor plans here you see the proposed floor plan first floor at the bottom is the proposed commercial.
first floor at the bottom is the proposed commercial the two spaces that i mentioned
the larger commercial space wrapping around uh washington lane corner uh accommodating
potentially a restaurant uh but being uh open to any uses uh permitted appropriate uses within the
district and a similar space they're not quite as big to the right along germantown avenue the total
is approximately 4,000 square feet. You see along Washington Lane the main entrance to the residential
and beyond that a single curb cut into the parking for the provision of the
41 parking spaces that I have previously mentioned.
here is a rendering mr chairman and members of the board along washington avenue showing a close-up
of the proposed residential entrance there would be a bicycle room right off of the proposed
residential entrance package room and nail room here is a full uh elevation along washington
Again, we just looked at the close-up for the entrance, and to the left is that curb-cut vehicular access to preserve through one curb-cut pedestrian walkability.
going back for just a moment to the first floor plan commercial trash pickup you'll see resident
you'll see trash right here is proposed from the interior of the parking area and outside of
you additionally looking along the perimeter along the sidewalk you'll see that there is
landscaping along washington lane uh there is lighting and security cameras wrapping both