with the zoning district mandates the deed indicating ownership by mr mullen and his daughter
katie this is our notice letter that we've mailed to everyone every household with within 250 feet
of the subject property identifying the community meeting on September 17th as well as the meeting
today before the board. Certificate of mailing indicating 191 pieces of mail were distributed
to Myrtlewood Street, Hollywood Street, 29th Master Street, and some on Thompson Street.
That's the presentation Mr. Chairman and my client is here to adopt my testimony and will field any
questions yeah bring your client on mr mullen can you unmute yourself by raising your hand
mike that should be coming back in as a panel thank you
Mr. Mullen, if you're still in a virtual audience, please raise your hand.
Mike, you have to unmute yourself. Raise your hand, please.
all right you know what i have him on my phone right here mike mike we're in the midst of the
zoning hearing and the chairman wants to uh square you in i can't hear you i can't get
i we're hard to hear him he can't get in mike uh henry yeah he said he can't get his microphone
working but he can hear you mr chairman okay um mike could you please state and spell your name for
Okay. Mike, could you please state and spell your name for the stenographer?
Michael Mullen, M-I-C-H-A-E-L-M-U-L-L-I-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Henry?
Mr. Mullen, were you on the call when I presented your project?
Yes, sir.
And did you hear my entire presentation?
yes sir and if you had the opportunity to testify would you adopt my testimony as your
own and as true and correct yes sir thank you mr mullen questions from the board
questions from our attorney no questions at this time questions from the virtual audience
do not see any further hands mr chair commission amy boy with the planning commission the
comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing RSA 5 residential single
family zoning at this location the appellant has not demonstrated that
there are unique physical conditions or circumstances that would necessitate a
roof deck the requested deviation from the height requirements of the
that height requirements are de minimis the Planning Commission recommends that
the board deny the requested variance for roof deck and grant the requested
variance for height mi 2026 003 685 1254 north myrtle street i vote yes with proviso revised
plans two pages stamped by zba october 7th 2026 michael johns my vote is yes with proviso
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes, with Proviso.
Ryan McAdams, my vote is yes, with Proviso.
Tanya Wynn, my vote is yes, with Proviso.
Thank you, Mr. Clinton.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Is there anyone in the audience who his case has not been called from the 2 p.m. list?
I do not see any hands, Mr. Chair.
So I know there's a few people have to go to a working meeting after this.
Do you want to just move right on?
So good afternoon, everyone.
my name is bill bergman i will be chairing the 3 30 meeting of the zoning board of adjustment with
me is our board secretary cheryl gaston present mr chairman board members michael johns present
mr chairman taiwan mr chairman ryan mcadams also here's our attorney lynn reuter uber
our executive director ian haggerty and our board administrator lakeisha dandy this hearing is being
recorded and will be posted on the zba website by participating you consent to be recorded
this is an in-person meeting with remote participation whether in person or on zoom
if you're called to speak please state and spell your name then wait to be sworn in after being
sworn in each time you testify start by stating your name to enter appearance indicate the pro
the property address on your zoom webinar speak with a staff member
call the zba office by the close of business tomorrow call 215-686-2429 and provide your name
your email and and the case address remote participation raise your virtual handwin
directed so that we call you to speak. Before speaking, make sure you click the join as a
panelist button. The Q&A is only for procedural questions, nothing to do with the individual cases.
If you're joining by phone, press star nine to raise your hand and star six to unmute.
Let's look at our schedule for this afternoon. Number one, MI 2026-002-395-2198.
Bennett Road. This case is continued until 3-3-27 at 3.30 p.m. Number two, MI 2026-002-461-101 East
Luzerne Street. This case is continued until 3-3-27 at 3.30 p.m.
we'll start with our cases number three mi 2026 002 381 1243 south a street roger perry is the
attorney i am here that's good i'm just seeing whether they have my video somewhere okay well
we hope you can find it well i'm okay i mean i'm up here
I mean, I'm up here. Normally, I have the video. It says at the bottom of the screen, but I don't see it.
normal
Well, Mr. Perry, why don't we do this? I have two other cases. I'll come back to you, okay?
No, there I am.
Okay, there you are. There you go.
Yeah, they had to hook me in.
Tell your name or the stenographer.
Thank you. My name is Roger Perry, P-E-R-R-Y. I'm the attorney for the appellant in this matter.
right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do um mr perry could you identify your client a relationship to the property
yes my client is the owner on lee mr lee is a in the audience and can be
joined if he wishes sure and our board secretary has a few questions for you
good afternoon counsel did you submit your documents and exhibits 14 days in advance of
this hearing? Yes, all the documents have been submitted. Okay, and do you waive the reading of
the refusal and stipulate to us accuracy? Yes, we do. Then you can share your screen
and begin your presentation. Thank you. Okay, I wonder if I may share my screen.
oh yes sir i'm just looking to see
share screen yeah participant share there we are
okay can you see my screen yes sir okay uh may i start oh no i'm sorry i'm sorry but i'm sorry
I saw you is what I saw.
I don't see your screen.
I'm sorry.
Let's see.
I see this.
Share screen.
System audio.
all right so council well here's what i'm going to do you trying to find your screen i'm going
to go into the next person i only have two other cases i'll be right back to you okay
thank you sure number four mi 2026 002 388 544 east gerard avenue attorney is eric carroll
mr chair this is jason handel be a ghost for the session eric carroll thank you
okay you can sit stay there and toy
you have to go back out
mr perry why don't you go out and come back in we'll call you
good afternoon mr chairman members of the board council could you please state and spell your
name for the stenographer yes eric carroll e-r-i-c-c-a-r-r-o-l-l and i are affirmed to
tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do could you identify your client
a relationship to the property yes i represent keith rodimer he is the owner of impreso coffee
they're the applicant appellants in this matter and i see you have unanimous support from frankfurt
neighbors and non-opposition from council member squilla our board secretary has a few questions
sir uh good afternoon council did you submit your documents and exhibits 14 days in advance of this
hearing i did and do you waive the reading of the referral and stipulate to its accuracy
i do then you can share your screen and begin your presentation thank you thank you
okay we're here for 544 east gerrard avenue um which is a corner property in fishtown
It's at the southwest corner of Girard and Montgomery.
It's a three-story, 1,890-square-foot CMX2 building, two apartments on floors two and three.
My client rents the first-floor commercial space, and that business that he has in there is called Impresso Coffee.
Impresso Coffee is exactly what it sounds like, a coffee shop.
It opened in the summer of 2025.
At that time, my client obtained the food preparation and serving permits.
Several months later, at the end of the year in 2025, he realized that a new use permit was actually required.
So that's what brings us here today.
He applied for the use.
The Department of Licenses and Inspections issued this referral telling him that a special exception for his business is required in this.
Telling him that a special exception for his business is required in this North Delaware Avenue overlay district.
So, again, we're not here for a refusal, but a referral.
This is the building.
As you said, it's the corner of Montgomery and Girard.
My client is in the first floor.
This is the coffee shop as it looks today.
This is the entrance on Girard with some small advertising in the window to the right.
This is the view from Girard looking down Montgomery Avenue.
This is the same view from the opposite side of the end of the building on Montgomery.
This is the view from the corner looking down Girard Avenue.
Front door.
This is the inside.
It's a relatively small space.
There's no interior seating.
This is pretty much just an order your coffee, order your baked good or bagel, take it out kind of operation.
Counter in the front where the customers order.
There's a prep area in the back, as you can see.
There's to the left of this customer aisle, there's some coffee for sale, some other drinks in this refrigerator case.
This is coffee, you know, service area where you can add your milk and cream or whatever you like.
my client posted the notice of zoning appeal for today's hearing
this is the floor plan at the top here going from right to left the right side represents
the entrance on Jabbard Avenue and you can see the floor plan version of the same photos I just
showed you customer area the service station the prep area going all the way back and there's a
bathroom in the back for customers. There's also an entryway door along Montgomery Avenue.
And then if you go to the very back of the building, there's the staircase, which leads to
the second and third floors. And there is a rear yard. In the rear yard is where my client keeps
his trash cans. So what they do at the end of service or during the day as service necessitates
it, they will take the trash bags out from this Montgomery Avenue exit, walk it down Montgomery
avenue going into this rear area which is enclosed by a locked fence open the gate put it in the
trash cans currently they have trash pickup on tuesdays and fridays as well as a private compost
contract and that compost company comes every tuesday to pick that up that's that's meeting
the the trash service levels right now in the event they get busier and they need they need
increase they'll deal with it at that time
this is a mock-up of what the interior looks like just kind of a different
version of what you saw in the pictures
my additional documents that i provided were the least showing that
my client is the tennis tenant on the ground floor
approximately 500 square feet in that area
tax clearance certificate um we met with the fishtown neighbors back on june 2nd uh here's
a copy of the notice that was sent out along with the proof of mailing to all the affected neighbors
121 uh and this is the letter of support from mr ebert the chairman of the fishtown neighbors
association uh who took the the the meeting minutes their primary concerns as as often
is the case is the trash. They were satisfied with our explanation of how things are being handled.
Some of their other concerns were the handicapped accessibility. This is an old building,
but my client does have a ring for service ringer on the front. And if anyone that's unable to
access the step up into the service area, they can ring that doorbell. One of the baristas will
come out take their order and then bring it back out to them there was uh 46 votes in support and
zero votes in opposition so uh that concludes my presentation um i do have mr rotimer here um
bring your client on
keith could you please raise your hand
mr chair council that will be coming back in as a panel thank you very much you're welcome
hello i'm keith rodimer k-e-i-t-h-r-o-d-e-m-e-r do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole
truth and nothing but the truth i do counsel thank you mr rodimer you are the owner of impresso coffee
correct and did you hear my presentation to the board just now i did was everything i said
and did you hear my presentation to the board just now i did was everything i said truthful
and accurate yes if i were to call you to testify here today would you adopt my testimony as your
own yes questions from the board questions from our attorney no questions at this time
mr questions or comments from the virtual audience yes chair i have a hand up from uh
robert everett mr everett doesn't speak right now
mr everett just waiting to come on hi mr everett how are you sir i'm good uh please state your
name and spell for the stenographer yeah with apologies i can't get my camera on first name
is robert last name everett e-v-e-r-e-t-t do you swear we're referring to tell the truth the whole
truth and nothing but the truth i do please proceed mr everett i'll keep it short and sweet
this has been a long time coming everyone in the neighborhood really loves their store
their staff knows who i am because i'm in there almost every other day oh there you go there you
go so yes as usual thank you for always calling in we we appreciate your hard work anyone
else in the audience that's mr chair i have a hand up from a travis talbot i have allowed them to
speak sure hi i live a couple doors down and i'm a huge fan of this coffee shop everyone's friendly
hold up hold up could you please state and spell your name for the stenographer oh my name is
travis talbot and could you spell it please t-r-a-v-i-s-t-a-l-b-o-t you swear or affirm to
tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes please proceed sir i i'm just a
community member here i live a couple doors down um it's a great coffee shop everyone's super
friendly i go there every other day and um it'd be uh sad not to have it around so just say my
two cents thank you so much for calling we appreciate it anyone else
no chair no further hands commission
i know i i she got to state her name good evening this is liz fuselay from the philadelphia city
planning commission you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do please proceed thank you the planning commission uh the comprehensive plan recommends
no change to the cmx2 commercial mixed use zoning of the parcel the appellant has shown
the proposed use will not cause detrimental impacts beyond what would reasonably be expected