with the city planning commission chairman and board members the comprehensive plan
recommends a change in zoning at this location from cmx1 commercial mixed use to rm1 residential
multi-family the city rezoned this neighborhood in 1972 in a council supported map change the
proposed zoning would allow two family use by right and this property has a documented history
as an apartment store and and offices so multiple tenants are a common occurrence in this building
the city planning commission recommends that the board grant a proposed use variance for two
dwelling units. MI 2026-002-352-2523 Wesley High Avenue. I vote yes with proviso. No basement
living, maximum two units, trash stored inside. Michael Johns, my vote is yes with provisos.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with provisos. Ryan McAdams, my vote is yes with provisos.
hi i win my vote is yes with provisos thank you sir hi um i take it you're doing the next one
right all right so mi 20 26 002 367 62 19 haverford avenue alex goldberg is the attorney
mr goldberg could you please just for the record state your name alex goldberg um mr goldberg um
could you identify your client a relationship to the property sure my client is the owner and the
tenant they're the same yeah it's it's an owner leasing to us an entity and and uh that's hill
enterprise llc which is the owner and new chapter bgi which is the tenant and they're both of their
representatives is zania hill which is sitting who is sitting to my left and i see you have a
letter of support from HMC Squared. Our board secretary has a few questions for you, sir.
Okay. Good morning, counsel. Did you write your documents and exhibits 21 days in advance? Yes.
14 days in advance of this hearing? Yes. And do you waive the reading of the referral
and stipulate to its accuracy? I do. Okay. Then you can share your screen and begin your presentation.
Thank you. All right. Um, so I have another 2 unit structure, a legally operating duplex, um, that my client owns and, uh, 62, 19 have it for Davin. Um, she's proposing to change the use to a personal care home, um, specifically for, um, as she describes it in her mission, providing a stable, highly structured family, like residential environment.
for young men ages 18 to 26 this is called next chapter personal care homes
and I'll tell you all about it I think it's a great mission and you know at the
conclusion my presentation if the board has additional questions about the
operation of her business you should feel free to ask my clients so as board
member Gaston referenced this is a referral we do believe that what we're
proposing is is no more detrimental than what is to be expected for this type of
use it's a it's an existing duplex we are asking to we are okay with the board limiting
one one resident per bedroom and there's four total bedrooms in the building so that's a
maximum of four residents um zeni is very well qualified and credentialed which you'll see
and and has you know a really solid plan for how she'd like to to run this uh care home here is the
letter of support from the RCO I was my client represented herself at the
community meeting she got unit unanimous support with a few abstentions who were
generally supportive of you know her mission and what she's trying to do here
so my my client put together a few slides which I've included about next
chapter data essentially about the the age bracket that she's seeking to assist
which is 18 to 26 year old men providing programming requiring that they are either
in school in trade training or working a job providing 24 7 on-site care for those individuals
with her team and herself to provide emotional financial and educational tools so you know these
these young men can be you know ultimately self-sufficient you see photos here
the building has been operating as a as a you know a regular two-family
the building has been operating as a as a you know a regular two-family structure it's it's legal
she has her proper licenses she's going to work with other professionals such as therapists and
mental mental health professionals as well as financial professionals to to give education
programming on budgeting credit building asset management and and sort of career development
she has significant regulatory oversight with padhs she's certified to operate
via padhs in terms of funding she will have state and local contracts federal grants
and hopefully private contributions and philanthropy
be as i mentioned 24 7 supervision she's operating strictly under dhs who will be
regularly inspecting the property and her operations zero or i would say minimal parking
impact because her residents won't drive so the only cars that will be there will be for the staff
she's committed to making sure that she's an asset to the neighborhood and her neighbors and
and not a nuisance and and you know upholding the property maintenance and landscaping which
she has done since she's owned the property since 2016. Credentials so she's certified in first aid
she has different certificates in different types of health care she has a master's degree
in public health she's worked at non-profits for young women and children emergency preparedness
managing challenging behaviors and de-escalation, more first aid certifications. Here's a DHS
certificate for personal care home administration. Temple University, same thing. I mean, she's
really, you know, spent the last stretch of time making sure that she's gotten all the training
and education to make her as successful as possible here. Again, it's zoned RM1. The lot
is 1630 square feet so you know by right this could fit four apartments we're not trying to
do that nor do i think it would be appropriate here there's a large number of duplexes on this
block and that's what this property is as well here's the front of the property
here's the posting photo to the right on haverford and to the left
interior photos so she'll have four staff members two full-time one person on a given shift
the staff members are going to do some meal preparation but part of the educational component
here is going to be you know learning how to cook and feed yourself groceries will be delivered via
instacart or some service like that as far as medication it'll be locked in the office on the
second floor administered by staff she has security cameras and exterior lighting throughout
the property here's the plans and drawings so the basement is just storage and utilities so we would
be agreeable and that's what it has been so we would be agreeable to a proviso for no basement
living you can see there are multiple ways out of that basement one through the interior and two
through separate doors in the rear of the property first floor zooming in here so it's set up as two
units and it will nothing is going to change about that so you essentially you have two two bedroom
one bath apartments you'll have two individuals living in this because it's one per bedroom you
have a living space at the front you have two bedrooms after that a bathroom and then a dining
space with exit to the rear yard out of the kitchen and then you know going straight up the
stairs through that common vestibule you will have uh you have another two bedroom
one bath apartment there's an office um in this unit um as well as a kitchen
and a staircase leading down to the rear yard so two means of egress there as well um
and obviously you know there's a balcony here and a front porch that is
on the front of the property um zania you know attended the rco meeting herself again you saw
the letter of support i've included the notice that she provided in the proof of mailing that
meeting was in july application for special exception have her lease agreement with herself
that runs through February of 2032.
Her deed to the property and tax claim.
for deed to the property and tax clearance so with that i'd like to ask my client to adopt my
testimony make sure you're close to the mic could you please state and spell your name for the
stenographer zania hill z-a-n-n-i-a hill h-i-o-l right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth nothing but the truth counsel zinnia did you hear my testimony today was it
true and correct and do you adopt it as your own yes thank you senior where will the clients come
from DHS yes they they will make all referrals there other questions from the board can I ask
how does that work if they're 18 to 26 DHS more so they're a transition I can't hear you sorry
they're more transitional um from out of foster care where they may not have um secondary or
another place of living so that's how i'm hoping to set up the referral so so these are these are
these are youth aging out of foster care that's correct essentially then that's at 18 but 26 is
far from 18 right yes it is so in terms of that age range that with that population due to research
that those who have transitioned out of foster care even up to the age of 26 are still facing
difficulties of found finding home housing and employment and so what what what what are you
assuming will be the funding source that will support the um operations uh for this facility
so in terms of the dha housing any other sources that possibly in terms of programs from the city
as well they may also be receiving social security insurance in terms of also providing
in terms of the funding and you're also going to apply for federal and state grants correct that's
correct so so and in the number of uh young men that you look to house is four correct one
her bedroom right so let me let me ask you this why go this route and not just do hey you've got
a duplex and not and just do it differently and have two individuals in each unit i'm trying to
understand why why the need to have a group when it's already when it's still going to be set up
as two apartments well you're correct about that but she has an office there and she's going to be
offering you know full-time care and programming and and felt that in order to sort of make sure
she's complying with the zoning regulations and i i imagine state regulations um she needs to be
recognized as a personal care home but doesn't the state determine the number of individuals per
bedroom that is correct and also that there's a square footage requirement as well in terms of how
many uh residents can't sleep in a room so you would you're only limiting eliminate limiting
your um occupants by your desire to have only four not by the state's requirement
because potentially each one of those bedrooms could have two individuals which would mean eight
potentially depending on the size right so let me i just want to ask one more question so
So based on. I think she's trying to chime in on that point. I'm sorry. Go ahead. OK. The state requirement for room size for two occupants is 120 square feet. OK. Each of those rooms do not offer 120 square feet. They don't all, but some of them do, which is what I think he was trying to say. Right. Right. She's she she's voluntarily got that herself to four. Yeah. Yeah. So I see. So I understand that. I understand truncating yourself.
But that doesn't mean that the state, you know, if you want it to go go up because of the room size, you potentially could.
So so so listening to your background, which sounds like a good background, but you have a background in young women and children.
Right. Young women and children is much different than 18 to 26 year old men.
So how do you believe that you're you're qualified to do this for young men between 18 to 26 who are transitioning out of foster care through a system and has and have those types of issues that they may have?
So in reference to past work, that is a partner that is listed.
um listed i'm sorry could could you speak a little bit closer to the mic or pull it closer a little
I'm sorry. Could you speak a little bit closer to the mic or pull it closer a little bit? OK.
bit okay are you able to hear me now yes much better yes in reference to patchwork that is
one of the partners that um will be collaborative collaborating along with me um this therapist
um i had an opportunity to intern with where she provide a variety of counseling services
to young people of all genders and all ages and particularly I gravitated to that population of
young men and just understanding from where I'm from from city of Philadelphia and just
understanding the dynamics of what young men face I personally wanted to take a detour in focusing
on this group in particular even though yes I have worked with young women and children for
most of my career, I felt that it was a strong need to gravitate to this target population.
I am a boy mom. And so it is very vital to see the lack of the resources that this target
population does have and what they do face. And I strongly believe that I can be a big influence
in terms of offering different tools, resources, and having a different perspective.
And as I dive more into further research and just becoming more passionate through my internship, that's why I felt it was a strong need for me to open this home to that particular population.
and can let me ask this one last question then i'll let other folks because they probably have
other questions so so on your sort of travels to do this or research to do this what organizations
specifically geared to young men um have you looked into or are considering to be a part of your uh
programming for these young men in terms of identically unfortunately um i search uh between
ohio and maryland for in terms of emulating a program catered to what my vision is and those
programs again are in columbus ohio um it's called star rise and then um there was several programs
in Maryland that focus on transitional housing, more particularly juvenile transitional housing.
And in terms of their model of what they're focused on in different stages, that's where
I got the, I guess, the influence to create the vision that I have for this home.
I have two questions if Mike's done.
my first question is for the apartment where you added the office because it's only in one of them
like I guess one from a staffing standpoint given that these are two separate units what's going to
be the staffing plan because they're no longer going to be in like a unified house and then
two did you do the construction that added in that office or was the office there when you
purchase the property so in terms of the staffing um more so my plan is that the young men are out
and about during the day in terms of interacting with either trade school volunteering or work
for myself would be presently on site mostly during the day as well as possibly a prn as needed
staffer because there shouldn't be really no one home during that during the daytime my concern is
more so making sure that their staff full-time um during the evening hours and overnight in terms of
curfew because there will be a curfew um in terms of being in line with their work schedule
school schedule taking into consideration um that there's someone present to oversight uh
them being at home um and so more so it would be two full-timers and one um prn and then also myself
health as well okay you during the day but then two full-timers over so there'd be a person in
each on each floor overnight that is correct understood okay and then I think my second
question is about duration understanding that 18 to 26 is eight-year age gap is there a limit for
how long they're allowed to stay so like in terms of turnover what will we be looking at anywhere
between 12 to 24 months okay and then what's the plan should an issue arise with one of your
tenants and neighbors like what's going to be the process well i'm the key person and of course um
if i'm something happened that when i'm not present the the person that's on staff they
will be the person to report to and then follow that report with me um in terms of any issues
in terms of any issues that I will be able to handle and respond to the community within 24 to
that I will be able to handle and respond to.
40 hours in terms of resolution to get to the bottom of whatever occur. Okay. There was also
a question about the office. Is that proposed to be installed or is the office already there?
The office is already there. Okay. And is that something that you installed or something that
was there when you purchased the property? That was, I believe it was already there. Okay. Used
as like a storage a home office or something or that is correct okay okay all the questions yes
my question so where are you going to be living i'm not living on site i understand that but
you're you're not going to live on site are you going to be close so that if there is any problem
you can address that is correct yes i will be on call and available accessible by phone and
in terms of my commute to the property, 45 minutes.
Okay. All right. Thank you.
Other questions?
Questions from our attorney?
No questions at this time, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
No hands at this time, Chair.
Planning.
Thank you, Chairman, and good morning.
David Fecto with the City Planning Commission.
Chairman and Board members,
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the RM1,
residential multifamily zoning at this location,
this neighborhood still carries its original 1933 zoning the appellant has shown that the
proposed personal care home will have no detrimental impacts beyond what might reasonably be expected
the city planning commission recommends the board grant proposed special exception for a personal
care home MI 2026 002 367 62 19 Haverford Avenue I vote yes and we do a temporary sure
make a proviso for a temporary like three years today you stayed three years for sure okay i was
going to suggest because her lease is through 2032 is that we might go a little short a little fair
enough fair enough where uh 26 29 right would be three years right so um temporary variance that
will expire october 8th 2029 michael johns my vote is yes with proviso cheryl gaston my vote
is yes with proviso ryan mcadams my vote is yes with proviso hi i win my vote is yes with proviso
thank you thank you see you in a few hours all right you're coming back there you go all right