607 North 44th Street is also a multifamily dwelling.
Even beyond 44th Street, the only instances of new developments have been for single similar multifamily dwellings in this West Belmont neighborhood.
As you probably saw in the photographs, prior to my client's ownership, this lot was also subject to significant blight and trespassing use and was also subject by repeated visits by L&I to cite the former owner for lack of maintenance.
In addition to the history of vacancy and blight, the intervening rezoning of the property, and the overall consistency with surrounding character, we submit that the board has ample evidence to find that the property suffers from a unique hardship.
We also submit the proposal represents the lease modification to provide relief from the code, given that the entirety of this proposal would have been permitted at the time the applicant purchased the property under the prior RM1 zoning and would be consistent with similar RM1 zoning and the use of the immediately adjacent structure.
The proposal will not contribute to congestion, impair light and air, or harm the neighbors.
No dimensional variances are requested, and the structure is below the code allowable 38 feet and three stories with the elevated front porches to align with the existing structures and really close out a missing gap in this block.
simply put the application will ensure that the lot sees a modest development which history has
shown will be impossible if relegated to a proposal that is by right under the current
rsa 5 classification in addition to these reasons we submit that we comply with all of the standards
outlined at 14 303 8e of the code as more thoroughly outlined in the memo of law that
I've submitted to the board at Exhibit 12. I would ask if my client Michael Matlin is in the audience
to adopt my testimony. And Chair, he's coming back in as a panelist. Thank you.
can you hear me good morning sir could you please state your name and spell for this
Good morning, sir. Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
stenographer
My name is Michael Matlin, M-I-C-H-A-E-L, M-A-T-L-I-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Counsel, please proceed.
Thank you. Michael, you've been present and have heard all of the testimony and evidence that have been offered in front of the board today?
And would you agree that that testimony was true and accurate,
and would you adopt it as if you had had the opportunity to give it yourself?
We're happy to take any questions.
Questions from the board.
Questions or comments from our attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the RCOs?
um okay i'm not sure which which one is the rco but um i have a robert mitchell
that the rco would be david pickett yeah all right let mr mitchell come on please
and Mr. Pickett is not in the audience
okay thank you
Mr. Mitchell
do we see Mr. Mitchell
Mr. Mitchell, can you please unmute yourself?
Okay, Chair, we have a
Toya, you can unmute yourself
Good morning
is there anyone from district council member's office online
no chair or do we have anybody available to testify
toya you are muted
okay we have a new rob
who's that
yes new rob hi new rob sir could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
no n-u-e-l rob o-r-b right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but
the truth yes i do are you a neighbor yes i am please proceed uh yeah i was initially concerned
uh i was at the last rco meeting but um they told us they were going to make some uh
changes and correct the problems that we had uh concern with so i told them you know if they did
that i would still stick around and see you know if it's done and you know vote in favor of them
if they did what they said they were going to do.
And I said, I see that they did that.
All right.
Mr. Rob, thanks for taking the time for calling.
We appreciate it.
Is there anyone else in the audience?
Yes, Chair.
I'm going to try Toya Pate again one more time.
Toya, if you can hear us, please unmute yourself.
Okay, Chair, we're going to move right along.
Okay. Planning Commission.
No, Chair, we still have other hands.
Okay. Who do you have for me?
Kelston, if you can unmute yourself.
Jeremy?
me hi kelson could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer please kelson
k-e-l-s-t-o-n-a-l-e-o-n-g last name do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing
but the truth i do kelson are you a neighbor i live directly behind that all right please proceed
all right please proceed well for one thing they keep on misrepresenting that that area has been
well for one thing
abandoned for 40 years it was a well-maintained garden before the person that owned the house
adjacent to it passed away and his daughter sold that property and the bank split it up
and it was maintained for quite a while the tent on that the tent that you see in that picture
was from some neighborhood kids who had a dog pound and left it there that's why
hell and i kept on coming out and okay giving them stuff like that all right i was part of the vote to
change this in a single family dwelling when it happened and i'm still in favor of single family
If you walk on Fairmount Street, you'll see a bunch of multi-up apartment buildings where the garbage is not kept up.
Garbage is all over on the front.
No one maintains that area.
And that's my biggest concern with apartments where they say we have trash that could be kept out of sight.
The tenants do not maintain the property because there are temporary tenants.
there's nothing here
they don't own anything to say
okay I'm going to maintain this because I like
my neighborhood clean and that's
the biggest problem with these apartments and with that
apartment the end block is going to be
chaos when it comes to garbage
when it comes to noise
levels because I'm quite sure
it's going to be massive amounts of
people coming and going from those
places and once
again across the street
that is a totally different
zip code and they have parking. So that has no bearing on
what's on our side of 44th Street.
Okay. Kelston, thank you for taking
the time to call us with your concerns. Is there anyone else in the
audience? Yes, Chair. We have one more hand.
Robert Mitchell, we're going to try to unmute you one more time.
Mr. Mitchell, if you can unmute yourself.
it should be start nine to unmute if you're on the phone
okay chair you can move on all right planning commission
thank you chairman and good afternoon david fecto with the city planning commission
uh chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends a new change to the rsa 5
residential single-family zoning at this location the city changed the zoning maps in this
neighborhood in 2023 and a community requested map change the property at 625 north 44th street
is a legal triplex and while there are single-family homes on the east side of 44th street
the character of this block face is primarily multi-family the city planning commission
recommends that the board grant the proposed use variants for three dwelling units thank you um
council as we've spoke earlier we're going to hold this till next wednesday at 9 30 a.m and
hopefully by then we have the tax issue straight we can do a vote okay thank you sounds great
thank you is there anyone in the audience whose case has not been called from the 9 30 list
i see no hands chair okay everybody see everybody two o'clock and cheryl looked forward
how's the what's the audience
how many in the audience look from
good afternoon chair we have 44 virtual people in the audience thank you good afternoon everyone
my name is bill bergman and i will be chairing this meeting of the philadelphia zoning board
of adjustment with me is our board vice chair tenetta graham present mr chairman our board
secretary cheryl l gaston present mr chairman board member michael johns mr chairman board
member Taya Nguyen. Present Mr. Chairman. And board member Ryan McAdams. Present Mr. Chairman.
Also here is our board attorney Hillary Emerson, our zoning board director Ane Haggerty, and our
board administrator Lakeisha Dandy. Recording of this hearing will be posted on the ZBA website.
By participating, you consent to be recorded. This is an in-person meeting with remote capabilities.
Whether remote or in person, if you're called to speak, you must state and spell your name
and then wait to be sworn in.
Once you've been sworn in, please state your name each time before beginning your testimony.
Once you've been sworn in,
please state your name each time
before beginning your testimony.
Any person may enter their appearance to become an interested party to a case.
There are three ways to enter your appearance.
You can identify the case property address in your Zoom webinar registration.
You can see a staff member, or you can call the ZBA appearance line by the close of business tomorrow.
Call 267-270-5548.
Leave a message that includes your email address and address of the property of the appeal.
The following guidance is for our remote attendees.
When directed, you must raise your virtual hand in order to be recognized.
If you're called to testify, you'll be prompted to join as a panelist.
Please accept the request and turn on your camera.
The webinar Q&A is for questions about the hearing.
Do not comment on cases in the Q&A.
Fourth, if you're participating by phone, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.
Our in-person attendees refrain from talking, eating, drinking during the hearings.
Verbal and physical aggression will not be tolerated.
Restaurants are across from the elevators.
A water fountain is just outside the room to the right.
When speaking on the record, you must speak directly into the microphone in order to be heard by all attendees and a court reporter.
In the event of an emergency, please follow the directions given over the public address system or by the staff.
The main exit is through the double doors at the rear of the room.
The nearest stairwell is to the left outside the doors.
In case of an evacuation, the rally point is at Love Park, directly across from our street.
Please remain there so we can account for you.
Let's look at our schedule for this afternoon.
3. MI 2025-003-858, 510-28 South A Street. That case is continued until 3-4-26 at 2 p.m.
Number 14, MI 2025-005216, 7133-43 Germantown Avenue.
That case is continued to Wednesday, December 17th, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Are there any other requests for continuance?
Good afternoon, Chair.
This is Yvette Benton.
I'll be your co-host for today.
Okay, thank you.
One minute, Vern.
Let me hold up for you.
We have David Orfanides in the virtual audience.
He has been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Hold on a minute.
Tell David to hold up a minute.
We have one in the room.
Mr. Anastasia was first.
okay so this street okay all right could you state your name and spell for this stenographer
please right there thank you hillary good afternoon mr chairman members of the board
verne anastasio uh on behalf of judith bachman the owner of 757 south 5th right do you swear
or firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do could you give us
the status of this case? Yes, sir. We have an RCO meeting, follow-up meeting this evening,
and as a result, I'm asking for a continuance. Okay. This case will be continued to 3-4-2026
at 2 p.m. Thank you. And you have one more case, right? I do. Oh, thank you. We'll get to that.
Mr. Orphanides, please.
he should be popping back in as a panelist
good afternoon mr chairman members of the board
good afternoon could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
certainly my name is david orphanides my last name is spelled o-r-p-h-a-n-i-d-e-s
right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
I understand you represent case number MI-2025-004-494-9247R, East Roosevelt Boulevard, and then the second case is MI-2025-004-495-9249R, East Roosevelt Boulevard.
You have two cases, am I correct?
That's correct.
Could you give us a status?
Sure. We had a community group meeting with the Northeast Civic Community
Sure. We had a community group meeting with the Northeast Community, Civic Community Council or Association back on October 28.
After sending out notices, first class certified of the meeting, only one person showed up.
That person didn't have an issue, but apparently there were communications with the community group with some neighbors privately following the meeting that day.
and they expressed some concern, which resulted in a letter of opposition from the community group
and from Council Member Driscoll's office.