Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client and relationship to the property?
My client is Lee and Pan, SST, LLC, and its representative James Pan is in the audience.
They are the owners of the property.
Thank you.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal to relate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that is needed and required to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
I have.
Thank you.
Please proceed and share the screen.
okay are you able to see my screen we can sir great
um okay so my name is alex goldberg of knockamson pc i'm here presenting uh we are seeking a
variance for visitor accommodation at 611 south street we met with south street head house district
on January 16th.
As referenced previously,
a formal letter did not come in in time.
We do have a letter,
or rather a good neighbor agreement
signed by my client and the RCO
stating that the RCO was in agreement
upon the execution of that document.
I'll read the relevant portions of that document
into the record.
and council member squillas zoning agent for slavic also issued a letter of non-opposition
from the council member's office it's my understanding based on a string of emails
is that she actually spoke to representatives of the south street head house district today
regarding this matter i'm hoping that miss slavic is in the call and can sort of relay the information
from that call. I'm going to jump into the presentation materials. We have a notice of
i'm going to jump into the presentation materials we have a notice of refusal
refusal correspondence.
correspondence from the south street head house district it's that executed good neighbor
agreement we also have the letter from the district council member nearby airbnb listings
as well as a description of ours as well we have some reviews zoning maps and other maps
of the area we have photos of the exterior the surrounding area and interior photographs
basic floor plan the rco meeting notice the application of a repeal the deed to the property
and the certificate of tax clearance here's the notice of refusal it was issued in october
you can see we're seeking the for use as visitor accommodations on the third floor and the loft
that's attached to that third floor which is above the first and second floor which is currently
a single commercial tenant painting with a twist. They occupy both of those spaces and we're seeking
to keep those uses as existing. This is a CMX2 property. It's on South Street. You know, this
type of use is appropriate on South Street due to the ample public parking, both on the street and
parking garages nearby. In addition to the restaurants and bars and nightlife, things like
that that makes South Street an attractive place for people that are visiting our city
to stay there. Here is the correspondence from the coordinating RCO. We worked collaboratively
with them on this document. They would like me to read the sort of bullet points into the record.
I'll be brief. So the owner will execute a good neighbor agreement. You'll see the signatures on
the following page. We're going to implement quiet hours or continue to do so from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
We're going to limit the occupancy to eight individuals, skip for a given stay.
We are specifying that the roof deck furniture is not propane powered.
It's just furniture.
There's no heater up there.
We are specifying that guests will need to leave their trash in their rear yard.
It will be removed by their professional management company upon checkout.
We are going to be confirming the number of individuals entering the property upon checkout.
as well as asking for identification and turning away guests that are requesting one night stays and local guests with local area codes,
trying to sort of find ways to mitigate anything negative that could possibly happen at Airbnb such as this.
We have provided near neighbors and the RCOs that were present at the community meeting.
I believe there were three with contact information for the property owners as well as the management company.
And then I'm going to just go to the second page. You can see here it's signed by James Pan, a representative of Lee and Pan SST LLC, as well as Eleanor Ingersoll, the executive director of the South Street Headhouse District.
Here's the council member's letter, which just came in moments ago, you know, regarding the non-opposition that that office is taking with respect to the good neighbor agreement that I just read through.
So here's the nearby Airbnb listing.
So not out of character here.
Something of note that I can point out here as well as on the upcoming map, we share a
party wall with a firehouse that has made it hard in the past for Mr. Pan to rent this
as a long-term rental when he purchased this property about two years ago.
They did some nice cosmetic repairs on the inside, which you'll see from the photos,
and tried to rent it as a long-term rental.
were unsuccessful part of the reason is because south street can be allowed um you add on top of
that sharing the wall with a firehouse um and you know at that point they decided to sort of pursue
a short-term rental use and here we are here's the airbnb listing there's some photos here as well
as photos later in the presentation this is basically a description that's given for the
tenants or the guests. Here's the reviews. Zoning map. So again, CMX2 property. We are bordering
RM1. There's CMX3. There's a mix of uses around this part of the city. But again,
South Street is definitely a commercial corridor where this type of use is most appropriate.
Here's the Google Maps perspective. Photos. This is the front. This building is fortunate
to have a breezeway here on the right side that actually goes into the unit that we're discussing
today as well as the rear yard. So that's fortunate for Mr. Pan that his tenants upon
leaving the property, they can store their trash in the rear yard. So it is removed from the living
space and the professional management company can easily remove it from the property. Here's a post.
And the professional management company can easily remove it from the property.
Here's a posting photo.
This is to the right, to the left.
And here's the interior photograph.
So, again, very nice, clean, professionally managed, great reviews.
We had a really constructive conversation in the RCO meeting about how to sort of make this an asset to the community
and make sure that the local, you know, the nearby neighbors are all on board, they can be well
informed, and we have their support for that. Here's the architectural plan drawing, so it's a
three-bedroom, three-bath. There's a loft up here with some additional living space that leads out
onto a back deck. Here's the RCO meeting notice. Again, we met on January 16th. The notice was
mailed out well in compliance of the city's requirements it was also emailed to the rcos
uh and miss slavic and the relevant other rco uh emails um 102 properties in total were notified
this is the list of those properties here's the bulk mailing certificates our application for
appeal and then lastly oh here's the deed lee and pan south street llc
and the tax clearance showing that the only outstanding taxes those not yet due
with that i'm going to briefly unshare my screen and i'd like to call mr pan to adopt my testimony
Mr. Pan is allowed to speak.
Mr. Pan, could you please state your name and spell for the court sonographer?
Yes. Hi, my name is J. Ming Pan, J-I-A-M-A-N-G-P-A-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Mr. Pan, did you hear my testimony today?
did you did you hear my testimony today yes and was it true and correct yes and you adopt it as
if it were your own yes thank you questions from the board no chair no mr chairman questions or
comments from our attorney hillier emerson just briefly mr chair i did receive and i i believe
Mr. Goldberg received this to just an email from Jennifer Slavik and Councilmember Skwila's office, just noting she is she is in the audience, but they did not get verbal confirmation from the RCO.
They only received the good neighbor agreement.
OK, thank you. Thank you.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
There are no hands here.
Questions or comments?
Planning commission.
Good afternoon, Chair. Peter Bernard for the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing CMX2 commercial mixed-use zoning at this location.
We feel the applicant has failed to demonstrate any hardship as the housing unit could be rented out on a long-term basis.
Accordingly, the Planning Commission recommends the Board deny the variance.
Thank you.
MI 2023-006-171-611 South Street.
I vote yes with proviso.
Temporary variance expires 1-31-27.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes with proviso.
James Snell, my vote is yes with proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you.
Okay, thank you, sir.
Number nine, MI 2023-006-217-2628-44 Martha Street.
Joseph Consul is the attorney.
No RCO letter, but meeting was held 110-24 by the East Kensington Neighbors Association.
And there's a letter of non-opposition from Council Member Squillin.
um mr jerson update on that one um uh mr consul received and forwarded to us a recommendation
of non-opposition um from the east kensington neighborhood association thank you and uh mr
consul just could you state your name for the record joseph consul
we can't hear you joe joseph consul yep okay right uh could you also
identify your client and relationship to the property yeah my clients are dylan carr and
Yeah, my clients are Dylan Carr and Andrew Robinson, the chief owners of Crown and Feather Tattoo.
andrew robinson the uh
Okay. Our vice chair has a few questions for you, sir.
Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the stipulated X or waive the refusal?
Yes, the referral is accurate.
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
yes thank you please proceed to your screen okay coming up on my packet all right 2628
through 44 martha street this building i've been in front of the board twice in the past for the
same referral it's kind of an artist space a maker space and has attracted a community of
like-minded body artists the clients i'm here for today crown and feather tattoo already have a space
in the building and they're doing so well that they're expanding into a another space and then
they're getting a third space which are actually connected but they're two separate units one's
going to be an office and one's going to be an additional space for tattoo artists so we're here
for the office and the which is an accessory to the tattoo studio the uh refusal is actually it's
a referral as i mentioned before for body art service requires a special exception in the zoning
district we went in front of ecna earlier this month and we got um yeah they they're saying
non-opposition. As you can see, we got 10 support and no votes of opposition or non-opposition. I
guess that's their position is non-opposition versus support. Either way, we're hopeful that
the fact that my clients have been in there successfully and are seeking to expand plus
the letter of non-opposition should be enough for the board to approve this special exception.
uh and i also include in the packet photos and plans just showing the building that's that's the
space uh as well as a uh site plan showing where my clients units are located um and finally
the tax clearance certificates as well as uh two leases one for each of the two spaces that i
had mentioned, and some examples of work, but the leases are spaces 3D and 3E, and all that's
included in the packet that was submitted and updated earlier today for the board attorney.
With that, I'll call my clients, whichever one wants to raise their hand, either Dylan or Andrew.
Dylan Carr will be allowed to speak.
Sir, could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Yep, it's Dylan Carr.
That's D-Y-L-A-N-C-A-R-R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Receive counsel.
Good afternoon, Dylan.
Did you hear my testimony just now regarding your proposed statements on Martha Street?
Yes, I did.
Do you adopt it as your own?
Yes, I do.
Okay, nothing further.
questions from the board no chair no chair
questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson
mr consul do you have leases for this that are signed by the landlord i
don't i can't seem to find that i've received those uh dylan did you send me uh landlord signed leases
i'll mute myself i did but i can double check on that okay can i can i get them to you immediately
after after the hearing hillary um yes that will that will be okay okay questions or comments
from the virtual audience thank you no hands here cleaning commission
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission
comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing irmx zoning at this location
which was updated in 2016 as part of a we feel there will be no adverse impact from the proposed
use accordingly the planning commission recommends the forward grant the variance
Thank you. MI 2023-006-217-2628-44, Martha Street, I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Mr. Moshahi, my vote is yes.
Mr. Counsel, we're going to take the next one. MI 2023-006-246-319 North 11th Street.
Could you identify your client and relationship to the property?
Yes, my client is Ms. Carrie Burke.
she is the uh the subtenant of um of the master tenant at this building our voice share has a
few questions yeah so do you agree away the reading of the refuse or stipulate to it yes