does the court reporter need a break
we have five more cases on the 2.30 list
Chair I would appreciate a brief break
if you don't mind
it is at 4.35 we'll be back
and we vote
four thirty four forty two
thank you too right did we skip number six
oh yeah i saw masters okay because i didn't know when we come back we'll go to that one i
thank you sure i jumped over that one yeah i saw cecil be more and it's my eyes played a trick on me
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
okay it is now 4 42. is mr kelly uh returned
yes chair thank you uh carol's here tom confessor jim and melissa everybody's here okay um
melissa have we resolved that yet or if we need more time no we we resolved it uh the proviso
cannot be added to to approve it for group living because the property wasn't advertised
as group living so there's a request to hold it to hold the case if you can do that
and we're going to hold it for a resumption hearing just to get the clarification
yes chair this is time we're going to hold it for one week and we can discuss at the executive
section the record will not be closed we're just holding it right yes the record is closed just
for clarification from um sharon's letter to see what proviso should be listed okay
um Sharon's letter to see what provisos should be listed okay all right so let me read off all the
cases yes MI 2021-002276 1630 Cecil B. Moore Avenue MI 2021-002277
1632 Cecil B. Moore Avenue. MI 2021-002-280-1735 Cecil B. Moore Avenue. MI 2021-002278
1725 Cecil B. Moore Avenue and MI 2021-002279 1727 Cecil B. Moore Avenue. The record is closed.
The board will discuss this case and make a decision at next Wednesday's executive session.
Hi, Chair. This is Tanya again, just for clarification, and the decision will be read
onto the record at the public meeting at 9.30.
Virifying that.
So now we'll go to case number six.
MI 2021-002852.
1621-27, Cecil B. Moore Avenue.
Steve Masters is the attorney of record.
Exhibit lists RCO letter of support,
but no letter has yet been included at least we don't know that and mothers in charge and
alliance for progress charter school sent letters of support but that's back in may of 2019
mr masters if you're available please identify yourself spell your name and i'll swear you in
good afternoon mr chair members of the board steve masters from the law firm of just laws and i'm
happy you didn't skip over our case i thank you so much um vice chair of tennari for catching
so many seas will be more avenues i just kind of flew by it yes and it's very close to the
other ones for sure you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do thank you miss tennari has some questions for you hi do you agree to wave the reading of
the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy i do have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof
of ownership tax compliance copy a copy of the refusal or referral photos and or 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 of those um the letter was submitted um yesterday we we the rco finally um issued their
letter and uh we submitted it to attorney saleta and to the to the board um and i believe that
it is in your possession. Thank you. You may proceed. Thank you. Mr. Chair, members of the
board, this is the third time that the TLO event complex, actually I'm going to share my screen
here. Okay. This is the third time that we are here for the same zoning permit. We were granted
the zoning permit twice before but they were both for temporary three-year periods and our
application this time is uh we originally were hoping for a permanent one but we have been in
conversations with the community and with the council president's office and we are going to
be asking for a proviso for a 10-year period and we'll talk about uh the five-year period that the
community wants and it's going to be up to you to to pick that um so we're we're here basically to
renew an existing zoning permit um and the zoning permit is um the use is exactly the same it's a
bank banquet hall catering hall on the corner of cecil b moore and um uh 16 1621 area the only
change is that up until now there's been a space on the second floor that we have not used for
this. It's just been vacant and we're going to expand and have events also take place up in the
second floor area. So that's the only change in terms of now we have the entire structure and
the last two times that the board issued its permit it was for the first floor but not for
the second floor. We have support as you noted from the RCO with suggesting a couple provisos
which we are basically all in agreement on and as you noted we have some letters of support from
letters of support from the mothers in charge and the charter school. As you probably could surmise,
the mothers in charge and the charter school.
this type of a business was hit very hard during COVID and was not able to operate very much at
all in much of 2020 and only a portion of 2021. So the letters of support, we'll go through the
exhibit folder, but we still have those relationships with the Charter School, with
Mothers in Charge, excuse me, with the 22nd Police District, but we weren't able to update the dates
of those letters. So we have our Exhibit 1 is our tax clearance to show that we are in compliance
with the city's taxes. In terms of the refusal, there was a correction to the refusal that was
issued specifically around that we are now asking for the use in the entire structure,
as you see here, and not just on the first floor. And that refusal was issued,
uh here it is huh all right I guess the reason was was was um was in June of this year um the
the lease uh is expiring um it had been expiring uh on uh the 30th uh tomorrow uh but it was
renewed recently by the landlord through May 30th of 2026. But we now also have an addendum to the
lease that was actually entered into today that provides that the tenant, our client, has the
right to renew the lease for an additional five years beyond the end of the initial term, which
takes it to May 30, 2031. So that's where we come up with the request for a 10-year proviso which
would and we'll show you in a moment the the wording of it but it takes you to the full
lease term, this lease and then the the renewed lease for the for the next five years.
and our exhibit three is um there it is there's the refusal um which is uh for the entire structure
uh there's two aspects of the refusal uh the the use of um now it's called nightclub a private
club but we are only applying for a banquet hall catering hall we are not trying to operate any
kind of a public entertainment place or a private club at all.
That is one of the refusals.
The second refusal is on parking, that because of the capacity of our venue, 10 parking spaces
accessory off-street are required.
But in this case, we have a physical hardship because the building itself occupies the entire
parcel.
So there is no open space whatsoever and no possibility of having any parking.
Fortunately, though, the Leocora Center parking lot of 3,500 cars is located a short walking
distance away.
And so the patrons of the Panquent Hall and Catering Hall tend to park at the Leocora
Center and therefore that solves the parking issue.
All right. This is our application for appeal. Exhibit 4 is the RCO letter of support from
BEACH. BEACH had their RCO meeting last week. They support the Banquet Hall Catering Hall
to include live entertainment, music, dancing, and preparation and service of food for more
than 50 people on the first and the second floors.
They are asking for a proviso that will be approved use, banquet hall, catering hall
only, not a nightclub, private club, which we are going to ask you to approve.
And they say that they want a temporary variance because the tenant isn't the owner and they
want to attach it to the lease term, but we now have two lease terms and so we are hoping
you will agree to attach it to both of these terms at the meeting three folks attended and
all voted in support of the of the project actually five but the the other two were myself
and my clients so I guess we we obviously don't vote on that the the business the TLO event
the tlo event complex is a um it's a very beautiful um event space you'll see a few photos in
complex is a it's a very beautiful
in a in a short moment it has um multiple different areas where where folks can rent
um the space for uh parties for repass for celebrations for a whole number of different
uh different things uh and normal hours daytime for like uh is one to seven to take a look at the
space events monday through thursday go till midnight events friday and saturday go no later
than 2 a.m uh same sunday it goes till midnight we have a whole comprehensive trash plan that we
worked out with the community over the years as we as we applied and received these zoning permits
And we had a good conversation about trash at the RCO meeting last week in which we were able to explain what steps we're taking to deal with trash.
That was mostly the issue was on Monday morning when after the events were on Sunday.
and the trash conversations seem to go well and there was nothing that you saw in the RCO letter
that wants us to change anything about our trash management. We also have security plans,
we have security guards inside and outside for large events that happen and strong ties with many
organizations in the community. These are some of the photos just so you can see the inside
of the event space.
Photos of our zoning postings, going to make this a little smaller.
This is the permit that we're currently operating under that expires on Friday and this is the one
that's for the same exact use except that it's not for the second floor and we're expanding to
the second floor. We did have the two provisos that you issued previously which is a temporary
permit to expire on friday and commercial trash pickup the alliance for progress charter school
is um wrote a very strong letter of support as a character reference for mr obilo who will be
introduced to you momentarily he allows the school to host events like the kitty prom honors banquets
and the eighth grade prom for a fraction of the cost to support the school children and families
and they are very appreciative and think he's a great guy. Mothers in Charge,
which is one of the premier anti-violence organizations in the city, wrote a letter
of recommendation. The TLO event complex partners with Mothers in Charge. Mr. Obilo has been on the
board of directors of the organization, and he allows them to have free events at the space.
And we had offered the same provisos to the RCO that we had entered into last time around,
around trash and security, patron conduct, compliance with the Philly Code, and advance
notice for the police of any public events. But there aren't public events, we just are restricted
to the banquet hall and the and the catering hall um we have our rco letter and our proof of mailing
and that uh is the conclusion of oh i will get to some of this over here
finally the revised proviso this um was not submitted uh because we just actually worked
it out today during the wait before our case was called between ourselves and the Council
President Clark's office.
And with the help, with a shout out to Meredith Ferligar for helping on some of the language
So we are asking you for two provisos today.
One would be approved use banquet hall catering hall.
One would be approved to use banquet hall catering hall. Second would be zoning permit
Second would be zoning permit to expire at the
to expire at the expiration of renewal term of lease on May 30th, 2031.
Mr. Obila, would you raise your hand so you could get acknowledged and then sworn in?
Good afternoon, Mr. Obilo. Please spell your first and last name.
Good afternoon. First name is O-D-I-N-A-K-A-C-H-U-K-W-U. Last name Obilo, O-B-I-L-O.
Do you swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
Mr. Masters?
Mr. Avila, were you present and did you hear my testimony today to the Zoning Board?
And do you adopt it as your own and agree that it was true and correct?
Is there anything that you would like to add to the Zoning Board today?
I believe as though you covered
most of the bases
the main thing as you alluded to
which is an overall concern
with this temple area is trash
and the facilitation of trash
and that's something that we've discussed
at every other zoning hearing and we've enacted
I have multiple commercial trash dumpsters, I have big dumpsters, and we even take trash off site to help alleviate with our trash, as well as trash that comes from some of the off campus housing, where their residents will dump stuff, you know, around my facility because I have dumpsters.
outside of that i've been at this location for nine years and i hope to continue to move forward
and provide a community space for people to utilize thank you any questions from the board
no mr chairman no mr chair no one else would like to testify in this case if so please raise your
hand. Chair, we have a channel, Barbara Carroll. Barbara Carroll, please spell your full name
and i'll swear you in i apologize i was not trying to raise my hand i do apologize no worries ma'am
no worries anyone else to testify in this case yes here we have mary jones
ms jones uh please identify yourself you're still under oath
hello hi mary just identify yourself you're still under oath yes mary jones uh council
president daryl clark's office um yes just kind of keep everything straight so for this one
And we do agree with the first, the council president, you know, is in receipt of the correspondence from the RCO.
And I've been in communications with the RCO as well.
And we are in agreement about the first proviso.
No private club, no nightclub use.
And the community is requesting that the, just requesting that the variants renew with the lease. So that would be in five years, the time when it's, you know, 2026, I believe, when the tenant, when the, excuse me, the applicant would be renewing his lease with the event space.
This is just so the community trusts the current applicant, and they do not want the variance
to apply to anyone else who might take up the space, and that's why they're asking that
it just run, be renewed with the lease itself.
Thank you.