yes i do okay great you may proceed
anyway this is a childhood home of mine and um there's some changes in the neighborhood and i've
seen how several people uh had to go to the zoning board to rezone properties that
my family among other families that we came i wanted to take advantage of some of the things
that was changing the neighborhood so I went through the process and I received a few refusal
notice it's my first time doing this so I wasn't really sure why I was refused and then as I was
educated with the um the neighborhood state representative and the RCO they they gave they
they helped walk me through the process and now what I wanted to do is make it a three-unit
He will help walk me through the process.
And now what I want.
structure with the an addition to the back. These additions, this particular addition
is- Mr. Clark, excuse the interruption, do you have any exhibits you can share with us?
Yes. Please do.
Can you see my screen?
Not yet. Mr. Clark, do you have a computer? Yes. So if you're on the Zoom application,
you're going to first make sure you have your documents open, visible on your screen.
Yes. Now here it comes. It's coming up. You got it. I appreciate it. Thank you.
so this is the um this is the property in this current state no or not uh we see it
says started sharing but we haven't we don't see any documents yet
sir when you started to screen share did you um choose the um document that you wanted to
share yes okay maybe try to stop and retry all right thank you one second
Can you see it now?
Okay, it looks like now you've just done the shared, so now try resharing.
There you go.
We got something now.
So this is the property in this corner form.
and where you see the arrow is where the existing the structure that where i'm trying to the addition
and you know several properties on this this particular block that has this this this addition
added. And what it does is it extends the third floor in order to make more room for
a two-bedroom apartment.
Do you have any other exhibits you can share with us? Showing where the extension. There
you go that's it all right so walk me through that shaded area yes this is that the that the
addition you want to put on yes that's correct so it's to the it's it's the width of the property
is that correct? Yes. So we're looking at, are we trying to figure that out? Are we looking at
it? Yeah, we're looking at it sideways. Are we? Is that a better picture? Okay, so the dark shaded
area is what you want to put on right that's the addition yes below that is a lighter shade of gray
that would be the front of the house yes the existing structure i meant to say yes all right
you're going back all right i see it okay all right any other any other exhibits uh quickly
if you have no okay all right so you want to convert this into a triplex
yes well there's is there yard space yes it's uh sufficient yard space actually we only take an
well there's is there yard space
extension to where the structure stops um there's not the second where the where the second floor
stops yes all right will the tenants have access to the yard for trash yes
uh any board members have any questions no mr chairman
No, Mr. Chair.
Thank you.
Anyone else like to testify in this case?
Please raise your hand.
No further hands at this time, Mr. Chair.
Thank you.
Planning Commission.
I'm Bednar City Planning.
This property syndicated for residential on the city plan.
Given the documented improvement, we recommend the request of fairness.
Thank you. MI 2021, that's 002-830-2156 North 21st Street. My vote is yes.
Harold Tenere, my vote is yes.
Professor Plaza, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
Thank you. We'll go to case number five. MI 2021, that's 002.
418 3301 south 20th street this is the first listing my notes indicate we have not yet received an
exhibit is there anyone here for 3301 south 20th street no hands mr chair thank you mi 2021-002
418-3301
South 20th Street is
continued. Must be heard.
Go to number 6
MI 2021-002
North 16th Street.
Rachel Pritzker is
the Attorney of Record.
My notes indicate we're still
waiting for a letter from the RCO.
Ms. Pritzker, please identify
yourself with the record. You're still under
Good evening, Rachel, R-A-C-H-A-E-L, Pritzker, P-R-I-T-Z-K-E-R, 1635, Marcus Reed Street, 1600, Philadelphia, PA, 19103.
Mary, my name's Carol.
I said Ms. Tenery.
Oh, I said you said Mary.
No, Ms. Tenery.
It did sound like Mary.
I apologize.
so you're telling action i know i should have understood it do you agree to wait the reading
of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy yes have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof
of ownership tax compliance refusal referral photos and returns of the property five days
in advance of this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter uh yes
Okay, great.
You may proceed.
Thank you.
So this is 3715 North 16th Street.
This is an RSA 3 property.
However, we're proposing the erection of a multifamily structure with a front porch, as shown on our application.
We generated a number of refusals based on the RSA 3 zoning for the site,
although on North 16th Street, there's a lot of multifamily, which I'll go into.
The refusals that we generally relate to just, again, RSA 3, required parking, we're required
eight, we're proposing zero. Front setback, eight feet, we're providing two. Occupied area,
we're allowed 50 percent we're proposing 53 percent um essentially i have it broken down uh
based on our plans um the central hardship is that single-family construction is not viable on large
lots on this block as the board and the planning commission have recognized on record through the
variance process several times in the past half decade in addition uh there's multiple properties
on the block that are similar size to ours that are multifamily. This lot is 2,500 square feet,
which is significantly more than 1,000 square feet larger than the 1,440 required for even
RM1 properties. Specifically, 3,521 has North 16 has four units, 3,523 North 16 has three units,
which was granted via variance, 35-25, three units, 25-27, four units.
25, 35, 25, three units, 25, 27, four units, 25, 35, three units, which was a variance, 35, 37,
north 16, three units, which is a variance, 35, 39, north 16, which is eight units, which is a
variance, and 15, 31, Tioga, 114 units, also a variance. Obviously, accessory off-street parking
is difficult, not only because it has to be accessed by a front street on this property,
given we don't have a shared alleyway or rear street or shared driveway, but also because
it would make it so that the property was even more out of character and have a large
curb cut in the center of the site.
The small de minimis variance we're asking for is about 73 square feet.
It's just to provide a little bit more viable space for the site.
And I also believe, and Scott, our architect, can go through this, but we are, I believe, adding a porch on this site.
And the covered portion of it, I do believe, takes into consideration the open space.
I'm just going to go through the RCO letter because we did meet with RCO.
Again, this is a very large 2,500 square foot vacant lot.
It's been vacant for a long time.
And as you can see from the aerial photos, this is a block that has a good mix of multifamily
and also I'm sure there's single family as well, mostly on the Sydenham side of the street.
These are the zoning posters.
I'm just going to go down to the RCO letter.
It's also worth noting in the archives of the property, it's not ever had a single family use.
the last use that was registered by the city in 1962 was for a triplex.
We met with the Upper North Neighbors Association, UNNA, at a July 18 meeting,
and we did receive a letter from them late last night, September 28th, as you can see in front of
you, and they have issued us a letter of support. There was a total of 16 people at the meeting,
9, 6 in support from RCO, 7 for all meeting attendees, and then 3 in opposition, so they
issued us a letter of support, and they have a letter as well basically stating that they
desire fewer vacant lots with replacement of affordable units. The property is consistent
with the existing houses on the block. The plan that we showed was considered of the community's
desire to maintain the look and feel of the neighborhood. The developer's well-thought-out
plan for property management, rental criteria, maintenance, and trash plan, and UNA members
acknowledge that the 3600 block of North 16th Street block housing is consistent with neighborhood
neighboring Tioga and Benango streets, and that the developer is a community partner who has
demonstrated commitment to revitalization of the community by employing community residents and
participating in neighborhood cleanups. So with that said, I'm going to have Scott Woodruff just
go through the plans. I do believe Kiana is here as well to speak for UNNA. And I will just get the
plans up because I think that Scott is currently in the car. So I will do my best to put up the
plans so that he can go through them.
Thanks, Rachel.
Just on my way home here.
So I am good.
Do I need to be sworn in again?
No, you're still under oath.
Thank you.
Just state your name for the record, Scott.
Scott Woodruff, W-O-O-D-R-U-F-F, 4001 Main Street, Suite 203, Philadelphia,
EPA 19127. Thanks and I don't know if you can see this and just be careful with driving.
Okay if you could just go through the plans briefly for the board
and specifically if you could address the open space
and parking refusal that we have I think I made it clear about the multi-family on the block.
yeah absolutely um so we're proposing a four-story structure um here given that the adjacent
structure uh i believe rachel is six to eight stories um in that regard uh we thought that
it was appropriate to propose this um at this location regarding the open area we did talk to
this um at this location regarding the open area we did talk to the community about uh the reason
the community.
for generating that refusal which was to create the front porch um and their sense was that they
would rather have that as a fit in with the feel and the character of the neighborhood
um uh and it was it was worth the diminished uh refusal of the you know three percent over the
the allowable area in this. Trash is proposed along the alleyway. There is both a front
access and side access that's provided for the tenants so they can access the trash from
a stairway that's roughly in the middle of the building for ease of access and then obviously
there's there's a large rear yard um which can also be accessed by the tenants in this uh regarding
the parking um obviously uh providing parking would take off uh parking off the street and put
it on the site that being said they could really only put uh one to two um parking spaces on the
site and i think it would probably degrade uh the look and feel of the block as well as again we're
we're taking off parking from the public access on the street any questions from the board no
no do you need your client to adopt your testimony yes please um it's uh nadal hassan
nadal if you could just raise your hand
nadal please spell your full name uh nadal n-i-d-a-l last name hassan h-a-s-s-e-n
you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do thank you rachel nadal have you heard my testimony today in front of the board
yes you accept it as true and accurate to the best of your knowledge and do you adopt it as
your own yes thank you thank you uh anyone like to testify in this case if so please raise your hand
other hands at this time mr chair thank you planning commission i do believe wait i apologize
i do believe kiana has her hand raised jason oh i'm sorry i'm sorry mr cedric please unmute yourself
Who's hand are we looking for?
She's the representative from the RCO.
Okay, I got it now.
Got it.
Thank you.
Yes, I'm here.
I'm sorry.
No worries.
Ms. Sedgwick, please spell your full name and I'll swear you in.
Kiana, Q-I-A-N-A, last name Shedrick, S-H-E-D-R-I-C-K.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
Please proceed.