is the owner.
And our vice chair has a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel.
Do you agree to weigh the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, I do.
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that is needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Thank you, counsel.
Please proceed and share your screen.
Good afternoon again, members of the board. On the screen is my exhibit pack that was submitted to the board.
good afternoon again members of the board on the screen is my exhibit pack that was submitted
Preliminary matters, the ZBA appeal is at Exhibit 9. Our photographs of the zoning posters are at Exhibit 10.
The 14303 notices are at Exhibit 11. My client's deed is at Exhibit 12.
And the tax zero tax balance form is at Exhibit 13.
Mr. Chairman, as you mentioned, I was connecting when you mentioned that there was a letter from the RCO.
Yes. One, we do have a letter of support for the project, given the size of the property and location and the need for housing at this location.
The RCO did include a bunch of documents that they call provisos.
They're non-zoning issues, but my client is going to be looking to hire local contractors and prioritize local tenants, especially with the accessible units we're preparing.
And the rents that we're trying to keep are going to try to be on the lower end for affordability purposes.
Our refusal is at Exhibit 2, and this is an application to erect a new construction attached structure that will be for multifamily household living for seven dwelling units.
The property itself is zoned RSA 5, residential single family, and that creates a refusal for us.
And here we have two refusals. One, multifamily is not allowed by right in the RSA 5 district, which is why we're seeking the variance today.
And the second issue is the proposed structure, since it's an intermediate lot, can only be 75 feet of occupied area, and we are at 87% occupied area.
Exhibit 3 is the zoning map and aerial maps for the subject property and surrounding area.
Our property is on the west side of North Carlisle Street.
and it's zoned RSA-5.
The properties to the east of us are CMX-3 properties
that front on Broad Street.
The second photograph of Exhibit 3 is a map of the property
just showing Tioga Street to the south,
15th Street to the west,
Benango Street to the north,
and Broad Street to the east.
And the next major intersection I'll mention for the board
above Benango Street would be Erie Avenue
and the Erie Transit stop.
Looking at page three is a 3D aerial photo of the 3500 block in North Carlisle Street.
For context, the properties to the east of us is the 12-story Temple Medical School building
and then Broad Street and Shriners Hospital.
And the additional photos just show additional angles from the view looking north.
And then page five is the view looking east, which is the front of the property would be
looking into the Temple Medical School building, and then a view looking west from the Broad Street
where the towering building blocks this block of Carlisle Street. Exhibit four are the site
photographs. The subject property is the vacant lot in the middle of the screen. We have a two-story
structure to the east of us, and a three-story abandoned structure at 3534 North Carlisle to the
north looking from south from benango street the corner property there is a use used for an
after-school program for 25 children going south along carlisle street the next property
is a property at 3540 north carlisle that is last permitted for storage of contractor equipment
continuing south there's two three-story residential dwellings and then that abandoned
house at 35 34 and then my client's vacant lot and then going down the block farther to the south
we have a series of five single family two-story houses and the rest of the block we then have
five two-story houses that are the carlisle port student housing apartments
and the next photograph on page four there's two more residences at the end of the block and then
a vacant lot at Tioga Street, which is the next intersection. I took a photo looking north of
this block of Carlisle Street just to see the context with the Temple Medical School building
to the east. And then we have a view looking east towards Broad Street and south at Tioga looking
south on Carlisle Street, just for context. And then the top of the block back at Venango Street
looking west, we have a series of three-story structures looking west and then turning looking
east, we have the Broad Street intersection at Benango which has Shriners Hospital, a church on
the northeast corner, and another religious use on the northwest corner. Exhibit 5 is the zoning
plan for this lot. I'm going to zoom in because it's very hard to see. So this is a large oversized
So this is a large oversized lot on this block. It is a 20 foot wide parcel and it has an existing depth of 78 inches.
lot on this block.
We do have a zoning plan attached that exhibits at five, but we do have revised plans after meeting with the community.
The big feedback that we heard is we need more residential units, but we also need accessible units.
So we did revise the plan to meet the request from the Nice Time Tioga Group to revise the front of our entryway.
And I'll start with the elevation. The proposed structure is 35 feet, one inches high, not to exceed 38 feet.
Looking at the front elevation, we're proposing a brick structure to match the other brick buildings on the block.
We would be approximately 35 feet high. And the front entryway, as you can see, this arched entryway,
that's actually a passageway leading to the doors to the building, which would be in the
center of the building through that passageway. That's a private passageway for safety purposes,
ingress, egress, and from the rear yard. The zoning overview of the front of the property,
so we have an access ramp at the front of the property to allow for accessibility of this
building we have a front landing stoop and steps and that leads into a four foot six inch wide
access way that leads back to the center where there would be an an entry door and the stair
tower that would provide access to the units inside the proposed building our rear yard is
code compliant we have to have nine foot minimum rear yard space we have nine feet eight and a
quarter inches of proposed rear yard and we have a large oversized egress well at the back of the
property that's approximately four feet six inches. The looking at the layout that based
off the revisions from the community the first floor would enter in either off the ramp into
the access passage or the steps and going down the hallway and this would be an exterior hallway
that would lead to the front entry door in the middle of the building that has a central stair
tower. So we would have units in the front of the building and also in the back. The first floor
front would be a accessible class. It's a class B accessible unit, 400 square foot studio apartment
that would have living space, kitchen, full bathroom. The rear unit would be an accessible
unit as well, 340 square foot unit, living space, kitchen, bathroom. And we have the central
stair tower that goes down to a lower unit that is a 370 square foot studio apartment with a large
oversized egress well again living space kitchen bathroom and we then would have a second and a
third floor that has each have two units each they're one bedroom apartments 530 square feet
a piece so going up the stairs to the second floor we have a full kitchen a full living room
bedroom and bathroom and they are mirror images at the second and third floor levels so the same
unit is in the front and the back and at the second and third floor levels we did include
trash storage closets outside of the units for each of the units to have the a place to store
their trash in between trash day and all of these units would have access to that egress passageway
and full access to the backyard for trash storage and outside space.
The revised proviso plan form is attached at Exhibit 7, and it's pretty minor.
The main changes were the interior layout to make the units accessible on the first floor.
We've reduced the height of the building to approximately 35 feet 1 inch,
And we lengthened that front sidewalk ramp to allow for accessibility and accessible units on the first floor level.
At Exhibit 8, I've included from atlas.philo.gov the dimensions of the neighboring properties on this block.
Our property is 20 feet, over 78 feet deep.
Most of the neighboring properties on this block, as you look to the north, they're 13.5 feet wide.
going to the south you have a series of these the smaller single family homes are 14 foot wide
properties and then farther to the south towards uh tioga most of those properties are 13.3 feet
by 78 feet wide substantially smaller than what my client's property is at 20 feet by 78 feet
and we would submit that it's it's not economically viable to build a large single family house on
on this massive oversized lot at this location. This is a property where we would submit that
this massive oversized lot at this location.
This is...
the least minimum variance is the multi-family, seven multi-family units that we're suggesting
the variance for here, especially with the accessible units that we'll be able to provide
to the community. This is a transit-oriented development right next to Broad Street,
and the Erie Transit's not being a block away, and we're immediately behind that 12-story Temple
medical school building, there's going to be no impact on the light and air of any neighboring
properties. There's going to be no impact on the traffic at this location. And there's no impact
on negative impact on the neighbors. And it's in keeping with the other rental properties that
dominate this block. So we would submit that the board approve the variance request for the
multifamily space so we can bring affordable, accessible property rentals to this neighborhood
as requested by the community you bring your client on please and adopt your testimony
mr ferko can you please raise your hand
and his name is nori n-o-r-i f-e-r-k-o ferko mr ferko has been allowed to speak mr ferko could
you please state your name and spell for the stenographer hi my name is nori n-o-r-i last
name is Ferko, F-E-R-K-O. Do you swear or affirm, tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the
truth? Yes, I do. Please proceed, counsel. Mr. Ferko, did you hear the statements that I presented
to the board today? Yes, I did. Were they true and correct to the best of your knowledge,
information, and belief? Yes, they were. And do you, after having met with the community,
do you feel that we've revised the plans to meet their concerns with accessible units?
yes i did and would you adopt my statements as your own yes questions from the questions from
the board questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson not at this time
mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands planning commission
Thank you, Chair. Sarah Bond, Philadelphia City Planning Commission. The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing residential single-family zoning. The appellant has not supported their hardship claim for seven rental units with evidence of the unique physical circumstances or conditions of the property.
The Philadelphia City Planning Commission recommends that the zoning board grant the variance with the following conditions. Maximum three units.
Thank you.
MI 2023-007-156-3552 North Carlisle Street.
I vote yes with proviso.
Revised plan, one page, stamped by ZBA on March 13, 2024, and no more than five units.
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. Thank you, counsel.
Thank you.
Number 14, MI 2023-007-095, 5341 Westford Road.
Alan Nockmson is the attorney.
Letter of support from the 42nd Ward Democratic RCO.
LETTERS IN SUPPORT. ALAN NOCHEMSON HAS BEEN PROMOTED TO PANELISTS.
MR. NOCHEMSON, COULD YOU JUST STATE YOUR NAME? YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN SWORN.
good afternoon again mr chair members of the board alan knockamson could you identify your
client the relationship to this property yeah my client is alvaro alvarez uh the owner of the
property all right now our vice chair has a few questions for you sir good afternoon council do
Do you agree to read another refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
The only thing I don't stipulate to, there's a refusal for the use of the beauty salon.
And I saw in the public record that there is a zoning permit for it.
But with the exception of that, I stipulate.
Understood.
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits as needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, we have.
Thank you, Councilor. Please proceed and share your screen.
Thank you, Counselor. Please proceed and share your screen. Thank you.
Thank you.
Oh, you don't want to see my ESPN here.
Nothing special going on. No eagles being signed today, I think.
I'm going to share this screen.
5341 Westford Road, a pretty straightforward project.
So during this presentation, we'll share the notice of refusal to allow our support from the 42nd Democratic Board, which I believe was unanimous support.
We have an extensive petition. Mr. Alvarez actually lives above this commercial unit here, and he's lived in this community since 2007.
So he's a well-known entity. So he was able to get significant support from not just the people who voted at the community meeting, but his nearby neighbors.
The refusal essentially has to deal with a structure that was constructed in the rear of the property.
That structure started before Ms. Alvarez even owned the property.
He just made improvements to it by adding a roof, but that structure has been there a while.
But it's not uncommon to have secondary structures of this nature. And we have we looked at the city records and we have a whole map of nearby properties with secondary structures, which are similar in nature.
I have the use permit 472568, which references the beauty salon, and that's why I objected to the refusal that's included with our notice of refusal, you know, dealing with the beauty salon.
We have an aerial view of the property, maps of the area, photographs of the property in the surrounding area, our simple plans and drawings, our RCO meeting notice, and again, unanimous support in support of this matter, our application for appeal that we filed on Mr. Alvarez's behalf, the deed to the property showing that he's owned this property for almost a generation, and the certificate of tax clearance.
Again, at the conclusion of my presentation, I would ask Mr. Alvarez to virtually raise his hand, be sworn in, and I'll have a few questions for him.
So in terms of refusal, it seems scarier than it is.
It really is not.
It's an RSA 5 property.
It's a corner property, the quintessential corner property, where you have a commercial use on the ground floor, which is legal, although it's not referenced in that refusal and such.
It's a beauty salon, and it's been there for almost a decade.
And above there, Mr. Alvarez lives there. And so all we're trying to do, like essentially is legalize that structure that's in the back. He's basically the neighborhood handyman. He puts his materials in that structure in the back. And no one really has any objection to it.
But we have all these technical refusals. So we have multiple principal uses in the residential district. We have the fact that this is an accessory structure for certain size, and we exceed the size that is allowable.
We have the fact that the proposed used storage building is not allowed to be used in the RSA 5 zoning.
And then an issue with the rear yard depth, because the structure is in the rear yard, we have those refusals.
Again, they all kind of go to the heart of the matter, that this is just a structure for his storage of materials.
And then, by the way, here it says approved for a beauty salon on the first floor with one family above.
So that's another reason showing that we shouldn't have that refusal for the use for the beauty salon.
So letter of support, we have eight people who showed up to that meeting.
I would have to say it was one of the more straightforward, easier presentations our office has done in some time.
Everyone was supportive of it. They completely understood it.
And, you know, they generously support this project.
and again in the letter of support they indicate that he's that my clients lived in the community
for 20 years and you know the beauty salon has been there since 2013 and you know you know they
want to ultimately they want the zba to support this variance request and then again what my
client did was he you know diligently canvassed the neighborhood got letters or signatures and
support and you know included next door neighbor who would be most directly impacted by you know
this building structure in there and everyone's in support of it and here's our petition our letters
to support support which you know is a background for that map i just showed you and then nearby
secondary structures again my office diligently went on atlas and looked at you know from a map
and looked at, you know, from a map perspective, like all these structures, which would run afoul of the Philadelphia zoning code because it's a secondary structure or the rear yard setback or many of the refusals that we have.
perspective, like all these structures.