You've already shared your screen.
Thank you, sir.
Mr. Chair, members of the board, the application is for personal services on the first floor.
and seller in the same property with the two-family household living.
And it is 2248 North 2nd Street.
It is currently zoned RSA 5, but my client purchased, renovated, and secured a tenant
for this property when it was not zoned RSA 5, and the zoning changed somewhere during
that process.
And as such, he now is forced to seek a variance for the use.
The tenant, unfortunately, had to move on and get out of the lease.
But my client is committed to occupying the space with an appropriate commercial tenant.
And right here is the interior layout drawn to scale.
And we've got the commercial space right here with the entrance.
as you can see there's an ada bathroom and some bilko doors and a rear yard
on the right hand side you have stairs that go up to the living quarters that have been
already previously approved by the board and here are additional plans for that
here are some photos of the property as you can see clearly commercial space is built out here
on the left and on the right is the um residential units entrance
and we also have interior photos as well and the architect was kind enough to put in an aerial view
we did meet with the north square folks there's proof of uh mailing and we have proof of posting
And I believe as Mr. Chair said,
the Norrisquare folks did give,
send us a letter of support and as such,
And as such, we were able to get a letter of non-opposition from the council member late last week.
we were able to get a letter of non-opposition from.
And here's proof that the commercial use was already permitted.
Of course, the rezoning notwithstanding, I do want to make sure that these two documents,
page 20 and 21, are both entered into evidence, along with the council member's letter of
non-opposition, showing clearly that it's for a vacant commercial space on the ground floor
with the two-family household living above. And then, of course, the rezoning happened
in conjunction with the council office. So the fact that the council office is now supporting
the variance, speaks to the fact that my client would suffer a significant hardship if he were
not able to complete what he started, which was purchase, renovate, and secure a lease for a
commercial mixed-use property. For all of those reasons, I respectfully request the variance.
With that, I'd like Mr. Bill Latham to raise his virtual hand.
bill lathen has been allowed to speak mr lathen could you state your name please and spell for
the court stenographer yeah it's uh bill lappen l-a-p-h-e-n right do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do please proceed counsel thank you mr chair
mr lappen did you hear my presentation to the board this evening yes is it true and accurate
to the best of your knowledge yes and you adopt it as your own testimony yes thank you sir i have
nothing further mr chair any questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman no mr chairman
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 uh ron bednar city planning
first name ron r-o-n last name bednar b-e-d-n-a-r you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole
truth nothing but the truth i do please proceed while this property is currently indicated for
residential use on a city plan prior to 2021 rezoning uh we recommended a change to multifamily
residential at this location given the physical conditions of the site the requested personal
business service uh um application would be the least impactful permit allowed therefore we
recommend the request for aspirin i 20 23 001 885 22 48 north second street i vote yes
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes
James Snell, my vote is yes
Thank you, counsel
Thank you
We're going to move to number 8
MI 2021
004-460
Nidro Avenue
Mary Rose Roach is the
Attorney
Two RCO letters plus the position from Council Member Bass.
Hi, could you unmute, please?
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court stenographer?
Yes, my name is Mary Rose Roach.
First name, M-A-R-I-R-O-S-E.
Last name, Roach.
R-O-A-C-H.
Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client in relationship to the property?
Yes, my client's name is Yolaine Leone, and she is the owner and applicant.
Our vice chair has just a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel.
Do you agree to waive the ruling of the refusal or stipulate to exact proceeding?
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?
Yes, I have. And there was one supplemental document, which was the non-opposition letter.
Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
Okay. I'm sharing it now. Are you able to see it?
It's up. We're good.
Okay. So, as stated, my client is Yolaine Leone.
What I've submitted to the zoning board was the refusal, photos of the property, the project information sheet, a copy of the deed, tax compliance, the mailing list for the RCO meeting, and photos of the posting on the property.
And photos of the posting on the property.
One of the administrative things I like to get out of the way, as you'll see on the refusal, the parcel owner was listed as Gaston Pierre.
The deed that I have attached to my application will show that my client purchased the property in July of 2023.
And she's been granted the ability to proceed with this zoning application.
As we proceed down through, I did provide, well, first and foremost, the issue with this property is there was a refusal. It is a RS5 single-family district.
She's requesting that the property be used as a two-unit dwelling.
When she purchased the property, it was used as a two-unit dwelling and later found out that there was a zoning appeal pending and that she would need to continue with the zoning appeal to be able to use the property as purchased.
So here is the first floor living room area.
She is working on doing non-structural renovations, paint, new appliances, things like that to the property.
If she gets the herbarian's request granted, she plans on doing the cosmetic renovations before renting it out.
So the interior pictures.
and here are the exterior pictures as stated it is a um situated on a single family um
overlay district a lot of properties on her block are multi-family units
there's parking in the back as well as parking in the front on the street
um trash is picked up in the back and the tenants would be able to use the um trash cans um
here or new trash cans they would have to bring them or make sure that the trash is in the back
for pickup
counsel then utilities are the utilities already separated so yes as far as i know the property
was used as a two-unit property before she purchased it.
Okay, thank you.
Yep, that's, yeah.
This is just, let's see it in here.
So this is the current deed that shows
that Ms. Leone is the property owner
and it was purchased in July of 2023.
The tax clearance.
This is the certification of mailing for the zoning, or sorry, the RCO meeting.
And finally, there is postings on the property that were done both on the property as well as the fence.
The property is set back far from the street, so we also posted on the fence.
And we also did posting on the back of the property as well.
And this is the non-opposition letter from the RCO meeting that was held with her local district, the Oak Lane Worcester RCO.
I would like to promote my client, Yolaine Leone, to adopt my testimony.
they have been allowed to speak.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Yolaine, please unmute yourself.
Hello?
Can you hear me?
I can.
Could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
My name is Yolaine Leone, Y-O-L-A-I-N-E, Leone, L-E-O-N.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Ms. Leone, were you able to hear and see what was presented today at the ZBA hearing?
Yes, I was.
In relation to your property, 1508 West Avenue, 1508.
yes thank you um and do you adopt all that was presented as true and accurate yes okay
questions from the board no mr chairman
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Chair.
No, Chair.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Just briefly, Mr. Chair,
excuse me, I just want to note that we also received a letter from
an affected RCO, a Concerned Community Association.
They asked for a proviso that trash be stored in the rear of the property.
um i also want to note that councilman bath is leaving this decision to the board um because
there was um there was a slight disagreement in the rc between the rcos in their position
and there were also no near neighbors at the rco meeting thank you
questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands planning commission so ron bednar city planning
property is indicated for residential use on a city plan or adopted district plan.
Peton recommends no change to the existing zoning at this location.
The applicant's hardship was self-created, not supported with evidence of unique physical
circumstances or condition of property that would prevent it from being used informally
with the requirements of the code, for we recommend the request of various documents.
MI 2021-004-460-1508-WestNedro, I vote yes with Proviso, Trash Door to New York.
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.
Number one, MI 2023-000839-2349, East Allegheny Avenue.
Sean Ward is the attorney.
We're waiting for an RCO letter, but there is a letter from Council Member Driscoll in support of the project.
Sean Ward is coming in as a panelist.
Mr. Ward, I'm back.
Could you just state your name for the record?
You've already been sworn.
Thank you.
My first name is Sean, S-H-A-W-N, last name Ward, W-A-R-D,
Council for Haki, H-A-K-I, Colacu, C-O-L-L-A-K-U, property owner.
The vice chair has just a few questions for you, sir.
Good afternoon, Councilor.
Do you agree to wait to read another refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, I do.
Have you emailed in all the required documents that is needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, I have.
Thank you, Councilor.
please proceed. Mr. Chairman, attached is my typical exhibit packet, which was submitted to
the board. Again, I represent Aki Kalaku, owner of the property at 2349 East Algany Avenue,
calendar number ending in 839. This is a permit for a residential dwelling at the first floor
of a two-story structure. Currently, there is an apartment on the second floor, two-bedroom,
and a vacant commercial office space on the first floor. So we're looking for a variance for a total
of two apartments, not permitted in RSA 5. Therefore, we require a variance. That was A1,
the notice of refusal. A2 is the ZBA application of appeal. A3 is the project information form,
A4 proof of ownership, A5 proof of tax clearance. A6 is a site location map, A7 are photographs.
A8 is the letter of unanimous support from PROPAC.
A9 is a letter from Councilman Mike Driscoll in support of the application.
In addition, I submitted today also a letter from Councilman Squilla, who is the adjoining district located directly across the street on Allegheny Avenue.
With regard to the relevant zoning history, in 2018, we appeared before the board and we were granted a variance for a real estate office at the first floor, together with that existing apartment above.
Unfortunately, the commercial use has not panned out for the property owner.
And at this time, he seeks a variance to convert the first floor commercial space into a dwelling unit.
A11 is the zoning map and A12 is the photograph.
I would support that. This is a mixed use block on Aramingo Avenue. There are several commercial spaces at the first floor with apartments above, and there are several two families.
Commercial spaces at the first floor were departments above, and there are several two family dwellings along the block.
So very quickly, we have our notice of refusal, the petition of appeal, our project information form,
my transmittal letter to the board filing the appeal, copy of his deed, obtained a property June of 2017.
we also have proof of tax compliance the taxes for this year are not due till the end of the
month as the board is well aware so we're currently tax compliant again this property
is located at the northeast corner of Allegheny and Aramingo it is a each each floor has its own
entrance one for the first floor and one for the second floor again it's a mixed-use block along
Allegheny Avenue. There are several commercial units at the first floor of at least three or
four of the structures. The rest appear to be two family dwellings. This is a street view facing