regarding the widening of the curb cut and the two parking spaces and denied the requested
relief we then filed a motion for reconsideration to the board and we included in the motion
amended plans. Those amended plans made two fundamental changes. One, no changes at all
to the existing curb cut. So the existing curb cut would remain. Number two, one parking space
would be allowed on the property and not to as originally proposed. I'm going to just go through
a few issues, but I want to focus on the changes. I would suggest that if I may, I'm going to
incorporate by reference the testimony from the May 18th hearing, Mr. Chair, so we don't have to
repeat all of the testimony. That's fine. Okay. This is Hillary. Thank you, Mr. Reisman, for
doing that. I neglected to mention that at the beginning that the record and testimony from the
prior hearing is incorporated into this hearing. Thank you. Very good. Thank you. Thank you. So
I'm just going to focus on the changes that have been proposed in the amended plans. So as I
mentioned, this is the property, existing curb cut. Right now, one car can be parked in the front
in the driveway. And then this is a photo of the face, the entire block face. And you'll see that
our property at the corner is one of eight homes that are all twins. And if you look at the photo,
to just show so the board can see that the amended plans that we're requesting approval of
that it shows the uh no change to the curb cut and no change to the number of parking spaces
at the front of the park uh at the front of the property john weckerley are you there
raise your hand can you hear me now yeah would you state your name and spell it for
the court reporter yes john weckerly w-e-c-k-e-r-l-y of boxwood architects do you swear
for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do proceed so uh go ahead dan yeah
go ahead go ahead so uh as requested you can see on the bottom of the screen there is uh shows the
existing curb cut and dan if you don't mind hovering over the curb cut there yep um
so that uh that condition exists today um we had previously gotten uh submission to this uh streets
department as part of the previous application to widen that curb cut we've removed that portion
with this application to propose that the the what's shown on the screen as existing to remain
And in conjunction with that, you can see directly above that curb cut is shown one car parked on the parking space identified as 18 feet by eight foot six wide.
That pad area is existing today. We previously had shown two cars parked on that pad, and our proposal today is to go back to the existing condition prior to the previous application where there is an existing curb cut with one car parked in front of the home.
Any other questions, Dan, that you want me to address?
no i think that shows that the amended plan reflects to retain the existing conditions
at the property relating to the curb cut and the parking space so i have no more questions
thank you unless the board has any questions for mr weckley um do you want to have your
testimony adopted by the owner yes um i would like to call jonathan dubrow
Mr. Dubrow has been allowed to speak, sir.
Hi, could you say your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Jonathan Dubrow, D-U-B-R-O-W.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Mr. Dubrow, you heard my testimony today.
Is that correct?
I did.
And is it true and correct to the best of your information, knowledge, and belief?
It is.
And do you adopt it as your own?
okay thank you questions questions from the board no mr chairman
no mr chairman mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
Mr. Young.
Young, it's been a lot to, has been promoted to panelists, sir, excuse me.
Yes, good afternoon.
As I was trying to come on as a panelist, I did not hear the end of Ms. Emerson's statement.
I did note that she mentioned.
So let me screw you in first, and then we'll get her to do that over, Jeffrey.
industrial uses from the more less intense residential uses in the neighborhood.
Here in the Pico substation, as I mentioned, is on this side of the bridge.
Again, here we refuse.
We refuse for essentially what we're trying to do is provide three spaces with the opportunity
to conduct banquet hall activities um it's not a nightclub it is not uh you know some uh you know
other entertainment it's not a private club um we are simply trying to use spaces um that are
uh that are very large for a banquet hall type uses um and we're also refused because the art
gallery space, which is used in space number 104, which I'll show you in a minute, is prohibited
in the I-1 zoning classification as well. So again, there are three cyberspaces. As I mentioned,
Space 104 is 3,360 square feet and that's the art gallery space. Space 107 is 3,356 square feet
which is banquet hall and Space 111 is 3,465 square feet which is also which will also be
used as a banquet hall to supplement a hair salon for hair shows, hair exhibits, and things of the
like. I mean, here, a copy of the leases just to show that my clients are, in fact, have a lease
with the current property owner, GM Holdings. This is the, excuse me, this is the, if I may go
back to explain. This is the space for space number 107, the lease for space number 107.
This is the lease for space number 111. As you see, this client has 109 and 111. 109 is used
as a hair salon, which is already a use that is allowed in this particular industrial building.
And again, 111 is a space that is directly next to her salon that she would like to use as a hair
studio, hair exhibits, hair shows, things of the like. And here is the lease for the space at 104,
which is the King's Art Gallery. Just pictures of the front of the building on the Fox Street side.
This is the main entrance to the building. This is the rear of the building on Westmoreland. As
As you can see, there's parking on both sides of the street here, and there are also entrances to other separate spaces at this building.
To give the board a sense of what this building is, this building lot size is 65,328 square feet.
The improvement area, so the building structure itself, is 72,762 square feet.
So this is a very large industrial building. The property right now is divided into 15 separate tenant spaces on the first floor, one tenant space in the second floor, and one tenant space in the basement.
This building was built in, I believe it was 1950 or 1955, as the horizontal style assembly line warehouse processing was implemented and popular.
And that's why such a large footprint, large horizontal footprint was necessary during the development of this particular building.
here's a view of the building from the south on from the box street bridge as you can see there's
a potential set at the second floor with the one space on the second floor again this is a rear of
the building showing a parking lot where we are permitted to have 37 parking spaces
and there's a picture of the zoning notice on the front of the property to give a board
sense here's a key plan to show what the the interior layout looks like again here's the
the entry to the to the property again space 107 here is a traditional banquet hall space 109 is
Space 109 is the hair salon owned by my client, Ms. Thompson, looking to use this space here, 111, as her studio.
the hair salon owned by my client.
And space 104 here is the art gallery.
Remember, this is pictures of space number 107.
this to show is just an open uh an open area um again there's a large large uh space uh again
these these this building is divided into on this to 17 separate um uh units uh tenant spaces rather
uh here's a space for uh space number picture of space number one one eleven um again a very just
large open area. And we'll provide some detail for the King's Gallery. You know, there were
many write-ups in Philadelphia newspapers about the gallery here. It is a place that is unique
to this area, to the city, and provides an opportunity for young artists to express themselves
and express their exhibits. Again, there's a write-up in Aldea magazine, newspaper, excuse me.
Here's a picture of the art gallery, again, primarily as a large open space that they have
decided to place some of the virus in for exhibits and to curate the art and the like.
And what they would like to do with this space, again, is to be able to have art exhibits
that can hold a certain amount of people
that allows them, you know, to offer, you know,
wine, cheese, play light music, things like that
while they have, while their customers, you know,
experience the exhibit
and also hold some special events here as well.
And this is a picture from the Philadelphia Inquirer article.
This is the owner, Ms. Freeman, one of the owners rather.
We have a letter here from Councilman Isaiah Thomas, expressing his support for the art gallery and the art gallery's uses.
I just want to talk about some of the current uses and zoning permits at the property.
You know, I did take a look at the letter of opposition from the RCO, and it mentioned, you know, an overuse of this particular property.
But I want to mention to the board that this property has multiple, multiple variances for non-industrial uses.
So in all effect, the industrial uses at this property are pretty much obsolete.
And again, this permit here shows our 37 parking spaces.
Again, this is just a zoning plan, again, for the property.
And I'll go toward the future, I mean, the current uses of the property now and what's currently
permitted. So in 2019, there was a use permit granted for office and professional, for business
and professional office space in the building. There was a blanket, I guess, variance that the
owner applied for. So when a potential business wanted to, or professional office rather wanted
to rent the space, they would not have to go through the variance process at that particular
time. Essentially, as the landlord marketed the property, business and professional office use
has become obsolete. Most folks have been decided to work from home if they needed this type of
space. Home seemed to have been a better option, particularly over the last couple of years.
As I mentioned, this is the reference to all the spaces that were granted this business and professional office use in 2019.
In 2020, a use permit was granted for a child care facility, a barbershop, a restaurant, a clothing apparel company, a gym, and as well as, again, some other professional office use spaces.
And this is the refusal for that particular product.
And this is the refusal for that particular use.
In 2019, again, this is a zoning permit for Space 113 to be used as a television and recording studio, again, with other vacant, again, business and professional office spaces.
So this building has a multitude of uses that already are not conforming with the industrial use that is granted, that's permitted rather by right.
Here is section 14, excuse me, 14.6017 of the code that talks about the assembly and entertainment uses.
And the letter from the RCO, the affected RCO, Swamp Poodle, specifically mentions the nightclubs and entertainment.
I think it is just a, the code specifically categorizes banquet halls as nightclubs and private clubs.
I think that for those who understand those types of uses, really, in reality, those types of uses are two separate uses.
the nightclub and any banquet hall do not service the same crowd. And even in our special assembly
occupancy, you can see it breaks it down to and differentiates between nightclubs, cabarets,
discotheques, and banquet halls under a separate occupancy.
uh just here's a letter showing that you know our we uh submitted to uh the letter we submitted to
the community for the rco meeting um here's our proof of mailing uh to the community um again
here's the first letter um that we received from the rco uh from the initial meeting uh that we
had on april 14th uh where no vote uh was taken um and again here is proof that we had a second
meeting with the community. And again, we have not heard from the coordinating RCO regarding
a letter of support. So members of the board, given the unique opportunity here for this property
to allow for the expansion of some entrepreneurial endeavors, we believe that the surrounding
the community will actually benefit from having these uses there. Given the property already has
multiple commercial uses, which are legal non-conforming uses, and the size of each
tenant space, we believe a variance is warranted here. The spaces cannot be used under the current
zoning classification as it's broken down into 17 separate tenant spaces, which it is not the
the doing of my clients here. In effect, the 2035 North plan actually calls for the re-evaluation
of zoning of former industrial sites to encourage the reuse of vacant buildings. And as you can see,
there, when the owner applied for more business professional uses, those uses were not the uses
that entrepreneurs and the market could bear at this particular site.
The 2035 plan also calls for an improvement between the borders, between residential and
current and former industrial areas.
And as I showed you on the pictures of the railroad here, the railroad tracks kind of
separate the community from the industrial spaces and given the types of uses that are
already here, the more commercial uses rather than less intense uses, that creates that
natural buffer between the community and the industrial spaces.
And with that, moves with the board, I conclude my presentation and answer any questions that
you may have.
um jeffrey do you want somebody to adopt your testimony yes i have uh my my clients on the
line uh miss reed williams miss thompson and mr fordham um if they are on then i could have them
adopt my testimony okay why don't we um why don't we have them call in we'll swear them in and they
and adopt your testimony, okay? Thank you.
Sir. Hi, could you state your name as spelled for the court reporter?
Kalia Thompson, K-A-L-E-I-A Thompson, T-H-1, P-S-O-N. Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes. And Jeffrey, is there anyone else we want to
want to? There should be Mr. Victor Fordham, who's the co-owner of King's Gallery. Hi, Mr. Fordham.
yes i'm here hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
victor fordham v-i-c-t-o-r f-o-r-d-h-a-m as in mary all right do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes is there anyone else yes uh yes miss kalila
Reed Williams. He's been allowed to speak, sir. Hi, good afternoon. Hi, could you state your name
and spell it, please, for the court reporter? Yes, Kalila Reed Williams, K as in Kite, H as in Harry,
A as in Alpha, L as in Larry, E as in Echo, E as in Edward, L as in Larry, A as in Alpha, H as in
Harry, Reed, R-E-E-D hyphen Williams, W-I-L-L-I-A-M-S.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm, tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Thank you.
And have you all heard my testimony given today before the zoning board?
and do you stipulate to the accuracy of my testimony yes yes and and do you adopt my
testimony as if it were your own yes yes yes thank you my questions from the board
no no mr chairman no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
mr charles robert richardson has his hand raised i've allowed him to speak sir
hi mr richardson you've been sworn just state your name and um proceed
yes mr chair charles richardson from the office of councilwoman cindy bass from 312 city hall
councilwoman has concerns about this project because of the fact that uh number one uh we
received quite a number of telephone calls to the office with regard to opposition, and that's on
the 2600 block of Westmoreland. Ten properties of the 20 have expressed opposition, and then
on the 3200 block of Fox Street of the seven houses, four have expressed opposition. Understanding
that there was a second meeting that our office was not invited to, so I can't really speak to
that had been granted, there's no occupancy or services going on. Neighbors reported that there
was a flood in May of 2022 where many of the occupants suffered losses of property for their
businesses and therefore left this location. We as neighbors, this project is in the Swampoodle