Let me know when everyone's in.
Yes, Chair.
Okay, Chair, we have 24 attendees, and we can start as you wish.
Thank you.
Good morning.
My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this morning's ZBA hearings.
With me is Ismail Shahid, our board secretary, Thomas Holliman, our board member, and James
Snell, our board member. Also present is our board attorney, Hillary Emerson, and Lakeisha
Dandy, our ZVA hearing supervisor. Before we begin, here's our virtual format. Be advised
these proceedings are being recorded. By participating, you acknowledge your agreement
to be recorded. A video will be available by contacting tonyasunkett at phila .gov.
For the benefit of our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses
to identify themselves before testifying. If you're participating by phone, if you wish to
testify, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute. To enter an appearance statement, call
267 -270 -5548. Leave your email and the address of the property in question. And finally, the
question answer box on the screen is not for comments or testimony. Any comments or testimony
has to be directed for Executive Director Tanya Sumter. So let's look at our continuances for the
930 hearings. Number four, MI 2021 003 722 1901 West Moreland Street. This case is continued.
marked must be tried. Number five, MI 2022 -001 -365 -9212 Delver Avenue. This case is continued.
Number six, MI -2022 -001 -367 -9218 North Delaware Avenue. This case is continued.
Number eight, MI -2022 -001 -362 -9214 North Delaware Avenue. This case is continued.
And number nine, MI -2022 -001 -359 -9216 North Delver Avenue. This case is continued. Number 14,
MI -2021 -003 -847 -4911 Frankfurt Avenue. This case is continued for the RCO meeting. Case must
must be tried next time. And number 16, MI 2022 -003 -647 -2321 North Broad Street.
This case is continued. Mark must be tried.
Are there any comments about the cases that have been continued?
I see no handshare. Any requests for additional continuances?
Chair, we have Jeffrey Young.
Good morning, Mr. Young.
Good morning, Mr. Chair.
My name is Jeffrey Young.
I'm here on behalf of -
Jeffrey, could you spell your name for the court reporter?
I'm sure everybody knows your name, but -
Thank you.
Jeffrey, J -E -F -F -E -R -Y, Young, Y -O -U -N -G.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Proceed.
Good morning, Mr. Chair. I'm here today on behalf of the applicant, Ms. Taliba Cherry
for 616 North 11th Street, MI 2021 -00385.
2021 -003854. We're requesting the continuance. I was recently retained by Ms. Cherry to help her
go through this process. We're requesting the continuance because there has been a technical
issue with obtaining a tax clearance, an error by her accountant filed documents as a corporation
rather than LLC. And so we're just working through that issue to get tax clearance from
uh revenue okay thank you mr young mi 2021 003 854 616 north 11 street cases continue will be
marked must be tried thank you sir any other requests for continuance yes chair we have to
The tree is where?
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
D -E -M -E -T -R -I -U -S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
What case?
i have a zone i had your um continuing zoning uh what what kid what's the address
oh 914 west gerard avenue all right hold on that's number 10 on our list mr chair
Okay. So a couple of things here. MI 2022 -001 -328 -914 West Rod Avenue.
We believe there may be an attorney needed and we have no exhibits. This is a second listing.
Mark this case as must be tried the next time. Okay.
sir yes cases mark must be tried next time so i have to get an attorney um mr where can you
please this is hillary um emerson can you please reach out to the zoning board office and we can
determine whether you need an attorney or not okay the staff will put the information um into the
chat all right thank you hillary all right thank you all right any other requests for continuance
chair we have diane monroe okay
all right good morning miss monroe could you state your name and spell for the court reporter okay
Diane, D -I -A -N -E, Monroe, M -O -N -R -O -E.
You swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Yes, I do.
What case?
Okay, it's two cases, and they just asked for a continuance.
the 616 North 11th Street, and the 914 -18 through Gerard Avenue.
We have been working with both of these cases, the RCO, with these two young people.
So, you know, we are not in opposition to either one.
So now I understand it's going to be continued, which I was recommending.
That's right. Both were continued.
Yes. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you for calling in.
Any other requests for continuance?
Yes, Chair. We have Carol Lingo.
Good morning. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Good morning.
Good morning.
She's unmuted, Chair. She's just not responding.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Okay. We're going to move on to cases that we do not have any exhibits for.
Chair, excuse me. We have one more hand. Carl Williams.
All right. Mr. Williams, state your name and spell for the court reporter, please.
Mr. Williams, please unmute yourself.
Hi, sir, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
C .A. Carl Williams, C -A -R -L -W -I -L -L -I -A -M -S.
Right. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
What case do you want to talk about, sir?
what case do you want to talk about sir uh i'm not really familiar with uh the you know the the
I'm not really familiar with.
the numbers and stuff like that just tell me the address what's the address i'm not even
familiar the address it's it's on fillmore street uh like like the 1700 block of fillmore in that
area mr chair that's number two on the list 1733 fillmore street 33 film right we'll be calling
that case shortly. And Carol Lingo, Carol Lingo is, she's at work. She's just started a new job.
She can't, um, for Amtrak. And she, she sent me all this information. All right. So with the show,
we're going to call that in a little bit. Okay. Okay. And you'll have an opportunity if you want
to talk when I, when I, uh, open it up to the audience. Okay. All right. All right. Let's look
at our cases that we have no exhibits for it. Number one, MI 2021, 003 -844 -1217 South 50th Street.
John Taylor is the attorney. We have no exhibits. This is the third listing.
Chair, we have John Taylor. Okay. Good morning, Mr. Taylor. Could you state your name and spell
for the court reporter please uh my name is john taylor um t -a -y -l -o -r right we submitted the
so hold on hold on do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the
truth i do we we emailed the exhibits on thursday last week
hillary do we have anything i'll double check but i did not see anything
mr taylor where did you send it to sure see here
mr taylor i'm here i'm looking i'm opening the email that we sent out take your time
okay let's see here
we send it to the rcob so rcozba tcp zoning phila .gov and suletazba at gmail .com okay
i'm sorry mr taylor we we did receive them but the issue was we didn't we didn't find them because
the the email wasn't marked with the exhibit so when we went to look for the exhibits for the case
they didn't come up um so i had to go for email look through email specifically from you
and then open up the files to see what cases they were for.
So, Mr. Chair, I can look at these since they were timely submitted, review them,
but we'll just have to move this case to the end.
Mr. Taylor, we'll call you as we go through the documents, okay?
All right.
Thank you.
And thanks for your information.
I appreciate it.
Three.
And also number...
13. MI 2021 -003 -903 -5323 Chester Avenue. No exhibits, third listing. Glenmore Morris is the
owner applicant. Mark must be heard. I see no hands, Chair. Okay. MI 2021 -003 -903 -5323
Chester Abner. I vote to dismiss. Thomas Holloman, my vote is to dismiss.
James Snell, dismiss. Ishmael Shaheed, dismiss. Thank you.
okay we're going to go to our add -on list
mi2022 -003 -345 -6995 teaching street i certify on the record that i have read the transcripts
from 516 -18 the hearing before the board ishmael could you certify
sure uh good morning i ishmael shaheed certified that i have reviewed all the documents
associated with this address mr snell yes i james snell certified that i have read and viewed
Yes, I, James Snell, certify that I have read and viewed the documents in regards to this Peach and Street.
Okay. For NLI 2022 -003 -345 -6995, Peach and Street, I vote yes, proviso, as per supplemental findings of fact and conclusion of law adopted by the ZBA on October 12, 2022.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes, with provisos.
James Snell, my vote is yes, with provisos.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes, with provisos.
Thank you.
Number two on our list is 19798 -714 West Clearfield Street.
This is a request for withdrawal.
I'm going to go to our regular list.
number two. Mr. Chair, just to confirm that last case is withdrawn, correct? Yes, withdrawn.
Thank you. Going to our list, our regular list, number two, MI 2021 -003 -785 -1733
Fillmore Street.
Darnell Treat is the
attorney.
We do have an RCO letter. Am I right,
Hillary?
We, excuse me one second.
No, we do not have an RCO letter.
Okay, all right, good.
There was this RCO
meeting on 7 -14 -22.
Correct. Thank you.
Ms. Treat.
Good morning, Commissioners. Darlene Threatt on behalf of the applicants.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Darlene, D -A -R -L -E -N -E, Threatt, T -S -A -R -E -T.
Darlene, you're breaking up a little bit. Could you do that one more time, please?
D -A -R -L -E -N -E, T as in Thomas, H -R -E -T.
Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Hello?
You hear me?
You're breaking up.
Let me see if I can move a little bit.
Is that any better?
Yeah, it is.
Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Could you identify your client in relationship to the property?
My client is Oliva Jose Vellatoro.
Mr. Vellatoro, are you on the line?
Okay, we'll get a chance to call him.
Mr. Holloman has a few questions for you.
Thomas?
chairman i don't know if that's my sound or yours i don't hear any okay thomas do you agree to waive
the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy yes but i would like to amend our
originally we asked for six units we bumped it down to two okay did you email all of the exhibits
and documents as required, such as proof of ownership, tax clearance, copy of refusal or
referral, pictures or drawings of the property five days in advance of this hearing. Did you
meet with the RCO and do you have a letter? Yes, I met with the RCO twice. I was not afforded a
copy of the letter as my understanding went in. Please proceed to share your screen.
can you see my screen we we can yes commissioners i represent uh 1733 uh fillmore street
I submitted a package of information contained in 35 documents.
They include the refusal, the project information form, tax information,
a little bit of zoning history about the area, plans, pictures, a community flyer, and a certificate.
commissioners
commissioners uh we applied to the zoning board of a judge to uh legalize a rear unit above the
garage and one new unit in the front of the building i'm going to uh all the way down very
quickly let me just this thing is not excuse me miss three this is hillary you keep breaking up a
little bit. I don't know if there's somewhere else you can maybe move so we can just, for the
court reporter, can make sure we're getting your testimony. Thank you, Ms. Emerson. Let me move a
little bit. Thank you. Okay. Hopefully this is a little better. Yeah, let's see what that does.
So basically, we have a lot that we consolidated. It was just a real garage and the front was vacant. I'm just going to scroll all the way down here so I could just give you a little of what I'm speaking in regards to.
Thank you.
so really what I wanted to do is give you a little visual I'm talking about this here is a picture
of the property this is actually the property this is 1733 Fillmore Street in the back you can
see there's a garage and that's the rear of Fillmore Street. It used to be 1733 rear.
We combined the two lots so now we have the empty front lot on Fillmore Street, the garage
in the back of the house. Commissioners, we built a one -story addition on the garage which we are
trying to legalize with this application. In addition, we'd like to build a house on the front
of this property in the region right here. I'm going to scroll down a little bit and show you.
That's a little better. I'm looking at the property, but I'm going to scroll backwards here
if I can show you the plan. Here was a one -story garage on Selma Street. The applicant addition
on this and we're asking to legalize a one -story addition family dwelling on the top
of the rear garage. Additioners, the front of the property which faces film is currently empty.
What we like to do is build a three -story new building on the slot for a one -form family
dwelling. When we originally put this application in, we asked for a foiling here and a two -family
dwelling in the back. We met with the Civic Association and did get a lot of backlash
in regards to the density of the project. So initially, six units to four, and then we went
from four units to two units. Commissioner, I want to show you a little bit of the history in this
area just to show you are requesting it's not something that has not been done in this area
here's a zoning documentation from across the street which is 1740 film at one point in time
i don't believe it's still present there but they had the same thing they
when they had a car garage, again, I'm sorry, excuse me, the court reporter, the court reporter
can't hear what you're saying. Sorry. The last thing I heard was, here's an example of the
application across the street. So example of the documentation across the street, which is currently what we're trying to do now.
across the street, which is currently what we're trying to do now.
The four -family dwelling, and in the back of the dwelling,
they had a private two -car garage.
In this particular case, the applicant built an addition to the garage
which we're trying to legalize, and we're just trying to get approval
to build a one -family dwelling front.
I'm going to scroll down now to the pictures to what we're talking about.
So this is the current lot. You can see it's and that there is a garage in the back.
Another picture basically showing you the same thing.
Here is a picture, though, of the rest of the block.
You can see how the single -family dwellings, 7th Fillmore Street, and we'd like to put a single -family dwelling hole right here.
So there'd be a single -family dwelling and one apartment in the rear?
One apartment in the rear, Commissioner.
And you originally wanted six units.
We originally wanted two units. We wanted to put four new constructed buildings to have two units in the rear. That wasn't working for the community. Basically, they weren't having it. We came back and reduced it to two units in the front and one unit in the rear, and the community wasn't in the rear also.
So we brought it all the way down, Commissioner, so we could actually use our property and locks, where now we're just asking for one family dwelling in the front and to legalize the location in the back for one family.
Now, I took some pictures of the neighborhood just to show you how it is.
Very, very mixed neighborhood with very eclectic looking buildings and period of uses.
You can see you have a big, almost tight garage next door with a roll down door.
They have some space on the top.
I'm going to scroll down a little across the street here.
You have a dwelling.
If we scroll down a little bit more here, you can see how the block looks and where that
That black gate is currently is our vacant lot, which faces Fillmore Street.
The picture of Fillmore Street looking in the other direction, you can see on the left
hand street on the end of the block, there is a huge dwelling there.
street. There's an empty vacant lot. I think there's like mobile place that operates out of
this property. Here is the rear of the property. And this is the garage in the one family dwelling
that currently we are trying to. Again, this is directly across from our property. It's some type
of order place where they store stuff they have a sense and blocking off so you can't really
this is the corner of Fillmore Street the same side in 33 and here is the initial notice we met
with the community in February we presented two sets of plans that they were not agreeable with
we came back and met again in july uh we reduced the we all the way down to uh two units as um
stated in the uh fly uh we uh discussed the property with the community and uh frankly
the community wasn't in support at that time of even um having a two unit a commissioners uh
I do have the architect on the line, if anybody wants to ask, but I would like to say this overall.
The owner, the applicant, Mr. Villatora, he did receive a violation.
He did put that second edition on that property illegally.
He did receive a violation, and that's really what brought us to zoning here.
He has taken all the steps to correct it, but would like to be able to use the entirety of his property.
It was a good thought, a good design to put a front house in the missing place there on 1733 and have the garage in the back and to use it for a one family dwelling.
and to use it for a one -family dwelling.
and that is
And that is my presentation.
If anyone has any questions, I'm more than willing,
and so is the architect, to answer any questions.
Just quick, so will there be an entrance to the garage?
The entrance to the garage, there's a rear alley in the back.
Okay, all right, okay, thank you, thank you.
There's an alley that runs along the back of the property
and almost ends at Mr. Villa Torres.
All right. Thank you. Could you, would you want to have your testimony adopted?
Mr. Villatora, are you on the line today? Ruben?
I see no hands at this time.
Okay. You're an officer of the court. We will accept your testimony.
Commissioner, I did speak with my client this morning. Several is supposed to be on the line.
I don't know if he's having technical difficulties or not.
Okay, so you're an officer of the court. We'll take your testimony.
Thank you very much, sir.
Excuse me, Chair.
This is the court reporter. Can I get the spelling of the applicant's name?
You can. You can. Go ahead.
His name is Oliva, O -L -I -V -A, R -U -B -E -N, Villatora, V -I -L -A -T -O -R -O.
Thank you. Thank you. Questions from the board? No, Mr. Chairman. No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Sloan Folks. Good morning, Mr. Folks. Good morning, Chairman Bergman and DBA board.
My name is Sloan Folks, S -L -O -A -N -E, F as in fire, O -L -K -S, 7th District Council Office,
room 516 City Hall.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, sir.
Rasheed.
Thank you.
First, I'd like to address the issue of the RCO letter.
It is my understanding, but from hearing that the ZBA did not receive an RCO letter,
does it have an RCO letter on hand?
That's correct. Okay, our office is in receipt of an RCO letter dated July 18. And I will forward that to you immediately. This is and that is that is that is post the second meeting that the community had with the applicants.
um the uh our office um acknowledges that the applicant has met with the rco uh and with
residents and uh in a vote of uh nine to zero has garnered a letter of opposition um the residents
um and the residents and rco um denied their request due to the following um the the legalization
of the legalization of the of the of the rear property that was built um it caused that is
the residence state that this caused distrust between the residents and the applicants um that
they would continue to do the right thing by the residents in the community um the there's issues
regarding the density with the property, specifically the second floor rear apartments
built on top of the garage. These issues cause great distrust and distress with the community.
Our office acknowledges these issues and wants to support the residents.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Is there any other requests or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Good morning, Chair Bergman.
Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
Last name spelled H -E -G -A -R -T -Y.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir, I do.
Thank you. Good morning, board members. In 2014, the zoning map was amended in this area from multifamily to single family, and this was done in accord with recommendations from the comprehensive plan.
We think the appellant's hardship is primarily self -created in this case. However, given the unusual lot shape and the prior existing structure and the proposed building at the front of the lot, which we believe conforms to the shape and use of adjacent properties,
the city planning commission recommends that the board grant these variances with the proviso that
no more than two dwelling units be permitted. Thank you, Ian. MI 2021 -003 -785. Excuse me,
Mr. Chair. I believe there's a member or two of the community that wants to speak on this case.
I keep seeing a hand come back up. Okay, sure.
i keep seeing a hand come back up okay sure uh mr yes mr williams yes good morning mr williams i
i think i already swore you in and i yes can you could you state your name for the record again
my name's carl williams and mr williams do you live in the area yes i live directly behind the
the garages that they claim is one garage is actually four garages that they took over mr
mr wade mr wade start your testimony proceed okay the number one they took over it was like
four garages back there they built one single uh family unit over top of four separate garages
illegally and i sat and listened to them five o 'clock in the morning when you're not supposed
to be doing construction work sundays everything against uh l and i when i think we know sir we
know that we know about the building all right so now i have a i have a yesterday why i was just
this stuff was just brought to my attention uh that they were having a new meeting which is today
the zoom meeting and they they scheduled this meeting where not the residents couldn't get to
it uh mrs carol she just started a new job working for amtrak you can't and so the residents really
couldn't get to this meeting so i'm speaking on behalf of the residents we totally we disapprove
of the whole ordeal okay and we don't want it done okay thank you okay thank you for calling
in is there anyone else in the audience chair we have lillian ferguson okay
Good morning. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Ms. Ferguson, please unmute yourself.
Hi, could you state your name, please?
She's still muted, Chair.
Okay. Hi, Ms. Ferguson, could you unmute your phone?
Okay. Is there anyone else in the audience?
I see no other handshare. Okay. Thank you. MI 2021 -003 -785 -1733 Fillmore Street,
parcel a i vote yes with proviso maximum two units thomas holliman my vote is yes with proviso
james snell my vote is yes with proviso ishmael shaheed my vote is yes with proviso
thank you counsel thank you very much commissioners have a good day
okay okay number seven and then yes mi 2021 001 675 614 north 64th street leo movahill is the
attorney letter of opposition from the neighbors of the overbrook association
mr movahill is coming back in as a panel
good morning chairman members of the board hi mr mobile could you state your name please and
spell for the court report of course name leo leo last name is multi hill that's m as in michael u l
v as in victor i h i l l address 943 east westmoreland street philadelphia 191
two oh pardon me one nine one three four right do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole
truth and nothing but the truth i do could you identify your client the relationship to the
property yes uh my client is the owner of the property the principal of the company is alan
a -l -l -e -n last name borovitch that's b as in bravo o -r -o b as in victor i -c -h
Board Secretary Ishmael Shahid has a few questions.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Thomas Holland.
Good morning.
Good morning, Counselor.
Good morning.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Did you email all of the exhibits and documents as required, such as proof of ownership, tax clearance, copy of the refusal or referral, pictures or drawings of the property,
five days in advance of this hearing you meet with the rco and do you have a letter yes thank you
Do you meet with the RNCO and do you have a letter?
Thank you.
Please proceed and share your screen.
One moment as I'm trying to get my screen share to work.
Just give me a slight computer issue here.
Hold on for one moment, please.
all right here it is there we go sorry about that everybody so members of the board good morning
again this is leo mulvihill i'm here on behalf of city block acquisition 10 llc the principal
of which as i mentioned before is alan borowich um today but everybody should see on my screen
right now is my presentation packet just making sure the members of the board can see that
yes we're fine great so we have the refusal appeal of project information form at page
one we have area zoning maps at seven deed at nine commercial activity license at 15.
uh the original tax clearance for this was at 16. this is an old packet i do have an updated tax
clearance. Zoning notification letter at 18, RCO letter at 21. We did have subsequent attempts to
try to work things out with this community group, but unfortunately we weren't able to reach
consensus for this project. Leo, we're still on the one form, right? You're not going through
the forms. I'm just on the first page, that's correct. Okay, all right, okay. Photos of the
property at 23, plans at 69. So now members of the board, we're looking at our refusal.
So we're located at 614 North 64th.
It is an empty lot in the middle of a block, basically right off of Lansdowne Avenue.
We are seeking to build a semi -detached structure.
These lots are generally speaking twin houses on this block.
We are going to have a front porch matching the adjacent structures for use as multifamily household living,
three overall dwelling units as shown in our plans.
And we receive refusals for two different reasons.
One, that having multifamily in this district, which is RSA 3, was not allowed.
And two, we would be required to put parking in.
Just as an outset, with respect to hardship, parking is a non -starter.
The lot is not wide enough to accommodate sufficient off -street parking under the zoning code.
On top of that, if we were to try to provide three spaces for off -street parking, it would take away legal on -street parking.
We're not seeking to do that.
It would only add the congestion in the streets.
um so that's our hardship with respect to that uh with respect to having our three family dwelling
on this lot the lot size shapes dimensions are rather large the homes in this block are large
old homes some of which had been broken up into two families some of which have been broken up
into three families and many of which are still intact but the fact of the matter remains now with
the housing market what it is the price is what they are we were hoping to have a new
construction home of a similar size and scope of the existing
Buildings that are already on the block, but rather than marketing that as a home that would have to cost upwards of $600 ,000, $700 ,000 just due to the size.
Keeping in line with that, having three units to allow people to get in.
So we have a residential block, residential character maintained, just a slightly different type rather than a large six or seven bedroom house, have three smaller units.
That's our application for appeal.
There we go.
Get to the area zoning map next.
So this is us right in the middle of the block.
Leo, you're still stuck on the first form.
Oh, well, that's our problem.
Let me try to see if I can change that.
All right.
My apologies, Chairman.
We should be seeing page seven of that presentation.
Great.
Yeah, you're fine.
Here we are in North 64th.
This is Haverford.
Lansdowne's around the corner.
Our lot is this and do lot directly here.
As I mentioned, it's an RSA three block.
What's curious, if we look to this area zoning map, is we are surrounded by RM1 and CMX2.
If this property had been zoned to RM1, has that immediately behind it, that to the north, that to the south,
everywhere other than this immediate pocket in the middle from Media to Haverford, 64th to Wynwood.
We wouldn't even be here because we would have been able to do this by right.
so this is kind of a weird little zoning aberration in this pocket of the neighborhood
here's our lot itself as i as you can see from looking above our lot like i said is
large these huge twins all up 64th are what zoned single family these smaller homes
pardon me these smaller homes marlin is all is owned a multi -family as well and these smaller
pardon me these smaller homes marlin is all is owned a multi -family as well and these smaller
homes here both on marlin side both like rather east and west of marlin street are both smaller
homes here.
significantly on lot and building size you can see anybody can see just from looking overhead
multi -family these structures are half the size of these single -family homes
these are all single family and now we're back in the multi -family with giant structures along
Woodward Avenue and large structures along our man lost my block here along
this block as well where we have all multifamily so again that versus that
this is our lot we're seeking to have something similar to these far smaller
multi -family lots, and to this similarly size multi -family structures.
This is our deed to the property, commercial activity license, it's the old tax clearance
I have new tax information that I sent in.
So our original meeting letter went out in April, we had our meeting and neighbors were
ultimately in opposition to the project due to the fact that it was multi -family.
here's the letter of explanation um there were a number of questions that were asked and people
wanted to know about maintenance the lot initially when we first met with the community it had needed
a little bit of maintenance i was just up there the other week for taking my photos and helped
clean up the lot and it looked like it had been relatively well maintained since the initial
complaints that we received um i guess about a year ago noise levels during renovation my client
did speak with neighbors to ensure that we would be doing everything within the time frames that
are allowed under law and perhaps even less than that just so we don't keep people up early in the
morning or later in the day the respect with respect to the pricing of the units that is
something that neighbors brought up with respect to affordability trash removal is always a concern
this was our lot itself this was what it initially looked like when i took photos
during our initial meeting it was during spring summer as you can see it was a
little overgrown that was immediately taken care of this is the house
immediately adjacent to us as I mentioned huge this is the type of homes
that are routinely broken up into two three four five six units sometimes at
different parts of the city because they are so large and that's kind of what
we're working with in terms of a similar footprint getting ultimately now to our
photos of the block which we all went through multiple repostings this is ultimately what we
were planning on for our design now you note that we did keep red brick with some sort of
siding to the top it does go up three stories it is set back to remove that refusal despite the
fact that we have the third story next it's gonna be that we have a nice porch area as well to match
up with the adjacent properties and getting again pardon me to the overhead shot of our plans
leo you're you're frozen
Mr. Movihill?
Hillary?
Yes, I don't...
Do you have Leo's phone number?
Could you call him on the phone maybe
and see what's going on?
Yes, let me try to reach out to him, Mr. Chair.
it looks like we it looks like we lost him yeah okay let's give him let's just give him a second
to see if he comes back in i'm fine yep yep and then if not we can move on to the next case
Thank you.
hillary why don't we uh why don't we i think we only have a few more left we'll just come back
Why don't we, I think we only have a few more left. We'll just come back. Is that all right?
is that all right yes yeah we'll come
Yes. Yeah. We'll come back and I'll try to reach Leo in the meantime.
Okay. All right. So let's go to number 11. MI 2021 -000 -128 -1737 Bergen Street.
Mark Feynman is the attorney. And I do believe we have a letter from the RCO.
Yes, Mr. Chair, we did receive a recommendation of support from the Ron Hurst Civic Association
for this case. Mr. Feynman? Mr. Feynman is coming back in as a panelist.
Good morning. Hi, good morning, Mr. Feynman. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the
court reporter. Yes, my name is Mark Feynman, F as in Frank, E -I -N as in Nicholas, M -A -N,
and I am counsel for the applicant. Okay, do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth? I do, yes. And could you identify your client, that relationship to
the property? Yes. The client is a business entity. That business entity is
controlled or owned by an individual. That individual's name is Yusef, and I'll spell
that for you. It's U -S -E -P -H. Last name is Abu Ali, A -B -U -A -L -I.
All right. Thank you.
And the owner is L and A installations comma LLC.
Okay. All right. Mr. Holloman has a few questions for you, sir.
Good morning, counselor. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes. Did you email all of the exhibits and documents as required, such as proof of ownership, tax clearance, copy of the refusal, referral, pictures of the drawings of the property, five days in advance of this hearing? Did you meet with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Yes. The letter I did not follow, but that was followed directly by the RCO.
Okay. Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
Thank you very much.
if if i may i'm i'm looking i'm having some problems on accessing my documents but
if i may start and give an overview
the application but counsel let me ask you do you think you're going to be able to get your
documents open that i'm that's i'm trying to see if i can i mean we're going to have to see some
documents i mean we just can't take the testimony i would suggest them putting me um back in and
taking another matter while i work on the glitch on my end here if that's okay why don't we do
that. All right. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.
Okay. All right. MI 2022 002 347 807 North Second Street.
Christine Witt is the attorney.
Ms. Witt is coming back in as a panelist.
Good morning.
Good morning, Ms. Witt.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Christine Witt.
C -H -R -I -S -T -I -N -E -W -I -T -T.
All right. Thank you. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth? Yes.
All right. Could you identify your client and the relationship to the property?
The client is Bulls of Steel 5. They operate as pliables. And I believe that Rich Miller,
Director of Operations for the company, is here, and he will be testifying.
okay thank you um mr hollman has a few questions for you good morning excuse me mr hollman i just
need to uh interject i miss what you can you can um introduce him as a witness but you need to be
testifying um because this is an entity um they can't be testifying on they they can't be speaking
um they can't be testifying on they they can't be speaking you know on their own behalf unless
you know on their own
they are a witness okay you bring in thank you good morning counselor did you email all of the
exhibits and documents as required such as proof of ownership tax clearance copy of the referral
pictures or drawings of the property five days in advance of this hearing did you meet with the rco
and do you have a letter? I believe that my client has done all of these things and he can testify
to such. Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen. And we do have a letter of support from
the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association. Can I introduce Mr. Miller to testify as a witness?
why don't you give us an overview of the bring up your screen right bring your screen up and
then give us an overview say um i don't have any of the documents here in the office where's the
documents at mr miller has all the documents okay so is he in the office too or he's somewhere else
he's in his own office okay so what we'll do is we'll bring him we'll bring him in he'll put the
documents up and you'll testify from the documents okay okay all right mr miller is coming back in
as a panelist good good morning mr chairman hi good morning mr miller this is what we're going
to do we're not going to take testimony from you we want you to put the documents up and your
counsel will testify from the documents okay okay um if i could just uh real briefly just clear up
the mix the confusion we didn't know that we needed an attorney for this until monday morning
so that's fine that's that's fine we're scrambling a little bit all right put your documents up okay
the green button at the bottom
says share screen
I'm just waiting for it to
catch up I have
too many things going
I apologize
Bear with me one moment.
I apologize.
I'm on a new computer and it's not letting me share my screen.
is right to our is our it person on online
uh yes i am i could you offer mr miller some maybe some suggestions there please
uh aside from the assuming he's on the zoom screen i am the problem is i am on a macbook
and I'm a PC user, and it's not allowing me to allow Zoom to record my screen.
It may have a security setting.
Unfortunately, at RIT, we only support the PC.
PC, yep.
And if I was...
Where's the MacPad one?
So I...
I do know it has separate security settings.
Usually when you try to access it, it asks you for permission.
And I did allow, and then it brought me to, you know what, let's see if I can do it.
we may be able you may be able to share some of the docs i can find
christine do you have counsel you have documents here i believe so okay so why don't we do this
why don't why don't you put the documents up and testify to it and then we'll have your testimony
adopted okay so you have to hit share screen to share that okay which documents this one that one
okay we're good start
okay we're good start
this is the approval from the northern liberties neighbors association thank you
do you have a photo of the property
i don't know
I believe this was the only deficiency that was required to be amended.
So as you can see, the letter does support the application with the following provisions.
all access to the restaurant is limited to second street entrance the trash pickup cannot occur
before 7 a .m trash or trash cans cannot be left on the sidewalk a trash can should be placed inside
the restaurant near the doorway there is no outdoor seating in the backyard the backyard
cannot be used by employees there will be no application for outdoor seating on second street
without a review by the northern liberties association and there's no hot cooking on the
premises there's no outdoor music and the hours of operation will be 7 a .m to 9 p .m at this time
they don't expect the operations to be that long but the association has given them those extended
hours in case they wanted to extend their business hours in the future you have no other documents at
all um is there just want to take one look at the property that's all okay
um rich do you know if there is a picture
yes all i forwarded you all the documents i sent to the rco so the email titled uh
uh 807 north 2nd street appeal has pictures of the property in them okay
there we go uh
is it still being shared is it can you see this picture not yet no we don't see it yet okay here
do we it's a sure screen okay
yep we're good okay
okay and you have the approval the northern liberties neighbors association right yes and
so this is the special exception we need right you're applying for a special exception
i'm right hillary right special exception right
yes that is correct and a list of enforceable provisos i see it i i have those all right so
questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman no mr chairman all right questions or
comments from the virtual audience i see no handshare planning commission
Thank you, Chair Bergman. Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
Members of the board, in 2014, this property was remapped from medium industrial to commercial
mixed use, CMX 2 .5. This was done in accord with recommendations from the comprehensive plan.
The proposed special exception is unlikely to cause detrimental impacts to the neighborhood
beyond what might normally be expected for this use, and so the City Planning Commission
recommends that the board grant the special exception.
Thank you. MI 2022 -002 -347 -807 North 2nd Street. I vote yes with the following provisives.
Access the restaurant from 2nd Street only. No trash pickup before 7 a .m. Interior trash storage.
No outdoor seating in the backyard. No cooking on the premises. No outdoor music. Hours of
operations sunday to saturday 7a to 9p thomas holloman my vote is yes with the provisos
james snell yes with provisos ishmael shaheed yes with provisos thank you council thank you
hillary do we have any of our how do we make out with number one
um number one um we we are good to go mr chair okay so why don't i go to that yes is that okay
MI 2021 003 844 1217 South 50.
003 -844 -1217 South 50th Street.
John Taylor is the attorney.
He's already been sworn.
I love you.
Mr. Chair, I just want to note for this case,
this is an application for two -family household living in an existing structure.
There's one refusal that two -family household living is prohibited in the RSA 5 zoning district.
There's a letter of support from Southwest District Services.
Thank you so much, Hillary.
Mr. Taylor.
Mr. Taylor is coming back in as a panel.
Thank you.
Good morning, Commissioner.
Good morning.
You've already been sworn.
Just state your name for the record.
My name is John J -O -N Taylor, T -A -Y -L -O -R. I'm the attorney for the applicant, Ms. Renita
Palmer, also known as Renita Murphy. And she's the owner of the property.
She is the owner of the property. Mr. Holloman has a few questions for you.
Good morning, Counselor. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to
is accuracy? I do agree. Did you email all of the exhibits and documents as required, such as proof
of ownership, tax clearance, copy of the refusal or referral, pictures or drawings of the property
five days in advance of this hearing? Did you meet with the RCO and do you have a letter?
Yes, we met with the RCO. We have a letter. We submitted a documentation of more than five days
earlier, we are having difficulty getting a tax clearance request. We have put information in
and it doesn't allow us, but all taxes have been paid. Thank you. Please proceed and share your
screen here
mr chairman is everybody able to see my screen we see it mr sir excellent so to be this is a
request for a single family home. The purpose of the initial application was simply put is that
Ms. Renita Palmer, the owner of the property, wanted to sell the property to her daughter.
Her daughter wanted to make it into a two -family so she could move in and may have an easier time
making mortgage payments. There have been significant changes in their life since that
date. Specifically, their father, Mr. Murray, has become a double amputee, and the new plan
is to actually move into the property, meaning Ms. Palmer and her husband, they intend to live
on the second floor, and Shanice Murray would live on the first floor. The plan has been made
based on changes and events that occurred over the last 40 days. Attached to our application,
we have the application for appeal. We have the project information form.
we have the deed here which is owned by showing that Ms. Palmer is the owner of the property
she will be here to testify with her daughter Shanice Murray
this is the real estate tax balance again we put in the information Ms. Palmer's social
security number the OPA number but we're unable to get a cert generated
these are the submitted lni plans which i will have the witnesses go over to explain
this is a posting of the property
these are photographs of the property right now it's actually a vacant property nobody has lived
there um it was at one point where miss palmer and her daughter lived this was the family home
It needs repair at this point, and part of the variance request is to get the financing to make those repairs.
This is the letter of support that we received from the RCO.
And this is our witness list from Renita Palmer, Shanice Murray.
And this is our
Again, when this was submitted, part of the understanding was that, you know, the community wanted, you know, housing to be, you know, for low -income people.
Ms. Murray has a certificate of completion with the PHA,
but that's now a mood issue
because of the change in family circumstances.
If I may, Chairman, may I please bring
Ms. Renita Palmer to testify?
Mr. Taylor, before you bring anybody on,
so you want this, this is right now a single home,
you want to make it a duplex?
Correct.
Right. Okay. So could you tell me what the rest of the block looks like relative to that?
The rest of the block is mostly single -family homes. Let me see here.
Let me put the address in.
so this is the block it's mostly single family homes if you look at the neighborhood i do not
believe that this use will create congestion because there's ample parking around the nearby
park um right now the number of people who live at the premises is three uh miss murray would
live shanice murray the doc the daughter would live on the first would live on the second floor
and her parents would live on the first floor.
Now, there are two bedrooms on the second floor,
so more people could move in to the second floor.
But at this time, it is just Janice Murray,
the daughter, who would be living there.
Again, it's not going to do anything to impair light
because we're not asking for an addition
to increase the height of the building.
Again, we're just trying to make it into a duplex
at this point and just for a point before you bring in a bill and go back to the letter
what was the vote of the rco sure
for there were 11 members for support
no opposition okay all right thank you yeah with the when the rco made that support the plan at
that point was to make a duplex miss murray would um live in the first floor and then she'd rent the
second floor uh again so yes the rco has supported the plan um my belief though is i'm sorry my video
My belief is that I don't believe the RCO would have any problem with Ms. Murray's parents living on the first floor, especially in light of.
Yeah, I mean, so, but it's still the same thing.
In other words, she's going to live in one and right.
Now the change is because of family conditions, she's going to move her parents into the duplex.
Understood. Correct. That's exactly right.
All right. So why don't you do this? Why don't you call someone to adopt your testimony?
Okay. I'd like to bring the owner of the property, Ms. Palmer, Renita Palmer, to testify.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court report?
I'm sorry, Chair. We don't have anyone by that name, but we do have Shanice Murray.
That's fine. That's fine.
hello everyone um hi could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
yes uh my name is Shanice Murray and I do have my mother here with me we're just using um we're
just sharing this um device okay so but you could testify we're fine you can testify
Okay. My name is Shanice Murray. That is S -H -A -N -I -C -E -M -U -R -R -A -Y.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Counsel, proceed.
Ms. Murray, have you heard the initial testimony in today's hearing provided by myself?
Do you adopt today's testimony?
okay okay thank you questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman no mr chairman
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Yeah, we have Brendan Van Gorder.
Hi, sir.
Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Good afternoon.
My name is Pastor Brendan Van Gorder, B -R -E -N -D -A -N space V -A -N space G -O -R -D -E -R.
Good afternoon, Chair Brendan.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Proceed.
So I'm a member on the block, and we are a very intimate block.
People know the mom from back when.
They're excited to have them come back to the block.
We are concerned. I was at the RCO meeting and we asked for something in writing stating that they won't be signing it out of the family. Our concern is that it'll bring into a bigger development if it changes from single family to multifamily.
um so we're we're happy to uh as as the block we're happy to have them back um but uh we we
asked weeks i mean months ago now uh for something in writing stating that uh it would remain in
their family or if not if you know if they would consider selling it to the block um the the issue
is that we just fought and won at a zba meeting a developer across the street who wanted to make a
three story um a duplex um and we won because we said you know this has to stay single family
um and we don't want it to kind of fall into someone else's hands just wanted something in
writing from the family from the lawyer saying that it would remain in the family that would
remain kind of a single family you know um culture of the block so we haven't gotten that yet and i'm
just wondering if there's plans for that um i don't want definitely don't want to put the family
through anything else more in terms of continuing but we did want something you know and i thought
we were we asked yesterday you know why haven't we had anything and got no response so thank you
pastor thank you is there anyone else in the virtual audience i see no hands chair council
do you want to respond to that well we deal directly with the um rco we provided a letter
to the rco is part of our exhibit and after we provide that letter we got the letter of
authorization um with all due respect i i've never had the pastors never called my office
i've never had communications with the pastor the communications i have are with the rco okay all
right all right thank you council um questions uh planning commission thank you chair bergman
Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. Members of the board, the comprehensive
plan recommends no change to the single -family zoning at this location. The applicant's hardship
claim here depends solely upon circumstances that are unique to the current owner. However,
per the zoning code, the appellant is required to support their hardship claim with evidence
of unique physical conditions of the property, such as prior legal use of the property as a
two -family, for example. This is because variances are assigned to the property, not to the owner of
the property. We've heard no evidence of unique conditions of the property, and so the City
Planning Commission recommends that the board deny the variance. MI 2021 -003 -844 -1217 South 50
Street. I vote no. Thomas Holloman, my vote is no. James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes. Okay. So, Council, we have a tie. Yes, we do.
We will, we have another board member. We'll brief them and then we'll come back with the
vote okay we'll come back with a vote probably by next week okay would it be i can ask you
submit additional information and a follow -up brief um is that possible um no the record is
closed at this point we're going to close the record but we'll we'll we'll vote again next week
okay all right all right thank you thank you okay so hillary did we ever find leo
I have tried to reach him by phone, and I have not seen him back on here, so unfortunately, I think we may need to continue that matter.
Okay, so why don't we do that? MI 2021 -001 -675 -614 North 64th Street. This case will be...
614 North 64th Street.
These cases will be continued.
And did we finish Bergen Street?
No, Mr. Feynman, I believe, is back on with another computer that he can share his documents.
Okay, so he was coming back on.
Let's see.
There he is.
All right.
MI 2021 -00128 -1737 Bergen Street.
Again, good morning, Mr. Chair and panel. I'm still I realize having heard the other case, I was on an Apple laptop and I realized that that's where some of the difficulty in sharing my documents.
So I've worked to get on another computer to share those documents.
OK, are you ready to go? If you give me one moment, please.
all right let me let me ask this good identify your client please in the relationship to the
property yes again um mark feyman council uh the the property is lna installations llc
the sole member of that entity is uh present with me his name is yusuf spelling is y i'm sorry
spelling is u -s -e -p -h last name abu ali a -b -u -a -l -i right and i and i think mr hallman has already
spoken to you about your doctor yes okay so let's see if we can get your computer open
Thank you.
how are we doing uh it's trying to load up and i'm
trying to get access to this to the documents themselves
these documents are the same documents that were previously submitted to the board in preparation
for the hearing.
If I may, while the documents are being loaded, might I address the letter that was received from the RCO?
I believe that was sent directly in.
Well, I'll wait only because I'll be able to, I'll have to upload that one also.
we can't
okay Mr. Feynman
one second
so Mr. Feynman
I believe we have it now.
I'm just checking with my secretary right here.
Thank you.
Correct.
Okay, there you go.
There we go.
And I thank everyone for their patience.
Sure, sure.
Go ahead, put the first page up.
Okay, put the first page up.
Did you get it up there?
I just, it's here.
It's Burger Street Documents.
This is a lot of desktop stuff.
I'm trying to get to it, not letting me scroll.
no okay
so why don't we start putting these documents up my apologies here uh i'm running into
some type of problem here what's up on the screen are not all the documents
somehow it's accessing my entire computer file system
as opposed to the particular document.
And I don't know what's causing that.
Bill, are you able to give us a hand with this one?
Sorry, okay.
So can you open the...
Okay, so if you stop sharing, then open the document that you wish to share and get that on screen.
Okay, so if I stop sharing.
Stop sharing.
Stop it.
Stop share.
Open the document you wish to share.
okay just straight open the document we want to share
i don't know it's not like this it's like frozen
did it open
i uh i think so you see it we're checking it right now believe bergen yes i mentioned the
dates right
i'm on it okay try to try to do this this is that's the documents right there
everything that we need yes do you see your document is it open open it up
no no it's not opening for some reason
okay so so so mr feinman i i have a case that's ready to go why don't you can listen to me
continue to work on it and i'll come back to you is it okay that would be fine thank you very much
Sure. All right. So. All right. MI 2021 -003 -784 -6134 West Oxford Street. Phyllis Wise is the owner.
letter of opposition from overbook west neighbors letter of opposition from council
council person jones and letter of opposition from the block captain
mr chair i just want to correct the mi number on that um 2021 -003786 okay thank you
phyllis wise miss wise you have to unmute yourself and please wait for the chair
hi miss wise
unmute yourself please okay i'm here all right good morning could you state your name and spell it for
the court reporter phyllis wise p -h -y -l -l -i -s w -i -s -e you're right do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes and this wise your application
is for a multi -family household living three dwelling units in an existing structure the
proposed multi -family household living is prohibited in this zoning district
Mr. Howellman has a few questions for you.
Good morning, Ms. Wise.
Good morning.
Did you email all of the exhibits and documents as required, such as proof of ownership, tax clearance, copy of the refusal?
Proof of ownership, tax clearance, copy of the refusal, pictures or drawings of the property five days in advance of this hearing.
Did you meet with the RCO and do you have a letter?
Yes. Yes.
Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
I actually have my property is presently a two -family unit.
I'm requesting that it be approved for a three -family unit.
On that block, actually, there are several properties on there
that are presently three or four family units.
So I want that to be approved.
Ms. Wise, so you have up now from the vote was taken for you, right?
Okay, wait a minute. Okay, and show us your property.
Okay. That's not mine. Hold on.
Excuse me one second. Where is it?
Let me give you one second picture. That's why I wanted it up.
I thought we had everything up.
It was up.
I'm sorry one second get out get out of this one
excuse me share my property
where do we have it it's in my files
where hold on
excuse me
one moment excuse me i have a friend helping me with the computer i'm not too computer savvy
I apologize.
Put a picture of Oxford Street, picture of property.
Do you remember which one it is?
You gotta type the chair.
right here
oh god it's in the files here
so why don't you go back to photo show us a photo of your property yes that's why i'm trying
i'm trying to get you i had a photo of it oh god okay um it's the front of it
no that's the sides
here you go
yeah that's some of them
I want to get the front of it
where's the ones that he just sent
no that is not it I'm trying to tell you
those were the properties on the block
he didn't send a picture of it
I have a picture of my house in there
look in the documents
this is the Oxford Street picture
okay go ahead the front of the house
Let's go down, see if you see the front.
No, that's a violation.
Let's see.
Let's just go up.
I have all the pictures.
We went through there already.
that's just inside
see the front one there was one
there okay so I want to see the front
of the property yes that's what I'm trying
to get and we'll talk through this
yeah I have plenty of them I'm trying
to get to and I had it up I don't know what
happened to it
I have all those pictures where are my pictures well you know let me say what about the petition
in the email the pictures from the front of the house that took the picture maybe if you type in
I took a picture from the front of the house. I took a picture. Maybe if you type in picture of front of Oxford Street up here. Front of Oxford Street picture. Oxford Street front.
picture of
Yeah, I see that. What happened? Go back. I see that pretty blue. Is it pretty blue? Right here.
Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. That's the front.
So listen to me. That's your property, right?
How many units in there now?
There's presently three units. It's approved for two.
When you say approved for two, that's the zoning?
That's the zoning. It was zoned for two.
I didn't realize that the things weren't taken care of as far as when the first four was actually renovated
because it was vacant for years until maybe April of 2020.
Then when I went down to get my license renewed for that year,
I said, well, you have it as two.
The first floor is finished, it's three.
And then they informed me I had to go before the zoning board.
So that's why I'm here.
So let me ask this.
The rest of the block, what are the properties on the block?
well most of my um quite a few of them are a duplex or triplex most of them are single family
homes yeah you know like you're saying your house was zoned for a duplex for a duplex yes now and
you went down and now they're telling you you gotta go back to zoning because you want to add
to add to three is that right yes okay all right and you went to the um the rco right yes the rco
said no yes against you right yes and then then there was also a petition from some people on the
block sent in right well yeah and that was motivated by someone that had a vindictive
against my husband but but what i'm saying if i understand but that but there still was a petition
against you right it was as far as long but yes right and let me ask you this are the properties
rented now yes so you have three three three units rented yes and how long have you had three
units there the first well since uh july of 2000 i think 20 2020 okay that's when you went to three
units yes that's when the first floor was actually kitchen all that stuff put in okay so then so
then you had three units then then you went down and tried to get your your licenses to rent they
reminded you you had to go back to zoning yeah actually i told them i said you had me down as a
as a two i says three i said the first floor is finished now okay and they said oh okay all right
Okay. All right. So is there anything else you want to add to that?
I just want to think that my property and as an asset to the community is not interfering with anything.
My first floor tenant actually have all street parking.
My third floor tenant doesn't have a car.
You know, my second floor tenant has a car, but it doesn't cause any problem.
Plus, there's a three car driveway.
I have, if you can see, on the draft floor plan that I sent previously.
All right.
All right.
So questions from the board?
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Weiss.
We'll see you, Thomas.
Why didn't you get an approval from zoning before putting the first floor apartment in?
Actually, I did not know.
I thought everything was taken care of.
I went down there innocently and said, told him that my first floor is finished.
I did not know that everything wasn't taken care of in advance.
Honestly, I am actually telling you the truth as far as that's concerned.
Or I would have gone through everything that's necessary because I believe in doing things decently and in order.
But it is what it is at this point.
I would have if I had known it.
Pardon me?
he said thank you thank you okay any other questions comments from the board
hi virtual audience comments are from the virtual audience or testimony
chair we have fred gethers okay
good morning mr chairman good morning good morning sir could you state your name and spell for the
court reporter? Fred Gethers, F -R -E -D -G -E -A -T -H -E -R -S. Do you swear or fraud?
G -E -A -T -H -E -R -S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Rasheed.
I'm the block captain of the 6100 block of Oxford Street.
There are a couple houses on the block that are triplexes that were grandfathered in.
We're presently as a block, as a community, trying to stop any more triplexes.
We're overwhelmed with the residents.
At the west side of the block, southwest side, we have the Monte Vista apartment building, which is a behemoth apartment building.
it's like over 300 apartments um i also i'm the one that submitted the paperwork and i submitted
some videos to you also about the ongoing at that um property and i understand that you can't show
them because of profanity but um there were residents there that were threatening to fight
the neighbors on one of the videos threatening is this property here you're saying oh yes right
okay so so let's go beyond the fights just tell me where you stand on the property and what do
you want us to do what i and the block um do not want this zoned as a um three family unit we would
If it has to be a two family unit, then so be it. But even more, it's a lot of people to come in front of the zoning board. They already transform their property without permission and then say, hey, well, it's going to be a hardship if you if you make us turn it back.
They can't be rewarded for the illegal activities.
She owns other properties.
They know how to do this.
So it's odd that on this property, well, we didn't know.
And again, the work done, there was no permits or anything for it.
It was just her husband went in and did the work.
So I didn't know what was going on.
So, Ms. Sarah, you're against it, you're saying?
I blocked the community as seen by the petition that was submitted.
Thank you very much.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Yes, Chair.
We have Gregory Allen.
Good morning, Mr. Allen.
Could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
Good morning, Chair.
Good morning, Board.
My name is Gregory Allen, G -R -E -G -O -R -Y, last name A -L -L -E -N.
Right.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed.
So I support, and our RCO, Overbrook Western Neighbors, supports this block.
It is a very organized and very tight -knit block.
They have, I mean, I can't even begin to tell you how well they maintain their properties and how they work together.
My only thing to add to what Mr. Gethers said is that this has been going on for over a year now.
And so we respectfully ask that it be decided today.
And where are you on this, sir?
Over Brookwest Neighbors.
No, no, no. Where are you with this property? Are you? I'm opposed. You're what? Opposed. Okay. Thank you very much for calling in and taking the time. Okay. Is there anyone else in the virtual audience? I see no other hands, Chair. Okay. Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chair Bergman. Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. Board members, the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the residential single -family zoning at this location. The last recorded legal use was, as has been established, a two -family dwelling. We don't find evidence of unusual conditions of the lot or the structure that would compel the addition of a third dwelling unit. Properties on either side, we would note for the board of this property, are two -family dwellings as well. City Planning Commission recommends that the board deny this variance.
Thank you. May I say something? You can. Okay. I do know that I take care of basically the lawn
on the property next door, which is vacant and very terrible condition. Let's talk about your
property. Let's talk about it. My property has an alarm system. My property has good tenants.
My property is well -maintained.
My property is not as an asset to the community as a whole.
as an asset to the community as a hold.
As you can see, my property is in excellent condition
and my tenants are good tenants.
I really don't, I personally, like I said before,
I had no idea myself who owns this property
that everything wasn't taken care of
as far as going before the zoning board in advance.
I mean, I honestly don't.
So I really would appreciate if this was approved, et cetera.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
MI 2021, 003 -786 -6134 West Oxford Street.
I vote no.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is no.
James Snell, my vote is no.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is no.
Thank you.
All right, so we're back to Mr. Feynman. MI 2021 -00128 -1737 Bergen Street. Mr. Feynman.
Mr. Feynman. Sorry, Chair. He's unmuted. I'm not sure what's going on.
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Feynman.
chair it looks like he's on another device so i'm promoting him to
panelists now all right thank you now i'm back as a panelist thank you very much all right mr
we okay now i i believe so and i thank everyone for their patience and okay so why don't we start
you sharing your screen. Okay. One moment here. I'm pulling up the document now.
no i don't see the link on that computer it's not on here
mr chair my apologies i have two computers up here on the one the laptop i i have for showing
this and sharing the screen but on my desktop which is uh it's not showing capability of
sharing a screen for some reason it's just showing chat raise hand and q a
you you don't you don't see where the green button says share screen i have that on my laptop but
that's that's the one where i don't have the documents i have the documents on the desktop
and it's not showing on the desktop as I'm looking.
Can you raise your hand on that device
so we can promote it to panelists?
Raise your hand.
There we go.
Join us, panelists.
I think we, okay.
Now you'll be able to share your screen on that.
There we go.
Pull up the document.
there you go yeah there we go we're making progress and i thank everyone for their
assistance and patience here it's a fine bit before i mean we've we've sworn you in and we
just identify your client again so we and the relationship to the property yes again my client
is lna installations llc the sole member and principal of the entity is yusuf y i'm u -s -e -p -h
abu ali a -b -u -a -l -i all right good proceed sir share your documents okay so the the first
open document
can you see that um no i don't see it there
and are you able to is there a link to show sharing it it says you are screen sharing
can we open that
can we open that it looks like it's open on this end here okay so what you would have to do is
just stop um sharing stop share yep and now that you have your documents open you can uh share
your screen and just click on the open document click on the open document
okay and we're still getting your uh your documents your whole list of documents
not yet click on the particular document itself i did click share
there we have there we go okay so uh first is the witness list uh next scroll down next
This is the refusal, and you'll note in the refusal, it reflects that the application is for the legalization of the removal of one off -street accessory interior parking space in the existing semi -detached structure and for one new off -street accessory surface parking space.
Site and location is shown on the plan.
If I may, by way of background, this property is a twin rancher in the Bell's Corner area of northeast Philadelphia.
And the property is rented out to a tenant.
While the tenant was occupying the property, the tenant's son was involved in a very bad motor vehicle accident.
And as a result of that accident, the tenant's son became paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair.
The tenant had been living in the property rented by the owner and approached the owner about the ability to stay there.
However, the son, because of being confined to a wheelchair, did not have the capability of having access to the upper portion of the rancher because of the stairs.
They asked whether or not there would be the ability to convert the basement into living quarters using the garage space of the basement and the basement living space to make it into, in effect, an apartment there for him to use so that he could just wheel right in off of the sidewalk where the driveway is.
So by way of background, it gives you a sense of what the objective was.
The next document is the actual application for the appeal itself.
And again, indicating the nature of the appeal and the attachments will keep scrolling down.
And the type page there reflects what I just indicated to the panel.
And it also indicates that there's no change in the exterior space or sidewalk that's there.
Basically, what's being asked here is to have the permission to remove the garage door, replace it with a solid door, a solid wall with a window in it.
There is a door next to the garage.
And I'll have photos of that in a moment.
the idea being making the basement and garage area into living space the next document
is the tax clearance the next document this is the drawing of the space and as you notice
in looking at the drawing. The center, if you look what is the brick there, that would be showing
in the center of that where the siding would be replacing the garage door and
on the far, on the top of that drawing, because the drawing is turned around, the top of that
drawing shows the diagram basically the footprint of the of the property itself. Mr. Feynman do you
have photos? Yes they're they're I was just gonna say the next are the photos so first you have the
aerial view there but you'll see the front and we'll scroll to the next photo that's the front
of the property as I indicated it's a twin rancher there and the property is the one to the left
where there's the grass next to the the wall next photo shows the side view and you see two
entrances one to the living room one to the kitchen with stairs there keeping in mind when we go back
to keeping in mind the front of the property has an additional set of steps next photo shows the
back of the property and a little higher up there and you'll see where
And you'll see where the siding is already put in place with the windows. The garage door was taken out. There's no change in this concrete of the driveway itself.
The next photo shows a similar image, and then the next series of photos shows the interior of the unit and what was done inside.
So what we're looking to do is to legalize this conversion and change over into a living unit.
Next, this shows the different rooms, shows a bathroom that was installed there.
next shows the hall and that doorway leads out to the exterior of the property which was shown
in the earlier photograph those are the photos that we have this was the d we're showing that
That's owned by L and A, the next document.
As I indicated earlier, I received this morning the copy of the RCO, which was forwarded directly over to the panel.
I did not have that uploaded.
There was a meeting that was scheduled.
It took place on July the 20th of 2022, and there was a letter that went over to Mr. DiCicco on that date, indicating that there was seven board members present.
They vote, all seven voted in favor of it.
There was no opposition.
the change in the the configuration is really just the appearance on the exterior
and instead of a garage door as it indicated it is the solid door with the wind um the solid wall
with the window there so it's not changing aesthetically the appearance of the of the
neighborhood there's no additional burden on the property the same people that have been living in
continue to live there and that um it allows access for the disabled son
so the fact of the matter is he the garage door has been taken out a new wall was put up
he's going to enter through he's going to enter through there and his living quarters will be
right behind there right that is correct and he's been doing that what happened was he did that and
and they realized that they were not, they did not go through the proper process.
Okay. All right.
So we're filing to legalize what they did. And like I said,
we work closely with the RCO to make sure that they provided,
they had the information.
Mr. Feynman, is your client available to adopt your testimony?
again good morning for for the i could hi could you state your name and spell for the court
reporter please yusuf abwali u -s -e -p -h just try speak good get a little closer we're having a
hard time hearing you yusuf abwali u -s -e -p -h a -b -u -a -l -i right do you swear firm to tell
the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes i do thank you proceed counsel
Yes. Yusuf, you just heard me give a description of what your application is about and the reasons why you're seeking to make this change and to legalize what's currently there. Do you agree that what I've represented to the board today is what the situation is and that I've accurately described what you're seeking to do?
And it is your intention and plan to legalize this so that you can continue allowing the tenant live there with their disabled son?
yes okay thank you questions from the board yes mr chairman no mr chairman counselor is there a
kitchen oh is the kitchen in the in the downstairs yes is there open flame no it's electric electric
thank you all right questions or comments from the virtual audience excuse me mr chair this is
Hillary. Um, so in viewing the pictures and knowing that there's a stove, um, I, I don't
think the board can vote on this case as it is because this is asking, um, for parking and what
has actually occurred in this case is an additional dwelling unit. Um, so there really
should, this refusal needs to be amended to reflect that, um, that there is being an additional
dwelling unit and that there would also be an additional refusal, um, for having two dwelling
units in a property that is zoned RSA 3. So I think the board needs to continue this matter
So I think the board needs to continue this matter and it needs to be a request needs to be made to amend the application by L &I.
and it needs to be requested.
If I may, if I may address it, we're not seeking to have a second living quarters there.
We're seeking to incorporate the basement into the existing living quarters for this.
It's still a single family.
but there's no intention to have it as a multi -family it's basically converting the
basement into living space for the existing family that is there but Mr. Feynman based on
the pictures that we're seeing it's a complete separate dwelling unit there's separate living
space bedroom bathroom and kitchen well what I didn't show in the photos is there's a stairway
that leads up to the first floor and the kitchen and dining area on the and living areas on the
first floor the the son doesn't have access to that because he's in the wheelchair right so it's
a separate dwelling unit in the basement for him that is what's being created and that is what
needs to be requested even though the stairwell still is there there's nothing to stop the
stairwell from being closed off so so mr fineman what what i think you need to do is to reapply
you know change what you're asking for and then i think you go back to the rco and explain the
situation of what it is and then then you come back okay is that right hillary yes he needs to
um request from the board permission to amend the application and then go back to l and i and
ask them to amend it to add that additional use of two f2 family dwelling
well so we give him permission to do that hillary we yes we would we would grant permission to do
that but he needs to make that request in writing to the board okay thank you i will i will take
care uh addressing that and doing that promptly and i greatly appreciate the um the courtesies
okay all right hillary thank you yes thank you thank you mr feyman thank you very much
Okay. Have a good day. So we bounced around a little bit today.
Is there anyone in the virtual audience whose case has not been heard?
I see no handshare. Okay, everybody. She, everyone at two o 'clock. Thank you.
All right. Good job, all.
Good afternoon. My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this afternoon ZBA hearings.
With me is Ismail Shahid, our board secretary.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Thomas Hollman, our board member.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
And James Snell, our board member.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our board attorney is here, Hillary Emerson, and also Lakeisha Dandy, our ZBA hearing
supervisor. Before we begin, here's our virtual format. Be advised the proceedings are being
recorded. By participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded. The video will be
available by contacting tonyasunkett at phila .gov. For the benefit of our court stenographer,
we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying. If you're
participating by phone, if you wish to testify, press star nine to raise your hand and star six
to unmute. To enter an appearance statement, call 267 -270 -5548. Leave your email, the address of
the property in question. And finally, the question and answer box on the screen is not
for comments or testimony. Any comments should be directed to our Executive Director, Tanya Sunket.
So let's look at continuances for this afternoon. Number five, MI 2022, 001 -761 -3518 G Street.
That case is continued.
And case number nine, MI 2022 -002 -208 -744 -North Forty Street, that case is also continued.
Is there anyone in the audience who has a comment relative to those two cases, five and nine?
I see no hands, Chair.
Is there any other requests for continuances for this afternoon's list?
I see no hands, Chair.
Well, number eight, we have no exhibits.
No exhibits. And that's case number MI -2022 -001 -374 -4812 Knox Street. Joanne McCauley is the owner.
And that's case number M -I -T -E.
I see no hands, Chair.
So that case is continued. MI -2022 -001 -374 -4812 Knox Street. The case is continued.
And number two is a withdrawal. That's MI -2022 -001 -681 -3878 Lancaster Avenue. That case is
withdrawn. Any other withdrawals? I see no hands, Chair. We're going to go to our add -on list.
Number one, MI 2022 -003 -170 -2300 North 18th Street.
There will be a result.
Excuse me.
Sorry.
I just realized there is a typo in the listing.
It should say October 26th, not 28th.
Thank you.
Thank you.
No problem.
Sorry about that.
resumption there will be a resumption hearing on
the 26th yes Wednesday the 26th in two weeks okay okay there will be a resumption hearing on
Wednesday October 26th at 2 p .m. for the limited purpose of taking testimony from a representative
of the 16th Democratic Board and they have responses from the attorney. And number two,
MI 2022, 001 -057 -3251 Fox Street. This case will be continued for two weeks.
And let's go to our regular list. Mr. Chair, with the last one, can we just announce the
vote on the case is now scheduled for October 26th at 2 p .m. Thank you.
Okay, so
okay, hold on a minute.
okay so this this case the vote will be taken october 26 at 2 p .m is that right
yes for 3251 fox street yes 3251 fox street thank you
And number one on our regular list, MI 2022 -001 -676 -3618 Sears Street.
Leo Mulvihill is the attorney.
We do have a letter, Hillary.
We have not received the letter yet.
My understanding from the RCO is that it will be a letter of support, but we have not received it.
Okay. Thank you. Mr. Mulvihill.
Good afternoon, Chairman, members of the board. Hopefully, I don't have the Zoom issues that I had this morning.
I don't think you do, but just could you raise your volume a little bit, Leo, please?
Certainly. I'll do my best. I'll edit that right now.
all right you've already been sworn in could you identify your client in relationship to the
property certainly my client is the owner of the property it's emble's property in philadelphia
say that one more time leo i'm sorry we're still having issues hearing me chairman
man yeah uh we're gonna back out and get back in i'll okay thank you
Jim Overhill?
he's not back in yet chair okay
all right let's wait just a couple more minutes in the moment
Okay, so why don't we move on to a case that we believe is ready, okay?
And we'll take Leo at the end.
MI 2022 -003 -408 -1030 Loney Street.
Clementa Amazon is the attorney.
A letter of support from the Fox Chase Homeowners Association.
Ms. Amazon is coming back in as a panelist.
Good afternoon, Chairman, members of the board.
Hi, counsel, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Of course, Clementa Amazon, C -L -E -M -E -N -T -A, last name is A -M -A -Z -A -N.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client in relationship to the property?
Of course. My client is the owner of the property, and his name is Anthony Samarco.
Okay, thank you. Ishmael, are you going to pick it up?
Sure, I can share, no problem.
Good afternoon, counsel.
Good afternoon.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy?
did you email all the exhibits and documents as required such as the proof of ownership tax
clearance copy of the refusal or referral pictures or drones of the property five days
in advance to this hearing and did you meet with the rco and do you have a letter
yes and we do have a letter of support okay thank you so much proceed and share your screen
of course thank you
Can everyone see my screen?
We're fine.
Perfect.
So again, my name is Clemente Amazon, and today I will be representing the owner of
1030 Loney Street.
During my presentation, I will go through the refusal, the letter of support that we
have from the community, the letter of non -opposition from Councilman O 'Neill.
We did also meet with the Planning Commission, who provided us a review lever of said meeting.
plans for the property photos of the property as well as the surrounding area maps of the area the
notice that was sent to the community of the community meeting our certificate of mailing
the application for appeal the deed for the property certificate tax plans as well as the
memo that was submitted so the refusal for this property we only have one refusal which is for
the accessory parking location where my client has converted the lower use for a interior parking
space which is not permitted in this district the property is currently zoned as rsa3 so the
refusal reads for the removal of one existing accessory interior parking space and the creation
of one accessory service parking space and we did meet with the community and we do have a
letter of support the community was held on june 8 2022 and as you can see we did receive resounding
support for this particular project which is straightforward and we received a vote of 25
in support and only three in opposition to the project and we did also receive a letter from
the councilman's office indicating he had a stance of non -opposition as well as a meeting with
planning just going over the refusal as well as why we felt that there was a hardship for this
particular property and that the use is very similar to that of what is going on in the
neighborhood the accessory parking space is very common throughout this 1000 block of Loney Street
Furthermore, as you will see in the presentation, there are other similar properties that have
also made similar conversions.
So it is also a hardship in that if this is not granted, it would lead to the property
being not used to its full potential.
And again, the distance between the easement and the rear wall is 28 and a half feet, so there's ample space for parking.
And again, the distance between the easement and the rear wall is 28 and a half.
This isn't a situation where you're trying to squeeze in parking in any way, as you'll see in the photos of the property as well.
And here we have the site plan. This is a single -family home.
There are no changes that are being made, with the exception of the lower -level floor here, which will be converted into a parking space for one car.
and here we have a view of the front of the property and you'll see a closer shot of the
rear of the property so this is the area that has since been converted and this is the driveway
again this is very similar to other properties in the area the driveway matches that of the
properties next door on either side of the property as well here we have a view of the
front of the property on Loney Street and here we have a view of the posting of the property
letting the neighborhood know of today's community excuse me today's dba hearing
and this is a photo of before and a photo after the rear of the property as you can see the only
changes to the driveway is that it has since been paved and then changing the door to include only
a single door as you can see this is also above grid views of the interior and this is only
shoot the left of the property only shoot to the right of the property and this is the rear access
easement as you can see here this is commonly used for parking vehicles so this is not an
uncommon use for this particular area a zoning map indicating that this property is zoned as rsa3
and there are three other properties as you see here that have similarly been converted
specifically 1014 loney street as well as 1027 loney street and 1019 loney street
and this is the letter that we sent out indicating that there would be a community
meeting that would be held on June 8th at 7 .30 p .m. As you saw, we did receive resulting support
for this project, a copy of the refusal that was attached. Again, we're simply asking for the
accessory use of a surface parking space, as you saw in the photos, as well as other properties in
the area. This is not uncommon for this particular neighborhood. And this is indicating that the
mailing was, in fact, sent to all the properties as being effective. The application for appeal
our project information form, and indeed showing that my client does in fact own the property.
As well as our certificate of tax clearance and the memo that was submitted along with
the presentation material. And as you can see here in this exhibit, this is a use that has
dated back to 1996 of using the, excuse me, driveway as an accessory parking space.
and the nearby non -conforming uses so with that i will answer any questions that the board may have
and have my client adopt my testimony why don't we one of you adopt have your testimony adopted
thank you um if i could have anthony samarco raise his hand so that he could adopt my testimony
mr samarco please unmute yourself yes i'm here i could you please state your name and spell it
for the court reporter, please?
Sir, Anthony L, middle initial, Samarco, S -A -M -A -R -C -O, Jr.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Counsel.
Thank you.
Anthony, did you hear my presentation this afternoon?
I did.
And was it true and correct?
Yes, it is.
And would you adopt it as your own testimony?
Yes, I would.
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Beth C.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Ms. C, please unmute yourself.
Beth Castleberry, C -A -S -T -L -E -B -E -R -R -Y.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Proceed.
My mother lives in the adjoining twin.
This renovation has been going on for over a year now.
And basically, we'd just like to know when the expected date of completion is going to be.
My mother is 91 years old.
She is an original owner.
And it has caused a lot of unnecessary hardship on her with the noise level.
We'd like to know when the completion is going to be.
so when i get done and i'm ready to talk to the uh the attorney i'll i'll mention that
When I get done and I'm ready to talk to the attorney, I'll mention that to her, okay?
Thank you.
Right.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
Counselor, do you want to respond to that?
Yes, of course.
So it's my understanding that construction currently is not ongoing.
However, my client is more than happy to work with neighbors,
ensuring that there's no disruptions to the community.
Thank you very much.
Planning Commission.
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission
peter spell your name for the court reporter just for the record my name is spelled p -e -t -e -r
b as in boy a as in apple r as in roger n as in nancy a as in apple r as in roger d as in dog
right do you swear from tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do chair proceed the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing rsa3
single -family zoning at this location the proposed parking location is consistent with the intended
use of the rear yard as it was built and the variance does not conflict with the purpose or
spirit of the zoning code accordingly the planning commission recommends the board grant the variance
Thank you. MI 2022 -003 -408 -1030 Loney Street, I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you.
number four mi 2022 002 114 6040 kincesson avenue rachel pritzker is the attorney
we do have a letter of support from the rco 40th ward republicans
miss pritzker is coming back in as a panelist thank you good afternoon hi could you state
your name and spell for the court reporter, please? Sure. Rachel, R -A -C -H -A -E -L, Pritzker,
P -R -I -T -Z -K -E -R, 1521 Locust Street, Suite 605, Philadelphia, PA, 19102. Right. Do you swear
or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes. Could you identify
your client, the relationship to the property? Yeah. So my client is Dina Dent, aka,
I'm just going to pull up the LLC. I believe it's MGM, the LLC. She is the owner of the property.
Thank you. Ishmael Shaheed, our board secretary, has a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel. Good afternoon. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy?
Yes. Did you email all of the exhibits and documents as required,
such as the proof of ownership, tax code, copy of refusal or referral, pictures or drones of the
property five days in advance of this hearing, and did you meet with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Please proceed and share the screen.
Thank you.
Can you see my screen?
It's coming up right now.
So as mentioned, this is 6040 Kingcessing Avenue. The property's base zone is RSA 5.
The only refusal that we have is for the use of a two -family household living in an existing
structure. This property, although it's RSA 5, it has a long history of actually being a duplex.
I'm just scrolling down to the city's archives that show that it has been in use as two units.
As the board well knows, if you abandon the use for three or more years, then that use goes away.
That's why we're here today.
As you can see on screen, it was already a two -family dwelling.
Obviously, it has sat in a bit of disrepair upon my client purchasing it.
we are looking to rehab the existing two units and provide for two housing units in this existing
structure that has had multifamily two units before. In addition to that, the property is
about 1 ,500 square feet. So it is actually, if it was zoned RM1, we'd be able to have four units
on the site. Again, we're just requesting two as that's what it currently is built out. The
The alternative as far as our hardship would be that we would have to demolish the entire interior of the property in a neighborhood like this.
And in market conditions, as everyone's aware of, it presents a significant challenge as opposed to just doing a more modest renovation, keeping it as units and being able to provide to more.
more modest renovation, keeping it as two units and being able to provide two more affordable
units for the neighborhood. Just to share some context, there are other properties on the 6 ,000
block of King Sessing that are also two units. So this will be in character with all the adjacent
properties, many of which that were similarly two units since... Pardon me, Council, could you
enlarge your larger screen a little bit? Yeah, absolutely. Is that better? Yeah, that's fine.
Yep. Thank you. Yep.
Just to show the other properties on the block that are two units.
And as I mentioned, our property had been at least since 1962, a two unit building as well.
And I assume some of these others have that same sort of character.
We met with the RCO.
It's sort of a conglomeration of RCOs.
This is the deed.
You can see this is the zoning map showing the location of the property.
Again, as you can see, a lot of the blocks are vacant, but our property is sort of right here, sandwiched between these arrows.
We posted the zoning posters on the property as required.
Just trying to get down to the community portion.
uh we met with the community the 40th ward republican back in june um june 13th and we
have a letter of support from them uh basically stating that they do believe uh that this is good
for the neighborhood it is an interesting structure um it will allow for a long -standing
vacant property to be back online with new residential units which are in need for this
community. And we have agreed with some other considerations. They wanted, you know, like
electric, a separate electric meter, things of that nature, which we've agreed to help make it
so that it stays affordable and can be monitored. So that's sort of what you see here, the separate
meter, which are already included on our floor plans. And when we submit for building permits,
that will be included there.
Otherwise, I'm happy to take any questions
the board may have.
I can go through the plans as best as I can
if the board is interested.
But again, this is an existing structure, so.
Why don't you, is your client here?
She is.
Why don't you have your testimony adopted?
Dina, if you can hear me, can you raise your hand?
Ms. Dent, you've been unmuted.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Dina Dent, D -I -N -A, D -E -N -T.
Right. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Thank you, Dina. Have you heard my testimony today in front of the board?
Do you accept it as true and accurate to the best of your knowledge, and do you adopt it as your own?
I accept it and I adopt it.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Good afternoon, Chair.
Peter Bernard for the Planning Commission.
In 2019, the zoning map was amended for multifamily residential.
to residential single family at this location in accord with the recommendations of the comprehensive
plan the proposed use is consistent with documented previous uses of this property
having been granted a zoning permit for two family in 2008 accordingly the plant commission
recommends the zoning board grant variance thank you mi 2022 002 114 60 40 kincesson avenue i vote
yes Thomas Solomon my vote is yes James Snell my vote is yes my vote is yes thank you council
thank you number six MI 2020 001 129 6134 Carpenter Street Sharon Eberindu is the owner
letter of support from Achieve Availability, and council member Jamie Cothier is in support
of this application. This application is for a family daycare for a maximum of 12 children
incidental to and part of the existing single family dwelling and existing structure. The
The proposed family daycare for 12 children requires special exception approval in the Zoning District RSA 3.
Sharon?
Sharon
ma 'am you have to unmute yourself
hi could you state your name please and spell it for the court reporter
hi my name is Sharon
I'm of tiny tots wonderland
my address is 6134 Carpenter Street
Philadelphia PA 19143
Could you spell your name for the court reporter, please?
S -H -A -R -O -N.
E like in Edward, B like in boy, E like in Edward, R like in red, E like in Edward, N like in Nancy, D like in David, and U like in umbrella.
Right, right.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Our board secretary has a few questions.
Ishmael, please.
yes do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
excuse me can you repeat that so i can hear it again do you agree to waive to waive the
reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy everything is accurate thank you
ishmael uh ishmael yeah we we don't need to do that for the uh pro se case we read her refusal
into the record. But you can please proceed with the other questions.
Yes. Okay. Did you email all the exhibits
and documents as required, such as the proof of ownership, tax
clearance, copy of, refusal, or referral, pictures, or
drawings of the property five days in advance to this hearing?
And did you meet with an RCO? And do you have a letter?
Yes, I do.
Please proceed and share your screen.
Do you see the green button at the bottom?
okay the green button oh here you go here you go you're there okay all right now do you have
your documents yes i do okay is there is that a is it a file on your computer man um this
the file i sent in all the documents to y 'all um there is but i was it was like echoing so much
on my computer that I just
went to the phone.
So I'm actually
recording it on the phone
because I'm not getting the echo. I was getting
a lot of echo from the computer.
But we need to see
the documents you sent to us. You got to put them
up on the screen.
Okay. Let me see something.
so what what what you could do is if you have a picture of your property
put the picture up on the on the screen
the photos the photos i sent in all the photos yesterday oh god
it's on your screen somewhere it's on your file somewhere right yeah it's in my file i'm getting
it okay let's put it up if we can okay let me get the pictures okay okay
okay all right let me get the files um
take your time
you know where your files are
yeah i have the i have it here
i'm just going to the photos
some suggestion of our staff on how she should put this up
are you on your phone now ma 'am
yes yes i am
do you use an iphone or android i got an android phone
okay i'm not familiar with the um android
um let's see share
i don't know how to get it so you can see it
mrs everendu do you have the photos on your phone
Yes, they are on my phone.
Are you seeing the share screen button on your phone?
All right, try hitting that button and see if it gives you an option to share your screen or ask you what you want to share.
All right.
Try hitting that button and see if it gives you an option to share.
You may be able to select the photos.
Instead of share to, okay, so I'm sharing it to, what do you want me to share it to, to my Gmail?
To whatever you're showing your pictures are.
so you should so when you're in the zoom app you should hit share screen on there yeah don't share
your pictures but share your screen um but have your you should have your pictures pulled up on
your phone so that you can select them okay there you go it's coming here you go all right
so that's the inside there that's the inside so you need all of them so i need to go back so i
I can just click them all so then you can see them all.
So maybe you can show me one on the outside of the property.
Okay, let me show you the outside.
Let me go to that one.
Take your time.
Mm -hmm.
I sent a lot of pictures yesterday.
Good girl, Almighty.
This is the outside of the property.
This is outside of the property.
You may have to unshare
and then reshare
once you pull up the photo you want to show us.
Yeah, I am.
Oh, unshare?
Unshare
and then share again with what you want to show us.
Okay, you said
unshare.
Okay, share.
Okay, okay.
Go again.
I just click
some of them.
This one.
This one.
This one.
Take your time, but I just want a shot
of the outside of the property.
Yeah, I'm just getting them for you.
I'll get more.
no no no no you need to go back to go back to where you were on on zoom in the same share
screen button should be give you the unshare option so unshare it and then have the pull
the other picture up on your phone then go back to zoom and reshare i went to share
i shared it and then now i don't see the zoom button um i went to more and it tells me
i don't see the unshare oh god let me go back let me go back i'll go to share let me start over
Let's share.
I go to photos.
There, you unshared.
Okay, I did it now.
Yep, you unshared it.
All right.
So now I'm getting ready to share.
Okay, the photos.
Oh, God.
Let me see.
Photos.
Where did it go?
This is confusing.
i always be saying i want to learn how to do this you might just have to hover around the bottom and
it'll pop up yeah that's what i was saying but it just went into something else i don't know
review out of sequence oh gosh there photos it was letting me click on them before
and now it's not
letting me click on them.
I don't understand.
Can you open one photo
and then go back to Zoom?
Let me see.
Let me see.
Let me see.
Let me see.
Other link.
No, that's not it.
I got all the pictures right here and I don't know why it won't let me click on it now
okay okay let me see you this one okay let me give you that one and there it goes
okay let me give you that one and there we go zoom oh no no no no back up just give me one
Well, no, no, no, no.
i just need one that's all okay i'm gonna give you one right here
okay here we go all right good good all right all right so your business is called tiny tots
tiny tots wonderland right okay all right so tell me what you have in there now are you
You have this already running?
How many students do you have?
Yeah, I have six children.
And you want to increase it to 12?
You want to increase it to 12?
How long have you been in business?
Since 2011.
And you went to the neighborhood.
And they approved it, right?
Yes, I went to the RCO.
And the council person has approved it?
All right.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
Aye, Planning Commission.
Good afternoon, Chair.
Peter Bernard for the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing RSA 3 single -family zoning at this location.
We have no objection to the proposed expansion of the daycare facility.
Accordingly, the planning commission recommends the Board grant the variance.
Thank you, Peter. MI 2020 -001 -129 -6134 Carpenter Street, I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
James Snell Shahid, my vote is yes.
Thank you, ma 'am.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Bye -bye.
All right.
Number seven.
MI 2022 -002 -272 -1942, North 32nd Street.
Alan Nockmson is the attorney.
A letter of support from the Strawberry Mansion CDC
with Proviso, no roof deck or roof deck access structure.
Mr. Nockamson.
Yes, good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the board.
Alan Nockamson, Nockamson, B .E .C.
Right.
Just for the purpose, could you spell your last name for them, please?
Alan, A -L -A -N, last name Nockamson, N -O -C -H -U -N -S -O -N.
Right.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth,
nothing but the truth?
um could you identify your client and the relationship to the property uh yes my client
is riley denise llc and in the virtual audience is kevin matheson its member thank you uh ishmael
shaheed has a few questions sir good afternoon council
to speak up a little as you're a little low oh sorry good afternoon
do you agree to wait the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
i do you know all the exhibits and documents such as the proof of ownership text plans
copy of referral or refusal pictures or drawings of the property properties in advance to this
hearing and if you need to be hard to go do you have a letter yes in all respects and we have
a letter of support okay thank you please proceed to turn it through all right thank you
good afternoon again my name is alan knocklinson of knocklinson pc i'm here to present 1942
north 32nd street in my materials you will first find the notice of refusal
then the correspondence from the strawberry mansion community development corporation where
you'll see a letter of support where the community unanimously supported this project
and a well -attended meeting as well as the coordinating rco as well in addition we as
As part of our support, we agreed to revise our plans.
And so we have a zoning board of adjustment,
revised proviso plans form.
So if this board is so inclined to grant
our variance requests, we ask that they do so
by way of proviso with this revised plan.
Also, in addition to the support from the community
at the community meeting, as well as the coordinating RCO,
we made great outreach to the surrounding area.
We, you know, made great outreach to the surrounding area, and we have a petition showing that support as well.
And we have a petition
Not uncommon to have an RSA -5 property like ours have multifamily use.
We show two examples of nearby properties.
In addition, the Philadelphia 2035 plan, Lower North District plan, indicates that for increased density near public parks as well as commercial corridors,
and we are adjacent to both so we furthered that plan Philadelphia 2035 maps of the area photographs
of the property or plans and drawings or proof that we met with the community as well as the
proof of mailing or application for appeal that we filed with this EBA our deed to the property
showing that Riley Denise LLC is the owner of the property and their certificate of tax clearance
in the virtual audience is Kevin Matheson the member of this LLC as well as Chris Johnson
of 24 -7 to design the architect on the project.
All right, our notice of refusal.
So this is an RSA -5 property.
It's a lot that's approximately 1164 square feet.
We're looking to put a two -family structure
and we're being refused to go.
First use, this is an RSA -5 property.
So by definition does not allow for multifamily use,
but again, not uncommon in this surrounding area.
also goes towards the 2035 plan because we're near a public park and we're near a commercial
corridor that we're trying to help support with this increased density. The second refusal has
to do with the maximum occupied area where 75 % is allowed with 864 square feet. We're proposing
77 .7 % of occupied area at 896 square feet. It's a de minimis variance request. As you can see,
by the nearby property to the left of us, we fall in line essentially with the property to the left
of us, the right of us is a vacant lot. Again, not out of character with the neighborhoods,
and we would ask the board to grant that to minimize variance as well. Correspondence from
Strawberry Mansion, CDC, again, a well -attended meeting, unanimous support, 11 people showed up,
And, you know, as part of that support, we do have revised plans, which I'll show, but also the Strawberry Mansion Community Concern RCO were also in attendance.
And my understanding through this letter is that they're in RCO and they were also in support of this project.
And they do have, I'm sorry, they do have one proviso here about no rooftop deck.
um i don't believe our property like our application calls for a rooftop deck or
rooftop deck access structure but the board feels so inclined uh to make that as a proviso as well
we have no objection to that uh and this is our revised proviso plan form we're removing the
egress well from the front of the building structure that was an ask from the community
and we have no objection to that and then here is the uh here is showing that we actually removed it
in the front and then our petition so you know we met with not just the community at a meeting but
we also canvassed the neighborhood and you know based on that you know canvassing we have uh
received much support from surrounding neighbors, and this is just an example.
And then it's not uncommon to have multifamily dwelling nearby. I'll just give you an example
as a project that this board granted in the past at 2009 North 31st Street, which is around the
corner, for an RSA 5 property for multifamily use. And then if you look at another zoning matter,
2008 North 32nd Street, which is down the block from us, which is three apartments.
And then the Lower North District Plan 2014 indicates prioritization of commercial residential
development on and adjacent to the corridor, which could assist in restoring street life
and customers, as well as raising perceptions of safety. And then this is just, you know,
showing our block from a zoning perspective. As you can see, our block is equally RM1 as it is
RSA5. If this was RM1, which is not, this project would be allowed us, right, given the lot size of
164 square feet. But, you know, I tried to get from a Google Map perspective showing
how this project relates to the Lower North Plan. But as you can see, there's a park here.
but as you can see there's a park here this is the commercial corridor on bridge avenue
This is the commercial corridor on Ridge Avenue.
we're basically in the middle of both and then photographs of the property this is the front
of the property you can see this is a porch neighborhood and you'll see through our design
that we try to emulate that as much as possible but this has been a vacant lot so google earth
only goes far back as 2007 so this has been a vacant lot of record for at least 15 years
probably a lot more. When we met with the community organization, there was an inclination
that this has been a vacant lot for much longer than 2007. Because of its RSA 5 designation,
it's been very hard to develop this lot, especially now with rising interest rates,
construction costs and such. The way to responsibly develop this property or develop it at all
would be to do as a duplex. And then this is North 32nd Street to the right of the property.
north 32nd street to the left of the property and here are our plans and drawings again what
we try to do is emulate oops uh emulate like what's there to the left of us so you can see
that we try to match the roof line brick facade porch this is what we got rid of this is just our
rendering um we haven't we didn't have a chance to change that uh but we really did try to match
what the look and feel of the properties nearby with our property. And then this is the rear of
our property as well, where there be a rear deck, not roof deck, but rear deck, as well as an ample
open space. And as you can see, we match in line from that rendering the property to the left of
us. There is no property, there's no building structure to the right of us. And then as you
can see here, this is the edge of our building structure right here, the edge of the building
structure right there to the left of us. We nearly match it. And then this is our floor plans, very
basic. Unit number one is a first floor lower level, has access to the rear for garbage storage.
Unit number two is the second and third floors, and they have a ventilated trash room for
garbage storage. And then this is our meeting notice. Our meeting notice, as you can see,
we met with the community at September 22nd at 6 p .m. 188 properties were notified of that meeting.
These are the properties that received notice of this. Proof of mailing.
our application for appeal to the uh to the zba along with our notice of refusal and project
information form our deed to the property uh showing that uh riley denise llc is the owner
of the property and our certificate of tax funds uh with that being said i'm going to unshare my
screen um i want to ask that mr matheson virtually raise his hand uh and then after uh he adopts
are to my testimony, we'd be more than happy to take any questions from the board.
Hi, sir. Could you state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
Chair, there's no hands raised at this time. Okay. Mr. Notkinson, you're an officer of the
court and your testimony is fine. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Questions from the board? No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Knott, one quick question.
Does the revised plan have the proviso from Strawberry Mansion in it about the roof deck?
Again, no, it doesn't.
I think it's necessary because our original plans have nothing to do with the roof deck or the roof deck structure.
But again, belts and suspenders, if you want to put that in there.
All right.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
planning commission
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa 5 single family attached zoning at this
location there is no unique circumstance or physical condition that would prevent this
1164 square foot block from being used in performance with the zoning code and there
is no financial hardship however most of the homes in the block appear to have been built
as duplexes or triplexes prior to the adoption of the original zoning code. The proposal matches
the character of the block and will not impair the use of adjacent property. Accordingly,
the Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant the use variance.
Thank you. MI 2022 -002 -272 -1942 North 32nd Street. I vote yes. Proviso. Revised plan,
one page stand by ZBA on October 12, 2022 and no roof deck or roof deck access structure.
And no roof deck or roof deck access structure.
Thomas Holloman, my boot is yes with provisos.
James Snell, yes with provisos.
Chris Millishaknit, yes with provisos.
Thank you, Mr. Nockamson.
Thank you. Have a great day.
All right.
Let's go back to.
number one mi2022001676 3618 sears street mr mobahill all right i should be there you go
thank you thank you sounds better now as well right i think i've already sworn you're sworn
in right yes and just one more time could you uh do you identify your client in relationship
to the property yes my client's the owner of the property emerald properties of philadelphia
okay and i and his name is oh jesse are you available on the line
now just tell me his name that's all um one moment chairman i i suddenly blanked on my
client's last name my apologies it's a a i r t i g as in golf h as in hotel okay thank you
i had that right for the reporter all right have you uh ishmael have you already asked
appropriate questions i can run them over again no problem um yeah okay do you agree the way
to release the reading of a few of them yes did you know all the exhibits and elements
are required such as proof of ownership as clear copy of refusal or referral
everything except for an rco letter which we did not receive however my understanding is that the
rco chair has been in contact uh with the zoning board with respect to their vote
all right so a good afternoon members of the board who should be staring seeing my screen
right now which is page one of my presentation packet three six one eight sears street uh this
is a rm1 zoning district what we have right that is for our proposal today pretty straightforward
we're asking for a single family home or we're asking to go up three stories without the eight
foot setback. That's it. Sears Street is a residential block. It's relatively small.
There's a copy of our application for appeal. Deed for the property. And as of right now,
it's lined more or less by either empty lots or single family homes. So we're just proposing to
build a new single family home. It's going to be a little bit bigger, a little bit different than
newer than the older homes that are existing so members of the board what i'm now showing
you is page 15 of my packet and this actually is i'm gonna go one page up here
there we go and what we're looking at is the block itself so the red brick building to the
upper left of the presentation screen that's an existing house it is two story but as you can see
it's up significantly out of the ground i'm assuming that's due to the underwater
pardon me underground requirements of the area whether that's rock or streams or flow
i'm not entirely certain our property is located here middle picture top in between the two homes
that are there that are existing then we see the property adjacent to the west
additional shots going down the row this is what the lot like looks like behind the fence
and our street view looking west.
If you look at a larger view of the general area, though,
members of the board, you'll see there's a large vacant lot
directly across the street from us,
which probably we'll see development at some point in the future,
but just hasn't done show yet.
So we're just looking to do some infill development.
So this is our site plan, members of the board,
as presented to L &I.
This is our actual lot itself.
And you can see that our structure that we're proposing is only about as deep as the existing structure, which is immediately to the left of our property.
So we have a significantly sized rear yard. It's about 11 feet, nine inches, give or take, which is larger than the other existing older single family home directly next to us.
The reason that we're asking to go to that third story is kind of gets to that hardship is if we're going to have to go out of the ground a significant amount anyway for construction, we're asking because the lot size because the open area requirements because of the width of the lot size.
We're asking because the lot size, because the open area requirements, because of the width of the lots themselves, which members of the board, the lot itself is not terribly wide.
It's 14 feet. So we're asking to have that third story because the lot sizes itself present kind of a hardship for a new construction home due to layout, due to new code requirements for rise over run of stairs, construction materials, other things like that, which are inherent to the new construction system.
that's why we're asking for that additional space so we do have a setback from the parapet this is
our roof deck enclosure area so it doesn't actually you won't be able to see it either
from the street or from the rear yard because the setback from the front in the back and it's
not terribly wide only seven feet three inches this is the cross section so again we're only
going to 35 feet 10 inches we could go higher up to 38 feet but we're not asking to do that
and we're asking for the additional full story without the setback because we'd like to have
that additional space due to the smaller sizes of the property
we go to the cellar we can see a den bathroom utility area washer dryer i'm going hopefully
we have some space in the basement for the meters but we all know how that works and going up the
stairs to the living and dining areas we can see just how small the footprint of the home is
again the kitchen and living area is only going to be about 12 feet wide on the interior because
we have a 14 foot lot so we can see and if you've lived in the house that's only 14 feet wide you
know the space is at a premium and any inch that you can get is a boon
so second floor plan has two bedrooms in the bath in the middle
third floor plan is the owner's suite with the bedroom to the front the closet and bathroom to
the rear then the pilot house that leads to the roof deck set back from the front and from the
rear um at our community meetings members of the board here's the property again with the posted
signs at our community meeting that we did hold down a grace ferry
Okay. Neighbors were generally in support. This was our, by the way, our notice of mailing that
went out. Neighbors were generally in support. In fact, the immediate neighbors, to the best of my
knowledge, were asking my client to generally see what they can do to assist with perhaps adding a
third story to their house and put them in the right direction for it. So there's no ill will,
there's no bad blood, there's nothing along those lines. Here, what we have is one of the final,
in fact the final page of our presentation packet members of the board so later dated july 21 of 22
from the owner at 3616 sears street which is one of those two homes that was shown
and more or less they talked about hours and everything along those lines she doesn't have
any questions about the third story in fact it supports the third story was really more
concerned about the logistics of construction itself and they're ultimately in support as is
to the best of my understanding the community itself we're happy to ask any or pardon me rather
answer any questions the board might have at this time you want your testimony adopted to
mr moldhill oh certainly jesse if you are on the line would you please unmute yourself
or perhaps matt if you're on the line would you unmute yourself if you're there
Mr. Frisk, you will have to unmute yourself. You are able to speak.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Chair, we have Matthew.
Last name again in an O.
That's fine, yes.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Matthew Ostroff, A -T -T -H -E -W.
Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Okay, so Matt, you've heard my testimony today?
Is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge?
It is.
And if you were called to testify today, would you adopt my testimony as your own?
Yes, I would.
is there anything you'd like to add nope thank you very much thank you um questions from the
board no mr mr chairman uh mr melville from the notes i'm reading the the real issue is
there's not an eight foot setback on the third floor correct all right so in other words
the issue is is that if you go above two floors it's supposed to be an eight foot setback that's
is that if you go above two floors it's supposed to be an eight -foot setback that's the sole issue
the soul of
all right all right thank you questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands chair planning commission
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission
comprehensive plan recommends a change to rsa 5 single family attached residential at this
location the eight foot setback is required in both the current and recommended zoning the applicant
has failed to justify a hardship that just justifies the dimensional variance additionally
in a standing policy to object to bedrooms or rooms easily converted to bedrooms located in
basements due to safety concerns accordingly the planning commission recommends the board deny the
variance if i might respond to that members of the board with respect to the basement it simply meant
as an open down area can be used for storage or anything else there's simply no space especially
on a 14 foot wide house uh to really put a functional bathroom down in there so it's easier
to go either up or down one since there's bedrooms on the second we go there and then we go down one
to the basement because we have that space did you show bathrooms in the basement a bedroom in
basement oh it's a it's an open area with utilities and washer dryer thank you mi2022
001 676 3618 shear street i vote yes thomas holloman my vote is yes james snell my vote is yes
all right thank you members of the board have a good afternoon
I'm sorry, Ishmael, I didn't hear your vote. Can you repeat that?
You trailed off, Ishmael.
Oh, I'm sorry. Can you hear me?
We can now.
Okay, yes. Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yet.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Is there anyone in the virtual audience whose case has not been called?
I see no hands, Chair.
Okay, so we've never had this before, so we're going to have to break until 3 .30 for,
when we have our next group. Okay. Yes. Thanks. We made history.
You wish.
Good afternoon. My name is Bill Bergman. I will be chairing this
afternoon's 330 ZBA hearings. With me is Ismail Shahid, our board
secretary.
here mr chair thomas hollman our board member president mr chairman james snell our board
member and i know mr snell is here so he'll be on shortly also our board attorney hillary
emerson is here and lakisha lakisha dandy is our zba supervising
person. Before we begin, here is our virtual format. Be advised the proceedings are being
recorded. By participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded. The video will be
available by contacting tonyasunkett at phil .gov. For the benefit of our court stenographer,
we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you're participating by phone, if you wish to testify, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.
To enter an appearance statement, call 267 -270 -5548.
Leave your email and the address for the property in question.
And lastly, the question and answer box on the screen is not for comments or testimony.
Any comments should be directed to our Executive Director, Tanya Sumkin.
Let's look at our continuances for this afternoon.
Number three, MI 2022 -001 -395 -341 North 52nd Street.
This case is continued.
Mark must be tried.
Number five, MI -2022 -001 -391 -5221 Haverford Avenue. That case is continued. And number six,
MI -2021 -003 -955 -407 West Cayuga Street. That case is continued. Are there any other requests
for continuances. Chair. Yes. We have a calling user phone number ending in 3372. Okay. Please
unmute yourself and wait for the chair. Hi. Could you state your name and spell it for the court
and spelled for the court reporter yes yes my name is marquisa carter m -a -r -c -h -e -s -a
Reporter.
last name carter c -a -r -t -e -r right do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth and
nothing but the truth yes sir okay so i noticed your case um we need your deed and an rco letter
proof of meeting. And we don't have that yet. So let me ask you, what I want you to do is to call
the office, call the zoning office, and they'll try to help you get everything together, okay?
Well, you know something? I called the zoning office, and the zoning office confirmed that
they had everything. I called Lakeisha Dandy's office 24, I think it's 2429, and they had
everything. I sent it to all people. So listen to me. We need a deed, and we need the RCO letter,
and there was a proof of a meeting with the RCO. That's what we need, okay? So if you call back,
you can tell them that's what you need, and you'll make sure you can have it, and I'm going
continue this case okay now the question is is this a business that you're you have or is it a
private home hello okay yes this is this is a family daycare and it's a small it's not a
it's not a corporation or anything no sir it's not okay fine so here's what i want you to do
all right you get you make sure you have your deed have the letter from the rco what they said
and then a proof that there was a meeting for the rco okay
pardon me i apologize for interrupting you there was not a meeting with the rco i did contact the
rco uh ul i believe her name is it's not her name right okay all right so what i want you to do is
go back and set yourself up with an RCO meeting. Okay. And then we're going to, we're going to
continue this and then we'll bring you back in. Okay. Okay. That sounds great. All right. Good.
Thank you, ma 'am. All right. And number, number four, um, MI 2020 001 710 1615 Elaine Street.
listed owners lk lk equities group llc no exhibit second listing is there anyone here from that
i see no handshare okay so that case is going to be continued that's mi20220017101615
lane street that case is continued mark must be tried
okay and and case number seven mi 2021 003 821 6811 oxford avenue it's uh james a brew
a brew but we also have a translator so with the translator come on too please
good morning judge hi good morning um let's get mr brew on too please yes sir well let me first
could you spell your name please yes of course sir my name is leonel and it is spelled l as in
lion e o n as in nancy e l and do you require my id as well no just your last name too okay
Okay, Gillen, which is spelled G -U -I -L -L -E -N, as it ends.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
All right, so Mr. Abreu.
He's unmuted, Chair, and has permission to speak.
He just muted.
All right, translator, could you please tell him to state his name
and spell it for the court reporter and then we're going to swear to interrupt he's parking
the car right now i'm sorry he's going to come in in one second jimmy abreu i'm his daughter
okay fine he's coming in right now okay all right okay all right
if you don't mind judge i can do a quick introduction for him so he knows who you
you please. Yes, sir. Whenever he's ready. Okay.
Hello, what do you want to swear him in first? Okay.
i want to swear him in first okay please tell him we want to swear him in
Yes, sir.
no problem no problem okay and could you please tell him to um
spell his name for the court reporter state his name and spell it for the court reporter
reportero de la corte puede decir su nombre y deletrearlo por favor okay jimmy abreu j -i -m -m -i
a -b -r -e -u
okay do you require me to spell as well yes please yes sir name is jimmy abreu
j -i -m -m -y -e -b as in boy r -e -u okay all right and i'm going to ask him that do you swear
for him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth señor y usted jura decir
la verdad, solamente la verdad y nada más que la verdad?
Sí, señor.
Yes, sir.
So, translator, here's our situation.
Apparently, he's went to the RCO that approves these type of things, right?
We have a letter of non -opposition for the council person's office, and we have a letter
of support from the RCO.
what we don't have is the exhibits that he needs to put forward with any application
so what we have to do is we have to explain to him that you know we we we do have letters to
support from him from the council person and also the rco but we need his basically his application
package we need like a deed we need like his tax records we need all those things um and that's
what we need could you please tell him that and then what we're going to wind up doing is we're
going to have to continue this today because we don't have his documents but someone should explain
him what he needs right and then once we get that then we can go on because we've already received
something from the council person saying she agrees with no opposition and also the local
coordinating rco could you mention that to him for me yes sir first i'll do a quick introduction
Soginosoian. Señor, yo soy
Lionel, yo voy a ser el intérprete.
Todo se maneja confidencial
y solamente para
se le pido hablar en frases cortas
y completas para tener una buena conversación.
Muy bien, caballero.
Entonces, tenemos, este es
el caso, tenemos
para que, usted
fue para que lo aprobaran en el
RCO. Tenemos
una carta de no
oposición y tenemos una carta de apoyo de las personas del consejo lo que no tenemos es los
las exhibiciones y todo lo que es lo que necesito necesitamos poner su aplicación es decir necesitamos
cualquier documento que sea sus impuestos puede ser un documento de de propietario cualquier
documento, todos esos documentos
porque el día de hoy no tenemos ningún
documento, entonces todo lo que
necesita, entonces como le digo
no tenemos ninguna
tenemos una carta de no oposición
y tenemos el
apoyo de
el apoyo local
como usted dice una
carta de, una carta
como de tase
una carta que pruebe que soy dueño de esta propiedad
o que?
What do you mean?
Like a letter that says that I am the owner of this property or things like that?
Mr. Chair, I can briefly explain.
So what he needs to submit for an exhibit packet is the deed to his property, photos showing what he is requesting,
and the photos also need to show that the property had the zoning poster that was sent to him on it.
he needs a tax clearance certificate
or proof of zero tax balance
and then he needs a copy of the refusal
that was given to him
and resulted in this zoning appeal
and I can repeat that again if you need to
thank you
muy bien
entonces lo que necesitamos
en la exhibición de paquete
lo que necesitamos es
un documento de propiedad
ok necesitamos fotos que muestren qué es lo que usted está solicitando necesitamos fotos que muestren el póster
Necesitamos fotos que muestren el póster de zonificación en la propiedad que se le envió a usted. Necesitamos un documento de que tiene cero balance o que tiene cero deudas con los impuestos, que usted está libre, que usted está al día con los impuestos. Necesitamos una copia del rechazo que se le dio a usted por la apelación de la zonificación.
Okay, when you're telling me to get the tax clearance certificates, can I get those documents, can I get that at the same building at the one located at 1401 JFK?
Can someone work with Mr. Abreu to email the Zoning Board for instructions on how to do that?
So I noticed that his daughter was there.
If his daughter were to call the office, we can help her on everything he needs.
Muy bien.
Noté de que su hija está ahí.
Si su hija puede llamar a la oficina, nosotros podemos ayudarla con todo lo que necesita.
Okay, entonces, ¿a qué número debo llamar para eso?
Okay, what number do I need to call for that?
Yes, I would say the staff will put the number in the chat.
Muy bien, el staff va a poner el número en el chat.
No entiendo.
Make sure he knows what that is.
It's on the computer, the screen, on the computer, on the bottom.
Muy bien.
El chat es donde está en la computadora.
En este momento, en la parte de abajo, donde se escriben los mensajes.
Ahí donde aparece como a la par de la mano, al lado izquierdo.
Si usted le da clic ahí, va a aparecer la información.
Dice ZBA, Contact Information.
okay okay okay judge if you want i can dictate the number
because he can he says he's not very he's not very good at computers he says so if if you want
i can dictate the number to him the one that appears in the chat um hillary what do we have
yes that that is fine that is fine thank you
caballero le voy a dictar el número para que lo apunte en este momento
gracias señor ok ¿listo?
listo señor
ok 6 8 6
ok 2 4 2 9
ok y también está el
2 1 5 6 8 6 2 4 3 0
ok 2 1 5
3 8 6 6 8 6
cuál es el otro
2 4 2 9
no ese fue el que usted me di ahora
yo digo el otro que usted diga
el otro 2 4 3 0
2 4 3 0
I have it on my phone now.
Interpreter, thank you so much.
And this case will be continued and we'll be in touch when the next hearing is.
Perfect.
Thank you, Judge.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Have a beautiful day.
Pass it with you.
Case number two.
MI 2022 -001 -396 -5813.
East Worcester Street.
Vern Anastasia is the attorney.
No RCO
letter as of yet.
We're going to put the case on
and then at the end we'll talk about
we're going to have a
we'll resume the hearing
for RCO testimony, etc.
So Mr. Anastasia.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
All right. Will you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Yes, sir. Vern V, like Victor, E -R -N. Last name A -N -A -S -T -A -S -I -O.
Right. Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Yeah. My client is Ms. Nikita Peterson, who's the owner of the property.
All right. Our board secretary has a few questions.
Our board secretary has a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel.
I don't know, counsel.
Good afternoon.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulation of equity?
Do you know all the exhibits and documents as required, such as proof of ownership,
expense, copy of refusal or referral,
the case for drawings of the property, five days in advance of this hearing?
And did you meet the RCO, and do you have a letter?
All but the letter.
I'm asking that the board today hold its vote until they receive the letter from the RCO.
Please proceed and I'll show you the screen.
Thank you.
I'm sharing.
Can you see my screen, by the way?
We can.
We're fine.
Great.
Thank you.
Just give me one moment here.
I'm going to move my toolbar.
Okay, wonderful.
This is an application for 5813 East Worcester Street.
It's a corner property in a neighborhood. My client would like to make this an office building for all intents and purposes, six individual offices in the neighborhood of 58th and East Worcester, realizing that more people are working from home in the area.
However, they don't have space in their homes to actually have working, you know, a working office.
So this would be meeting a need that she has already connected with with other folks who live in the neighborhood who would like to have some kind of office space that's in the neighborhood, but not necessarily in their home because of space limitations.
The property is zoned RSA 5, however, there's a very, very long history of commercial use, commercial mixed use, and it is on a corner, which is right here, and it would be consistent with the use of the corner property right down the block, CMX 1.
As you all know, administrative offices would, in fact, be consistent with the code if this were zoned as its neighboring corner at CMX1.
I'll take you through the plans briefly, the layout.
We've got an empty basement where there's nothing but mechanicals.
We've got two offices here, one, two, three, four more, and then two, and then some storage.
Here's the interior layout.
And here's some photos.
proof of posting on the property both front and rear and the history of the property as you can
see when it wasn't vacant it was always commercial mixed use either two or one
apartments a storefront as well going all the way back to I believe the 60s
I have the history here as well for you.
We have, in fact, met with the community or did some mailings for the community.
We had some issues with the actual, you know, technically meeting with everyone.
There is a proof of no taxes owed, although the new system is difficult and we were not able to get a clear tax cert.
but this does show the equivalent that there are no taxes owed on the property.
There's one of the flyers that went out, second and third.
Charles Richardson from District Council person, Cindy Bass,
did in fact ask that we do a hear and hold for one more meeting.
We, of course, would be happy to do that.
There's a copy of the deed.
And with that, because it's on a corner, because the uses that we are suggesting or proposing
are consistent with CMX1, which is on the corner right down the street, because of its
history as the mixed use, we respectfully request the granting of the variance.
With that, I'd like to have Nakia Peterson raise her virtual hand so I can get her on
the record if it's okay.
i'm not showing any hands up at this time okay so you're an officer of the court
we will we will gladly take your testimony i appreciate that thank you questions from the
board no mr chairman no questions or comments from the virtual audience
chair we have charles richardson okay
chair we have charles richardson okay
good afternoon how are you state your name and spell it please yes sir charles richardson r -i -c -h -a -r -d -s -o -n
office of councilwoman cindy bass room 312 city hall you swear for him to tell the truth the whole
truth nothing but the truth i do proceed i was just calling to in to confirm that we did
request that Mr. Anastasio and his client come back for another RCO meeting in order to get
the opinion of the community and that way we'll be able to the RCOs will be able to have their
letters and then the councilman will be able to make her assessment based upon that Vern has
agreed and we're very happy about that all right thank you sir we appreciate it anyone else in the
virtual audience. I see no hands, Chair. Planning Commission. Good afternoon, Chair. Peter Bernard for the Planning Commission. In 2019, the zoning map was amended at this location from CMX to RSA 5 in order to consolidate commercial activity away from Worcester Avenue. The proposed use is consistent with the existing physical configuration of the building and does not include retail activity. Accordingly, the Planning Commission recommends the
board grant the variance. Thank you. This matter will be resumed on Wednesday, October 26th at 2
p .m. for input from coordinating slash affected RCOs, the district council office, members of
the community who wish to testify, along with a response from counsel for the applicant, if
desired. The record is otherwise closed. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. It will be 3 30 on
to 26 is that right it says 2 p .m but no it will be it will be 2 p .m because it will be an add -on
very good thank you thank you all thank you thank you is there anyone in the virtual audience whose
case has not been called i see no hands here um we're done before 4 p .m thank you everyone thanks
thank you all
have a good night everyone
thanks everyone
have a good night
good night
good night
see you guys