Thank you.
and chair we have 28 attendees and we can start as you wish wow okay good morning my name is bill
bergman and i will be chairing this morning zba hearings with me is carol tenere our vice chair
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Ismail Shahid, our Board Secretary.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Thomas Holliman, our Board Member.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
And James Snell, our Board Member.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also here is our Board Attorney, Hillary Emerson, and Lakeisha Dandy, our ZBA Hearing Supervisor.
Before we begin, here's our virtual format.
Be advised, 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.
mute. 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 have to be referred to our Executive Director, Tanya Sunkett.
Let's look at today's continuances. Number one, MI 2022 001641 451 Broad Street. This is a joint
request for continuance from Council for Parties. This case is being continued to Tuesday, December
20th, 2022 at 9 30 a .m. Number two, hold on a minute please. Case number two, MI 2022 001 -638 -451
Broad Street. This case is being continued to Tuesday, December 22nd, 2022 at 9 30 a .m. Number
three, MI 2022 -004 -396 -2901 Grant Avenue. This case is being continued at the agreement of all parties.
Number four, MI 2022 -003 -368 -4701 -15 King Sessing Avenue. This case is being continued to 925 -22.
number five
sorry that that case is being continued until tuesday november 15th at 9 30 a .m
or 701 15 king sessing all right this case the king sessing is continued till tuesday november 15
at 9 30 a .m number five mi 2021 003 169 90 rochelle avenue this is a request for continuance
attorney moving parties
number seven mi 2022 excuse me mr chair this is this is hillary was that request granted
attorney moving party for Rochelle Avenue? Okay, thank you. Thank you.
MI 2022 001 637 518 Hartel Avenue. Joint request for continuance from parties. This
case is being continued to Tuesday, December 2022 at 9 30 a .m.
number eight mi 2022 001 644 448 to 52 ron street joint request for continuance
448 to 52 Ron Street, joint request for continuance. The case is being continued to
Tuesday, December 20th, 2022 at 9 30 a .m. Number nine, MI 2021 -005 -069 -610 Locust Avenue,
request for continuance. This case is being continued. It will be rescheduled.
No. And number 11, MI 2022 -001 -642 -448 -52 -Rawn Street. This is a joint request for continuance. This case is being continued to Tuesday, December 20th, 2022 at 930 a .m. Are there any other requests for continuance?
i see a hand from mr paul boney okay may i allow him to speak you can
mr boney can you unmute yourself good morning mr chair morning council could you
identify yourself spell your name please my name is paul bonnie b -o -n -i right do you
swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. What case do you
want to talk about, sir? I wanted to talk about 90 Rochelle Avenue, which is MI 2021 -003169.
I represent the RCO in this matter. And I have just a question or two, if you don't mind,
Mr. Chairman. I'm fine with the continuance, but it's been some time that I've been
involved with a continuance that is, quote, attorney moving party, and I just wanted to
get some clarification. Does that mean that the case is on hold until the applicant's attorney
asks that it be listed? Hillary, why don't you respond to that?
Sure. And I think we should also recognize that counsel for the applicant is present, Rachel Pritzker. I would promote her as well. So attorney, attorney moving party means that the case, the case is not going to be relisted for the next 90 days.
will we wait to hear from the applicant about whether they would like to continue attorney
moving party status or whether they would like the case listed. If we do not receive
a status update within 90 days, the case is automatically relisted for another hearing.
Okay, thank you. Can I ask for an agreement that if Ms. Pritzker's office asks for
did it to be listed that that request be copied to all counsel is is it is Rachel there here
yes Miss Pritzker is here she's ready to speak
hi Miss Pritzker could you state your name is spelled for the court reporter
yep 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 thank you do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing
but the truth yes i proceed did you hear uh mr boney i did and i have no issue with that request
okay all right thank you everyone thank you any other requests for continuance
i see no hands here okay we're going to start with case number 10
mi 2021 003 710 2440 to 42 south 9th street we also have an interpreter on here
mr chen is the owner applicant and it's a pro se
There's a letter of non -opposition
from Councilman Squilla
and also a letter of non -opposition
from the Lower Moy Medicine
Civic Association.
If the applicant is in the audience,
could you please?
Mr. Hang is in the audience
and Mr. Sue.
okay the the applicant i see the applicant there yep chow fan chen is the applicant he's the one
who will be testifying um miss uh mr huang maybe the interpreter okay can we ask him i know uh mr
Okay. Can we ask him? I know Mr. Zhu, Sam Zhu, has been assisting the applicant.
zoo, Samzoo,
Is the interpreter here? Yes, I'm going to promote Mr. Sam to panelists.
Sam is not the interpreter. I believe Mr. Huang is the interpreter. We need to clarify.
Hello, this is an interpreter speaking.
My name is, can you hear me?
Yes, could you speak your name and spell for the court reporter?
Yes, my first name is H -U -I -P -I -N -G.
And the last name is H -U -A -N -G.
And I'm a Mandarin interpreter.
Okay, do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could the applicant please come on?
Can you unmute yourself up, Mr. Heng?
Mr. Chen, speak up please.
I'm not sure because I tried to contact the person.
I believe he has some issue with their internet.
He has not yet joined the webinar.
He's raising, this is Hillary.
He's raising his hand now.
Promoting him to panelists.
I interpret it.
Could you have him state his name and spell for the court reporter?
He needs to unmute himself.
您自己需要就是要解除静音才可以讲话。
现在可以听见吗?
Can you hear me now?
We can.
我的名字叫Chao Fan Chen, C -H -A -O -F -A -N -C -H -E -N.
Yeah, my name is Cao Fan Chen, C -H -A -O -F -A -N -C -H -E -N.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
你能就是宣誓你所讲的都是真实的吗 ?除了真实的 ,就是真实 ,所有都是真的。
对 ,对 ,所有都是真实的。
Yes, it's all true.
So our vice chair is going to have a few questions for him.
那副主席有几个问题想要问你?
好的 ,好的。
Okay, yes.
Hi, good morning.
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with the required documents, including proof of ownership, tax compliance, and tax compliance?
你有没有就是E -mail将这个展示 ,我们所要求的这些文件展示 ,证明您是这个业主 ,有没有就是发送呢?
Yes, I have already sent all the required documents, including the deed and the sales of their deed.
I basically have everything sent to the government.
The other required documents are a copy of the refusal or referral,
photos under plans of the property, five days in advance of this hearing.
And the last question is, has he met with the RCO, and is there a letter?
I'm sorry, this is the interpreter speaking to ensure accuracy.
Can you please repeat?
Okay. Has he also mailed a copy of the refusal or referral, photos and or plans of the property? And I'll let you ask him that and then I'll ask you other questions.
那现在你有没有就是说也包括所有的就是说这个就是说关于这个房子的一些照片
翻译再确认一下
Interior wants to make sure so it's referral I mean referral of what did you say the property
A copy of the refusal or referral
就是关于这个拒绝或者就是转介的有没有
So basically, what is that document?
The documents that he should have, they should be in his exhibit package.
Let me start from the top, and hopefully you can remember everything.
He's already answered yes to proof of ownership, tax compliance, and the other four things are a copy of the refusal or referral, photos and or plans of the property.
And this has to have been sent in five days in advance of today.
Final question.
Carol, this is Hillary.
I think, just for the sake of clarity, I can confirm that all of the required documents have been received from the applicant.
So I think, yeah, so I think we're good there.
I think we just need to make sure we read the refusal into the record because this is a pro se case.
Great. This application is for, thanks, Lori. This application is for use as two dwelling units in an existing structure. There is one use refusal. This proposed use, two dwelling units, is expressly prohibited in the RSA -5 residential zoning district.
And you may proceed.
and can you please share your screen
interpreter make sure he knows we want to have the share screen okay
okay and you can let him know that we read
the information from the refusal
into the record
so we're clear what this case is about.
好 ,那现在我们已经将这个之前您提供的这个就是所拒绝的已经放进去我们已经看到了。
我们已经看到了。
好的 ,好的 ,谢谢。
好的,好的,谢谢。
Okay, thank you.
Okay, thank you.
Pauline, could you talk to the interpreter?
Oh, never mind.
Maybe this is it.
This is Pauline.
I'm from IT.
If you would like to just explain that if you hover along the bottom of your screen, you'll
see a green share screen button.
if you click that you can then click on the um document that you want to share with us
interpreter could you tell the the person that okay uh
i'm sorry can you repeat again about the share screen button right on the bottom after okay
You can share it.
Interpreter, could you ask them what type of computer he's using?
Oh, you're using the phone.
Or is he using the phone?
Oh, phone.
But, this is, oh, okay, this is Pauline.
After he clicks the share screen, does he have any documents that pop up?
If so, he can click on the one he wants to share.
这样子你点一下 ,你有没有看到这个 share screen?
就是分享你的屏幕?
你点一下 ,然后呢 ,看一下有没有什么文件跳出来?
你就点那个文件就可以分享。
你说要分享的文件。
So if he doesn't see the share screen
If you could please let me know
What type of phone he's using
如果你看不到这个分享文件的这个指标
那您跟我说一下
您用的是哪一种电话
iPhone 13
iPhone 13
I'm going to check on something
I'll be right back
okay thank you chair um if we may can we have um maybe mr sam share the documents for him
Okay, thank you.
Chair, if we may...
that would be fine absolutely if he has the documents let's let mr sam put it up
Mr. Sam
I'm able to share the documents for him
so he can present
Mr. Sam, are you available?
Can you unmute yourself, please?
Hello Mr. Sim, are you able to share the documents for him?
Yes, I am looking for that share button.
Okay, you're going to come back in as a panelist, ma 'am.
Pauline, there may be someone with the documents that we're going to bring in.
If not, I have instructions.
I just need to know where to send them.
okay mr sam you cannot present or we need you to do it just share your screen with the documents
um open okay now is this visible
no sir we we don't see anything on the screen not yet uh star video
you want to hover to the bottom of the screen and click that green share screen button
after your documents are open yeah i have the document open but i don't see that green button yet
what type of device are you using sir uh i have i have a desktop computer okay
Okay. And do you have your Zoom window open that shows the gallery of people?
Okay. And then if you hover your mouse along the bottom of that gallery window, do you see the green share button there?
I see at the bottom on the left, it says mute and then the second star video and then more on the third one and then all the way to the right is leave.
I do not see a share button.
Is the more button under the video or what was the more button under?
When I click the up arrow it has a select the camera, integrated camera, Lenovo virtual camera
and other more settings maybe. So it's possible that in your computer settings we might need to
enable you to be able to share your screen yeah i have i have used the shirt before
yeah i don't see it at the time yeah okay
you you could try coming out and coming back in i don't know if that will help but we could
definitely try. Okay. You mean like leave and then try to join again? Correct. Okay. I'm going to do
that. Thank you. Thank you.
um excuse me this is pauline i have a question for the interpreter um do you have your chat window
open yes okay i will pass instructions on for sharing on a screen um and if you don't mind
Um, and if you don't mind sharing them, um, to see if that helps at all.
and sharing them to see if that helps at all.
With your 10.
Thank you.
back in okay
green button not seeing the green oh okay i see it
okay good oh thank you very much for all your patience okay so so sam do you know
yes okay okay so sam you can sam listen to me yes sir
you you can't testify oh okay so what what what happens is
interpreter what we have on the screen now is is the plans so just just just have
uh mr chen acknowledge these are his plans
All right, so Sam, could you take us to a photo of the place?
Yes, this is the first floor.
I know, I know.
No, photo.
I want to see a photo.
A photo.
Okay, let me open up.
All right, I want to see an outside photo of the structure.
Okay, all right.
So, have him acknowledge that's his what looks like almost like a double property, right?
Have your client acknowledge that, please.
需要您的客人讲一下这个是这种是双重的 ,对吗 ,这个房子。
对 ,就对 ,一楼跟二楼。
Yes, first floor and second floor.
OK, and ask them how long has this been a duplex?
How long has this been?
这种富士有多长时间是这样子了?
I mean, the previous owner has had this house for 20 years like this.
And then after I purchased the house on June 1st, 2020, it's like same like this.
Okay, all right.
So this place has been a multi -family dwelling for 20 years.
He buys it in June, and now he's trying to legalize it, is what it mails to it.
Am I right?
Could you answer that?
那就是说这个多家庭差不多有二十年前就是像这种的 ,那你六月份买过来的时候 ,那你想要让它变成猴发化 ,对吗?
Okay, Sam, could you show us the inside of the property too?
That's one of the bathrooms, that's one of the kitchens, right?
yes yes okay and that's one of the dining area okay
all right Sam what I want to do is we see it
all right sam what i want to do is we see it we're okay keep moving through the photos okay
oh okay yeah i did not have a whole lot of pictures okay that's that's fine so to be
clear ask him that he went to the rco meeting and he has an approval right that's right yeah
I want the interpreter to do that.
Interpreter, he went to an RCO meeting
and he has an approval.
I want to know RCO meeting.
What type of meeting?
I'm sorry.
It's called a registered community organization meeting.
He has a letter of non -opposition.
I just wanted to say that.
That's all.
Yeah, so I have letter of, okay, that's right, okay.
那您有去过这个会议 ,对吗?
就是注册会议
那这个信是显示
有去过这个会议
Yes, yes, yes.
All right, so before I give this out
So in other words, this is a property he purchased
It's been what appears to be a duplex for 20 years
And he now wants to legalize it
好 ,那也就是说您这个房子是富士的 ,有二十年的 ,那现在想称为合法化?
对 ,对 ,对.
Okay, questions from the board.
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience.
You see anything?
i see no hands chair uh planning commission good morning tara bergman ian hegarty for the
philadelphia city planning commission last name is spelled h -e -g -a -r -t -y right do you swear for
to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes sir i do proceed all right thank you
very much good morning board members this property is indicated for uh residential use on the
comprehensive plan, and our adopted district plan recommended no change to the existing
residential single -family zoning at this location. However, given the unusually wide lot and the
history of multiple dwellings in this structure, we recommend that the Board grant the variance.
Thank you. MI 2021 -003 -710 -2440 -42 South 9th Street. I vote yes.
Harold Tanari, my vote is yes
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes
Okay, that's three votes
Interpreter, my vote is yes
Thank you
Okay, all right
Interpreter, please tell him that we voted in his favor
那我们现在都投票 ,决定就是最终决定是你赢呢?
好 ,谢谢 ,谢谢 ,谢谢
Thank you
And interpreter, thank you very much for your help
Thank you for using our service
Is there anything else to interpret?
Thank you
Thank you for using our service
It's a bit of disconnecting
Okay ,好 ,现在可以 ,欢迎可以走
Thank you everybody
All right
Thank you
Case number six
130 Chestnut Street.
Vern Anastasio is the attorney.
Recommendation
support from Old City District
and also letter of
non -opposition from
Councilman Mark Swuller.
Bringing Vern Anastasio in as a panelist, Chair.
Thank you.
Mr. Anastasio?
Can you unmute yourself?
Yeah. Good morning, Mr. Chair.
Good morning.
award. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Certainly. It's Vern Vila.
Certainly. It's Vern, V like Victor, E -R -N like Nancy.
It's 2016 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, 19103.
Could you do your last name, Tim, please, Vern?
I'm sorry. A -N -A -S -T -A -S -I -O. I thought I did that. My apologies.
That's right. Do you swear, Vern, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, of course. And I'm representing Mr. Tanner Tran, who is going to be the tenant at 130 Chestnut Street.
Okay. Before we begin, has the property been posted?
Yes. We sent over just this morning an updated binder with the proof of posting photos.
I did not have them with me on in my in my file because I did not file the appeal.
I had to wait for my client to send those to me separately.
OK, so the zoning board would not have sent me those posters personally.
OK, thank you.
Hillary, OK.
Vern, I did not get an email from you or your office with that photo.
OK, hold on.
i'll be happy to resend it with the
updated binder is that okay
that that's fine yeah i just i didn't get the updated binder either
and the subject line will be the 130 chestnut
to okay great okay our vice chair has a few questions sorry i had one other question verne
was was the property was the poster put back up after it came down because of the weather yes it
was okay thank you but the photo i have is the pro is the only the first one unfortunately
what do you mean the first one the first time it was posted prior to it coming down
oh okay that's fine that's fine thank you all good after it was made a few questions
hi good morning verne do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its
accuracy i do have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance a copy of
the refusal or referral photos and or plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing
and have you met with the RCO and do you have a letter? I have all that. Okay and you may proceed
and I see you're sharing the screen so that's great. Awesome yeah this is not a refusal this
is not a variance this is just a special exception. Okay. It's for the application for a prepared food
shop a minimum of 10 seats no commercial kitchen it's a first floor in the same building with
other uses. It's a very well -known building on the 100 block of Chestnut Street, smack dab in the
middle. There have been salons on the first floor, real estate office, and my client is going to be
opening up only the third franchise of a bubble tea phenomenon that is sweeping the area, and I'll
get through that with you in a moment but typically this is just a special exception
and we went through here's the interior here's an interior door here where there's some tables and
chairs and then there is a point of sale contact people get their their bubble teas and all sorts
of other frothy drinks and sit down and or take out.
Let me show you some lighting plan.
There's a power plan.
My client is a graduate of the business school here at Temple.
This is his first venture.
We've got a trash area over here.
There will be commercial trash pickup.
Here are some of the renderings. As you can see, the counter space, individual stools,
lots of lighting to keep it bright.
All high -end finishes. And then some information about where the teas are grown. This is just not
a regular tea shop. It's an actually pretty interesting place. We'll get into that in a
minute ADA compliant restroom. Here's the front of the property.
Here's the interior. The chain is called Gong Cha. There is, I'm going to zoom in here if I can, found in 2006 in Taiwan.
Here's the interior.
Uh, the
They deal with fresh tea brewing all day, pearls and bubbles, freshly prepared to perfection.
The tea is sourced from the finest tea estates in Taiwan, and there are strict controls for all ingredients.
Right now, we have 1 ,800 locations worldwide of Kung Cha across 20 countries.
so i think it would be behoove philadelphia to get in on that action
things like winter melon dirty brown sugar tea a creme brulee brown sugar milk tea which still
comes in under 650 calories we have a creme brulee strawberry latte you know pretty uh pretty tasty
stuff if you're into that uh and not going to uh bust the waistline here is where my cursor is
where we would we would sit uh it's right across the street from excellent cafe which is got a
very well a good name for itself as does han dynasty and the plow on the stars we know all
these places. And Amada and Forsythia and Budokan are right down the street, not to mention the
National Liberty Museum. So we believe it'll be a wonderful addition to probably what is one of
Philadelphia's most exciting restaurant and dining scenes. So like I said, there are three
places in philadelphia right now one in chinatown on arch uh one in the wing fat plaza i believe at
12th and washington avenue uh and then one in the cherry hill mall but so which could couldn't be
more different than chinatown or wing flat plaza but it shows that it does attract folks of all
stripes. I did not, was not able to pull because of the system, a tax cert, but there is proof
that I've submitted of zero tax balance from the Office of Property Assessment. We met with the
old city RCO of full support. I know Jen sent over a letter from Councilman Mark Squilla's office
also expressing his support. I have proof of mailing that went out to 71 individual households
within 300 and some odd feet of 130 chestnut. And we have our flyer that went out as well.
This is page one of the flyer that went out. In addition to the photos provided,
I move into evidence the additional photo I sent Attorney Emerson that shows the proof of posting prior to the weather tearing it down.
But we were. And Mr. Mr. Asazio, I can confirm I did just receive the email that you sent with the updated packet and the photo.
Thank you very much. Thank you. You're quite welcome.
With that, if there's nothing else, I'd like to ask Mr. Tanner Tran to raise his virtual hand.
so we can get him on the record. Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Hello, good morning. My name is Tanner Tran. It's spelled T -A -N -N -E -R. Last name is Tran,
T -R -A -N. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do. Proceed, counsel. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Tran, did you hear my presentation
to the board this morning yes is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge
yes and do you adopt it as your own testimony yes and with that i'm going to close the case
mr chair and open it up for any questions questions from the board no mr chairman
questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands chair planning commission thank you chair bergman ian hegarty for the philadelphia
city planning commission board members the proposed special exception is not likely to
cause detrimental impacts to the neighborhood beyond what would normally be expected for the
use the city planning commission recommends that the board grant the special exception
Thank you. MI 2022, 004 -467 -130 Chetson Street. I vote.
0 -0 -4 -4 -6 -7 -1 -30 Chetson Street.
I vote yes.
Harold Sinneri, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shahi, my vote is yes.
Thank you, counsel.
Have a good morning.
Is there anyone in the virtual audience whose case has not been called?
I see no hands, Chair.
um okay thanks everyone it was short day but i i want to thank the staff for that
the case we had uh in south philadelphia that without the staff we would have not got through
that so i want to thank everybody um and we'll see everybody tomorrow oh no we're done
come on phil let's just make up some cases
we can talk talk a little more about the quality of the tea
that's right i was hoping it was going to be chai tea i love chai tea
maybe somebody could go down there and talk to them i don't know everybody have a nice day
you too have a good one thank you everyone as well i'm gonna see you tomorrow